Keren The Corporate World: Navigating as a Gen Z entrant.
I am not only a project officer, but I am also an apprentice. As I enter this new world, I take my place as a learner, in order to become a master later. That is how the cycle always is. I have learned that in each phase of life, it is wise to take time to learn before taking on bigger tasks and circumstances that call for experience.
Clear slate: What I love about the corporate world is that your skills (both technical and interpersonal) matter a lot. But not to the people on the same level as you, because entrants all have to prove themselves before they are able to have influence. This is a good contrast from the peer tyrants of teenage and college life. Those teenage/ college tyrants become irrelevant once skills come into play. This reminds me of the words once spoken to me by someone much older than me, “Gen Z, no body cares about who you were before. People only care about what you have to offer.”
I keep these words with me at all times, making sure to know that I am not important. My emotions are not important. My past traumas are not important (maybe to my therapist). But when it comes to the corporate world, I am a machine. My technical and interpersonal skills are what matter. Knowing this is freeing. I can let go of me, practice non-importance, and become what the Japanese call- a salaryman.
Keren Obara 2023.
