though it matches virtually none of the items on the list I ’ d initially created for my ideal career path .
I went back to my original career path and fractured it into several lists . I checked off the items on my YES list — public speaking , marketing , helping people — and my NO list — anything with details , like data entry and creating content calendars . From there , I built new lists of things I learned I loved : education and workforce development , autonomy and research .
If you ’ re a 20-something realizing your list no longer matches your values or goals , or if you know a 20-something who is looking ahead at their life , head tilted to the side , staring at the daunting road ahead , here are some ideas for your consideration :
• Make the next best move . The good ( and bad ) news is we can ’ t see the future . We are only responsible for the minutes ahead . So instead of consulting the 35-year-old you who has yet to exist , find what best positions the version of you several days from now and go with that .
• No mistakes , just opportunities . I often joke that I don ’ t fail ; I grow . You ’ re going to mess up ; mistakes are part of life . But the learning you pull from those uncomfortable moments could be the best thing that happens to you . Interpreting missteps as data will help you figure out what ’ s next .
• Ask yourself , “ What gets your goat ?”: When I started at my company almost five years ago , one of the tenured employees asked me a question in my first week : “ What gets your goat ?” In other words , what problem in the world would you solve if you had the chance ? What keeps you up at night ? What bugs you so much that you want to fix it ? Whatever that might be , make it your work . Following a passion is essential because exhaustion inevitably sets in , and it ’ s easier to persist if you love what you do and who you help .
• Time is a tornado . I ’ m not going to get existential , but try to think of time as less linear . I like to picture it as a tornado — cylindrical , moving upward , but around and around until it stretches higher ( or lower ). This is you and your experience . Sometimes you ’ ll be at the top of the tornado , crushing a presentation , and then you drop to the bottom , realizing you aren ’ t passionate about your job anymore . With each experience , you ’ re moving up and up but also side to side .
Now to address the last and perhaps most deceiving career myth for 20-somethings — that we should love our work all the time . This might be true for some , but more often than not I ’ ve found that you might not fall in love with your work quickly or easily . And if you do , you may fall out of love with it just as soon . Circumstances change , we change , and the way we feel about our work changes , too .
You might not find the right fit all at once , in one role , or even at one company . Over the years , you ’ ll change your mind , change your skills , and change your attitude . Sometimes , you will have to make decisions with no information other than your gut and what you Google . But then the good parts unfold , too . You become wiser and braver and more interested in the world and its people . The conversations you have become richer and deeper , and the problems you solve more impactful . Career progression is not clear , not simple , and not linear , but very , very worth it .
Good luck out there , and don ’ t be afraid to go backward or sideways to make it happen .
Taylor Toledo is a director for 3fold Communications and the Program Chair for Metro EDGE , a Metro Chamber Foundation program . She has lived in Sacramento for almost 10 years and is passionate about workforce development in the region .
“ You might not find the right fit all at once , in one role , or even at one company . Over the years , you ’ ll change your mind , change your skills , and change your attitude .”
Taylor Toledo , director , 3fold Communications
How did you find your path as a young professional ?
TWEET US @ COMSTOCKSMAG
July 2022 | comstocksmag . com 31