Bad Choices, Mistakes and Failures| Career Angles

I was 21 years old in my first job out of college. My boss was taking me to lunch at a Korean restaurant in midtown Manhattan that, I’m sure, disappeared way before the pandemic. He was trying to get to know me because I caught his eye. I didn’t understand that at the time but later understood that what he was trying to do is to figure out whether or not I should be groomed for something more than what I was doing.

He asked me questions designed to find out whether I thought I would have a career in this line of work (recruiting). I don’t think any 21-year-old has ever gone to sleep at night thinking to themselves, “I want to grow up to be a recruiter.” I was no different.

So I told him about my dreams and aspirations as they were at that time. I remembered seeing the surprise on his face but thought nothing of it at the time. He was talking to me about a promotion and I was shooting them down.

18 months later, I was leaving with someone I met there to start my first business. He is the wrong partner but so was I. I was immature quite obviously and nothing more than a salesperson. He was less than that.

I was unprepared at that lunch to think of my career and advancement . . . But that’s okay. I could’ve spent years being a lieutenant to the owner, being his puppy dog. I would’ve…