10 Lessons I’ve Learned Being in the Workforce in My 20’s
Photo courtesy of Unspalsh
Disclaimer: This is an opinion editorial. All views are of the writer.
At age 24, I’ve been through Hell and back with so many lessons that I’ve learned throughout these years. While some people may argue I’m still only in my early 20s, that’s coming from a place of dismissiveness. I started working in the ‘real world’ at around 22, then got back into academia for a graduate degree that never stuck to my values, THEN left that school and am working in retail management. Despite setbacks and heartbreak, the beauty of it all is self-reflection. You get back up, dust yourself off and move forward.
Here are the lessons I’ve learned throughout my 20s—so far:
You Don’t Owe Your Job Anything.
Call me the typical “lazy” Gen-Z in the workforce, but I don’t care. If you want to take a ‘X’ amount of vacation days, take them and let your employer feel some type of way. Some employers can also be able to terminate someone’s position without notice, but some do not like it when you want to leave without any notice? You don’t owe your job anything or need to feel some sort of guilt if you want to dedicate time to yourself, especially if you are an at-will employee. Who cares about your job’s feelings?
Managers Do Not Always Make Great Leaders.
This is whole another conversation for another post. Leadership is often by objective, but management is by metrics and maintenance of the organization’s structure. Leaders set the direction and place value on the organization to achieve their goals. Managers handle a plethora of responsibilities, from planning to coordinating projects, they’re most often involved in creating metrics in order to reach goals. Leaders and managers are used interchangeably. University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business professor, Allison Hamilton, also attested that managers do not make great leaders.
“Unless you have good, committed, motivated people in that system, then an organization is not going to be successful,” she said.
You will see this in a lot of organizations that managers are not the best at leading by example and delegating situations in the workplace because of their own roles and responsibilities are often overwhelming, so it’s important for you to step up and ask, “how can I help to achieve these goals for the organization as X?” Not only will this make you a dependable person, but you can grow into a leadership or management role in the future faster than you think.
Your Job Position Does Not Define Your Whole Life.
While being a reporter is a public figure both inside and outside my work, but I never let the job I loved so much define who I am as a person. What was more important to me were the skills and contributions I made to my community that fulfilled me, NOT making my job my whole identity. It is what you do for a living…but your are not and will never be your job and SHOULD remain that way. Your position is your role that was given to you, but if that role was taken away from you, you are still YOU. It does not define your worth, your happiness, nor who you are and who you’ve become.
Find Your Passion.
You’re young! You’re still going to work jobs that will not always make you happy, so make time for your passions. The more you find your passions now, the more you’ll be able to do it as an occupation later in life. It’ll teach you a lot about yourself, but it’ll teach to do something that makes you happy. I’m glad I got the opportunity to have my passion as my professional career right after college because being a reporter was never considered ‘work’ to me. It was a purpose, it was a chance to make an impact. Sounds like such a pageant answer—I know, but it was truly a job I loved.
People Talk, But Don’t Listen.
Gossip and drama are how the world runs around, whether you like it or not. The drama never stops after high school or college. People will always find a way to have something to say behind other’s backs. The amount of gossips I have encountered in the workplace is so absurd that it makes me wonder how truly people want to make other’s lives miserable with their misinformation. It also did not help that at the first institution I was attending, the small cohort loved gossiping about who was hooking up with who, judging each other’s character and made it such an all around toxic environment. Don’t listen. Don’t get involved. Don’t give two damns about what people have to say about you and your character. Be the bigger person. Stay in your lane. Period.
How You Speak Will Determine How People Feel About You.
I remember I did an article on Women’s Day back in March 2023 and I interviewed some female school board members and heard what they have to say for girls who aspire to be in public service.
School board member and math teacher, Amber Lipscomb said something that really did struck me,
“Remember, someone is always watching,” the long-time educator said. “Be sure that in any situation you’re in, remember that someone is always watching how you react, what you say, and the things that you do.”
“So, make sure you are observant in how you speak to people because everybody knows this quote, ‘people don’t remember what you say, but they do remember how you made them feel,’” she added.
Consider your tone, consider how you deliver your words to people and how they would react. Being in a certain position such as leadership doesn’t warrant you to control people and carry yourself to have an authoritative personality. It is not effective, nor would want to make people work with you. Even I am still learning about how to deliver my words to people, so they won’t view me as a microaggressive leader. It’s insanely HARD to be considerate of others and how they view you in the workplace because everyone has different personalities and you have to work with that.
Misogyny and Sexism Still Exists.
Misogyny still exists in micro aggression forms. While we’ve made a lot of progression throughout the years in the workforce, we still have a lot of work to do. The amount of double standards I’ve encountered not only in the workplace, but also in the first graduate school I was in is beyond me. Not only have I personally felt underestimated, but I’ve also been judged more than my former male classmates. You can and will never end misogyny or sexism. There’s always people who are more conservative and hold traditional values on women being leaders than in the kitchen, but the best thing you can do, slap them in the face by showing women are capable and need to be respected in all forms regardless.
True Leadership Comes from Within.
True leadership is what you value as a person and how you empower others to do the same. It is not control, wearing too many hats, nor being the best out of everyone. I believe leadership is not born, but it is earn through merit by growing into the role by succession planning. Some have this quality, some don’t and that’s completely ok.
F*ck that Imposter Syndrome of Yours.
F*CK IT. TELL IT TO GO TO HELL. Don’t compare your success to others. It’s like social media; just because you see the highlights and accomplishments that someone deemed ‘more successful than you’ has shared, doesn’t mean that is the full story. Making a $100k salary seems sexy and exciting, but it also comes with costs, especially on the job, such as not having a good work-life boundary, being in a toxic work environment and so forth. Imposter syndrome will never completely go away, but it’s more of a matter where you simply cannot compare someone’s path to yours if you ever feel like you’ve never done enough. Focus on who you are as a person, your career and how you gotten where you are.
Enjoy the Amazingness Your 20s Has to Offer.
As much as people can underestimate you, they envy your age. Yeah, sure, you may be insecure, uncertain of your future and broke af, but don’t ever think your time is running out. You should never take opportunities such as traveling, hanging out with close friends and doing things you never thought you would do for granted. Don’t let those personal opportunities outside of work pass you by. Have fun. Make mistakes and learn a valuable lesson from them. Speak up. Don’t be afraid to take risks.
Good Luck,—Paula J.P.