Those of us who are 29+ let's give advice to new graduates and those 17-24

[Ed MOTHERFUCKING G]

Here's a tough one

Don't talk so fukking much. You will avoid talking yourself into trouble, exposing your hand, and its an integral part of successfully navigating the workplace if you enter it. Nobody likes a gossip or a peacock.

 

[TwistedMetal]

this thread has given me hope

 

[Ello_Vee]

I like that way of saying it better... make a decision if you dont like the outcome after some time make another decision... thanks...

It helps take away the worry of making the "wrong" decision.

 

[Anti-Anime]

I'm there right now searching for a job with no experience and just a degree is fukking HELL. I keep dealing with these bullshyt ass staffing agencies that never lead anywhere too.

It is. Feels like you shaggy from scooby doo just opening countless random doors down a corridor to rooms that are empty. What made it worse for me was i actually had a pretty marketable degree, i just let interview failures and no call backs get to me

 

[Atsym Sknyfs]

Here's a tough one

Don't talk so fukking much. You will avoid talking yourself into trouble and its an integral part of successfully navigating the workplace if you enter it. Nobody likes a gossip or a peacock

To add to not talking.. especially in the workforce... I learned to a few things...

1) just because you know the answer sometimes you gotta shut up and let you supervisor speak and take the W... What i learned is just because you can talk; it doent mean you earned the right to be heard. the bosses will ALWAYS value the opinion of the boss over some worker...
You see it in movies all the time.. All the bosses in a room talking then some random person speaks and the boss is like who are you.. why are you here.. get him out here, etc.

2) dont tell anybody shyt... this way when somebody asks you about me or where i am or what im doing and you say "i dont know" .. you're telling the truth.. I dont need you trynna lie for me.

 

[No1]

Not "wear a condom" "don't drink and drive" type of advice. They've heard that. I'm talking about real...REAL LIFE advice that you learned the hard way.

I have a good friend who is 24 and regularly depressed and more so...feels lost.

Here's a secret for those of you who are too:

Nobody else knows what they're doing either. I have a very solid career but I am just going with the flow...regularly get the feeling I've fukked or am fukkin up...and feel lost. The most directed and driven people you know in life are actually lost like you too. Nobody decided "I'm going to be X" in hs or during college and then...did it...and if they did they have second thoughts and doubts every day. There is not a way you're supposed to be going, or a place you're supposed to be at a time in your life. Don't fall into those constructs. And don't get disappointed because you're not "there" yet.

I could continue but I'll pause there. Add on

I'm years away, but just to add--there is no such thing as absolute advice. So even with what Ed said here, there is clearly research and work to be done that can put you in a better position. You may not know what the final step is, but you should always be planning the next step or working towards. Ed did not get his position by sitting around in college waiting until senior year, last semester to be like "oh shyt..I'm about to be working..what do I do now?"

Second thing I will add, do not take anything in a business environment personal. You'll lose your sanity if you do.

 

[Atsym Sknyfs]

It helps take away the worry of making the "wrong" decision.

But there's no such thing as the "wrong" decision... why was it wrong.. because the outcome wasnt what you expected.... then you gotta have no expectations..

People sometimes expect to much of a "perfect" result and that is why have everybody gets a trophy now

 

[Sensitive Blake Griffin]

It is. Feels like you shaggy from scooby doo just opening countless random doors down a corridor to rooms that are empty. What made it worse for me was i actually bad a pretty marketable degree, i just let interview failures and no call backs get to me

I have a degree in accounting. Motherfukkers want you to have 5 years of experience for entry level jobs I had one really promising opportunity early on, hiring manager said I interviewed great but they went with a candidate with experience it crushed me and i haven't had any opportunities that were even close to as good since. I've just been in a "bleh" mode about everything.

 

[SouthernBelle]

I know the OP said no "wear condom" advice, but I just have to say PLEASE (breh and brehettes) avoid having unplanned children at all cost. I can not tell you know many people my age (29) tell me that they are so inspired by what I'm doing and wishing that they could do the same; however, they can't chase the opportunities they really want because they have other people to care for or they don't want to uproot their families. I know a man who literally had to turn Harvard down because he didn't want to make his wife and child move and struggle with him in Boston (which is cold and expensive).

Family planning is CRUCIAL for financial stability.

 

[Colicat]

Don't be afraid to move independently.... You will have to make a lot of difficult decisions .... One of them is knowing when to abandon friendships, relationships, and careers....

 

[Ed MOTHERFUCKING G]

What i learned is just because you can talk it doent mean you earned the right to be heard.

 

[Anti-Anime]

I have a degree in accounting. Motherfukkers want you to have 5 years of experience for entry level jobs I had one really promising opportunity early on, hiring manager said I interviewed great but they went with a candidate with experience it crushed me and i haven't had any opportunities that were even close to as good since. I've just been in a "bleh" mode about everything.

That experience shyt is the worst breh, i know it sounds cliche but keep your head up and keep casting out that net. I didnt get the shyt i wanted but I'm still looking at new opportunities and whatever's out there

 

[TL15]

I have a degree in accounting. Motherfukkers want you to have 5 years of experience for entry level jobs I had one really promising opportunity early on, hiring manager said I interviewed great but they went with a candidate with experience it crushed me and i haven't had any opportunities that were even close to as good since. I've just been in a "bleh" mode about everything.

next time make up a reference of a small company and have a friend verify for you say you were the accountant of a startup that went under and give your friend's number as a reference. You have to be creative to get your foot in the door. If you CAN do the job and are qualified other than experience then you gotta do what you gotta do to get ahead.

Worst case scenario you don't get the job...same position you were in anyway.

 

[Ello_Vee]

But there's no such thing as the "wrong" decision... why was it wrong.. because the outcome wasnt what you expected.... then you gotta have no expectations..

People sometimes expect to much of a "perfect" result and that is why have everybody gets a trophy now

Exactly, hence using quotation marks around "wrong". Some of us get caught in analysis paralysis, trying to anticipate every outcome in order to choose the best one, but never being able to choose. So. Just decide, act, and know that (for most things) you can make another decision and change.

 

[Atsym Sknyfs]

To those who finished school and not working or not making 6 digits..

The world doesnt owe you a thing and it doesnt owe you a job making 6 digits. In the early 00s thats how the world made things seem and its not true.. I say this because i had a boy who didnt want to take lesser jobs becuase he felt that since he went to school and xyz... he deserved a job making abc and it wasnt happening and he got depressed.

When i entered the workforce in 95 i was glad to take the entry level job at 18k a year...
When i was layed off in 2002 and didnt find a job until 1 year later... Yes it was less but i was glad to be working and ultimately it was more since it was closer to home, less gas money, less car wear and tear, etc..

You gotta sometimes take the lesser job just to get your foot in the door. once you're in keep checking the job listing board.

My wife got pregnant when i got layed off and it hurt me that throughout the entire pregnancy i didnt have a job.. i was paying my mortgage using unemployment...