Experience vs Enthusiasm?
26 Feb 2016
Not long ago, LinkedIn posted a blog entry titled ‘If I were 22: What advice would you give your younger self?’ containing stories and advice from prominent business figures. At the time this was launched, a few of our team members posted their thoughts and advice to their younger selves.
Ashley wrote about not being afraid of going after something you love alone and to be bold. Abi said to just keep going (and to eat lots of cake!). Tom, our own rebel, advised to ignore any advice, writing that a big part of adulthood is finding your feet on your own and to enjoy it.
As someone who is 22 (almost), the article really struck a chord, and has stayed with me ever since it was first posted last year, when I was about to graduate from University. At the time I was concerned that people wouldn’t take me seriously, even with a degree, because of my age. And I’ve found that to be partly true—people sometimes do judge me at first glance on my age, but it hasn’t been as much of an obstacle as I had worried.
And this got me thinking, does age really matter? Would hindsight really help out your younger self, would you have done anything different?
Richard Branson’s contribution to the original LinkedIn blog entry was this; “If I were 22, I would go out all night partying and not always think about the consequences of my actions.” This from the man who started Virgin Records at 22.
He went on to say that “I am not the person I was 42 years ago. I am not even the person I was two years ago. We all change, we all learn, we all grow. To continually punish somebody for the mistakes they made in the past is not just illogical, it is plain wrong.”
Branson’s entry was the one that struck me the most. His point seems to be that age does not matter, as that even as you get older, you still change, you still grow, and you still learn.
But what does this mean for young people who are just starting to find their feet in their careers? We now have four people working for OpenCRM who are under 25. Fresh faces with less experience can feel like risky business for an employer.
So, why do OpenCRM like to hire youthful people like myself, what do we have to offer? We are enthusiastic to work hard and learn more. We bring fresh new abilities and add to the diverse machine that is OpenCRM. Equally, employing younger people is an investment in the future, by giving people a chance and believing in people more than a piece of paper.
As Branson suggests, no matter how old someone is, they are still learning, still growing. Mistakes are made however old you are. Experience is one thing, but I am keen to show OpenCRM what the youth of today have to offer to a workforce in 2016!
