A Realistic Career Guide
I know I’ve talked about why I quit my 9-5 (where I detail why I started this website) and 5 lessons I learned from having a 9-5 (a little too generic, and I barely scratched the surface about career). But I have a good reason about writing this one. I recently came across this sentence and I was shook to my very core:
For many people, ‘twenty years of experience’ is really one year of experience repeated twenty times." – Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn’s Founder
For the longest time, I thought experience was everything. I’m not denouncing experience though. It can be a valid marker but sometimes, it’s simply not. Let me elaborate. I did my degree in a private university, which was relatively new and unknown back then. Looking at my monthly tuition fees, which my parents were very kindly paying for, I decided I can’t take any more money from them and started looking for part time jobs to support myself. Somehow, by pure luck, the first job I came across involved some amount of research. When I finished that job and started looking for other jobs, I quickly came to realize that with my just okay grades (strike 1) from a private university (strike 2), and inability to speak Mandarin (strike 3), I’m not going to get a proper job when I graduate. I also decided to focus on “research” as my career track and started looking into internships and more part time jobs along that line so as to build up my resume. If not for my grades, I could at least get something with my “experience”, right? It wasn’t easy. “Only students from local three universities may apply” and “candidate needs to have a working knowledge of Mandarin in order to liaise with Mandarin speaking associates” were rampant and unforgiving. But I also refused to give up because to me, research seemed like a good career path and I thought I had to have experience to get a job. I relentlessly applied, I took a semester off from school to do an internship, I took 3 modules instead of the standard 4 in my last year of college and worked out my timetable to accommodate for my part time job.
I now realize that it wasn’t the “experience” that got me my full-time job. It was my skills. My “experience” on my resume simply proved that I was skilled. Later on, when I was trying to make a career switch, I came across a job that was the perfect harmony between creative writing and data analysis. My application was rejected. I was really upset, and I just wanted to know why I had been rejected. I noticed that the email was from the person who could have been my supervisor rather than the generic HR board, and so, I emailed back, very politely, sharing that while I respect his decision, I wanted to know for my own understanding about what was lacking in my resume. By the way, don’t be afraid to ask! Even about why you were rejected for something. We have a very “don’t question authority” culture here. I’m aware that in this case I was questioning someone of a “Western” culture, but I have asked plenty of questions in my jobs here too. It’s all about the phrasing and timing really. I also put on my best “I’m harmless and adorable” expression. Anyway! He replied back! With a very friendly, and extremely helpful email and it was there I understood that while I qualified with experience, it wasn’t demonstrated through the exact skill set they were looking for (different companies have different ways of doing things).
It’s not experience per se that gets you a job these days. It’s the fact that your experience captures your skills.
Most of my readers are around my age – and this is the age group where people fall into 3 categories: 1) they have a career, 2) they have had a job so far and now want to make it a career or 3) they are looking to make a career switch. #2s, #3s, here’s the good news: It’s not too late. Start NOW! The only thing holding you back from your potential career is not your degree or your experience. It’s your skills. Start educating yourself on the field. On the skills that are relevant to the career. Also educate yourself on the outlook of the career. Poke around on what furthering in the career looks like, what are the skills you need to do that, etc. UDemy, Coursera and Skillshare are great places to look for online courses. Singaporeans! You can deduct the cost of some of these courses from SkillsFuture! (Tried and tested! It’s how I taught myself “R”). Just remember to look it up under available courses first.
Your resume needs to show volunteer work/internships/education/experience with the skills that your career demands. If you don’t know what skills your career needs, reach out to people. Ask around, get help. Someone WILL help. Show interest and initiative. If you’re looking to turn your job into your career, prove to people you are invested. Example: if you want to get on the board, look professional. Don’t show up in sloppy t shirts and jeans. It’s not just for other people, it also reminds you of what you want. I’m sure as with any company, there will be talk about “connections” when getting on the board, so build your own as authentically as you can.
If you’re looking to make a career switch, start out your new career as a side hustle. Slowly work on developing the skills that career needs. If you’re looking to launch a career, ask yourself if what you are doing right now can be translated as skills on your resume. If it’s a no, see what can be done. If you, like me, want to quit your current job to work on your new career make sure you have enough finance to tide you over for a realistic period of time. I would say 1 to 2 years. You also need a certain… let’s call it resilience – to sit at home unemployed, penniless for months in succession. You will inevitably get sucked into a void of self-doubt, poor self-worth and negativity and despite all that, you have to find ways to be your own cheerleader. Even if you have the most supportive friends in the world. It WILL be difficult but if you believe in yourself, things WILL pay off. Just remember to give it time.
Not to dampen your spirits but keeping in line with the “realistic” theme – know when to quit and know that it’s not necessary to make your passion your career. There is simply far too much emphasis on pursuing your passion these days – Yes you should pursue your passion, but your passion doesn’t have to be your moneymaker. It’s as simple as that. Your passion is to feed your soul, not necessarily your bank account. And yes, I know it’s coming from me but refer to post on “Why I quit my 9-5”. I’m also a very Plan A or bust person. I don’t believe in Plan Bs. It’s part foolishness and part tenacity. Also, what works for me, doesn’t have to work for you. Your passion can be your hobby – example, you like to write, do your blog over the weekend.
The question to ask yourself constantly is “So you want to be a (insert job). What are you doing about it?” And remember, at the end of the day, you get what you’re willing to settle for. Not just career, but also, finance, relationships and life. Make sure it's worth it.
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