Tag Archives: american workforce

Challenges of the young professional

The workplace can be a difficult terrain to navigate for any and everyone. It does not matter if it is a blue collar construction job or a white collar administrator role. Every position and environment has their own challenges. Throw in a new batch of college or high school graduates into the mix and you have an interesting mix of dynamics in the work place. Being a young professional in the workplace myself, here are some first and second hand illustrations of potential challenges and how to get through them.

A common struggle is the matter of being discounted due to age. Everyone has a beginning and needs to learn but after a while, skills are obtained and innovations and insights are developed. For those who are young (or in some cases young looking) there is a need to take an extra step and work a little harder to establish credibility. You’re a seasoned, skilled professional with years of valuable experience under your belt. These tips can make sure all of those things shine through at work—even if your gray hair doesn’t.

Navigating the professional world can be a little tough so it is important to have a career plan and set yourself in the trajectory to reach your career goals via advocating for yourself and setting clear cut goals for yourself. Build your network and share your motivation with your manager/supervisor to help with crafting an action plan to get you where you want to be. Even if you’re starting your own business make sure to get connected and voice your aspirations with those who are and have been where you want to go.

Another important aspect in being a young professional is presenting yourself as such from your dress style, email and text etiquette, and how you communicate with others in a working capacity. That includes leaving the slang at the door during work hours because not everyone in the office is privy to the lexicon used on Instagram and other social media. Do not overconpensate by acting cocky but yet if you are skilled let it be on display in a way that doesn’t make you seem arrogant. And above all else be patient and humble and deliver constant results to show that despite your youthfulnes, you are a force to be reckoned with and the sky is the limit.

To the young and the young in heart I encourage you to use these principles and see how far they take you. Often times I hear “I’m/you’re too young/old” I am a believer that that is a crutch that is used to hold us back from your dreams. If a 20 year old can become a music producer and make over $160,000 a year, or a 80 year old pass the New York bar exam or start a business at 30 anything is possible. It all depends on the willingness to make things happen and the hunger to not stop until the goal is met and when the goal is reached they exceed it! Until next time readers. Excelsior!

Taking a time to take a time out

Here’s a cup of chill for your chill pill

Life moves fast. We’re constantly on the go and it is always a steady hustle and bustle. We as a society are busy to the point of it gets stressful to keep firing on all cylinders. One thing that is neglected often is the importance of having time to take off from our busy plates and take the time to recalibrate and rest.

As someone who is a self professed workaholic, i am an advocate of taking some time for a vacation or even a personal day to just unwind from being always “on”. There many benefits to being able to take some time for yourself especially for your career. Taking a personal day/vacation time is important for a healthy work life balance. Once you take some time off from what you have focused so much of your time and energy on you’ll find yourself psychologically refreshed , improved focus, overall better balance between work and life. You will also notice that you’ll have time to catch up on things you might not have had time for when you didn’t before and even time to enjoy things you normally don’t such as a hobby or time with loved ones. You don’t need to have a two week retreat to tahiti necessarily (though if you want to do that I say go for it!). Even if you take a personal day per month or a leave for specific purposes like our friends in the uk. You will be able to find a better balance and it will help you in your longevity and satisfaction in your career.

The workforce is changing and according to a study the work day has lengthened and people are taking less breaks making it harder to find balance. Did you know in 2018 768 million vacation days were left unused? That is a lot of unused pto that is lost if it’s not rolled over or cashed out. Some occupations lack paid time off which forces workers to miss pay if they are not present. We know making money is important but we are human and we have other obligations outside of our career such as family, friends, hobbies and interest and our own sanity. Our constantly bustling culture is making us lose our sense of self and lose sight of things we enjoy. If left unchecked there are consequences from our health, relationships and overall career satisfaction and performance (burnout, health issues, poor performance etc)

Taking time off is an often neglected part of our busybody culture. We need to place more emphasis on taking time to step away to refocus and recalibrate for the sake of longevity and satisfaction in terms of one’s career. For those that do not offer pto i encourage a way to find a way to make them happen and for those that do not take a personal day or vacation to take one. It will do wonders for you. Until the next time my friends excelsior!