From the Mouths of Young Professionals

"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work"

Barry Diller, Chairman of IAC

Photo Credit: Shutterstock Image

I interviewed three different young professionals who work in three different industries, so they could shed some light on what it is like to be a young professional. I interviewed:

· Cierra Adkins, 23 years old, who works as a Legal Clerk in the Criminal Justice Center. She has been in her field for four and a half years.

· Thomas Bernardo, 26 years old, who is a Research Coordinator at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He has been in the research field for seven years.

· Catherine Smeykal, 26 years old, who is a Junior Architect with John Toates Architecture and Design. She has been in her field for two years.

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out as a young professional?

Cierra: “I came to understand that knowing how to work with everyone with different degrees of personalities is important. … Working in a courtroom, teamwork is essential and it might take time to understand everyone’s personalities, but it will help you and your team in the long run.”

Thomas: “Be friendly with as many people as you can. Have good rapport with everyone that you can who also wants to have good rapport with you. … By respecting each person and their style you can be easily well liked.”

Catherine: “Understand what you are working towards, in order to enjoy the young professional world. I enjoy what I do, yeah the money was expensive through college to get where I am today, but it was worth it. Enjoy what you are doing; otherwise you aren’t fulfilling what you are supposed to be doing. Don’t wake up regretting your job.”

What is something that is of high importance to you as a young professional?

Cierra: “Having the right environment is one of the most important things to me in the workplace. If you have a negative and unstable work environment, it could deteriorate your success and hinder you from growing.”

Thomas: “Find something that you can leave work to go to, to plug in and enjoy. Take care of yourself. Fitness is something that I enjoy plugging into. Participate in something like an amateur sports league, arts, volunteering, whatever hobbies you have.”

Catherine: “Coming into the architecture field or not, really enjoy what you are going in. Coming from school and into the working world you have a lot of expenses coming your way. Whether it is loans from school or bills you have to pay, ask yourself, is the time you are giving up to go back and forth to work, is it worth the money?”