When it comes to work, one of the things I most enjoy is being able to share career insight and guidance with young entrepreneurs and career-seekers. Lately, it seems that the word on everybody’s mind is “millennial.” The young generation of professionals and entrepreneurs thinks about things differently than previous generations, choosing to seek professional paths closer to what they naturally enjoy and are good at – and that’s not a bad thing at all!
One individual who knows quite a bit about millennials is Jamie Wright, a renowned millennial lawyer and political pundit. With a ‘most influential under 40’ award to her name, Wright holds a law degree, a master’s degree in history, and enjoys weighing in on millennial issues. Today, I’m happy to share her insight on choosing a professional path. Read on for her razor-sharp tips on getting ahead.
For the Millennials: Some Tips on Choosing Your Professional Path
Millions of millennials (those who were born since 1980) are in the midst of paving their professional paths. They are choosing careers, earning their educations, and deciding which direction their career path will take. What millennials care about when it comes to choosing a professional path differs somewhat from prior generations. According to Gallup, nearly 60 percent of millennials find work-life balance to be crucial, and they believe it’s important to have a job that promotes their wellbeing.
“As millennials, we want to make a difference in the world and we want to enjoy what we spend our time doing,” explains Jamie Wright, a renowned millennial lawyer and political pundit. “We are a generation that largely values experiences over things we can purchase, and our career is an experience that is important to us.”
Defining wellbeing, Gallup found that what is most important to millennial career seekers includes liking what you do and having a sense of purpose. Jamie is one of those millennials who can relate, and shares these tips for choosing a professional career path:
- Determine your passions.Experiment with some jobs and hobbies to see what type of career gets you excited. While you may not always completely follow your passion when choosing a career, it’s a good idea to make sure you enjoy what you will spend your career doing.
- Look beyond demographics. Don’t worry about who has historically dominated the field. That shouldn’t stop anyone from going forward and seeking a career in a particular field. Just because men or women have always done a particular job doesn’t mean that you can’t change that.
- Get the skills you need. It takes training and experience to become an expert at something. Put the time in to get the education and training that you need to go forward.
- Seek out successful professionals to network with. Whether they are in the same field or not, you can learn a lot from them. If you can find a mentor in the field, be sure to take advantage of all you can learn from that person.
- Avoid being caught up by challenges.If a challenge arises, find your way around it. Then keep going. For every problem, there is a solution. See challenges as a test of your commitment to reaching your goals.
- Be realistic.Realize that no matter what career path you decide on, you will start somewhere near the bottom. Don’t let that bring you down. See it as a stepping stone and start using what you learn there to move on up the ladder.
- Become a positive thinker.If you have been a pessimist in the past, now is the time to leave that behind and start using the laws of attraction to help bring you the things you want. Focus on being positive and striving to reach your goals.
“Choosing a career path and seeing it through is a challenging and exciting time of your life,” added Wright. “There are so many possibilities and options, you just need to decide what you want to do and start marching toward it. It’s well worth it and you will be happy once you get there.”
For more information about Jamie Wright, visit her website at: www.jamiewrightesq.com.
