Career Kickstarting Tips for Gen Z!
Are you born somewhere between the late 1990’s and early 2010’s?
Are you just out of school, or about to graduate?
And are you feeling a bit worried about how to start your career?
Don’t worry, Gen Z, we have your back!
As a first-time job seeker, or a budding young professional, there are a lot of mistakes you can make early on that will stop you from gaining momentum in your career. But these can also be excellent learning opportunities for the forward-thinking person.
Today, we’re going to help you learn from the mistakes others have already made, so you can skip the small hurdles and focus on bigger challenges — like discovering what it is you’re really passionate about!
So here are a few of the biggest mistakes young job seekers make, and what you can do to avoid them so you can kickstart your career!
Not being flexible
Employers can offer you a lot of opportunities for growth. But if they don’t trust you to take on new challenges, they won’t be as likely to offer you new opportunities.
Being flexible means being adaptable and being able to pivot quickly when new difficulties arise — like a global pandemic!
Not being proactive
Unlike school, where you are on a track, you need to be more proactive to get more out of your career.
So to prevent your career from going off the rails, be proactive and create a plan for yourself. Decide what skills you need to work on, and how you will help yourself improve them.
Not making connections
It’s important to make connections with your peers and mentors, and also to maintain those relationships over time.
They say that your network is your net worth, so be sure to invest in professional connections whenever you can. These could be former classmates, teachers, or even other professionals in your preferred industry.
Not knowing what you want
Applying for jobs you don’t want is one of the biggest traps that can waste your time and slow your growth.
Even if you don’t know EXACTLY what you want, that’s ok. You will learn about specific opportunities and professions as you move towards your goal. But before you can get moving, you at least have to pick a direction.
Never go after a job that doesn’t match your personal goals or values. Not only will you be unhappy and lose motivation, but employers are less likely to hire someone who doesn’t align themselves with the company’s values in the first place.
Needing to be trained on the basics
There are some skills that can be taught, and some which can only be learned.
Things like punctuality, how to dress yourself, managing deadlines, communication, personal hygiene, etc.
There are lots of tips on how to improve your soft skills, but at the end of the day it’s up to you to hone your soft skills yourself. Employers often feel frustrated that they need to teach their employees how to be employees in the first place, so take some time to work on these essential skills on your own!
Not making their resume relevant
You might not have a long history of work to put on your resume. But that doesn’t matter nearly as much as making your resume relevant!
You need to look at job requirements closely to identify keywords and skills that you can then relate to your own experience. Don’t be afraid to include non-work experience such as volunteering or extracurriculars — so long as you can show how they helped you become a qualified candidate!
A long resume that doesn’t show any related experience is worth a lot less than a short one that does.
Not taking notes on life
Keeping a journal or notes about your professional life can help you study your career the way you study for exams!
Record important things like work ideas, or meetings and interviews, and keep track of important dates. Use it to review your progress towards your goals, and to make informed decisions about your future.
Not asking for advice
The people who know the most about any industry are the ones who love to learn.
If your goal is to become an expert one day, then start talking to experts today! Finding a mentor is a lot easier than most people think — most professionals will happily talk about their career if you ask.
And that mentor can guide you through even more obstacles you might experience in your early career!
Not showing interest in employers
This is especially important after being rejected for a job you’ve applied to. Do not turn around and talk down about them to other people, or burn your bridge with the recruiter.
At all times, you should be mindful of showing employers that you are actively interested in the job you’re applying to. This means doing research, asking questions, offering to go the extra mile, etc.
And if you find it hard to show genuine interest, ask yourself: are you really even interested?
Not leveraging social media
Your generation grew up with social media already being a big part of your lives. But not everyone did, and sometimes they forget how critical it is for today’s workforce.
Employers will research you online before hiring you. So you need to a) clean up any inappropriate content about you online, and b) create some professional content (or profiles on professional platforms like LinkedIn).
Consider your online presence as part of your modern day resume.
Conclusion
META has helped generations of job seekers at all points in their career — and now we’d love to help you with yours!
If you’re looking for free 1-on-1 help with kickstarting your career, reach out to us today!
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