All Different Ways You Can Style a ‘Classic White Shirt’
August 22, 2023
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Your early twenties feel deceptively simple on the surface. You’re “young”, you have time, and everyone keeps telling you that you’ll figure things out eventually. But underneath that reassurance is quiet pressure to choose the right career, to make the right moves, to not fall behind.
Looking back, I realise that most of the stress came not from lack of effort, but from following incomplete advice. The kind that sounds comforting, but doesn’t actually prepare you for how professional life works.
If I could speak to my early-twenties self or anyone standing at that crossroads now this is the career advice I wish someone had given me. Not motivational quotes. Not hustle clichés. Real, practical guidance that actually compounds over time.
Recent article click on here “Because Love Isn’t Measured in Years Why Emotional Depth, Timing, and Alignment Matter More Than Time”
In your early twenties, it’s easy to believe that your first “proper” job defines your future. It doesn’t.
Your first role is less about prestige and more about exposure. It teaches you how organisations function, how people communicate under pressure, how deadlines actually work, and how value is measured in the real world.
What matters most at this stage is not the job title, but:
A modest role that stretches you is far more valuable than an impressive title that keeps you comfortable. Early career growth is about building professional muscle, not external validation.
This is uncomfortable advice especially when bills, expectations, and comparisons creep in. But it’s true.
In your early twenties, prioritising skill density over immediate income often pays exponentially later. Skills compound. Salaries plateau when skills don’t.
The professionals who accelerate fastest are the ones who:
If a role gives you rare, transferable skills strategy, communication, problem-solving, leadership, analytical thinking it’s often worth more than a slightly higher pay cheque elsewhere.
Money matters. But skills create leverage.
One of the biggest traps of your early twenties is overthinking. Waiting for certainty. Waiting for confidence. Waiting to feel “ready”.
Read this carefully: clarity does not come before action it comes because of action.
Most professionals don’t discover what they love by thinking. They discover it by doing things they don’t love first. Every role you take, every project you touch, every environment you experience gives you contrast. And contrast creates clarity.
Movement beats perfection every time. Stagnation disguised as planning is still stagnation.
Many people treat their early twenties as a “trial phase” where mistakes don’t count. Professionally, that’s a myth.
People remember:
Your reputation quietly forms long before your CV looks impressive. And reputations travel faster than résumés.
Be known as someone who:
That perception opens doors you didn’t even know existed.
Formal education rarely teaches how organisations truly operate. But your career depends on understanding it.
In the real world:
This doesn’t mean becoming cynical. It means becoming observant.
Pay attention to:
Understanding organisational dynamics is a professional superpower. Ignore it, and you’ll always feel confused by outcomes that “don’t make sense”.
A strong career is not a list of roles it’s a narrative.
Instead of asking, “What job should I do next?”, ask:
When your career has a coherent story, opportunities align more easily. Recruiters, clients, and collaborators understand where you fit and why you matter.
Random moves slow momentum. Intentional ones compound it.
Not every experienced person is worth learning from.
The best mentors are not necessarily the most senior, but the most relevant. Look for people who:
Mentorship doesn’t always look formal. Sometimes it’s regular conversations. Sometimes it’s observing how someone handles pressure. Sometimes it’s learning what not to do.
Proximity to the right people changes how you think and how fast you grow.
Early in your career, it’s tempting to burn yourself out trying to prove something. Long hours. Constant stress. No boundaries.
But sustainable success is built on consistency, not exhaustion.
Professionals who last:
Burnout early doesn’t make you impressive it makes you unreliable later. Your career is a long game. Treat it like one.
This is rarely talked about.
As you grow professionally, your values, ambitions, and tolerance for certain environments will change. What felt exciting at 22 may feel suffocating at 28. That doesn’t mean you failed it means you evolved.
Allow yourself to outgrow:
A career is not a straight line. It’s a series of recalibrations. Resisting that evolution causes more damage than embracing it.
Promotions, raises, and titles are visible markers. But alignment is the quiet indicator of long-term success.
Ask yourself regularly:
Advancement without alignment leads to impressive discomfort. Growth with alignment builds careers that actually feel sustainable.
If your early twenties feel confusing, that’s not a flaw. It’s a feature.
The professionals who eventually thrive aren’t the ones who had everything figured out early they’re the ones who stayed curious, adaptable, and intentional long enough for the pieces to connect.
Your job right now isn’t to have all the answers.
It’s to build skills, awareness, and resilience.
The rest will follow faster than you think.
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