By John Millen
Congratulations on your college graduation!
You may have heard amazing commencement speeches with advice on following your heart and changing the world.
That is all good and inspirational advice. You should follow your dreams.
But as you know, you’re entering the workforce at a moment of serious change.
AI is already reshaping how work gets done and it will continue to do so.
Which raises a fair question: What actually matters now?
Here’s my answer, after 35 years coaching CEOs and other leaders and watching careers succeed or fail:
As AI takes over more tasks, careers will be built on what remains: judgment, trust and relationships.
These aren’t soft skills. They’re durable ones that will power your career and your life.
Almost all of my advice that follows comes back to that idea.
Here are 10 ways to put it into practice as you begin your career:
1. Learn to be fully present
My top strategy is to master the skill of paying attention: show interest, ask questions and stay off of your phone as much as possible.
This is not easy, but if you learn to be fully present you will differentiate yourself from all generations at the workplace.
You’ll also experience less anxiety and greater peace of mind.
While you’ve grown up managing inputs from multiple sources, science has found that the human brain is not capable of multi-tasking.
We have to switch our attention back and forth continuously.
You might be great at that, but people who are paying you money will value your complete focus on the task at hand, especially as you are establishing yourself.
Don’t live in the past or anticipate the future, be fully present in this moment. It’s all you have.
2. Start with face-to-face
You have the most amazing technology in history in your pocket. That smartphone gives you the potential to communicate with anyone in the world.
Yet, as a human being, the most important communication of your life will happen face-to-face, looking into people’s eyes and talking, whether to one person, ten people or one thousand.
Develop your skills in talking face-to-face.
3. Get good at online video
Having said that face-to-face will always rule, the reality is that much of your interaction will be online.
Master the art of video presentations and interaction.
4. Listen more than you talk
You no doubt have great ideas and you see the silly things people do in the workplace. When you’re first settling in, make sure you listen much more than you talk.
There will be plenty of time to offer up your good ideas.
If you want people to think you’re really smart, listen carefully to the smart things they say and repeat them back at other times, so they know you’ve got it.
5. Focus on people
Whatever field you enter in business or nonprofits, your organization will have a mission. Keep your eye on the people affected by that mission.
People and organizations most often make mistakes because they lose sight of the most important people –– customers, employees, recipients, donors or others.
You’ll never go wrong by focusing on the people instead of the numbers, the politics, the organization, the bureaucracy.
The power is with the people. Direct your attention to the people.
6. Build relationships
Speaking of people, you should concentrate on creating real relationships with the people in your organization. Not just the higher-ups, but also the people all around you at every level.
Anything you have or will achieve in life is the result of people and your relationships.
This will always be true.
In the past, it was your parents, teachers, coaches, or friends.
In the future, take time to build relationships that will create your success.
7. Never burn a bridge
Just as in college and the rest of your life, there will be people at work you can’t stand. Don’t permanently kill those relationships by some impulsive action that will make you feel good today.
The person you have a problem with today may well be your friend, ally, or partner tomorrow.
If you burn the bridge and destroy the relationship, you’ll never get the chance.
To protect yourself, don’t let people push your buttons.
8. Be a leader
You may not have the title, but you should think and act like a leader. Your success will come from your ability to influence others in a positive way.
Observe what leaders do – both good and bad – and emulate the best of what you learn.
My first job out of college was in sales and marketing for Procter & Gamble, where they would tell me “you’re always selling yourself, your ideas, and your company.”
This idea has been one of my most powerful forces during decades in business.
9. Persevere
This is probably the most important factor in your success in life. Don’t give up too easily.
Become someone who stays positive and does the hard work even when things aren’t going well.
I’ve seen it time and time again: When the average person gives up, it’s around the time that they were about to breakthrough.
Fight for yourself, your beliefs and your ideas. Show the world your passion and keep fighting until the end.
Some people say that 80 percent of success in life is showing up. Keep showing up.
10. Enjoy Yourself
Very little is as serious as it seems to us at the time.
Don’t take it all too seriously. Have fun in everything you do.
Congratulations college graduate!
Much of this advice is practical for anyone in the workplace.
If you find this of value, please forward to a recent grad or emerging leader.
John Millen is a conference speaker, coach, and consultant who teaches leaders to communicate with influence. He writes