7 Skills You Should Master Before You Turn 30
Set yourself up for success later in life by getting good at these things early.
Invest money thoughtfully in
your 20s
and the miracle of compound interest means a modest amount saved early
will yield a much larger payout later. The same can be said of skills.
Learn to be a better conversationalist early, for instance, and you
might meet and charm just the right person to land the entry-level job
of your dreams, which could lead to a another great career break, and so
on …
So what are the skills most likely to pay the greatest dividends over time if you master them before you hit 30?
Several threads
on question-and-answer site Quora have asked just this, soliciting
advice from the more experienced for young professionals hoping to set
themselves up for success later on. An examination of a host of answers
reveals a few common themes. According to the wisdom of Quora, these are
the skills you’d really benefit from acquiring in your 20s:
1. Coping with uncertainty
You might think that as you get older, the chaos of your life will go
away and you’ll get to live with more certainty about the future. Maybe
a little, but many respondents caution that uncertainty never goes
away, so you should get comfortable with it now.
“Accept that you will never have anything figured out,” writes
copywriter Joe Choi, as “it’s near impossible to plan where you’ll be a
few years.” Respondent Ayushi Aswal agrees. She puts “how to manage
uncontrollable situations” at the top of her list of most necessary
skills.
2. Communicating with grace
You’ve been using words since you were a toddler, but that doesn’t
mean you will master the art of communication by the time you turn 20.
Most of us don’t. But don’t let yourself enter your fourth decade
without getting a handle on clear, compelling, and polite communication,
insist a number of answers.
“Think about ways to challenge yourself, and tweak how you write an
email or behave in a meeting,” suggests one anonymous but extremely
popular answer. It offers a few more specific ideas: “Don’t hit ‘send’
immediately after composing a note. Instead, give yourself a beat or
two, then reread the email, make edits, and then hit ‘send.’ Or, during
your next team meeting, resist talking about your idea or opinion right
off the bat. Instead, count to five, and if you still feel like you have
something relevant to contribute, speak up.”
Entrepreneur Brian Bain agrees. “How to communicate and interact
professionally,” tops his list of skills you should master in your 20s.
“Look around and notice how the ability to freely and easily talk to
people helps those who have already crossed their 20s, and how the lack
thereof makes things unnecessarily difficult for some,” cautions
technologist Sugandha Banga. “No matter how knowledgeable you are,
people are not going to take your work seriously unless you know at
least the basics of holding up a decent conversation.”
3. Respecting those who are different from you
“I think it’s easy to judge people based on your own definitions of
success and a meaningful life, without recognizing that everybody has
their own definition,” warns designer Francis Chen. “Everybody is
different, and has different pathways to life. Respect that, and respect
yourself.”
Consultant Michael Hoffman concurs: “Put yourself in the other
person’s shoes,” he instructs. “Think about how they will perceive what
you are communicating or doing. Without understanding context and
perspective, we run the risk of … creating problems rather than solving
them; and appearing blunt and unsympathetic.” Several responses make a
special point of noting the need to learn to respect the opposite sex.
4. Asking for what you want
You need to respect
others,
but you need to respect yourself and your own potential as well. To do
that fully, you need to get comfortable asking for the things you want
in life. “The ability to ask is the easiest, most underutilized skill to
catapult your career,” says the same much up-voted anonymous
answer. “The old adage is true: ‘If you don’t ask, you don’t receive.’
Many careerists don’t ask to pitch their idea, for a raise or promotion,
a bigger sales deal, or to take on more responsibility. When this
happens–or doesn’t happen, rather–you’re far less likely to find
challenge, meaning, and reward in your work.”
Copywriter Joe Cassandra writes something similar: “
Learn to negotiate
now. Earnings compound over time.” How do you learn to ask? Start
small, the anonymous answer suggests: “Try practicing in non-work
related contexts. At the farmer’s market, you could ask a vendor for a
lower price on the asparagus; at home, you could ask your partner to
attend dance lessons; on the street, you could ask a stranger, ‘How are
you?'”
5. Being resilient
No matter how smart, talented, and ambitious you are, things won’t
always go your way (especially once you’ve left the cocoon of school and
your parents’ protection). Learn how to cope with setbacks early and
they’ll discourage you less.
“Your 20s is a time when most are relatively free of the
responsibilities that will increase into your 30s and 40s,” writes
recruiter Carolyn Cho. “This is a great time to experiment, fail, and
bounce back. Learn how to
ride out failure
and persevere. Life is full of challenges. The 20s are a great time to
toughen up and start teaching yourself how to be emotionally and
mentally resilient enough to weather both the joys and hardships to come.”
6. Spending your time and money wisely
You may be relatively footloose and fancy-free in your 20s, but that
doesn’t mean you should squander the decade. It’s a truth that applies
to both time and money. “Time is a precious commodity, and you start to
realize that increasingly into your mid- to late 20s,” Cho also writes.
So learn to choose the people and activities you spend your time on
carefully. “Focus your time and energy on things that will help you grow
and give,” agrees Chen.
Many respondents also noted that while spending on mind-expanding
travel or education is great if you can swing it, you also need to at
least start to get a handle on your finances. Bain includes “how to
create and stick to a budget,” on his list of most important skills for
young people, for instance.
7. Cooking
Looking for something a little more focused and practical? You’d be
surprised how many people suggested learning to cook. These respondents
claim it’s a great skill to master that will greatly improve your life
for decades. (If you like to eat good food and don’t have an unlimited
budget, I personally can’t agree with this one enough.)
“Most people live solo or away from families, so knowing how to cook
becomes critical to maintain a balanced and healthy lifestyle,” writes
engineer Gurvinder Arora. “I have developed a lot of patience thanks to
cooking. It also helps to impress the ladies.”
What skills would you add to this list?
