Getting off the ground isn’t about landing the perfect job – it’s about setting yourself up on a trajectory. The first real job in your career won’t be your last, and it probably won’t be your dream one either. That’s by design. Early roles should stretch you – ask more of you than you think you’re ready for. They’ll teach you how to show up when the work isn’t glamorous, how to grow into responsibilities you haven’t held before, and how to build the foundational skills that will serve you for a lifetime.
Here’s our tactical advice, honest reflections, and tools to help you navigate those first few years: how to build a resume that opens doors, how to get into rooms where real work happens, and how to develop the habits and capabilities that make you indispensable.
It’s not about shortcuts – it’s about momentum. Let’s get moving.
Getting Going
“Figure out what you’re exceptionally good at, what you like to do, and what no one else can do. And then work to become a teacher of those things, rather than doing them in a vacuum.”
"The only way to acquire the skills is to do it and pay the tuition of struggle."
— From Brent Beshore’s 2023 Annual Letter
