Your career launch is about the biggest step you will have taken up to this point in your life. Make sure you don’t screw it up.
Honestly, there is very little risk of screwing it up.
I frequently speak with young people who are staring down this daunting situation. They are nearing the end of their business school education, agonizing about which companies they should target, the specific job they should go for, and how they should package their newly acquired knowledge to impress a suitor and land in just the right place. It is a very intimidating process, and they are searching for answers as they launch their career.
I tell them that these are important questions. Where you land for your career starting point does matter. But it doesn’t matter all that much.
First things first. You need a good situation so you can leverage that education, start earning income, afford things like a place to live, maybe something to drive, and food. Maybe you’ll start paying those student loans and just get into the adulting game. But in terms of your career path, where you start working is less important than just starting.
Here’s what I mean.
Knowledge
You learned a lot in business school. You got an overview of a ton of great subjects. You learned about finance, marketing, accounting, information sciences and other important functions. Maybe you went deep into one of those areas and chose it for your major. Perhaps you even did an internship or two to get some hands-on experience and appreciation for how they function in a real business setting. You now have a significant knowledge bank to bring to your first role in the business world.
When you do land that first job, you may discover something surprising. Your new employer is impressed with what you’ve learned. But not that impressed. That’s because they need to train you on how their business works. You need to learn company objectives, processes, and the culture around how work gets done in that company. Your learning has not stopped. It has only just begun.
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I tell students that by my simple math, you enter your first job after business school knowing about 20% of what you need to know to be successful in that first assignment. You will learn the other 80% on the job through onboard training, coaching and trial and error. In fact, the education you received in college will appear to have occurred in slow motion now that you are drinking from the fire hose of learning in your new job.
In my career, I spent time with 5 different organizations. I started out with that knowledge ratio too. I learned on the job. Each time I transitioned to a new role, I brought a slightly higher percentage of banked knowledge with me. Experience was my teacher. I banked what I learned and carried it with me as I went. When I got to the last stop in my career, it was closer to a 50-50 proposition with my new employer. I still only knew about half of what I needed to know to be successful. Only half. I knew I still had to keep learning.
Be Curious
I’ve interviewed and hired lots of people who were beginning on their career trajectory. I’ve seen countless approaches by candidates trying to make their best impression in those interviews.
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It is important to demonstrate the knowledge you bring to your potential employer during your application process and interview. The first thing I looked for in those candidates was whether they were smart. Did they seem to have learned a broad range of knowledge and skills and did they appear to have the ability to apply those in the role and in the company I represented? In a 60-minute interview, that took about 10 minutes.
I was also interested in whether they had made the effort to prepare properly for the interview. Did they research my company and our business? Did they have facts and figures at their fingertips that demonstrated they knew what business we were in and how we were doing? I wanted to know that they were not simply dressing nice and smiling to make a good impression and land the job. 10 more minutes.
But the bulk of my focus was to determine whether they had a robust curiosity about the role and the company and the challenges we faced. I wanted people that asked questions, listened attentively, and probed for clarity. Someone who put me on the spot to ask me what specific problems I was trying to solve, and what part they would play in solving them once they were hired. I wanted someone to ask me what kept me up at night. Then I wanted that person to commit to learning whatever they could to help solve those problems and offer to play whatever role necessary to be part of that solution. I was looking for attitude.
When a company hires a new employee, there is a deferred return on the investment they are making in you. I think about it this way. For the first 6 months, I am making an investment in you. I am going to train you and place you in situations designed to help you add to that 20% knowledge bank you brought to the company. I am losing money on you. In the next 6 months, you are getting up to speed on what you need to know to accomplish your tasks and become competent in your role. You and I are approaching a break-even point in terms of our value to each other. In your second year, you are proficient in your role. You are adding value with less direction. You are solving problems before I can see them. You are extending the company’s leverage through your ability to do your job well. The company’s investment in you is now paying dividends and your knowledge bank has grown. You are beginning to see future personal opportunities from a vantage point you didn’t have when you left business school.
Your Career Path
If I tried to write the plan from my first career station to my last, I would have failed. I started out after college managing inventories of spare parts for the Navy and eventually led a sales division in the food business. There was no possible way I could have seen my destination or even imagined it from my college graduation day.
Where I live in Colorado, lots of people like to climb “fourteeners.” That’s a mountain with a summit at least 14,000 feet above sea level. There are over 50 of them in Colorado. You can drive all over our state and see these magnificent peaks. When you decide to climb one though, often you can’t see the peak. You start at a trailhead and begin hiking, knowing that there’s a peak somewhere and you want to reach it. You follow signs and other people and pay attention to your progress and your breathing as you make your way up. Sometimes you come to a split in the trail, and you must make decisions about which way to go. Maybe you start off in one direction then realize you should have taken the other path, and you regroup and get back on track. When you finally reach the top, you enjoy the view and take a few pictures. And you marvel at how far you’ve come.
In your career, it is very difficult to see your destination from your first step onto the trail. You start on your career path and reach a waypoint. That knowledge bank of yours has swelled a little. You’ve met new people and been exposed to different experiences. You have continued to discern what you like to do and what you don’t like to do. What gives you energy and fulfillment. What does not. It is more likely that you will have enough competence and confidence to now climb to your next waypoint. Then you can continue that process and gradually make your way up your mountain.
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When you think about your first career step with the same magnitude as your career destination, it can easily become overwhelming. But that isn’t necessary. Just get onto the path and look for your first waypoint.
Yes, it does matter where you begin your career. But not as much as you think it does. Just get there, start learning more, and be open to wherever that leads you.
Lead well friends.
