Tag: millennnials in DC
You Are NOT Set
One thing that has alarmed me in launching D.C. Hopefuls is hearing from young professionals who politely say “I’ll pass this info along Tommy, but I’m all set, I landed a job after undergrad.” It pains me to post this, but you are not all set. Rarely do people in D.C. stay at jobs more than 1-3 years, especially entry-level positions. The old days of going to work somewhere and staying for 30 years are pretty much over. To be fair, I know people who landed great jobs in D.C. straight out of undergrad and 8-10 years later are still working at the same organization. However, when you dive deeper, you learn they have gone out of their way to advance themselves within the organization and have likely moved jobs within the organization several times. They network and advocate within that organization the way most of do in the outside world.
You all know the story by now, but it is worth repeating when I landed my first job at the Pentagon I was convinced my whole career was set. I told my parents “all the people who have completed this program received jobs in the international division after graduation; my whole career is set at 22!” I was insanely naive. There is no way to know when cuts, hiring freezes, horrible bosses, or simple stagnation will swallow your career.
It has taken 4, 6, and 8 months for me to begin positions after I interviewed, which does not take into account the months of networking and searching to land the interview. My current position was presented to me through a contact that I met in February 2015, he made me aware of the job in December 2015, I interviewed in January of 2016 and I started May 2016. These things take time, in my most recent example 15 months!
If you become complacent because you think you are set, you are setting yourself up for a disaster. I heard sharks never stop swimming or else they will drown, which I always assumed was not true but the internet has informed me for some sharks it is in fact true. Be like a shark, not aggressive and bloodthirsty, but never complacent and always on the move.
This does not mean always move from one job to the next, but always be looking to connect with people and better yourself. Take the long-term view of your career. I have connected with several young job seekers at the stage in their search when they have a strong lead or had recently interviewed for a job. I have shared advice, given resume feedback, helped prep them for the interview, and gave pep talks, only to never hear from them again after they landed the job. It hurt my feelings how quickly I was discarded after they achieved their short-term goal. I have learned to not take it personally; it is a simple sign of immaturity. It is always unwise to discard any potential contacts no matter what you believe you have achieved. People remember how they are treated and there no worse feeling that being unhappy or unfulfilled in a job and knowing you must start building your network from scratch.
For some sharks being still equals death, don’t let complacency kill your career.
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D.C. Hopefuls Fellowship Reminds Me of My Favorite Salad
When I moved to D.C. in 2009 I quickly discovered the most amazing thing on the planet. I discovered the chicken po’boy salad at Chopt. For those who don’t know Chopt is a chain that only serves salads and wraps at an absurd price that only big city snobs, like myself, would pay to eat. For nearly eight years I’ve been obsessed with this meal and often go to great efforts to obtain it. Chopt is very popular so I’ve spent countless hours waiting in line to obtain my po’boy salad. This may sound very shallow of me but I’ve noticed that almost all the people who eat at Chopt appear to be in relatively good shape. This has lead me to ponder ‘wouldn’t a salad place be filled with overweight people since they ‘really need’ to be eating salads.’ I know I sound like a total jerk, but the point holds value.
I had the same line of thinking when I launched D.C. Hopefuls Fellowship. I thought this new opportunity would attract the people who ‘really need it.’ I envisioned the person 4 years out of undergrad with their political science degree working at the mall desperately needing me to ‘turn them around.’ I thought of the college senior just weeks from graduation with no plan, a bad resume, and in desperate need of guidance.
I then started thinking of actual people I’ve interacted with the last two years. The people who were more than willing to let me spend hours reviewing their resume, giving them advice, and connecting them with my personal network only to never thank me or follow up with me again. I thought to myself ‘oh yeah these people really need the D.C. Hopefuls Fellowship.’
Throughout January and February of 2016 I spent 100+ hours creating, recording, and editing the first 15 modules for D.C. Boot Camp, the online crash course to Washington, D.C.. The modules walk you through how to understand, use, and create your own great resume and then become a master networker who no longer needs job boards or online applications. As I poured myself into these modules almost hourly I would think to myself ‘man this is going to turn their lives around.’
So when I opened my doors for business I didn’t see couch potatoes waddling in to get their salad, I saw tri-athletes and cyclists rush inside. Just in the first four months we saw three members of our group have landed jobs on Capitol Hill, a member got into a prestigious D.C. graduate school, another member has decided to enroll at a renowned law school, a member landed a job at the Department of Defense, one landed a job at Ameri-corps, while several others are making incredible professional contacts and personal strides. We’ve seen three members make it from the middle of the country to good paying professional jobs in D.C. and two others receive full rides to law school.
This is not to imply they were accepted into D.C. Hopefuls Fellowship and magically this happened for them. In fact most had these opportunities nailed down or at least lined up before joining our group. The point is the D.C. Hopefuls Fellowship continues to attract these types of applicants.
I can say with 100% certainty that every current D.C. Hopefuls Fellowship member is in a better position at their current age than I was at that age.
The overall eagerness, attitude, and spirit of our members has lead to inter-group networking, advice, and support that has been truly inspiring to watch. Yet I’m a little disappointed in myself for being so surprised. I learned a long time ago that successful people naturally end up together.
The 31 members of this group know the immeasurable value one can gain by surrounding yourself with successful people. They have each tasted failure, disappointment, and frustration and they all hated the taste! That is why they continually strive to learn more, connect more, share more, and grow more because they know they are far too young to be content.
You can’t reach a certain level of physical fitness then just start eating Taco Bell everyday; we all know what would happen. The same is true with your career; you have to keep eating that salad.
I recommend the chicken po’boy!
Click Here to Learn More on the D.C. Hopefuls Fellowship Page and how you can apply to be become a member…spots are limited!
Click Here to Watch a 20-Minute Video Explaining D.C. Hopefuls Fellowship
What I Learned From Talking Politics at Thanksgiving (Stop the Blame Game)
I love my family but when it comes to politics we do not agree. Over the years we’ve just all come to terms with this and tried to avoid those types of conversations. D.C. Hopefuls is a totally non-partisan environment and I will not be talking politics, but I will be talking about a lesson I learned through talking politics.
Let me take you back to 2017….
As we sat around the table for Thanksgiving my cousin could not contain himself and wanted to talk politics. I was proud of us both for really listening to each other and turning it into a civil and thoughtful conversation. One thing we both agreed on was that Americans really seem to like to place blame. Whether it is the President, the economy, government in general, their boss, or their family, it seems as though for every problem we face there is someone else responsible. It is easy to blame big banks and the government for the 2008 crash (both should be held accountable) but what about the millions of people who bought houses they could not afford? What about the billions in credit card debt Americans have run up? I love to complain about student debt/loans and blame everyone else for it but nobody put a gun to my head to take out those loans.
If you have read the ‘about me‘ section on D.C. Hopefuls you know that I entered a 2-3 year period where all I did was blame other people for my self-perceived professional shortcomings. It was the Republicans’ fault for cutting the budget, it was Obama’s fault for not doing more for me, it was my university’s fault for not better preparing me, it was my parents’ fault for not having connections, it was my boss’s fault for not finding me a new job, and it was my friends’ fault for not connecting me with the right people.
There was no single defining moment but eventually I learned that it was MY fault. Sure there were external factors at play, which were out of my control, but it was on me to get out of life what I wanted. I am the only person solely responsible for what happens to me.
A great example is Dan vs me. I decided I needed to go to graduate school so I took out $55,000 in student loans. Despite working full time I never paid a single penny towards my debt until after graduation and I was forced to start repayments. Afterward, I constantly complained about the broken system that ‘forces’ us all to take out massive debt.
Then there is 
Dan. Dan knew he wanted to be a lawyer and gained a clear understanding of the system. Sure he would complain about the costs and other factors, but he did something about it. Dan not only worked while attending law school but paid for school as he went. He took a different path than others in his class and graduated with $0 in student loans. Dan and I both complained about our situation, but Dan did something about it! It is ok to be like most Americans and complain about big external problems, but never let that seep into your personal ambitions.
There is a glitch in every system so when the system seems unfair find a way to make it work for you. I am not perfect but I definitely blame others much less and it is incredibly liberating!
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Your Career Path is like Losing Weight
I wasted the first 4-6 years of my career. I was like an overweight person who constantly talked about losing weight, but never did. My whole world was consumed by not liking the job I had and feeling as though D.C. was fixed. I believed that a guy like me couldn’t make it. I went out chasing the fads. Like a person who chases every new diet fad, weight loss pill, and crazy machine, I was looking for the quick and easy fix to launch my career. Eventually I met enough people and asked them the secret. The secret is there is no secret! You have to change your lifestyle and daily habits. Every day you have to eat right and exercise.
I went to every job site, I paid a company $500 to write the magic resume, I met with placement agencies, I took online classes, I did it all! It wasn’t until after all of that I realized that to get my career on the right path there was no magic fix. I was going to have to develop daily habits and have faith that if I lived the Steadfast Spirit doors would begin to fly open!