To get a great job, you need to demonstrate skills and capabilities in excess of other people. What you offer must be a unique value proposition. After all, why would someone hire a worse candidate relative to a better candidate.
This creates a race to the top with certifications, degrees, credentials, etc. Because it’s hard to evaluate merit directly, and we sort of ban future employers from contacting past employers, we create a situation where people have to put tons of effort into preening and looking the part, rather than looking at the results of labor.
If I as an employer recognize that my employees are more likely to stay with me at specific market prices if they aren’t given certifications of external merit, why would I ever encourage them to build external credibility? If an employee is especially credentialed, it might not say as much about their underlying productivity as one would originally think.
I’ve heard that a lot of hiring is about de-risking employees, and the thought process behind having certain minimum years of experience and certifications is in effect trying to remove the expensive bad apples, regardless of the expected value. Unfortunately, this manifests as taking out the bottom parts of the employment ladder, making it harder to get started in the first place, which is disadvantageous to people like myself, who are early on in their career trajectory.
This also punishes the especially bright who could probably do executive level work at a much younger age, and begs the question of how someone my age with capability should act. Here’s what I think the most effective tactics available are for a 22-25 something, and why.
Work about 2 years to establish credibility, build soft skills, and to avoid being looked at as a flight risk. Build credentials while working to establish ambition and credibility, take on side jobs if possible. I obtained a Google Project Management Certificate, an IBM Data Science Professional, a Google Digital Marketing credential, and an IBM Product Management track.
Work in a job with higher responsibilities, or potentially work several jobs to build out your professional experience. If you’re smart, you’ll learn quickly what to do within each role to succeed. Be likeable and efficient. I work as a technical project manager as my day job, and I try and be excellent in what I deliver to those I work for.
Attend networking events religiously, dress well, and highlight that you’re looking to move into director or executive roles, potentially at a early to middle stage startup. Here you can sell your skills, while coming from a place of reasonable success.
Here’s what I do: I run two startups which I advertise when I’m out and about. I also have a podcast that I co-host, an open mic which I operate, and I’m always looking to help other people out. I’m also applying to grad school which will make it easier to highlight my relative efficiency.
Doing all these things efficiently carries a couple major advantages.
#1. Frontloading your certifications early in your career is good because expectations of you are low, and you can distinguish yourself early, and de-risk yourself.
#2. Instead of being broke in graduate school, you’ve built professional experience, advancing your skills, and being able to really sell the idea that you’ll go far. Your track record looks a lot better than someone going straight to ECON PHD, law, or MBA school.
#3. Fortune favors the ambitious, the faster you establish yourself, the more of a lead you can put yourself in. Investing in yourself yields compound interest.
#4. A lot of the activities you do related to building professional skills will serve you well later in your career. I’d be a much better manager/director as a result of having practiced social emotional intelligence, public speaking, and more.
Isadore Johnson's Website 