leaf

This road is challenging, but I feel a bit scared. With such fierce competition, can I make it?

What is the prerequisite for a lifetime of marital happiness? — Choosing a partner!
What is the prerequisite for a smooth career throughout life? — Choosing a profession!

Only by making the right career choice can you ensure a smooth journey through the upcoming resume, online applications, and interview stages.

Therefore, after understanding all the content of this chapter, please return here to complete your "career choice" plan:

1. Based on my preliminary judgment, the position I am most suited for should be:

2. Based on my preliminary judgment, the industry I am most suited for should be:

3. Based on the position and industry, the target companies I have chosen should be:
   Top target companies (three): _____, _____, _____
   Mid-level target companies (three): _____, _____, _____
   Safety net target companies (three): _____, _____, _____

Page 3
To give you a more intuitive understanding, let's take a look at the form filled out by Teacher Cui Xi (the English name of Teacher Yang Cuixian, also known as Tracy) over a decade ago:

1. Based on my preliminary judgment, Cui Xi is most suited for the position of:
   Teacher
2. Based on my preliminary judgment, Cui Xi is most suited for the industry of:
   Education
3. Based on the position and industry, Cui Xi has chosen the following target companies:
   Top: __________________________

Target companies (three):
Mid-level target companies (three):
Safety net target companies (three):

Looking back, Teacher Cui Xi indeed first taught two classes at Fred, then taught one class at Elite English, before being hired by New Oriental.
In the past few years, Teacher Cui Xi has had many young people around her fill out the above questionnaire. This small questionnaire seems simple, yet it has greatly assisted often confused young people in finding the better jobs they should have found.
Perhaps some young person can only find a job that temporarily keeps their quality of life at a basic level, but they will feel incredibly determined inside because they have already looked ahead five years and seen their very clear career transition path!
Am I serious enough about choosing a career?
You, young person, whether you are job hunting or pursuing a promotion, have you accomplished any of the following five tasks?
First, have you seriously consulted at least one “senior with at least 10 years of experience” who is familiar with your desired position in your preferred industry? This “senior” must understand you and genuinely care about you to help you carefully strategize your career path.
Second, have you thoroughly studied at least one bestselling book on career planning? (It’s easy to judge a book; just enter the title in the search bar on Dangdang, JD, Amazon, etc., and check the “number of reviews.” Only those with over 1,000 reviews are worth reading.)

Third, have you sought out a peer, a friend 5-10 years older than you, or an elder 10-20 years older than you to analyze your strengths and weaknesses?

Fourth, before choosing a profession, have you tried at least three similar activities?

Fifth, have you seriously drafted a five-year plan, even though this plan may change in the future?
How many checks did you make?
If you have less than three checks, unfortunately, you have a new nickname: “Hasty Career Chooser”!
Choosing a career hastily can lead to a lifetime of work struggles, or at the very least, a super frustrating first three to five years at work.

Have I let go of the academic obsession?
Some fresh graduates only seek jobs after failing the postgraduate entrance exam, and even when looking for work, there is always a devil in their hearts saying, “Will I take the exam again next year?”
Even graduates who decide not to take the exam sometimes become distracted by the exam-taking army around them. Seeing their roommates preparing diligently for the exam, they always feel a chill of crisis in their hearts.
Moreover, many young people already holding a master's degree feel quite uneasy: “I can’t let my degree go to waste! I can’t possibly get the same offer as an undergraduate, right?”
Next, let’s analyze these situations one by one to help everyone eliminate their inner demons and focus on job hunting!
Methods for undergraduates to calm their minds: Graduate school = I want “it” + I want it now!
Regarding whether to pursue graduate studies, there is actually a simple yet super practical formula: Graduate school = I want “it” + I want it now!
I want “it” refers to what you love and need.
I want it now refers to the diploma + skills + connections that this “graduate” can bring you right now.

Three questions: Can I defeat the devil of vanity?
Because of vanity (don’t deny it, I have it too), many young job seekers have a very poor order of career choices:

1. Famous companies
2. High salary
3. Interest in the position
4. Belief in the industry’s prospects
   Famous companies + high salary ≈ luxury cars + beautiful women, which can be considered the two major indicators for young people to compare with each other. Saying it gives you face, and hearing it makes your adrenaline surge. However, the interest in the position and the industry’s prospects are difficult to measure with quantifiable indicators like “Fortune 500” or “monthly salary over 10,000,” making young people feel uncertain and lacking confidence in their choices.
   However, seasoned professionals in the workplace know: Famous companies + high salary ≈ immediate benefits, position + industry ≈ long-term benefits.

Whether you are a college student or a fresh graduate with only one or two years of work experience, you can only choose a career in this order:

1. The position has professionalism. Choosing a position is N+1 times more important than choosing a company’s reputation!
   For example, Xiao Jie received two offers at the same time, one as an administrative assistant at a large foreign company, and the other as a market researcher at a local small company. Like many young people, Xiao Jie chose the well-known foreign company without hesitation, thinking she could change positions internally (even if it’s not difficult, it’s still a roundabout way). The market research offer was taken by her classmate Xiao Min. Three years later, Xiao Jie became an administrative supervisor, while Xiao Min, after accumulating three years of experience, jumped to a listed company as a market research project supervisor, earning significantly more than Xiao Jie, and becoming more valuable with age.

2. The industry has development potential.

3. The company has a good reputation. Good companies indeed provide many opportunities, but many students misunderstand the opportunities offered by companies. They think they can easily transition from “administrative assistant” to “sales assistant” or “marketing assistant.” In a company, similar job transitions are possible, such as moving from “administrative assistant” to “general manager’s secretary,” but transitioning from “administrative assistant” to the human resources department is much more challenging.

4. Salary comes last. Salary considerations should come last; you all know the reasoning: the amount of your first paycheck doesn’t matter; what matters is how much your salary will be in a few years or a decade. The few offers received in youth often have only a few hundred yuan difference in monthly salary; however, after a few years, the monthly salary difference for different positions can reach thousands or tens of thousands of yuan.

The order of keywords in the job search page precisely illustrates the correct order of career choice standards: Position > Industry > Company > Salary.

1. Choose the “main business,” avoid “widow positions.”

The concept of “widow positions” is not my invention but was proposed by management master Peter Drucker, referring to inefficient positions caused by unreasonable settings or misalignment.
For example, in recent years, many companies’ human resources positions have been somewhat trapped in the “widow position” trap: a capable employee enters the department, but due to performance being hard to measure, they cannot receive true recognition and gradually become depressed; conversely, in sales and R&D positions, an excellent employee may quickly stand out and get promoted and rich.

Of course, nothing is absolute. Similarly, in human resources, when at the bottom level, most work is transactional and very tiring; but when you are promoted to a senior position, you become one of the main characters in the company.
Using the human resources position as an example, different companies have vastly different attitudes toward this position and the compensation they are willing to pay. For example, my young assistant vice president quickly rose to the position of HR director because the company values the HR department and he is smart and diligent. Additionally, one cannot absolutely think that administrative positions are “widow positions” because: there are no bad positions, only positions that do not suit oneself. If the job you need is a 9-to-5 job with little pressure, then those so-called supporting roles that others do not want, whether administrative, customer service, or quality control, may be the most suitable job for you! And those glamorous “main character” positions may mean pressure, tasks, wrinkles, hair loss, or stomach ulcers for you…

Therefore, main character jobs are suitable choices for career-oriented individuals, but it does not mean that all job seekers should rush toward these types of positions.

If you don’t know how to lock in a “lifetime” position, then you need to constantly examine the opportunities around you and always ask yourself: “Which profession is both suitable for me and can be done for a lifetime?” With reflection and observation, you can more quickly locate and find the career you should pursue for a lifetime.
3. Try to choose a position that matches your major. Although many organizations clearly state that they do not limit majors when hiring, when it comes to the final decision, the matching of majors is still viewed dialectically. Look further ahead before deciding whether to abandon your major or stick to it.
Before telling others that you don’t like your major, first answer the following three questions.

1. Have you seen the “future benefits” of your major?
   Hating your major may be because you haven’t seen its future development.

2. Does anyone really like their major? For most people, studying and working are both painful tasks that must be done; how can they be extremely happy? Who goes to work humming a tune, bursting with happy hormones?

3. Is the major you like the one you didn’t study?

The major studied in college is still an important measure in the process of selecting talent for companies. The following three points are worth pondering for two seconds:#

1. Rooted and well-grounded. The HR managers and personnel supervisors of top foreign companies are basically those who studied “Labor Relations Management” and “Human Resources.” Being rooted and well-grounded may not be the only way to get hired, but it still becomes a scoring point, especially under equal conditions!

2. Lag effect. The effectiveness of a major often does not manifest at the beginning of one’s career, but after 5 or even 10 years, it increasingly becomes an advantage. It is not the knowledge you learned that plays a role, but rather the “absolutely authentic” brand effect accumulated after you persist in working in the relevant industry.

3. Cold effect. The more niche the major, such as printing or agriculture, the more powerful it becomes once it is utilized, because its substitutability is very low!
   Therefore, my advice is, unless you have discovered your true hobbies and strengths, do not easily deny and give up your major. If you haven’t found a new love, how can you abandon the old love? Even if you don’t love it, you should still cherish it! Don’t easily deny your major, as it is very likely to lead to the “hate one’s profession” syndrome.

4. Don’t easily say, “I don’t like doing technical work; I want to interact with people.”
   Many people who study technical majors, such as chemistry, mechanics, IT, etc., often express that they don’t like doing technical work, fearing they will spend their lives dealing with machines and equipment.

Doing technical work well allows you to learn management gradually and accumulate insights over time.

5–3–1 Career Positioning Method#

People like to live through experiences and seek inspiration in the face of challenging problems. For them, adapting to a new environment or situation is far more interesting than managing it. They may be unable to complete tasks due to too many things, but they often can flexibly respond and seize opportunities.
From these four dimensions of explanation, can you identify what type your personality belongs to? Write your MBTI type on the line below:
Energy orientation: ____________________________________________________________
Information acceptance: ____________________________________________________________
Information processing: ____________________________________________________________
Action method: ____________________________________________________________
It is worth noting that in the MBTI assessment results, a person can only choose one preference for each dimension, either A or B, but it does not mean that a person who is introverted has no extroverted characteristics. This is similar to how the Earth has two poles; we use east, west, south, and north to determine direction, but in reality, we do not live entirely in the South Pole or the North Pole; we are spread throughout the areas in between.

(3) Career Personality Exploration Assessment Results and Career Choice
In our MBTI test, we divided it into four dimensions, each with two poles, but human personalities are very complex, and each dimension influences the others.

The test is not suitable for high school students, mainly because high school students have not fully determined their personalities.
Test address: http://www.yiiway.com/ypca/

2. Career Anchor Positioning Assessment (suitable for employed individuals)
   Career anchors are mainly used for employed individuals who have some understanding of their careers, especially during the first five years of work, which is a period of career transition, needing to find their true career anchor amidst various transitions. This assessment is mainly used for employees looking to change careers or jobs, facilitating a realistic understanding of their positioning.
   Test address: http://www.yiiway.com/ycas/

First, self-assessment (5) is the foundation of career planning. By understanding one’s interests, values, abilities, and strengths, individuals can clarify their career tendencies and development potential. This step helps individuals understand themselves and provides a strong basis for subsequent career planning.

Second, determining career goals (3) is the core of career planning. Based on the results of self-assessment, individuals need to set long-term and short-term career goals. These goals should be reasonable, feasible, and able to guide the direction of individual career development.

Finally, formulating a specific action plan (1) is key to achieving career goals. Individuals need to develop detailed plans, including learning, work, and various action measures, to ensure they progress along the intended career path. This step requires individuals to have not only clear goals but also specific implementation strategies.

Through the 5–3–1 career positioning method, individuals can systematically conduct career planning, thus better preparing for their future career development. This method not only helps individuals clarify their career direction but also provides practical action guidelines, making career planning more effective and feasible.

1. Five Key Questions

First, answer the following five key questions to help you understand your career interests and abilities:

What do I like to do? (Career interests)
What am I good at? (Career abilities)
What can I do? (Career skills)
What do I want? (Career values)
What does the market need? (Career demand)

2. Three Core Areas

Next, summarize the answers to the five questions into three core areas:

Interest area: Things you like to do.
Ability area: Things you are good at and can do.
Market area: Market demand and career opportunities.

3. One Career Positioning
   Finally, combine these three core areas to find the career positioning that suits you best. This positioning should be something you are both interested in and good at, and that has demand in the market.

Key Elements of Career Positioning

Career positioning is not just about finding a job, but about finding a career direction that can develop over the long term. The following are several key elements of career positioning:

Self-awareness: Understanding your interests, abilities, and values.
Market analysis: Understanding industry trends and market demand.
Career matching: Finding a career that aligns with your interests and abilities while meeting market demand.
Principles of Career Positioning
Choose what you love: Select a job you enjoy.
Choose what you are good at: Select a job you excel in.
Choose what the market needs: Select a job with high market demand.
Through the “5–3–1 Career Positioning Method,” you can systematically analyze your career interests and abilities, and combine them with market demand to find the career direction that suits you best. This not only helps you achieve success in your career but also allows you to find more satisfaction and fulfillment in your work.

What is Career Positioning?#

Career positioning is the clear definition of an individual's development direction in their career. It is a strategic and fundamental issue throughout a person's career development journey. Specifically, in the long term, it is about identifying the individual's career category; in the short term, it is about clarifying the corresponding industry and function at the current stage, meaning what position one should occupy in the workplace.

Career positioning has three layers of meaning:
First, determining who you are and what work you are suited for;
Second, telling others who you are and what work you excel at;
Third, placing yourself in a suitable job based on your hobbies, strengths, abilities, and personality.

Career positioning is the unity of self-positioning and social positioning. Social positioning refers to the role positioning of oneself in society, what position one should occupy in the division of labor in society, and what profession one should engage in.
Career positioning is the first step in career planning and development, as well as the most fundamental and important step. An incorrect or significantly deviated positioning will inevitably lead to setbacks and failures in the subsequent career path.

Career positioning types can be roughly divided into five categories: management type, technical type, creative type, independent type, and comprehensive type.

Key Elements of Career Positioning#

1. Matching with career orientation, that is, matching with one’s personality type, interests, career values, personal needs, and dreams.
2. Associating with commercial value, that is, fully combining one’s education, work experience, ability level, and available resources.
3. Coordinating with the career environment, that is, considering the economic environment, industry development status, regional environment, etc.
4. Compromising with constraints, that is, considering relevant laws and regulations and one’s own limitations.

Content of Career Positioning#

1. Positioning direction — Finding the right career positioning and development direction. First, explore your career temperament, interests, and ability structure to find out which field your career potential is concentrated in; only by finding the right direction can you maximize the development and exploration of your potential.

2. Positioning industry — Understanding the development trends of the target industry. Actively and comprehensively understanding the current situation and prospects of the target industry is crucial, as sunrise industries have more prospects and can provide more opportunities for newcomers. As the saying goes, “隔行如隔山” (different industries are like different mountains), one cannot rely solely on newspapers or magazines for information; a more ideal approach is to inquire with friends currently working in the industry to obtain reliable information, including promotion systems, salary conditions, and other aspects.

3. Self-analysis — Recognizing one’s strengths and weaknesses. If one cannot accurately position oneself and is unclear about one’s strengths and weaknesses, blindly following trends or feelings is absolutely not advisable. One should weigh where one’s strengths lie. Are these strengths sufficient to help one stand firm in a new industry? Where are one’s weaknesses? What methods can be used to improve quickly?

From one’s perspective, the main factors to understand and analyze should include: What do I like to do (mainly including career interests, career values, etc.); What am I suited to do (mainly including career personality, temperament, talents, IQ, EQ, etc.); What am I good at (mainly including career ability tendencies, such as verbal expression, logical reasoning, numerical calculation, etc.); What can I do (mainly including the professional knowledge, skills, and work experience one possesses).

4. The principles of career positioning are to choose what you love, choose what you are good at, and choose what the market needs.

Methods of Career Positioning#

First, understand yourself: mainly core values, motivation systems, personality traits, talents, and defects. Methods: self-exploration, asking others for evaluation, or using psychological tests to fully understand oneself.

Second, understand the profession: including job content, knowledge requirements, skill requirements, experience requirements, personality requirements, work environment, and work roles. If necessary, consult industry experts or refer to successful individuals in the industry.

Third, understand the gap between oneself and the profession’s requirements, carefully comparing the gaps in various aspects. You may have multiple career goals, but each goal brings different benefits and drawbacks. You need to weigh the pros and cons of different goals carefully based on your characteristics and determine a plan to achieve your goals according to your realistic conditions.

Fourth, understand how to present your positioning to interviewers and superiors. After determining your career orientation and development direction, you need to convey it to interviewers or superiors in a suitable manner to gain entry and development opportunities.

Career positioning is not a static result but a dynamic process. Often, we need to continuously adjust our career positioning in conjunction with each stage of our career.

Career Positioning is a Dynamic Process#

1. Career positioning should start as early as possible. It should begin when entering school, and during this stage, career positioning mainly involves finding a career direction of interest based on preliminary career planning. Choosing a major of interest, exploring various fields, and actively participating in social activities to develop and cultivate a well-rounded personality are crucial.

2. Be brave in practice during the early stages of career development. The early stages of career development are the initial stage of career positioning; however, many people easily fall into a state of confusion, worrying about gains and losses, and cannot rationally position themselves. The key to career positioning at this stage is to be brave in practice, to be grounded, and to accumulate experience bit by bit through practice. During this period, cultivating a proactive learning and dedication mindset is very important. Actively collaborating with different people, helping each other, and recording your insights daily in the form of tips can serve as a means of experience accumulation and self-motivation.

3. Awareness of gilding during the mid-stage of career development. By the mid-stage of career development, one should have a relatively deep understanding of one’s career positioning. At this stage, career positioning should not frequently change but should focus on learning and enriching oneself based on stable development, thereby enhancing one’s value. The openness of the market may influence people’s thinking in various aspects. Senior professionals in the workplace generally believe that understanding a job usually takes 1-2 years, and achieving a level of proficiency takes 3-5 years. Generally speaking, companies value relatively stable career individuals more. The so-called “gilding awareness” is synonymous with brand, formality, position, and scale.

4. Actively recharge during the later stages of career development. The mid-to-late stages of career development are the stages of accurate career positioning. Individuals in this stage often include energetic, proactive, professionally polished, and charismatic senior managers, but there are also some who feel confused and awkward. The career positioning advice for this stage is to have a sense of crisis, actively seek out the gaps between oneself and the times, recharge in a timely manner, and maintain an open and objective attitude toward reality, understanding and facing one’s own situation.

The initial directions are as follows:

1. R&D type. Collaborated with classmates to create an internal e-commerce website, which failed after a month.
2. Sales type. Collaborated with classmates to sell online game point cards, giving up after two weeks.
3. Marketing type. Undertook a campus presentation for a study abroad company, receiving a budget of 300 yuan, promising to attract at least 100 people, but only 39 showed up (and 9 of them were friends of mine).
4. Banking and finance type. Promoted credit cards, explaining some financial products to people.
5. Technical service type. Provided technical support for a friend’s Taobao store, designing some visuals and uploading some link files, etc.

Two months later, Xiao Xin confirmed her three in-depth practice directions:

1. R&D type. Restarting the failed website.
2. Banking and finance type. Promoting financial products.
3. Technical service type. Continuing to provide technical support for a friend’s Taobao store and assisting him in opening a JD store.

Another two months later, she decided on a lifelong career: R&D. Once you have personal experience, determining a career goal becomes easy. Fresh graduates often have no past work experience as a reference, and all thoughts come from imagination, so some decisions may be wrong.

The stages of human career development can be roughly divided into four stages:#

Before age 30: Exploration period
Ages 30-35: Positioning period
Ages 35-40: Steady period
After age 40: Harvest period

2- Exploration period (before age 30): This is an important period for learning skills, gaining experience, and accumulating life experiences. During this stage, one should try more and take more risks, without fearing failure. “Without experience, how can there be learning?” If a person’s job position and content during the exploration period are too narrow, it will hinder the training and improvement of their comprehensive abilities, thereby affecting long-term career development. Moreover, only by trying different positions and jobs can one discover their interests and talents. During this stage, there is no need to worry about failure (it can even be said that failure is more valuable than success), because even if one fails, there is still plenty of time and opportunity to start over. The main task during a person’s career exploration period is to gain abilities, experiences, and lessons, rather than constantly thinking about making a lot of money during this stage, which is often unrealistic; or some people are too eager for quick success, making quick money but losing a lifetime.

Positioning period (ages 30-35): For career planning, this stage can be said to be the most decisive. It is best for a person to have a very clear understanding of which industry they want to work in, especially which profession they want to pursue. To make this decision, one must understand their “unique workplace competitiveness” (USP: Unique Sales Point) compared to others. For example, if you really want a position in a successful company, and there are 99 other people competing for it, can you clearly and objectively tell the company which abilities, qualities, and experiences you possess that are definitely stronger than the other 99 people? If you cannot articulate this, or even if you can but know deep down that you do not possess those qualities, then you must quickly hone your workplace competitiveness; otherwise, it may become a hidden concern for your long-term career development. In short, if a person does not have a clear career positioning by the end of the positioning period (age 35), they will likely become increasingly anxious, often feeling unrecognized and blaming fate, until they spend their career in constant lamentation.

Steady period (ages 35-40): During this stage, one should deepen, thoroughly understand, and establish a good reputation in the already positioned work. This means further clarifying and strengthening one’s core competitive abilities through actual work performance, ideally establishing a good workplace reputation within the industry. At the very least, one should establish an irreplaceable advantage in the company they work for. This stage especially emphasizes focus; only by concentrating can one achieve accomplishments.

Harvest period (after age 40): This stage is the time to reap money, status, and fame. If by this stage, one’s income level is still very low, how will they support their family? If one has not established a professional reputation and status by this age, it will be very difficult to make significant breakthroughs unless they become their own boss. Although it is not ruled out that some people consider “50 years old to be the starting point for career development,” for the vast majority, age 40 is still an important dividing line.

The biggest confusion in career development is not knowing how to position oneself during the positioning period (ages 30-35).

Of course, there are many theories and tools that can be used for analysis in this area, such as career anchors. Friends interested in this can study it. However, I personally believe that these things are not very convenient to operate. I think the method mentioned by Professor Tal Ben-Shahar of Harvard University in his book “The Happiness Method,” which involves three circles, is the simplest and most effective method. Many years ago, I personally used it and guided several friends to use it, so I suggest you give it a try.

Specifically, it involves drawing three circles to determine your career positioning:

What makes you happy: In this circle, list all the things that make you feel happy, regardless of their size or importance. For example: traveling, playing football, making a lot of money, enjoying good food, watching movies, doing charity, writing books, programming, etc.
What you can do: In this circle, list the things you can currently do, mainly referring to those that someone in the workplace needs (i.e., things that someone is willing to pay for), regardless of their size or importance. The more, the better, for example: programming, selling products, repairing air conditioners, giving speeches, telling jokes, investing, etc.

Closely related to what you can do is a person’s “ability advantage.” The best career choice for a person is to do what they are best at (most advantageous) and love the most. When the two cannot be balanced, the best choice is to do what they are best at. Gallup’s book “StrengthsFinder” divides human typical strengths into 34 items; you might want to study it.

What you consider meaningful: In this circle, list the things you consider meaningful and valuable, the more the better, regardless of how others view them. For example: supporting a family, helping clients solve software problems, alleviating others’ pain, doing volunteer work, fighting fraud, etc.

Position#

The classification of positions varies from person to person. From the way of doing things, positions can be divided into service positions, R&D positions, management coordination positions, etc.; from the objects of work, they can be divided into positions dealing with people, positions dealing with things, and positions dealing with data files; from the level, they can be divided into basic positions, mid-level management positions, senior management positions, and highly replaceable positions.
Of course, they can also be divided by salary levels. When choosing a position, one must comprehensively consider their own conditions and willingness to find the best combination point to ensure development.
There are many ways to understand positions.

1. Undoubtedly, for fresh graduates, internships are the best means.
2. Participate in exchanges; have you done it? The protagonist mentioned earlier, Yun Jia, met some industry insiders, and then she maintained contact through a weekly flattering email, keeping in touch with young people who truly understand what positions suit them is actually a small probability. Positions are varied, but you can also categorize them logically to help yourself make choices.
   In addition to the commonly mentioned positions that deal with people, things, and data, we can also categorize them based on other logical elements you care about, such as “team,” “connections,” “commissions,” etc. Let’s illustrate with some examples.

Positions with connections vs. positions without connections
Definition: Your work itself will inevitably expose you to many connections.
Your work may primarily focus on internal company matters, with little external contact, so connections are few.
Examples: Positions that interact with external parties often bring connections: positions that deal with government and media; positions that interact with many clients, such as securities consultants.
Positions focused on internal management may have relatively fewer connections, such as IT support, internal web design, text editing, etc.

Salary: Many people have significantly increased their salaries by bringing “network resources” when switching jobs. In similar positions, those without connections may earn slightly less.

How to choose: If you value connections, you can carefully consider job responsibilities when choosing a career, whether there will be many opportunities for external interaction. If you are a professional talent, you may not need connections; as long as you do your professional work well, opportunities will naturally arise.

“Solo positions” vs. “team positions”

Solo positions: A single person can complete the work without relying on collective cooperation.
Team positions: Requires collaboration with others.
Examples: Teachers in training schools (paid by the hour), translators (paid by word), advertising designers (paid by project specifications).
Most positions are team positions, such as marketing, sales, engineering, etc.
Advantages: No complex interpersonal relationships, “the more you work, the more you earn.” Rapid growth within a team.
Disadvantages: Limited career prospects, as it is impossible to reach management positions (you have always managed yourself). Initially, you are a small player in the team, but eventually, you become a key player, with a clear development path.
Salary: Initial salary is relatively high, but you must rely on personal efforts to earn money, unable to enjoy the benefits of managing a team (most teachers in training schools are like this, and by the age of 30, they may feel very conflicted). Initial salaries are often lower, but as your role in the team becomes increasingly important, it will gradually rise.
Suitable for: Those who enjoy working alone and don’t mind still working solo at 40. Those who hope to become managers in the future.

Quantifiable positions vs. non-quantifiable positions#

Quantifiable positions: Job performance can be completely represented by data.
Non-quantifiable positions: Your job performance can only be evaluated based on feelings.
Examples: Sales, creative advertising personnel, procurement (how much budget you control), book planning, marketing (how much advertising budget you have), financial managers (how much budget you manage each year), etc.
Front desk, administration, human resources, customer service, quality control, data mining, etc.
Advantages: If performance is excellent, promotions and salary increases are rapid.
Disadvantages: Pressure is often high because your work has strict numerical assessments: How much did you sell? How many clicks did your social media marketing get?
Salary: Salary + commission. Salary + a small bonus.
Suitable for: Ambitious individuals who are very confident in their quantifiable work. Those who do not like high work pressure and feel more comfortable when their work is not quantified.

At this point, I am a bit worried: if you have no work experience, you may still find the above table confusing. Therefore, to help everyone gain a better understanding of various positions, we will provide a detailed introduction to some non-technical positions. As for technical positions, I believe those in the field are already familiar and will not elaborate further.

What does a marketing employee do?#

1. Helps the R&D department determine the direction of research: needs to go to different cities or sales locations to survey consumers, trying to understand what consumers in a certain area like and dislike, summarizing and optimizing consumer preferences into a new product concept. Therefore, a marketing employee must be someone who loves to observe and think.

2. Collaborates with advertisers to design TV commercials, selecting media and broadcasting formats, such as deciding whether to air continuously for 20 days or every other day, etc.; for each design, you must find sufficient reasons and data to support it. Therefore, marketing personnel must have strong logical and data abilities to persuade the boss to invest a large sum of money in the media you favor.

3. Designing advertising slogans is perhaps the most important part; many ads are remembered due to brilliant copywriting, such as “Diamonds are forever.” Even if you collaborate with an advertising company, you must have creativity yourself. Therefore, you need to have ideas; it is essential.

4. Collaborates with graphic designers to design images used for in-store displays, such as posters of popular celebrities for cosmetics, corporate brochures, etc.

5. Designs in-store display methods, determining how to arrange products to attract attention.

6. Designs promotional methods, deciding whether to offer buy-one-get-one-free deals or significant discounts, or whether giving away keychains or other small gifts is better.

7. Some promotional plans may need to be tested in certain cities or markets first, so you need to choose which cities to experiment in first.

8. Prepares a PowerPoint presentation of your plan and communicates with sales personnel, persuading them to accept your designed advertising and promotional plans, so that the sales team will be happy to coordinate with supermarkets or distributors on how to sell the products.

9. Communicating more with the R&D and sales departments can help you better understand their thoughts, making it easier for you to persuade them.

10. The career path for marketing professionals is to continue working in the field, moving from managing small brands to managing large brands, with both income and a sense of achievement being quite high.

• What kind of person is suitable for marketing?

1. Born to be a “idea king,” always able to come up with unexpected good ideas, possessing “creative thinking.”
2. Daring to take appropriate risks, willing to try different new methods and take responsibility for failures.
3. Having a scientific attitude and rational thinking, being relatively rational in work, and preferring to speak with objective analysis and data. Strong logical thinking ability, paying attention to cause and effect in analyzing problems, and simplifying complex issues.
4. Having foresight; many marketing activities cannot yield short-term effects. You need to see further, think earlier, act quickly, and plan for the long term, then implement step by step according to the plan.

What does a public relations (PR) employee do?

1. PR work is behind the scenes; you need to promote the company, boss, and products into the spotlight while remaining anonymous. The less noticeable the PR work, the better.

2. Part of PR work involves government relations, coordinating communication between the company and government departments. When a certain department of the company wants to hold an event with a government department, you need to contact the government department to coordinate details such as time, place, and personnel.

3. When a new product is to be launched, you need to make specific arrangements, such as inviting which media and reporters to attend, arranging the reception, and what information the press release should convey.

4. When a department signs a major client, you need to promote this success story immediately, preparing a press release to strive for publication in important media.

5. Expanding and maintaining media relationships, arranging interviews.

6. Writing press releases, reviewing all materials for external publicity to ensure consistency in public relations messaging.

7. Crisis management. Stepping up when the company is in a trust crisis, using all media resources and government and industry connections to rebuild reputation.

8. Media resources are the lifeblood of PR; truly establishing a good relationship with a newspaper involves various people. In addition to the contact reporter, you also need to consider editors, photographers, department heads, and even the editor-in-chief. Therefore, accumulating media resources is the winning secret in this industry.

9. PR personnel should develop the habit of being familiar with the latest news from various related media, comparing the frequency and effectiveness of their company’s media appearances with competitors, summarizing the PR issues the company has faced during this period, and addressing them accordingly. Generally, PR personnel in companies or large organizations must collect all relevant reports, video materials, and summaries annually, and develop the good habit of “keeping an eye on everything.”

10. Once you enter the PR field, in addition to working in a company, you can also go to a professional PR company, such as the largest domestic PR company BlueFocus or the American PR firm Ogilvy. The path in this industry is not wide, but the people you interact with are all high-level company personnel, and there are opportunities to transfer to other departments.

• What kind of person is suitable for PR?

1. PR personnel should meet the standards of decorum because you represent the company’s image. (Ugly people need not be sad; ugly people have their own blessings, as seen with Jack Ma.)
2. Since you represent the company’s image and frequently interact with the media, clear speech is necessary; those who blush when speaking or turn pale when excited should absolutely not work in PR.
3. Written expression ability is also crucial.
4. Having connections with government departments and media will make you more suitable for this profession! PR companies especially favor journalists who have worked in the media and graduates from communication majors, as they value their inherent networking advantages. I have seen a girl working in PR who originally worked in the city government’s publicity office easily transition to one of the largest PR companies.
5. PR personnel should appear “professional,” whether in attire, work style, work attitude, or communication skills, they should give a sense of professionalism. I know a manager from a PR company who is such a person. If you ask him which perfume is good, he might bring you 10 perfume samples the next day, each corresponding to a certain fragrance type, with notes on the characteristics of each perfume! If you go running on the beach with him, he will magically pull out special leg guards designed for running on the sand!

Sales in a seller’s market vs. sales in a buyer’s market
“Sales in a seller’s market” refers to the situation where the products and services you sell are basically in short supply, so customers often have to flatter sales representatives to gain distribution qualifications. For example, ten years ago, BMW sales representatives enjoyed such treatment, as BMW was in short supply at that time.
Clearly, life in a seller’s market is easy; even if the company’s commission is not generous, you can still earn respect and even material benefits from customers.
However, most “seller’s market” situations do not involve large transaction sales (Sales) and low-amount transaction sales (Sales).
Large transaction sales are proud high-end positions in the sales field that you deserve! For example, coal sales, ore sales, freight business sales (if you negotiate a large client to use your company’s ship for freight, the annual freight cost could easily reach millions), and large machinery sales are also like this.

We can imagine: If you handle tens of millions of dollars in transactions every year, your salary cannot be low.
Low-amount sales refer to sales positions where the transaction amount is not very large each time.

Advantages and disadvantages of the profession: Sales is very free, you don’t have to clock in and out, and you can spend money more freely; however, you must endure significant psychological pressure, as sales quotas are always hanging over you, and you have to deal with the pressure of losing orders, as we cannot win every time. The best path in sales is to rise within the company to management. Generally speaking, opportunities for salespeople to rise to higher positions are higher than for others, as sales are the lifeline of the entire company. However, even so, only a few can rise, so it is essential to accumulate resources and extend your career lifespan in sales as much as possible.

• What kind of person is suitable for sales?

1. Salespeople must be good at quickly establishing relationships with others. Some companies recruit salespeople through group discussions and require you to name two classmates; those who cannot do so are automatically eliminated!
2. Are you not afraid of pressure? Good! Have you ever experienced insomnia as exams approach? Do you become anxious two days before an interview? If so, you may not be suitable. Outstanding salespeople must have exceptional stress resistance. Otherwise, even if you reluctantly become a salesperson, you will find it hard to enjoy your food or sleep.
3. Can you turn “Goal” (task) into the motivation to “Go” (to work hard)? Or will you complain all day about your boss’s unreasonable “Goal” (equivalent to a taxi driver’s “fare”)? If you are the type who is motivated by having goals, you are suitable for sales!
4. Do you have a talent for caring for others? Or do you think caring for someone you don’t know well is too mushy? As a salesperson, the most important thing is to quickly establish a close relationship with your target customers. I know a senior salesperson who frequently sends me text messages, reminding me to dress warmly in cold weather and suggesting I drink mung bean soup in hot weather (he sends group messages, and caring for others has become his habit). If you don’t take note of the fact that a target customer’s son didn’t do well on the college entrance exam and is a few points short of the undergraduate line, will you avoid this bad news or immediately research the scores and employment situations of various colleges and discuss it with your customer, even if they think you are being overly concerned? Caring for others, and genuinely caring for them over the long term, can impress your target customers.
5. Are you a passionate person? Sales requires enthusiasm; you need to be filled with the desire to complete your Goal every day and be excited about the moment you receive your commission after achieving your goal.
6. Are you a responsible person? Good salespeople cannot have new clients every day; most of your resources come from old clients. If your client’s business is doing well, they will continue to purchase your equipment. A good salesperson takes high responsibility for their clients, treating their clients’ businesses as their own and their clients’ problems as their own; this sense of responsibility is a necessary quality for top salespeople.
7. Many people say that being able to drink is a necessary condition for sales, but I have seen many software salespeople, medical device salespeople, and energy product salespeople who can only drink a little. Many women worry that they will be forced to drink or entertain various clients in sales. However, in reality, if your clients are high-quality individuals, you should not be harassed.

What is the position of sales in consumer goods companies that do not directly face customers?
Sales in consumer goods companies do not face end customers but rather deal with product distributors. For example, if you sell a certain cosmetic, you may need to interact with both online (internet distributors) and offline (store distributors). There are many online distributors, such as Jumei, JD, Tmall, etc.; while offline distributors may include various supermarkets and specialty cosmetic stores like Jolly Chic.
Newcomers in daily consumer goods sales generally face the task of going out to understand first-hand sales conditions. You may need to go to various supermarkets to act as a “shelf manager,” placing the cheapest and most promotional products in the most “eye-catching” positions, such as the shelves near the entrance or the most prominent shelves at eye level. The more “golden” your shelves are, the easier it is for consumers to buy your products, and the store will stock more and keep the golden shelves for you long-term.
In sales, regardless of the position, you are constantly being rejected, so absolutely do not be afraid of losing “face,” and do not even think of it as losing “face.” Work is work; you must separate it from personal emotions. In sales, you must learn to interact with all kinds of people and be able to chat about any topic.

Sales in daily consumer goods companies cannot currently be considered a good lifelong career. This is because the technical content of daily consumer goods sales is not high, and the results of newcomers and “old” employees are often similar, making it difficult to guarantee that you can continue to succeed based on years of experience. In some unscrupulous companies, sales quotas can fluctuate, and no matter how capable you are, it is difficult to ensure your monthly income. Therefore, entering the sales management layer based on excellent performance is the best choice.
Overall, I encourage you to engage in sales with technical content, as this will significantly reduce your substitutability; the higher the technical content, the more valuable your experience will be.

• What kind of person is suitable for consulting?

1. Because you need to interact with clients, your behavior and demeanor must be pleasant to others, without any particularly unbearable flaws. I have a reader friend in my “interview speaking” class who, although very handsome, has a black mole at the corner of his eye. After graduating with an MBA, he wanted to work in a consulting company but failed repeatedly. Eventually, he removed the mole, which he thought was lucky, and true luck came to him; he was hired by the most famous local consulting company.

2. People in the consulting industry need to have confidence; even if you are a fresh graduate, you must be able to tell a boss who has been in the industry for many years what they should do instead of what they shouldn’t do. This high level of psychological pressure requires you to have good mental resilience because consultants cannot always have rich experience in all industries.

3. You should appear intelligent; clients will trust you. Your work must be detailed and organized; your speech must be clear, and your plans must be structured. Your Mandarin must be standard; you should be competitive but not overly ambitious, lively but not ostentatious, cooperative but not self-serving.

4. You must be able to see problems accurately and provide constructive suggestions because this industry is fundamentally about offering advice.

5. You must excel at presentations; many plans need to be presented to clients in meetings, so you must be good at presenting your views in public and be able to answer questions on the spot without preparation.

6. Leadership skills, analytical skills, and quantitative abilities are universally valued and sought-after skills in consulting firms. You must be good at deriving conclusions from data.

“What is the HR profession like?”
HR work is characterized by decency, stability, and minimal overtime, rather than being aggressive or challenging to earn more.
3. Entry-level HR personnel need to handle many detailed tasks: hiring and termination procedures, insurance and social security payments, individual income tax and salary calculations, attendance management, personnel file maintenance, daily assessments, etc.
4. You need to be familiar with labor and personnel regulations and be able to draft labor contracts, confidentiality agreements, and service agreements.
5. Draft various personnel regulations, such as the “Employee Handbook” and “Annual Assessment Implementation Guidelines,” and assist in job analysis and organizing job descriptions.
6. Develop or propose suggestions for compensation management systems, benefits systems, performance evaluations, and incentive measures.

• What kind of person is suitable for HR?
  Professionals in fields such as public relations, administration, and marketing generally deal with people year after year.

This type of work can be considered “HR.”#

1. Serious and with strong affinity. The HR manager of a large company may need to interact with the media, so a serious demeanor often implies a decent appearance. Here, I remind you to understand the keywords in the job requirements.
2. Mature and rational, good at observation and listening.
3. Cautious in speech, cannot gossip, but also cannot give a cold or difficult-to-approach impression.
4. Able to accept a job nature that is not too stimulating or changeable. HR work is a long-term endeavor; you must accept a reality that you cannot expect to gain recognition and respect overnight. What you do is not short-term, specific, or quantifiable, but indirect, long-term, and flexible.
5. Regardless of how important HR work is, it will always be a supporting role in the company, so you must accept another reality: when the company celebrates success, your name may not be mentioned, and it will be difficult to achieve rapid promotion. Fairly, the pressure of HR work is usually not high, and working late is rare.
6. Since the HR department is predominantly female, men may have an advantage when applying.

“What is administrative management like?”
In small companies, administration is synonymous with “jack of all trades” or “housekeeper,” which means doing everything: buying stationery, booking tickets, ordering water, buying plants, organizing various festive events, and being responsible for repairs when items break. You may even have to help the boss with personal matters, such as paying phone bills or handling car licenses. Even in large enterprises, administration involves a variety of tasks.

The advantages of administration are clear: very little overtime, low pressure, and easy to get along with colleagues; often, you must do everything possible to help the company save money, gathering supplier information to buy things at the lowest discount.
The disadvantages of working in administration are also obvious: low salary, difficult to get promoted, and not easily recognized by the boss. Of course, there are exceptions in companies that value administration, such as New Oriental, where the location of each campus is determined by administrative personnel, making it quite important.

• What kind of person is suitable for administration?

1. Someone who enjoys doing trivial tasks.
2. Someone who does not have great ambition for career development (in general terms).

A so-called past ≈ future, refers to “using past experience to determine future careers.” Let’s first look at two cases:#

1. The career experiences of these individuals show that the past ≈ present is merely a reference method for choosing a career and cannot be copied absolutely.
   . Reflecting on past experiences
   Summarizing experiences: Review past work experiences in detail, listing the positions you have held, responsibilities, and achievements.
   Identifying skills: Analyze the skills and knowledge you have gained in different jobs, identifying your core competitiveness.
   Evaluating interests: Reflect on which job content made you feel the most accomplished and interested, and which made you feel bored or uncomfortable.

2. Analyzing the current career environment

Industry trends: Understand the latest development trends and future prospects in your industry, identifying which areas have more opportunities.
Company needs: Research the development direction and talent needs of your target company, ensuring your career planning aligns with the company’s development strategy.

3. Setting future career goals

Short-term goals: Set short-term career goals for the next 1-3 years, clarifying what progress or changes you hope to achieve in your current position.
Long-term goals: Set long-term career goals for the next 5-10 years, considering the heights and achievements you hope to reach in your career.

4. Developing an action plan

Skill enhancement: Based on future career goals, develop specific learning and training plans to enhance relevant skills and knowledge.
Network expansion: Actively participate in industry conferences, training, and social activities to expand your network and gain more career opportunities.
Practical experience: Accumulate more practical experience through internships, part-time jobs, or project collaborations to enhance your career competitiveness.

5. Regular evaluation and adjustment

Self-evaluation: Regularly review and assess your career development progress, ensuring you are moving toward your established goals.
Flexible adjustment: Based on actual conditions and industry changes, flexibly adjust your career planning and goals, maintaining flexibility and adaptability in career development.
Through the above steps, you can better utilize your past experiences to formulate practical future career plans, ensuring your career development direction is clear and actionable.

The Career Choice Conclusion Method: What you are better at than others is what you should do for the rest of your life.#

You study engineering and are also a core member of the student union. I think you are “stronger” in the aspect of “combining technology and management,” so you should work as a management trainee or in technical management or sales and marketing management within your industry.
If you are better at focusing on technology than your classmates, then technical positions and future technical management positions should be your choice.
If you are more organized and have a better sense of numbers than most people, then you will definitely excel in finance 180 times more than I do.
If you feel you have no advantages but seem to be better at making friends than others, you might become a good salesperson (don’t be surprised; good salespeople often have the best interpersonal relationships).

An industry can make ordinary employees rich overnight. Yes, there is indeed a certain gap in the development space of different industries. If the positions are similar, everyone should choose industries with greater growth potential.#

Choosing a Company#

A good company is one that helps you grow, entering a company that leads you to “career path N levels.”
Why not plan your career path after age 40? Will you consider your choice of “foreign companies or state-owned enterprises” more carefully?
State-owned enterprises, a unique term in society, have been more associated with negative connotations: inefficiency, procrastination, nepotism, etc. Because of this, many young people feel a bit uneasy when their parents arrange for them to enter state-owned enterprises, worrying that their one-time youth will vanish in inefficiency, and only realize their regret when their belly protrudes and their hair turns gray…

Are big companies better than small companies?#

Large enterprises often have a specific role for each position, and everything is orderly and follows rules. If you are someone without much opinion (or have not yet formed your own ideas and opinions), you are very suitable to start in a large enterprise. Additionally, the advanced management systems and corporate culture of large enterprises can help newcomers broaden their horizons and understand what is best. Another important point is that the work background of large enterprises is often a golden sign, making your future job search much smoother.

However, for those who are particularly ambitious and need “a voice,” such places can feel very oppressive, as they feel constrained. Moreover, large enterprises are filled with talent; even if you are very smart and hardworking, it is impossible to stand out immediately. Once you enter a large company, you often have to “grind” for several years before you may have a chance for promotion, and you must “grind” with quality. In contrast, small enterprises may have multiple roles for one position; a front desk secretary may also serve as a human resources assistant, and if you have the ability, you may be discovered by the boss overnight. I remember when I first started working at an immigration consulting agency, although my position was as a lawyer assistant, I did everything: running to embassies, answering client questions, providing English training to clients, etc. If you do many jobs simultaneously, you can quickly discover your interests and strengths; my strength in English teaching was discovered when I “guest-starred” as an English trainer here. Therefore, small enterprises offer more flexibility, and your development may have leaps.

Of course, the disadvantages of working in small enterprises are obvious: they are not stable enough, there are not enough excellent talents around you to learn from, and the work background of small enterprises may not carry enough weight when switching jobs… Therefore, many people choose to work in large enterprises first to accumulate experience and then move to small enterprises to showcase their ambitions.

Starting a business is usually suitable for these people: those who have worked in startups from the beginning and are familiar with the entrepreneurial process and key points; those who have worked in core technical positions for a long time, have excellent technology, and have connections and creativity; those who have entrepreneurial backgrounds in their families and have advantages in the industry they are engaged in; those who want to try their hand at it and are not afraid of failure. Many young people who start businesses right after graduation fail, and the reason is often not that the idea is bad, but that they lack experience, do not have a team, and lack execution—ultimately, accumulation is more important than ideas.

People can first find employment and then start a business. This saying is worth considering. However, we also see many outstanding employees who have worked in large companies for three to five years, entering with the idea of recharging before starting a business, but gradually receiving generous treatment and promotions, becoming accustomed to the stable life of a 9-to-5 job. They have learned knowledge of segmented positions, but they have also become a screw in a large machine, losing the passion and motivation for entrepreneurship. Therefore, if you are truly determined to start a business, to ensure you learn the necessary knowledge for early-stage entrepreneurship, try to join smaller companies (less than 100 people) so you won’t become a screw.

If you are an excellent engineer and want to start a business in the future, perhaps you should not go to a large company but to a startup with great potential, as you will become familiar with the entrepreneurial process and key points. Additionally, those who are very skilled in technical positions may also receive proactive invitations from others to collaborate on entrepreneurial ventures.

In terms of work intensity, starting a business definitely requires longer hours than white-collar work; in terms of financial income, many people in the early stages of entrepreneurship live on beautiful visions of the future. However, in terms of life experience, entrepreneurship offers you a completely different perspective and insights compared to working for someone else. Moreover, stepping back, even if young people fail in their entrepreneurial endeavors, the “growth wealth” they gain may exceed that of working for several years. I have seen several young people who failed in their startups quickly develop after returning to white-collar jobs because they can think from the company’s perspective and better understand the boss.

Finally, the advice for entrepreneurship is: if you have an idea, go for it; if you fail, you can always start over.

Choosing a Career Development Path: Look at the Pyramid#

Understanding the pyramid structure in career development usually refers to gradually advancing from basic positions to higher-level management or expert positions. This structure can help you clarify your career development path and goals.

Career Development Path

Management Route
The management route typically includes the process of gradually advancing from entry-level employees to team leaders, department managers, and even senior managers. This route is suitable for those with leadership abilities who are good at communication and coordination.

Expert Route
The expert route involves working in a specific professional field and gradually becoming an expert or authority in that area. This route is suitable for those with deep accumulation and interest in a particular technical or professional field.

There is no good or bad career route, only the one that suits you.#

01 About the Expert Route
The expert route requires a person to be highly skilled, experienced, and have unique insights in their field, capable of solving complex problems and providing solutions.

They generally focus on one module, typically as specialists. The biggest advantage of developing in this module is that it allows for focused knowledge accumulation, enabling one to become an expert in the field more quickly.

This type of career development generally exists in large enterprises.

If one can reach this level and tier, it undoubtedly requires years of immersion and hands-on practice in the position or industry, encountering countless real cases and accumulating frontline and on-site experience.

Therefore, for those who want to develop along the “expert route,” there is an implicit “hard requirement,” which is “same position.”

Clearly, frequent job changes make it impossible to reach expert levels, let alone develop upward along the expert route.

02 About the Management Route
The management route requires individuals to have flexible adaptability and problem-solving skills, efficient communication and coordination abilities; innovation and teamwork awareness; and the ability to lead teams to face challenges and achieve goals.

Thus, there is no strict requirement to remain in the same field, industry, or even the same position.

Of course, being deeply rooted in the same field and working in one industry for a long time, accumulating connections and experience is better.

In other words, while industry experience accumulation is important, compared to “career” experience accumulation, this importance is not as significant. However, even if not in the same field, the working years and experience in related fields or positions will still be emphasized.

The management route progresses from assistant, specialist, gradually to supervisor, manager, director, and general manager. Those who walk the management route are generally generalists, with a greater emphasis on management ability than professional ability.

03 Are you suitable for the Expert Route or the Management Route?
To assess whether you are more suited for the expert route or the management route, I suggest you consider the following three aspects:

Personal personality, interests, and strengths
If you want to pursue the expert route but lack the patience to study diligently, lack the spirit of research, and are unwilling to delve into the professional field, it will be difficult for you to succeed.

If you want to pursue the management route but are not good at systematic thinking, communication, and coordination, and dislike dealing with interpersonal relationships, preferring to work independently without leading a team, you will also find it difficult to excel.

If your self-assessment is ambiguous and you don’t know which path suits you, you can use career interest testing tools for assessment or seek objective evaluations and feedback from leaders, colleagues, classmates, and friends who know you well to clarify your strengths, specialties, and true interests.

After a comprehensive assessment, you will have a deeper and more complete understanding of yourself, allowing you to choose a suitable development path.

This not only helps with the stability of future careers but also helps maintain your motivation and passion for work, making it easier to achieve success and gain respect while enjoying the joy and sense of accomplishment from work.

Whether suitable opportunities can be provided
Sometimes, what we want to do and what we can do is greatly related to whether the platform can provide us with such opportunities.

If your expertise and strengths are in a company or position that cannot fully utilize them, your value will naturally not be realized, and whether you want to pursue the expert route or management route will not be determined by you, and the opportunities will be very slim.

For example, if you are in the finance department and clearly want to take on a management position, but according to the current organizational structure and job settings of the company, only expert positions are available to you; conversely, if you want to be an expert in finance, but the current opportunities in the company are only management roles.

In this case, your strengths and interests do not match the development opportunities and platforms provided by the company. If you cannot switch jobs, your career development aspirations will be difficult to realize.

Whether your direct supervisor supports you
In addition to your strengths and advantages, and the company providing you with a platform to showcase your abilities, you especially need a direct supervisor who supports and mentors you.

They are willing to cultivate and guide you, uncover your potential, give you opportunities to take on greater responsibilities, help you build your abilities and accumulate experience in the career direction you desire, gradually forming your core competitiveness.

Encountering an excellent supervisor is a fortunate thing; they can help you navigate your career path smoothly and lead you to success.

If an employee can continuously produce good results, there must be a good superior or leader behind them who guides and supports them. This ultimately determines an employee’s dedication and enthusiasm for work.

In summary, whether to choose the expert route or the management route depends on which one suits you, whether there are development opportunities, and whether your supervisor is willing to teach you.

From the perspective of companies hiring talent, specialized talents can thoroughly understand and be familiar with the responsibilities and content of a job, generating new ideas and thoughts, making work more efficient.

Only employees who can achieve this will be highly valued and sought after.

In conclusion, whether to specialize in one field or position or to explore multiple fields or positions to broaden horizons and uncover potential is closely related to your personality and career development planning.

After three years, switching industries is basically a matter of survival capital relying on hard work before age 35, while after age 35, it relies on accumulation, including connections, experience, reputation, and clients… If you switch industries, it means your three years of accumulation will be wasted.

Many people feel frustrated and anxious when they have been working for two or three years, thinking that changing industries will clear the fog. In fact, this only allows you to start over, and after two or three years, you will encounter the same bottleneck again. It’s like running a long-distance race; at the beginning, it’s easy, but soon you will feel discomfort for the first time, but after enduring it, you can run for a long time; then you will encounter discomfort for the second time, and after persisting, you can run again… The proportion of those who can endure three to five discomforts is not large, so as long as you persist, this capital will be enough for you to enjoy for a lifetime.

Career Life#

Those who persist in climbing a peak will surely reach the summit. It seems that those who stick to doing one thing for a lifetime will definitely succeed and become strong and outstanding individuals.

Strengths#

It is about discovering your strengths—refining your strengths to make them longer!
So, what are your strengths? If you don’t have any, keep doing things to find them!
If you already have them, congratulations! Please engage in various social practices to validate and extend them!

1. Do three things well in college
   (1) Practice speaking skills diligently. Everyone says English is a “stepping stone,” but to be precise, speaking is the key.
   (2) Make good friends. From freshman year, hang out with seniors and graduate students; when I intern in my junior year and look for jobs in my senior year, they will become valuable resources for me. Even if they can’t introduce jobs, they can guide me.
   (3) Strive for “maturity.” Start various internships from freshman year, whether tutoring or guiding, even if it’s just handing out flyers; doing more will help you discover your interests and abilities earlier, allowing you to “mature” faster.

Special Positions for Women#

2. Assistant: A good position for female job seekers to take a roundabout way
   Female job seekers face “discrimination” in many positions, so being an assistant becomes a good opportunity for many women to take a roundabout way. If you do well as an assistant, you are likely to quickly shed the assistant label and become a professional in technology, sales, marketing, etc.

To excel as an assistant, there are three key elements:
(1) Do your job 120% well. Type quickly, neatly, and save paper; brew tea that is neither too hot nor too cold! It is no exaggeration to say that your work performance directly determines the speed at which you can transfer departments or positions.
(2) Serve everyone, not just the manager. Fully recognize that assistants are the most basic service personnel in the company, even if you are the assistant to the general manager. Willingly serve everyone, and when everyone says you are capable and have a service mindset, your promotion notice will be waiting outside to embrace you.
(3) Learn secretly, rather than overtly. Learning skills is easy to understand; as a sales assistant, you should learn how sales representatives work, and as a human resources assistant, you should ponder how the salary and benefits specialist designs the compensation system. The word “secretly” is absolutely necessary, especially for new assistants who have just joined the company and have not yet established a good reputation. You should know that asking too many questions before doing your job well is the most annoying behavior for newcomers, exposing your “wolf ambition”!

3. “Sales” is a good position
   Many people say that sales positions are not suitable for women because they require traveling, entertaining clients, and have high pressure, needing to rely on others for a lifetime. However, in most companies, customers and sales representatives are interdependent; customers also rely on sales representatives to help them procure good products, plan inventory, and extend payment terms to prosper together, so customers generally treat sales representatives with respect.
   Of course, high-pressure sales positions may be more common. However, one should not define all sales positions as “begging for favors,” as there are indeed different types of sales positions.

4. Scholar-type teachers should be cautious about entering training institutions
   When young, being a teacher in a training institution seems glamorous because of high energy and many classes, and the income will be significantly higher than peers.
   However, in training institutions, scholar-type teachers have almost no career path because there are no titles such as lecturer—associate professor—professor… Therefore, troubles will come with age, as decreased energy leads to fewer classes and naturally lower income.
   Of course, some teachers possess management talents, gradually moving into teaching management positions, finding suitable management roles during the rapid expansion of schools.

5. Career development, try not to take a roundabout path

Career development is like climbing a mountain; everyone wants to reach the peak quickly and see all the small mountains. The fastest way to reach the peak, besides taking a cable car (if you have a billionaire dad or grandpa), is to climb straight up with determination.
The career path I have walked is roundabout: translation—sales assistant—sales representative—teacher. The disadvantages of a roundabout career path are obvious; it will inevitably delay your time to reach the peak, and your salary and position will slowly rise instead of soaring quickly. Of course, everything has its pros and cons; a roundabout career path also has its advantages. Since you have taken multiple paths, you can appreciate the different scenery along the way and experience the different joys and pains brought by various professions. In summary, a straight path allows you to achieve high positions and money faster, while a roundabout path allows you to experience the richness of life. Whether to take a straight or roundabout path entirely depends on what you want to achieve.
If time could turn back, I would focus more on material desires (including a sense of achievement) and would have firmly walked any of the following straight paths:
(1) Teacher—excellent teacher—excellent teacher and author of multiple books
(2) Teacher—department supervisor—branch school principal—group executive
(3) Sales assistant—sales representative—sales supervisor—department manager—sales director

Quality and morality are not the same.#

Kindness is an inner quality, and specific traditions consider altruism to be the highest “profit” business.
Because you will surely receive extraordinary returns: trust from clients, help from friends, understanding from employees…
So, even if you feel this statement is very utilitarian, I still want to call for more good people, even if half of them are utilitarian good people.

2. Going with the flow, focusing, and caring for clients will lead you to entrepreneurship.
   Many young people ask me how I view entrepreneurship; my opinion is: if you learn to go with the flow, focus, and care for clients, you can succeed in entrepreneurship.
   Going with the flow means meeting the needs of the times. For example, AI, interactive service robots, neural network deep learning undoubtedly align with national conditions and long-term development.

Focusing means you can lock your products and services onto a specific target audience; this is easier said than done. Most people can do many things but struggle to focus, leading to unsuccessful entrepreneurship.

Branding is a cultural symbol formed by a company’s culture that has survived the test of time in the market.

How to view the relationship between education and ability?#

In 95% of cases, your undergraduate degree is roughly equivalent to your true ability, rather than your master’s degree.

If you are a graduate of a third-tier university and hope to turn your life around with a graduate degree, this degree may be more useful for entering government agencies or public institutions; however, in top international companies, it may not truly serve as a stepping stone.

The career prospects of graduates from third-tier universities lie in the workplace! Since you cannot compete with others in academics, why compete with first-tier students in studies? If you engage in a highly practical profession, such as insurance sales, you can completely earn more than a graduate from a first-tier university or even a graduate student!

2. What is the development prospect of the consulting industry in China?
   Of course, it’s good; like other industries, most are quite good. The key is how high you can climb.

3. In terms of development space, salary, and stability, is it better in the fast-moving consumer goods industry or in technology research and development?
   If you excel in a certain position, it will be stable + high salary + development. So, the question is whether your technical research is slightly better than others or whether your creative planning is slightly better than others? Choosing based on “what you are better at than others” is often very accurate.

4. Can you introduce the media industry situation? Does it have prospects?
   Since you raised this question, I have to answer you: “Dear, you may not be suitable for the media industry.” Because this question lacks the sensitivity of “media”! If your question were, “Does the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television’s ‘two limits’ have a significant impact on the media industry?” I would think you are suitable for the media industry.

How to find a good wife?#

— First, understand the target wife’s needs, then prepare well and take action.
How to find a good job?
— First, determine the target position and industry, then prepare well and take action.
After reading this chapter, please return here to complete the following form.

1. The career and industry I choose are:

2. Which predecessors in the industry and position have I contacted, and what internal information have I shared:
   (1) _____________________________________________
   (2) _____________________________________________
   (3) _____________________________________________
3. I conducted “pre-marital trials” for this industry and position (trial marriage nature behavior, don’t misinterpret):
   (1) _____________________________________________
   (2) _____________________________________________
   (3) _____________________________________________
4. What are the dress requirements for this profession and industry, and what preparations have I made:
   (1) _____________________________________________
   (2) _____________________________________________
   (3) _____________________________________________
5. Compared to other job seekers, the preparations I made may have a slight edge:
   (1) _____________________________________________
   (2) _____________________________________________
   (3) _____________________________________________

Several close comrades?#

The close comrades on the job search road fall into two categories:
One category is the network resources you have accumulated; the other category is the classmates who are also job hunting alongside you.
Network resources are what we Chinese particularly value as the “relationship network,” always ranking high on the list of success elements.

In freshman year, if you establish friendships with seniors and graduate students, they will become valuable resources for you when you look for jobs in your senior year! College boys often focus their friendship-seeking gaze on “junior sisters,” often ignoring senior sisters who are two levels above them. Reflect on this; pursuing junior sisters is understandable, but you can also establish comradeship with senior sisters!

The second category of close comrades is classmates who are also looking for jobs. Forming a job-hunting group with your closest classmates will bring you many benefits:

1. Searching for job information separately. You are responsible for searching the university’s BBS, while I am responsible for checking the BBS of foreign trade universities; you check “51job” every day, while I check “Guolai Ren.” The power of two is greater than one, and the power of three is greater than two;