Jimmy Beh

I often talk with students about what they want to do after school. I will go through a litany of questions with them surrounding their interests, their major, desired location, preferred company culture, salary etc.. The usual. And then, inevitably, at some point during my work with them, they will want to hear about what an industry or specific company is looking for in an applicant. “What will make me stand out,” they ask. To me, this is the wrong question (at least most of the time).

A small percentage of students already have an established set of values, goals, and a confident sense of self. This question, then, makes sense to ask because they are seeking to be coached on how to best articulate what they already know is important to them. However, a larger percentage of students ask this question with the unconscious expectation that I will tell them what the employer wants them to value and find important. The difference between these perspectives can have a profound impact on how you make meaning in your work and how you develop as a young professional. 

When you are able to articulate what you want to do (in work or life), you emanate a sense of self-confidence and conviction. Others can hear it in your voice. This conviction does not necessarily communicate that you have your entire life mapped out, but it does communicate that you have identified what is important to you and are excited about working to achieve it.

Let me give you an example of this. Take someone who is a senior in college that values sustainability and family. As they prepare to graduate with a degree in business, they decide that they want to live near their sister, who’s in San Diego. They also want their work to have a positive impact on climate change. This leads them to start looking at sustainability related positions in larger corporate firms in Southern California. This could give them the opportunity to help make a heavy polluting organization more environmentally conscious while being close to family.

Additionally, there may be other responsibilities they need to satisfy on top of just their values. They might also be looking at larger corporate firms instead of nonprofits because they want a higher base salary. This higher salary will allow them to afford living in Southern California while aggressively paying off their student loan debt.

I hope you can see from this example that you can have clear values imbedded within your professional goals without being overly restrictive about the company or job title. Therefore, there is no universal list for what should make up your criteria for what you want to. All that matters is that you have your own criteria that will allow your decisions to move you closer to your goals.

A DawgPatch Bandit mantra comes to mind; “You gotta line ‘em up, to knock ‘em down.”  Meaning: you can’t be guessing at what is moving you closer to your goals, it must be specific.

What is even more ironic about this dilemma is that when I connect with employers around what they are looking for in applicants (for nontechnical positions), they often share that they are looking for well rounded students that are reliable, have emotional intelligence, and have a desire to learn and grow. These attributes might be phrased differently from company to company, but, at the end of the day, these traits are at the core of what organizations are looking for. (it should go without saying– but you also need to have an interest and some working knowledge around whatever that company does).

So what should you do as you start taking this step from student to professional? The answer: be yourself. I know it’s cliché. It’s also really hard. 

I don’t believe in that strange, old adage, “if you love what you do, you won’t work a day in your life.” Bullshit! Work should be hard because it should challenge you to be creative, innovative, and to break past your limits (as an entrepreneur or within an organization). Meaningful work should challenge you to rise to the occasion and to give your best. You are going to have to hustle. This does not mean that you need to be redlining your energy levels everyday, but it does mean you show up everyday and give it genuine effort.

Let’s test this on a different subject. How about running? Courtney Dauwalter, one of the world’s best ultra runners– regardless of gender–, talks about getting to her “pain cave” during her races. Does that sound comfortable? I hope not. But she would attest that getting there and coming out the other side is immensely satisfying. Sure, she has won countless events– the same way successful professionals have made lots of money– but she does not run 100 mile races for the trophy or prize money. I am sure she enjoys the awards, prize money, and accolades, but she also knows those are bi-products of the joy she gets from working her hardest on the goals and values that are most important to her.

If Courtney’s aim was just the external reward for her athletic devotion, she would have probably chosen something more lucrative than endurance running. But she didn’t and that is the whole point. She made decisions about what was important to her and then followed through on that criteria. As a result, she has become an inspiring and accomplished professional athlete on her own terms.

You might be wondering what question should I ask if I am still figuring some of this stuff out? I would say ask yourself: “What are the values (aspects of my life) that are most important to me, what are some specific goals that I want to achieve based on these values?, and what companies or industries in the world of work can help me achieve these things?” You probably won’t have these answers magically come to you the first time you ask yourself these questions, and that is okay. I still encourage you to stick with it and reflect on them often. 

I know the approach I am suggesting is not easy. It requires you to develop a keen sense of self awareness as you decide on what is most important to you, and then act upon that decision. Ryan Holiday said it well in his most recent book, Courage is Calling, “Yet they not only decided, but they decided and focused on the scariest thing there is in this life; following through on your decision.” Zeno, the founder of Stoicism said, “the path to well being is realized by small steps, but it is truly no small thing.” Being a professional, regardless of industry or craft, is a big piece of what makes up your life’s experience. I encourage you to be intentional about how you make these decisions and courageous in following through on them.

I do want to also acknowledge that there is tremendous pressure on college students today to be successful after investing so much in a college education (whether it from their communities, their families or on themselves). As a professional in higher education, the phrase “return on investment” is mentioned almost daily. My intention is not to diminish that reality for folks. In fact, I would argue that things like financial stability and success should be strived for, but only as far as their attainment aligns with your personally defined goals and values. 

I hope the distinction I have drawn helps you understand how truly important it is to first clarify your values and goals. In doing so, you create your own criteria for what YOU want out of your work, and from there you can start creating your own internal scorecard to judge your progress. Through this you begin to slowly take ownership of your professional (and hopefully) personal development. This ownership will help fuel your self-confidence, which is vitally important as you face future tough decisions. The decisions do not get easier, you just get better.

I am by no means perfect with this. I have lived much of my early professional life outside of this philosophy. However, when I began making this shift in my own life over the last two years, I have found these small steps and perspective shifts to make a big difference in my personal levels satisfaction and my sense of agency. In the end, the goal is not perfection nor is it this mysterious hope that we “got it right” in choosing our current job or career path. It is the habit and practice of striving toward your own self-improvement. Striving to improve your art of living. Striving to really be yourself.