Three valuable skills for the first five years of your career

No fancy degrees or years of experience required

1. Find shit to do

Nothing stresses managers out more than an idle junior employee.

When you start a new job, particularly an entry-level job, there will be times when you aren’t as busy as you could be. You need people to give you work, and people are busy, so you end up with free time on your hands.

Top performers know how to find work and get it done.

If you’ve ever worked in hospitality or retail you know what this looks like. The best wait staff don’t stand around and chat when there are no customers.

It might be more abstract in an office job, but it’s completely true.

Whether it’s organizing folders, reading client contracts, or scheduling meetings to learn more about other business units, there’s a simple principle for early success in any career:

Find shit to do.

Get interested

Early in your career, you don’t know what the fuck you want to do.

You don’t know what you like, what job you want in the future, and you can’t really form a meaningful five-year plan.

But that doesn’t mean you should wander aimlessly, hoping to stumble into some great job or career path.

It doesn’t mean you should take every opportunity that presents itself.

And it definitely doesn’t mean you should answer people’s queries with “I dunno.”

Instead, successful people follow their curiosity to develop specialised knowledge in particular areas.

If you’re intrigued by Instagram influencers, become obsessed with social media marketing.

If you’re curious about an area of law, or about a big social issue like climate change, become annoyingly knowledgeable about that topic.

Whatever inkling of passion or interest you have, cultivate it.

Because that passion, interest, or curiosity can be relevant in so many ways you can’t imagine.

It might help you find an entirely new career path. It might just help you better understand your company’s new product line. Or it might help you solve a small client problem.

Whatever the reason, deep interest and knowledge are always valuable.

So early in your career, deep dive into something that turns you on — get interested.

Know thy boss

If you hear someone complain about having a bad boss, you know they don’t understand this simple truth:

Successful people manage up.

Managing up means learning everything you can about your boss, and tailoring the way you work with them accordingly.

Is your boss a narcissist? Constantly hunt for opportunities to make them look good.

Is your boss a people pleaser? Make sure you tell them how much you love your job.

Is your boss super anal, organised, and a little overbearing? Send them a quick email at the start of each day (or week) outlining your focus areas.

No matter what your boss is like, you have the opportunity to tailor your communication style to their needs.

And if you do it right, you’ll build a great working relationship, which will be the springboard for the rest of your career.

It’s a fundamental truth of all business relationships: tailor the way you work to suit others, and you’ll both be happier as a result.

If you want to go far in your career, you must know thy boss.