Knowledge brings power, and every failed experience leads to better and satisfactory outcomes! At some point in time, we’ve all heard these inspirational words; but do they actually apply in real-life scenarios?
Well, that's an opinionated question, but if you ask us, yes, they do make sense. Actually, a hell lot of sense! And to prove it right, we bring you the story of Jenn Lim, co-founder, and CEO of Delivering Happiness.
© Jenn Lim's website | Jenn Lim, CEO, Delivering Happiness, shares her experience with career advice
Hello Jenn!
Lim graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in Asian American studies, right about the time when the internet revolution was at the boom. She managed to get a position as a consultant for internet strategy with KPMG and happily admits that it was quite a learning experience for her.
Lim, 47, shared with CNBC Make It that the internet was just being born back in her day. She didn't even know what it meant to be a consultant for internet strategy. All she needed to do was stay a step ahead to actually figure out what was going on.
The worst career advice she ever got
Lim recalled that when was pretty new at her first job (an entry-level professional) and was just getting started, during a discussion that went down between her and a senior manager, she received the most absurd and weird career advice of her life. Her senior manager stressed that she tell him what she wanted to specialize in after completing her graduation.
Magnet.me/Unsplash | When you're at an early stage of your career, deciding what you want to specialize in can be very challenging
Lim felt the question to be quite misguided; in fact, it left her absolutely speechless. She expressed that she was at a really early stage in her career and there were quite a lot of options for her. But surprisingly, her manager kept emphasizing that she should pick one skill and keep refining it till she became an expert in it. Needless to say, Lim found this “advice” quite useless, which is why she decided to go in an exactly opposite direction!
Lim's POV
She mentions that her field was constantly evolving and developing with time, which made her more of a generalist and increased her appetite to learn more and understand in a better way. She continued that to figure out what the best career option for her was, she had to dig deeper and try out new things, things out of her comfort zone, and ultimately understand what she enjoys doing the most.
Brooke Lark/Unsplash | In order to figure out what the best career option is, one needs to dig deeper and try out new things
A bit of advice to remember
Her experience led Lim to believe that being hyper-focused on a single expertise can be a disaster, especially for those who're just starting off with their careers. Instead, people should increase their parameters, learn new things, make mistakes, and learn from them. We should all live with a growth mindset; only then will we be able to make the best out of our lives.
