Yoyo: From 2003 to now, excluding jobs that lasted only a month or two, I've changed at least 8 companies, with the most extreme being 4 changes in half a year. Early on, every job change was for money, as my salary was only around 4,000 yuan, and switching could raise it by nearly 1,000 yuan, a huge temptation for a fresh graduate. I didn't think about future career development then, and with my computer science background and artistic skills, I was more competitive than ordinary art graduates, making it easy to change jobs. Whenever I felt unhappy, I'd send out resumes and move on, focusing only on salary without considering the company's development or my own career path.

As my years of experience grew, I began to aim for higher positions and better companies, only to realize I had accumulated little over the years. I couldn't find good companies, let alone higher positions. For a while, I was even afraid to list all my previous employers on my resume. Eventually, I set my job target as mid-level positions in promising startups. Though risky, growing with such a company is my best career opportunity now.

Tony: Disliking my university major, I started self-studying computer science from sophomore year, essentially abandoning my original international trade major. By graduation, when applying for programmer roles, my resume was rejected due to my major; when applying for major-related jobs, no company would hire me after interviews. So, I gave up and took any job offered, my first being a clerical position. I then tried many jobs: consulting, logistics, sales, programming—feeling somewhat adrift. It wasn't until 2008 that I seemed to mature, understanding the difference between work and study, and that coasting leads nowhere. I began to plan my career and think about the significance of my current actions for the future.

My goal is to become a team manager, and my current job is an opportunity: previously I did low-level work, interacting only with ordinary developers, but now in a project, I meet people I never could have before. I also know my technical skills aren't yet solid; leading a team without technical credibility would hinder management. Therefore, I push myself to grow faster than my team members. If pure technical expertise falls short of management needs, I'll compensate with other strengths.

Detour 2: Comparison and Unbalanced Mindset

Amy: As a woman, I tend to gossip. In the office, whenever I heard "so-and-so earns this much," if it was more than mine, I'd get angry, thinking, "Why them? We do similar work." When dining or shopping with friends and classmates, hearing about their companies, positions, and salaries also made me feel unbalanced, often triggering job changes.

Looking back, regardless of salary or position, everyone's opportunities differ. Comparing and then jumping ship only provides temporary satisfaction, and the gap eventually widens. Of course, I've thought that if I had turned that post-comparison imbalance into positive energy, motivating myself to work harder and improve, the outcome might have been different.

Jia Dayu: "Calm mind, follow fate" is what I often tell myself. I have a high sense of well-being and am easily satisfied. In my first job, I lived in a basement with a salary of 1,200 yuan. Each day after work, passing by Carrefour and buying some good food made me content. Now, I think that as an outsider in Beijing, having a house, a car, a family, and compatible startup partners is truly great. I rarely think about how big someone else's company is at my age, nor do I regret giving up opportunities that now seem far more lucrative than my current venture.

Keeping a balanced mindset also requires gratitude. Entering the PR industry was a lucky accident. After graduation, I stayed in Beijing for my then-girlfriend and couldn't find a job for six months. When I interviewed at that small PR firm, I had no idea what PR was; I just wanted a job to survive in Beijing.

Unexpectedly, I turned out to be a perfect fit. After a year and a half, my boss told me, "I think you should look for other jobs; you're wasted here." So I interviewed at four companies and received four offers. Now, after 10 years of work, I still send mooncakes to my first boss every year, thanking him for giving me the chance to enter this industry. I've changed jobs five times, but I've maintained good relationships with all my bosses, and each has significantly helped my career progression. I believe meeting mentors at work involves luck, but it also tests your interpersonal skills and work attitude.

A balanced mindset also means being willing to humble yourself. When I first started my business, I had just left Baidu and still had a white-collar attitude, not considering frugality. I learned "bending down to do things" from my partner. He was a vice president at a multinational PR firm but now treats employees like clients, even bringing his wife to clean the office on weekends so colleagues have a better environment on Monday. Gradually, I learned to lower myself, like when we hired new staff and needed second-hand laptops; to save 70 yuan in delivery, I personally went to pick up seven old laptops.

I also acted as a foreman during office renovation, going to the market to buy a roll of wire—things I might have disdained before.

Detour 3: Self-Doubt and Negation: Is My Effort Worth It?

Xiao Xiong: Though I'm already 30, I've only worked for about four years since graduating with a master's degree. Alibaba is my second job; before that, I was a product manager. Last year was a major career turning point: I joined Alibaba with a doubled salary, and a month later, I received an offer for a director position at an SNS community site, doubling my salary again.

That was the most conflicted period of my career. High salary and high position are tempting for any young person. I kept questioning myself: Do I really have the capability? Can I truly handle it? Even if I do, can I bear the pressure of a director? Is this too fast, like pulling up seedlings to help them grow? On the other hand, I felt the lure of money and worried that if I waited until I was ready, the opportunity might be gone. I even lost sleep for days. Finally, I decided to decline. I suddenly realized that it was the accumulation of the past four years that had brought me to this point and this opportunity, and I needed more time to continue growing and accumulating.

It was this offer that made me think deeply about career development. Generally, if you stay in one company, both position and salary growth seem slow. During my four years of work, the most common question was: In my project team, I work hard, but my position isn't high and my salary isn't great—is it worth it? Where is my way out? How can I demonstrate my abilities?

Do things with more thought, invest more, and being busier and more tired than others isn't a loss. As long as you work hard, opportunities will come. Like the career path from employee to manager to director, when you're an ordinary employee, managers and directors seem distant, but one day an opportunity might suddenly appear. In fact, many times self-doubt isn't because you're not good enough, but because you lack the psychological hint that "you can do it." Instead of doubting, tell yourself: At 30, I'm not too old. Calm down and be solid.

-END-

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