The Mentor | #59 | Graduate
Each month, I share 3 things I’ve read on skills, careers, and personal development.
“My career was a jungle gym, not a ladder.” - Susan St. Ledger
If you are graduating from University this year- congratulations.
First, optimize for experience. It’s tempting to focus on salary, title, or how fast you can level up. But what matters most in these early years is experience—real experience. Optimize for what you’ll learn, not what you’ll earn. Join a team where you’ll see things get built, problems get solved, people get pushed. Don’t chase compensation, chase exposure.
Second, learn more- and faster. The first few years of your career should feel like grad school. Learn more and faster than you ever have before. Read constantly. Take notes. Ask questions. Go deep on topics your coworkers only skim. You don’t need to be the smartest person in the room—but you should be the most curious.
Third, invest in relationships. Remember, your career won’t be a straight line. It won’t be a staircase with predictable steps—it’ll be a jungle gym. You’ll move sideways, diagonally, even backward before leaping forward. The people you meet along the way—classmates, coworkers, mentors—will open doors for you, if you cultivate those relationships intentionally. Don’t just build a network; build relationships. This normally starts with ‘giving’ before ‘receiving’.
Lastly, work hard. Given the way that companies have changed (remote work, part-time work, project-based work, etc.), it can be easy to be active (but not productive) or to be inactive (preferring the next Netflix episode over progress). Fight this urge. There is nothing as difficult, nor as fulfilling, as working hard, seeing success, suffering through things that don’t work, and getting back up. Distraction is the great thief of potential. Protect your time. Earn your momentum.
I believe the next 20 years will provide more opportunity than the previous 100 years combined. Don’t be afraid of technology. Learn it and embrace it. That alone will put you ahead of most of your class (and the classes that came before you). Good luck and my hope for you is a strong work ethic and an insatiable desire for excellence.
1
A timeless commencement-style message: Forget titles, focus on the work. A reminder that “entry-level” jobs often aren’t about what’s on your business card—they’re about how well you show up.
2
On the days you feel lost, return to this.
3
Ten powerful principles for changing the world—starting with making your bed.
I completely agree that the next 20 years is shaping to be an exciting period. With new technologies and the global challenges we are facing, I think Gen-Z have a lot to go at and can certainly change the world for the better!