7 Pieces of Invaluable Career Advice for Millennials
Millennials are all grown up now and making some serious professional breakthroughs in the workforce, despite being unfairly judged by older generations.
There are more than 92 million millennials in the US alone, which makes it the largest age group in the country’s history – even more significant than the Baby Boom generation. People born between 1980 and 2000 represent the biggest workforce in the entire world, too.
Every millennial is trying to find the place in the labor market sun, which can be a pretty challenging task.
As one of the older members of the millennial generation, I went through a lot of temptations before finding the perfect career match. This also means I have a lot of experience to share. Here are seven career suggestions for millennials:
Collect experiences
Everywhere you go and everything you do for a living becomes a valuable source of learning if you see it as the opportunity to gain practical knowledge. More than 40% of millennials expect to be in their current job for two years or less because they want to move on and collect new experiences. We are all sums of our experiences, so take advantage of each position to learn as much as possible.
Do what you like
This may sound like a worn-out suggestion, but it’s too real to be neglected. People who work for money alone soon end up being exhausted, which strongly influences their productivity. But employees who find a position they love ensure the long-term satisfaction and efficiency. Just like Confucius said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.â€
Take risks
As a young person, you have more freedom to do whatever you want and take risks and no one will blame you for making mistakes. Of course, I am not talking about stupid and simple mistakes – you ought to avoid these. But you should take risks when you feel like having the chance to do something really important.
You miss all of the chances you don’t take, so if you stumble upon a particularly intriguing side hustle or want to quit your job in order to go back to school, don’t miss your chance!
Dream big
Taking risks is impossible if you don’t dream big. According to research, almost 40% of millennials left the job they liked because they found an even better opportunity elsewhere. They were willing to explore and look for new opportunities. You should embrace the same mindset early on in your career – don’t settle with what you got unless it’s the best option possible in your niche.
Build your resume
Modern companies don’t want sterile resumes that only reveal your previous positions. On the contrary, you need to write a CV using concrete career achievements. For instance, you could say something like this: “As a sales manager, I created a loyalty program that increased retention rate by 14%.†This way, you are not only giving your job title but also displaying your professional capabilities.
Never stop networking
I know that social media play a major role in our lives, but you can’t build a career exclusively online. You must spend some time meeting people and establishing connections that will help you later on throughout life. You might even launch a company in cooperation with other colleagues. Everything is possible if you do a little networking and build friendships with good people.
Learn outside of work
By definition, millennials are modern and proactive individuals. However, most of them focus on professional duties so much that they forget to think outside the box. You shouldn’t stop investing time and money into traveling, meeting different cultures and learning languages.
Everything you learn will help you stay open-minded and creative, which is the fundamental precondition for a fruitful career. The more you learn, the more natural you’ll fit into new business environments and stay above your peers.
Conclusion
As a millennial, you are probably still trying to find a workplace that completely fits your personal and professional interests. The labor market has changed drastically in the last couple of decades, so you need to play by the new rules.
In this post, I showed you seven career tips for millennials. Which suggestion do you consider to be the most important? Do you have other interesting ideas? Let us know about your own experiences in comments – I’d be glad to discuss this topic with you!
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About the Author Jade Parker
Jade Parker is a passionate e-commerce specialist. Years of business experience give her more than enough inspiration to write about Millennials and their career interests. Jade also contributes to the work of Assignment Masters, helping young professionals to conduct high-quality studies and presentations.