LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky sees a lot of career advice on the site every day, but he doesn’t always agree with everything that’s shared.
One common tip that Rozlansky said is “a little outdated” is that “you need to have a five-year plan.” He said this in an interview with content creator Erin McGough’s YouTube channel AdviceWithErin.
In Rozlansky’s view, creating a five-year plan is “a little silly.” Considering how rapidly technology and the workplace are changing, it’s unrealistic to “plan what the next five years of your life will be like.”
Instead, Roslansky advised employees to focus on what they want to learn and the experience they want to have.
“I think that’s the correct mental model in this environment,” he said. “If you focus on these short steps to learn and gain experience, many career paths will open up to you.”
According to Rozlansky, having a linear career path is no longer realistic.
Many people think that “it’s normal to graduate from high school, go to a certain college, become a consultant, and get an MBA,” but “for most people, that’s not the case at all,” he says.
If you let go of that idea, he says, “you can take your career into your own hands.” “No one is going to solve this for you. You have to deal with it yourself.”
His advice to young professionals
Rozlansky also shared his best advice for young people currently pursuing their careers.
The first tip, he told McGough, is to “learn the tools” and experiment with AI in the workplace.
“Try how to create a PowerPoint presentation from a chat,” he said. “Think about how this could help you with a better marketing message.”
“I think the most important thing is whether you like it, whether it’s suitable for what you’re trying to do, that mental model, like, ‘Let’s use this tool to learn to do something,'” he continued.
Still, “it’s not just about tools and technology,” Roslansky said, adding that skills such as empathy, judgment and communication remain “important” in the modern workplace.
“You know, in a world where everyone is focused on technology, if you really address a lot of the human skills, that can be a big differentiator,” he said.
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