Three Top Tips to having a Thriving Career in your 20’s

By Jessica Titlebaum

Theglasshammer.com understands that whilst you are building your career, you are also building and managing your life. So many of us are working harder than ever in our twenties and early thirties and we want to give you tips to find the balance between work and play.

Tip 1: Think about what job you want and the job after that one.
Rae Liu is a 28-year-old graduate student of Illinois Institute of Technology. She came to Chicago from China, where she grew up and where her parents were magazine editors.

Liu on the other hand was always interested in the financial services space. She heard Chicago had a healthy financial industry and liked the location, which is “on the shore of the 5 great lakes.”

After graduating with a Masters of Science in Finance, she reached out to her circle of friends and professors to assist her in her job search. After gaining intern experience preparing financial reports and analyzing consumer data, she landed a job as a risk analyst.

Two years later, Liu’s current company, which provides capital, expertise and infrastructure services, advertised an opening. The job entailed studying sales and marketing-related behaviors through customer insights and analytics. Liu applied for the job and received an offer.

Liu has been in her current role for about two years and enjoys the work. She believes she has found her dream job. Fortunately, the career challenges don’t end there. Liu wants to move up at the company and she is in the process of identifying her competitive edge and says she wants to go that extra mile.

“I am looking for projects that will help me gain experience,” she said. “I want to work with different parts of the organization to help me acquire more knowledge and grow professionally.”

When times get stressful, Liu said that it is important to have like-minded people to lean on.

“I still lean on friends when I get discouraged,” Liu said. “My support system is strong, driven and hardworking.”

Tip 2: Speak your truth and look for a promotion inside your current company.
Despite research citing that changing jobs is better for your career, it can also be a good strategy to have the confidence to speak to your employer about moving up at your current company. This was the case for Mary Traina author of book The 20-Something Guide to Getting It Together.

“I felt like I was chickening out because I was looking for the better job elsewhere but not speaking up where I was currently working,” she said. “I felt like I was in a rut.”

Traina who is a producer and writer for the SyFy Channel as well as a regular writer for HelloGiggles tells us what finally gave her the kick in the pants she needed to jump start her career

“When it comes to establishing your career, there are things you need to do but you don’t know what they are,” said Traina.

Traina herself cites that making pathways for other women is an important task and advises you to do it in any way that makes sense to you.

“I believe that the media represents certain jobs or leadership positions in such a way that might steer women in the other direction,” she said. “When I was writing, I noticed that I wanted to write ‘he’ when I was talking about a leader,” she said. “Intentionally writing ‘she’ was my way of planting the seed for women to strive for these positions. “

Tip 3: Follow your passion.
While it’s important to steer clear of misrepresentations made by the media, it’s also necessary to pursue what most interests you. Don’t let family or friends guide you on a path that might not be best suited for you.

Moira is a 28-year-old female working at a US-based audit, tax and advisory services firm.

Growing up, Moira was an equestrian. She spent much of her childhood on her family’s farm participating in horse shows and competitions.

“When I was a child, I thought I would own and manage my own farm. When I told my parents my plans, they told me I needed to learn how to run a business and guided me on this path,” she said.

Moira graduated with a degree in Accounting from Loyola University in Chicago. With help from her father, she networked with the company’s partners and identified her current position.

“I work in a tax group that prepares tax returns for corporations as well as individuals,” she said. “After being here awhile and changing teams once, I’ve learned I prefer the individual tax work over the corporate returns.”

Unfortunately, there are limitations on the type of individual work an employee can do at her current firm and she is looking at external opportunities. As she polishes up her resume and searches for jobs on Linked In, she wonders if she should explore further into Accounting or change industries all together.

“My parents led me on this path and I always wonder what I would have chosen if they didn’t push me in this direction. I am questioning if this is really my passion,” she said.

Moira is optimistic about her job search and is grateful for the experience she has gained in her current role. She acquired knowledge to build a career on and is also able to further narrow down her job search.

“It’s good to know what you are not looking for too,” she said.

These are just three tips that have worked for others, so do what is best for you, of course!