career — alexcampione

“Do what you love.” “You can be whatever you want to be.” “Shoot for the stars.”

Often, my generation is criticized as having “special snowflake” syndrome, that is, the innate belief that you are different, and therefore more special, than your peers. I believe this is a result of our parents generation being more privileged than our grandparents, coupled with coming of age in the wake of the internet -where we’ve been publicly posting about ourselves and how unique we are since we were preteens.

My parents always told me phrases such as the aforementioned. They wanted me to embody the love they have for me in all that I do, and therefore did not want me to sell myself short, always believing I was deserving of better. This statement is not to knock my parents expression of love (and this type of mentality is a phenomenon realized in my generation of ‘millennials), but rather, to highlight the type of person this would make me — an idealist.

When told “do what you love,” I thought, I love history, specifically the French and Russian Revolutions. I love comparative politics. I love writing. So therefore I pursued a very liberal degree in History/PoliSci. I touched on this in my Grad School story, but this led me to be extremely ‘lost’ upon graduating college. How can I simply work an office job when I have been brought up to believe my starting line should be so much ‘ideal’ than what I was finding in “the real world?”

I have come to realize a few things about finding your “path” and why being an idealist can be detrimental to progress.

It’s less about title and more about what you get out of being there. For example, I thrive off of diversity and collaboration. I love meeting new people and hearing their stories, expanding my world view through the relationships I make. I also love collaboration and team work, seriously, few things pump me up more than being part of a team and working towards a common goal. I could never work isolated without any sense of connection or community. I found a position that allows me to work with new people all the time in an extremely collaborative manner. I learned to genuinely love my position through the fostering of those larger values that my job offers me.
Culture over everything. This is such a 2017 statement, but culture is important, it’s what sets the tone and it’s what keeps you happy to come back day after day. Culture can make the difference between doing the bare minimum and the all out maximum. Culture that implores you to want to give your all out maximum is integral to your personal career development, and I can promise you, you will be so much happier daily if your company culture aligns with your own values. (Remember, not everyone’s idea of an awesome culture is having access to candy & La Croix 24/7, you have to find what fits for you).
Macro patience, micro speed. A lesson from Gary Vaynerchuck that I’ve taken to heart and applied practically in more ways than one. Macro patience meaning- be in it for the long term. That career advancement, that large account, that financial return, that’s all macro- and you have to be patient in the pursuit of these things. Not idle patience, however, and that’s where micro speed comes into play- be fast and always in execution mode. Respond to people right away, make your wants known while doing the leg work it takes to see a return.
Diversify yourself. Simply having a job isn’t enough (unless it is for you). By diversifying yourself, you not only make yourself a more well-rounded human being, but also a more attractive candidate for future opportunities. So often I think people shift gears between college and the workforce, and they take a very binary approach to the two. You can actively learn new things in your 7pm-12am and on your weekends- taking steps to expand your own skill set. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to learn French, or perhaps you’ve been interested in learning how to code. Just because it isn’t specifically applicable in your 9–5, doesn’t mean it doesn’t serve an important place in your own personal development, and it’s important to foster that. (My “things” were perfecting my skills at Barre and writing)

For my fellow millennials, a mix of humility and drive are key factors in shifting some of the standards we were raised with and situating ourselves as contributing participates in the narrative of our future.