Probably more than 50% of university students will end up working in jobs below their qualifications that have nothing to do with their degree. Others will simply discover that they chose their degree for the wrong reasons and will find their true calling later on. The least fortunate may have studied a degree with no job prospects at all.
At the other extreme are the young people who understand the need to plan, but even these students should keep a few things in mind.
Life isn’t linear, and neither is success
Many people think that if you make the right set of decisions, you should follow a set path to success, perhaps even without too many problems. However, most successful people agree that their first years of working life had little to do with what later brought them success.
(Read: Which university degree to choose, and some advice)
Life “moves in zigzags”. You rarely get from point A to point B in a straight line. Once you accept this simple idea, you’ll be better prepared for life’s zigzags.
We always say you should do things you’re passionate about, but if we’re honest, you’ll probably need to work in certain jobs that have nothing to do with your passion. They will give you the money to fund your next steps, and experience that will help you in the future.
This idea can even change the way many people look at others: the young waiter who serves you your coffee, or the pizza delivery guy, could be your boss tomorrow, or the owner of a large corporation. (Read: What highly successful people were doing at 25.)
See also: Learn to look for a job with a comic: the story of Leo and 5 million people in Spain
Always own your mistakes
Nobody is perfect, and we’re all going to make plenty of mistakes. It may sound like a cliché, but many mistakes are necessary in order to learn. The truth is that not all of them will be small and fixable. Some will be huge, with no going back.
When one of those big mistakes comes along, don’t “gift” it to anyone else. Keep it, accept that it’s yours, but don’t lose heart or let it break you.
Remember the well-known saying: “If a problem has a solution, it isn’t a problem. If it has no solution, it isn’t a problem either.” Get on with your life: it was just one more knock from life’s zigzags. Point B is still in the same place.
(Read: An entrepreneur should be as well prepared as a Marine sniper)
Find mentors
Although we sometimes think otherwise, there are many people who would be delighted to have a protégé in their lives. We know this figure isn’t very common in Spain, but spending two days alongside someone who is good at what we want to do, someone willing to share their knowledge and help us in our career, will give you something you’ll never learn at university.
Deep down, behind every successful person there is a burning desire to teach what they know to someone who deserves it. (Read: Why business owners love their work.)
That said, don’t pick mentors for their diplomacy. Look for people who are willing to be tough on your work and critical of it. Try to find this kind of person while you’re still at university (before you finish your degree).
(Recommended: How to create your own destiny)
Don’t be afraid
There are many psychological traps that hold back success, in life and in business, and fear is probably the most dangerous of them.
Don’t be afraid of getting decisions wrong. Not all of them will be right, but you have to make decisions to find the right one. Don’t be afraid of failing: almost everyone feels at some point that they have failed. Don’t be afraid to jump, as long as you believe there’s water in the pool.
Get comfortable taking risks, knowing that failure is a possibility and that, if it comes, you’ll be ready to accept it and start again (at whatever it may be). Remember that there are no rewards without taking some risk.
Never make the same mistake twice
Although we’ve talked about risk, mistakes and failure, the one thing to try to avoid is making the same mistake twice. As the saying goes: “There’s nothing wrong with tripping over a stone, as long as you don’t grow fond of the stone or get used to tripping.”
It also matters who you choose to spend your time with, and that you always act with integrity, honesty and decency, whatever you do and whatever your line of work.
Further reading
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