Smart ways to overcome professional frustration

Guilherme Marques
Sep 4, 2018 · 5 min read

Being a young person living abroad is challenging. I have been living for almost two years abroad, away from my hometown in Brazil. I have lived and worked as a teacher for kids in Peru, with marketing and sales in Albania and I currently reside in Zagreb as a volunteer. The question I have been asked the most during this journey so far is “Why did you leave your country? Why did you choose to come here?!” and I have reflected quite a bit about it.

Yes, it is true that all three of my previous destinations are great countries to live in; full of life, opportunity and culture. But I am also an opportunity taker, and the real answer is that since age 20 I had been frustrated and stranded in the career I chose. I had decided to travel because I wanted to achieve professional growth while doing something I was passionate about. Going abroad for different professional experiences was the way I found to curb the professional frustration in my career, and this is exactly what I have learned:

  1. Know your passions!
For me, what catalyzed this process was volunteering and then later, travelling.

It is hard to know where you are going with your career if you first don’t figure out what you are passionate about! It’s also not always easy to find balance between what makes your heart beat faster and your career, but it’s even harder to lead to professional success being unhappy every time you go to work. It is a game changer for any professional, the moment you understand your life purpose and is aware of your strengths (what you are good at!) and in which direction you want to grow. If you do know this, then any opportunity to develop a new skill or challenge in your way will only motivate you to achieve your goals more and more. In sum, you got to know what are your motivations and what at the same time feeds your soul and moves you professionally.

2. Set your short term goals!

Figuring out your passions and realizing you need to give your career a ¨glow-up¨ won’t necessarily put you in the right direction, or spot right away. For that to happen, you need a map of ambitions to follow. Don’t be afraid to be bold in your plan, and set yourself personal goals and achievements you wish to have. Envisioning your future the way you wish, as successful as you want is a recipe that all successful people also follow to this day.

Ask yourself “Where do I see myself working next?” and “What are the next experiences I wish to live?”

And why not to go further with all the important questions, either they are “What is the ideal income for my future?” or “What is my dream job, or career achievement?”. Asking all the right questions will support you to define where to go next if you feel lost, while having clear professional milestones will guide all the achievements and steps between you now, and the professional future of success you envision. Having that set, then it’s time to act.

3. Figure out what is lacking!

Anyone who is part of youth in Brazil is well aware that the university system won’t prepare you a hundred percent for real life and the labor market. And even here, in the Balkans, youth still feels the lack of professional experiences before starting their own careers. As young people, for each one of our careers something is still missing; either a pair of skills, an amount of working experience or more practical know-how.

Which skills and experiences do you still need to attain in order to achieve your professional success and goals?

The trick here is to find out what you are still lacking. Knowledge is power and as soon as you have it clear, target these learnings, experiences and go for them with courage! Will it be a different job? An internship abroad? Will you join a new course or a different organization? The opportunities are endless, and it’s only up to you.

4. Grab the opportunities!

I’ve always seen the concept of “luck” as a mixture of hard work and being in the right place in the right time to grab the opportunities that pass by hands reach. The moment you are aware of what you want and the next professional steps you need to take, the right chances will present themselves. Being a fulfilled young professional takes effort and passion, and it might be just one ‘yes’ away, disguised as news opportunities, so don’t be afraid to embark on the ones that can really pay of in the future!

Like it or not, the world belongs to those who go and get it done, who know their goals and fight for what they want.

Being successful and on the path of growth is up to each one of us. As young people we are the very own writers to our stories. We don’t necessarily have it easy in the labor market and got to chase after satisfaction by ourselves. It’s way easier to do all that when you are aware of what makes you happy, your life goals and the steps next steps you want to pursuit in your career. And this is what I have learned through my journey, on how to overcome professional frustration at a young age.

Guilherme was National Director of Internship Sales for two years at AIESEC, and was also an exchange participant in AIESEC’s Global Talent program in Peru during 2017. Global Talent is the Paid Professional Internship (abroad) that AIESEC offers to young professionals looking for a boost in their career by working in a different country, increasing their professional know-how, skills and leadership potential. Find out more about Global talent at https://aiesec.org/global-talent

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