One of the few things that Millennials are afraid of is that of the feeling of being left behind, they feel like they had to know what they were supposed to do with their lives, and if they don’t, they’d fall behind and never catch up. And of course, people in their 20’s have high hopes for themselves on fulfilling their dream careers, that they all want to feel like they’re doing better than everybody else around them. They want to be in-pace with everyone at their age, and as they cross the 20-something-year-old threshold, they are most probably be feeling the twenty-something blues; the feeling of being scared, little, and confused. And let me tell you something, it is perfectly FINE! You are young, you are free, and you can pretty much do anything that your mind is set up for. Being in your 20’s is fun, super exciting but also pressuring. So, as a newbie, even if you’re not sure of what you want to do yet, even if you feel underqualified, or don’t think to have the “enough” and “right” experience, and even if you feel little in a big world full of professionals, it’s okay. All you need to do is to have the fit and right mindset to start your journey. 1. It’s fine to not know what to do yet. You don’t know what to do? It’s fine, use it as an advantage. What most people don’t recognize is that it’s fine to not know what to do yet. Most of them assume that not knowing where you’re heading and what to do in life is a huge negative. But to be honest, being absolutely certain about things that you want to actually do is a disadvantage itself. If you do not know what you want to do yet, you have one of the greatest advantages of all – you get to be curious. You get to discover things that other people might not know, as you also get to be a little kid again and explore. 2. Be humble and take what you can get In today’s world, admit it or not most Millennials are entitled. They demand something so great, especially for jobs that they expect and want. And at their very young age with no experience at all, it is quite hard for someone to land a “good job” or your dream job, for that matter, right after graduating college. Be humble and work your hardest, and eventually you’ll find a job that will keep you afloat – and at a young age, that is more than okay. Take what you can get; you never know what lies ahead. You never know what opportunities await, and you certainly don’t know what the future holds. Take a job that will feed you first before finding a job that will feed your heart. 3. Sometimes passion follows hard work Most of the time you would hear people say that you’ll work even harder if your work is also your passion. In some nature, yes, it is true. But there are also cases where passion follows hard work and not the other way around. You see, once a person realizes that they are good at something that they do, they’re becoming more passionate about that certain thing, up until they realize that “hey, I like doing this thing”. Though in reality, to be able to really be good at something is actually quite hard. You’ll go through periods of feeling giving up. Points where you will feel like not working anymore. And that’s okay. Working hard is boring. Plus, it’s also impossible for someone to not get bored for doing something over and over again. But keep in mind that once you get really good at something, you’ll see the impact you’re having, the value you’re creating, and feel that deep sense of accomplishment. And that will then be your passion. 4. Find an Adviser Mentors are good for feedback loops and for leveraging your experience, which can certainly accelerate your growth. And as a newbie, you would probably be needing someone that can help you adapt to the new environment that awaits you. Therefore, finding someone that you can ask for advice is quite essential to further your understanding. Finding a mentor is the closest thing to a “shortcut” to success. 5. Keep learning Try not to remain at one location for too long. Diversify your work history while you’re still young. You got a lot of time to play with your choices. Take classes, or take opportunities that your mentors or your workplace offers you to learn. Also, you don’t really have to dig deep into them. Just a little exposure to a new skill will give you a better perspective on things that you may want to pursue in the future, and may eventually be your own personal brand. For in this ever-changing field, it is vital to have the mindset of always being eager to learn and grow no matter the place in one’s career. 6. Take a risk Being in your 20’s, you actually don’t have anything to be afraid of. Dear, you don’t have anything to lose. Now is the perfect time to take that leap of faith and risk. I say, go for it. If it scares you, then you MUST go for it. You might not get this chance ever again. 7. Screw up You heard it right. Yes, screw up. Make mistakes. Make dumb decisions. Go with your craziest and careless options. Feel the sense of things not working out. Because at your age, to be honest, it’s not going to matter that much, you may want to actually have it this early than later. As you will probably feel more secure, relaxed, and at peace with the idea of failure, and lastly, you’ll get to learn from experience – the best teacher of all. So, go out there and don’t be afraid to mess up. You have your whole life ahead of you – you might even thank yourself later.

Photo credited to Art by Vector Toons and licensed under Creative Commons After the invention of so many tools to produce goods and services, and the system to make production smoother, people made careers. By the way, what are careers? It’s a culmination of your work experience, education, and training. It could be your job where you started flipping burgers until you became the head chef. It could be your first job doing data encoding until you become a multi-skilled programmer. Jobs versus Careers Jobs and careers are two different things. A job means any type of work done for a short time. For your first two years, you started as a driver and after two years, you resigned and began a job as a computer technician. On the other hand, careers refer to the same job you held from the start as a novice until you get promoted to a managerial position or resigned and held the same job at another company. Career refers to a work where you started or grew to use the same skills while trying to hone them with experience. Careers are long term while jobs are short term. Reasons why I shouldn’t be afraid to change careers •  Changing a career opens the door to more opportunities  One of the factors of success is taking a calculated risk. Taking risks is getting out of the comfort zone where you are stuck in the same position for five years without being promoted or getting a pay raise. You could be doing the same job - washing plates or cleaning the kitchen for 3 years. While you do your work you may begin feeling the resentment of not getting a pay raise or promotion and then your aversion to your present job will cause a toll on your performance. If you are on the same boat with others who are sure that their organizations are not providing better career opportunities, you have to look for new jobs. New careers can lead to better working conditions, company and career path. •  Change for job security Sometimes because of the slowing economy, some companies with slow sales and productivity may or might end bankrupt. If you are one of the employees of those companies, you should start planning to make some emergency measures in case your employer’s business closes. Watch out for future threats such as jobs that may disappear because of automation or robots.  According to Forbes and other internet sources, these jobs may disappear in the near future or next decade because of automation or the use of robots. Cashiers Electronic assemblers Fishermen Sewing machine operators Switchboard operators Telemarketers If you do one of those jobs above, you may start bulletproofing your career by training for jobs that are: Creative jobs - Jobs that require creativity and higher skills such as Writing, Database Administration, programming and arts. Relationship-based - Jobs such as a social worker, lawyers, teachers, healthcare social workers, a lawyer. While the above-threatened jobs mentioned from those sources may sound far-fetched, it can be close to reality as technology is getting smarter. Changing a career is a safe detour against falling into the unemployment or underemployed trap. •  Diversify your skills Like the weather, the economy can be unpredictable. You may never know what comes next to the most-in-demand job, and what are the jobs to be hit next. Diversifying your skills can help you get ready for lay-offs and career changes. Studying one or two more skills doesn’t mean jack of all trades and master of none but a jack of all trades and master of some. You can be a writer and at the same time skilled in programming or graphic design.  •  Follow what you love There’s nothing more energy zapping than doing a job that offers no career growth. Such a job can send your motivation into plummet, lower your productivity, raise your stress levels and affect your health. Following what you love and motivates you can be rewarding as it suits your passion.  •  You might be ready Being ready means you have enough cash to cover your unemployment period and the necessary training and skills to land in a new career, although it’s best to quit your present job until you find a new one. For example, if you want to shift from welding to information technology to Engineering, you should have enough cash to cover your bills and the right experience and skills to land even in junior positions. You can hone your skills while you are still employed by doing part-time studies or studying during day offs.   •  You are now ready and got compelling reasons to switch careers Now, it’s beyond a reasonable doubt that - you’ll get the next job, you got some savings to survive during the job-search period and you got these reasons to switch careers: You’re stressed You’re always burned out You have always think about resigning Your current job doesn’t interest you anymore   Two career paths for two people  If not planned correctly, you could end up stuck in the same old job and pay scale. For example, below are the career paths for two people who took the same education. Person Three years ago One year ago Now   X   Took the HRM Course Started working in a restaurant by preparing mise en place (preparing of ingredients). Decides to learn skills to get a good paying job Studied HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) and culinary training skills Gets promotion from steward to Chef de Partie Earns $9 =/hour Finishes HACCP and culinary training Gets promoted to Chef de Cuisine and earns $10/hour.   Y   Took the HRM Course Started working in a restaurant by preparing mise en place. Decides to seek for a job that pays well Quits the job and lands in a factory Earns $10/hour Laid-off after the factory closes. Works as a waiter Earns $6/hour Don'ts of changing careers Basing your career change decisions to pad your wallet - Doing so can lead to job dissatisfaction. Quitting but not ready - It’s a hassle if you don’t have not enough savings to cover your bills while job hunting or an incoming new job. Rushing your decision too quickly - Without analyzing what makes you unhappy in a job can lead to hurried decisions that you’ll regret later. You might be unhappy with your boss, a bad week, a bad day or your colleagues - but are those really your reasons to quit your job? Not researching your job market - Applying for jobs after jobs without researching is like firing with a shotgun or throwing darts blindfolded. Stay current with job trends on your skills and industry.  Not tapping your network - Networks are people that could be your friends, classmates, work colleagues, relatives, customers and even your fiance. Not contacting your network can decrease your chances of landing a new job. Actively informing those who can potentially help can help you ease your job search and minimize rejections. The Bottom line You shouldn’t be afraid to change careers because it’s a way to seek a better opportunity. Changes are constant and it will happen. Changing careers is a way to survive in an ever-changing job market. Make sure to be ready by planning, researching, tapping your networks and avoiding career change mistakes.  Reference: 1 - https://www.forbes.com/pictures/lmj45ighg/top-20-disappearing-jobs/