If you are twenty-something-years-old having reckless fun and wandering about with no time to think about tomorrow, it is time for a reality check. Psychological research shows that 80% of the events that affect you and the people that influence you occur during your twenties. This means that these are the defining years of your adulthood.
Capitalising on the second decade of your life for professional and personal gains as opposed to the age old myth of taking things easy in your twenties is the latest trend. You should be working on the foundation of your career starting from right now.
This is a checklist of to-dos in your 20s for a life-time career boost.
Value time: The time you are wasting today cannot be bought back. In their 20s, people are deluded into believing that there is still time to "waste" and "figure it out." Sadly, there isn't. You should make the most of your opportunities in these crucial years of your life.
Work your assets off: Talent is cheap but dedication is expensive. You might be the most creative and knowledgeable person around but if your talent cannot bring in results, it is just wasted potential. Seeing your colleagues so confident and poised at their jobs should not shake your confidence in the early days of your job. There is a difference between knowing your job well and mastering your job. It takes 5 years and about 10,000 hours, to master any skill. Learn as much as you can from your first job; give time and dedication to get good at it.
Tweet less, read more: Read in-depth instead of headlines and 140-character tweets. When you are forced to read a book, your creativity, thoughtfulness and thinking skills are enhanced. The key to your future success depends on the experiences of those in the past. Read books and see your career flourish.
Enhance your technical expertise: Long gone are the days when you could simply make do with proficiency in Microsoft Office to get away with computer skills in your resume. With the rising influence of the IT sector in every industry, it is prudent to gain credentials in advanced computer skills like Photoshop, HTML/CSS, WordPress, MySQL etc. Since some of your brain wiring still continues to develop in your 20s, it is the best time to invest time learning new skills.
Settle down with the best job you find: As odd as it sounds to suggest settling down in one's twenties, research has found that more than 65% of lifetime wage growth happens in the first ten years of one's career. If you keep swinging from job to job in your 20s thinking more opportunities lie ahead, then chances are that you will spend your 40s regretting these swings, when salaries peak and level-off. The string of random jobs during 20s then seems substantially costly. Hence it is wiser to look for a footing in the job market with the best job offer in hand.
