Things I wished I knew when I graduated:
1. Prepare for interviews like how you prepare for exams. I learnt this the hard way. I thought interviews were suppose to measure how good you are at doing your job, but it really doesn’t.
2. Ask for pay raise after your probation. If you are good at what you do, and better than everyone else, ask your boss for a senior/management salary. Bosses are usually not dumb, and will reward you accordingly.
3. Network well with your senior colleagues, the talented ones. Your colleague can become an executive of a unicorn, you can parachute your way there too if your relationship with them is a good one. But don’t waste too much time with people from HR, Marketing and other fluff departments, most people in these departments are gonna be completely replaced by AI soon.
4. Start side hustles. Tuition, small business & more. This tiny income streams can really snowball to a huge sum down the road.
5. Invest most of your income. Don’t keep your money rotting in bank. At least put it in cash funds, and have a sound investment plan, let AI handle it if you suck at managing finances.
6. Spend time with your family. Not your new bf/gf, but your parents & siblings. For the most of you, your parents are no longer going to be around when you finally have the time.
7. Spend less time here and on other social media platforms. And with that, you would have extra time for yourself. Nobody really cares about your daily life that you share, apart from the ones that you meet regularly.