How to Get Hired as a First-Generation Professional

The world of work can be a bit of a mystery — especially when you are the first member of your family to enter the professional world. Sometimes it can feel like you don't have all the puzzle pieces to get the full picture of how the workplace operates.

Gorick Ng , a bestselling author of The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right and a career advisor at Harvard, joins LinkedIn News Editor Andrew Seaman on the latest episode of his Get Hired podcast to shine a light on the unique challenges first-generation professionals face in launching their careers. Gorick has dedicated a significant portion of his own career to understanding these challenges, and to helping those entering the workforce from diverse backgrounds find success. Through his work, he aims to equip everyone with the knowledge and tools needed to successfully navigate a career.

You can listen to the episode above or on Apple Podcasts by clicking here . A transcript of the conversation is below.

TRANSCRIPT: How to Get Hired as a First-Generation Professional

Andrew Seaman: We don't all start at the same baseline when it comes to work. Even if you graduate from college, there are sometimes just random gaps in knowledge depending on our backgrounds and upbringing. We're talking all about it on today's episode of Get Hired right after this break.

From LinkedIn News, this is Get Hired, a podcast for the ups and downs in the ever-changing landscape of our professional lives. I'm Andrew Seaman, LinkedIn senior managing editor for jobs and career development, bringing you conversations with experts who, like me, want to see you succeed at work, at home, and everywhere in between.

I come from a very working-class family. Neither of my parents went to college. Both of my grandfathers worked in the mines of Northeastern Pennsylvania. My grandmothers were homemakers for the majority of their lives. So venturing into college and the professional world was really a new frontier for my sister and me. I'm not alone though, nor am I unfortunate. There are many, many, many other people who had more challenging roads into the workforce.?

Yet we all face some of the same challenges, such as figuring out the unwritten rules of the professional world. If that includes you, today's episode will hit home. We're being joined by Gorick Ng, who is a bestselling author of The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right. He is also a career advisor at Harvard. He spent a lot of time thinking about what many first-generation professionals have to learn for themselves. To get started though, let's hear a bit about Gorick.

Gorick Ng: This was a lesson that I learned the hard way when I arrived on Harvard's college campus as a first-generation, low-income student. I can still remember I was walking home from the library one day and walking in the opposite direction were a bunch of my classmates dressed up in suits and ties off to an invite-only recruiting event that was put on by an employer that had come on campus.

Now, I had seen that employer, I had signed in at the table at that career fair with that employer, but it turns out that whereas I was so focused on the free swag that was on the table, my classmates had already started networking. They had already started saying the right things to the right people at the right time in the right sequence. And before the application portal had even opened, I had already started feeling behind because, well, it turns out these companies had started picking their people already. And these social events weren't really social events. They were first-round interviews and no one ever really tells you that.

Andrew: Yeah, definitely. My background is a very working-class family. Neither of my parents went to college and my grandparents, both my grandfathers were coal miners. And what was funny is when you get to college as a first-generation student, you realize that, other people, they may be in on something that you're not. And one of the first things you talked about was job boards. You say not to scroll it endlessly and to be more strategic. So can you tell us a little bit about that?

Gorick: Absolutely. So the very first step is to do a little bit of self-reflection around what am I looking for? What do I really want? Because I'm just thinking back to when I was going through these job boards, I mean you could spend the rest of your life just clicking on that next button and you will just overwhelm yourself. And you're also going to end up reacting to what the world is giving you on that page versus going out and looking for what you really want to do.

And what it means to answer that question is to figure out two Venn diagram circles. There's the circle of what I want, and then there's the circle of where do I have the best odds? So what I want could be, for example, to become a journalist at a big-name news outlet. If I'm just starting my career in journalism, what's realistic may not be The New York Times, but it might be, for example, a local news station or a local publication. And it turns out that there are these hidden maneuvers all throughout every profession where you start off perhaps with a smaller name, a more local organization, you build your portfolio, you build your network of relationships, and then you build your career from there. You maneuver from one organization to another, from smaller to larger, from less established to more established. That's how all careers are built.

Andrew: I think for a lot of people, and this was me growing up, especially in undergrad, I always thought, "OK, I'm not the brightest student. I'm not fantastic when it comes to writing and things like that." So when I entered college, I honestly hoped to work for the local paper. I didn't see a bigger horizon. So for people out there who maybe struggle with that as well, how do you suggest they broaden their view to see those opportunities and maybe figure out what they actually want to do instead of what is just right in front of them?

Gorick: There are a couple of questions that I love to ask myself and to ask my advisees. The first question I like to ask myself is, who would I like to become? And this is a really big question. This is around if I put myself into a time machine and push the 20-year button, where would I love to be at the pinnacle of my career? And that's where we get into the second question of on the spectrum of experience-oriented to goal-oriented, where in that spectrum do you sit? And what I've noticed is some people are much more goal-oriented as in, "I want this salary, I want this title, I want this lifestyle." And then there are people who are experience-oriented who are like, "I want to make an impact. I want to feel recognized on a daily basis. And I want to do things that I enjoy."

Of course, this is on a spectrum. It's not that you're either or, but I think it's important to understand these are the things that I value and this is the life that I want to live in the future. And then we can work backwards into, OK, given where I want to be, who has taken this path? And this is where LinkedIn becomes really helpful because I love doing research on LinkedIn, opening up someone's LinkedIn profile, opening up all the accordions, scrolling all the way down that profile and starting from their education section and start seeing, OK, this is what they studied in this institution. These are the extracurriculars they pursued. This is their first job. Their second job. Oh, they jumped from this job to this job within this many months or this many years.

And the patterns won't reveal themselves right away, but if you just look at three, five, six people, you're going to start seeing some pretty clear patterns around what it's going to take to reach the life and the goals of this person that initially seemed so distant but that is actually very achievable if you break down their steps.

Andrew: Yeah, and what about networking? Because I think for people who are first-generation professionals, we all have a network, but, a lot of people, they don't view that network the same way as others, or they don't realize they have a network. So how do you advise people to go about really starting to cultivate that network?

Gorick: The first thing I share is that everything we ever learned about networking, we learned in kindergarten. If you've ever gotten onto a kindergarten playground as a kid, not known a soul, and then looked left, looked right and made a friend, you've networked. It's just that someone along the way decided to call it networking in the scary world of adulting. And it really does come down to building relationships, which we're all able to do. That's the first thing.

And the second is I like to think of networking as the process of bringing people up, what I call the relationship ladder, where imagine on the bottommost rung you have strangers. And just by definition, there are a lot of people on this planet. Most will be strangers to you. However, if you say hi to even one of them, whether it's in the chat window over a video call at work or in the elevator bank, if you're working in person, you've turned that stranger into an acquaintance and you've just given yourself permission to say hello again and to be friendly with each other.

Occasionally, you might ask about the other person's day or what the other person's working on, or you might even share some information that would be helpful to them and vice versa. You might invite them to an event, to a meeting, in which case you just turn that acquaintance into an ally where they've got your back and you've got their back.

You might further that relationship by asking them questions, especially if this person is maybe half a step ahead of you in their careers. Maybe they were onboarded to this organization six months earlier than you. That person knows something you don't and can pass down some of these unspoken rules around what you don't know you don't know but should know. And that's a mentor. You might not call them a mentor and they might not even think of themselves a mentor, but they're playing the role of a mentor. And I'm sure everyone listening to this conversation has someone who's a mentee to them, even though you might not be thinking of them as a mentee.

And then occasionally at the very top of that relationship ladder are the sponsors, and these are the people who are perhaps way further along in their careers than you. They're higher up in the organization. They're in those closed-door meetings where they talk about, who should we promote? Who should we give this life-changing opportunity to? Who should we have representing our company in the future? Well, those are sponsors. They're the people who are in these closed-door conversations and they can bang on the table for your promotion.

So this whole process of networking, it all comes down to bringing people up from stranger status to acquaintance status, to ally status, to mentor status, and if you're lucky, to sponsor status.

Andrew: We'll be right back with Gorick Ng.

Andrew: And we're back with Gorick Ng, a Harvard career advisor and author of The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right. Can you go in a little bit on what a sponsor is exactly, because I know a lot of people, they may have heard the term, but they're not 100% sure of really what the purpose of a sponsor would be?

Gorick: Sure thing. Well, I do a lot of speaking at companies and some of my more popular speaking clients happen to be law firms. And what's fascinating is when I speak to law firms, I speak to some of their most senior leaders and I ask them about their most recent promotion conversation. And I've heard this now from, I've honestly lost count of the number of law firms I've heard this from where someone is up for promotion to, let's say partner. So someone brings them up and they say, "All right, next we're going to talk about so-and-so." They look left, they look right, and they're waiting for someone to advocate for them, and no one speaks up. And they wait a little longer. And then someone says, "Huh, well that's a shame." And then they move on.

And I've heard this in hiring committees at the entry level, and I've heard this at the most senior levels of the largest organizations in the world. You need that person advocating for you, telling your story when you're not in the room. That's what a sponsor is all about, and it's important to have them. They're hard to find. But once you find that person and they're invested in you and you get along with them, nurture those relationships because they can make the difference between you getting ahead and feeling stuck and not knowing why.

Andrew: Definitely. You mentioned mentors earlier and they're different than a sponsor. So how do you know the difference? And do you literally ask someone, "Will you sponsor me"? Because I imagine that can be an awkward conversation.

Gorick: Well, it does certainly take time to turn that person into a sponsor, but typically you will start off with those hellos, with that casual one-on-one call or coffee chat. And then over time, you'll start realizing that your conversations start drifting to where you're talking about your goals, you're talking about your struggles, you're asking for feedback, you're asking for advice, you're asking for their story. And you're just noticing that every time you talk, they're invested in you. They're eager to share more of the tips and tricks of how to get ahead in this organization.

And along the way, you might share, "As I think about where I'd like to be five years from now, I'd love to follow in your footsteps and make it to vice president or senior vice president. What should I start doing? What should I stop doing? What should I keep doing to get myself on this path?" And along the way, someone like a sponsor might say, "You should really be putting yourself up for consideration for this committee or this task force. And oh, by the way, I happened to have a meeting coming up where we're talking about who to pick for this new initiative. If you're interested, I'd love to bring your name up."

It might not be necessarily that explicit, but over the course of three, five, 10 conversations or maybe even years or at least months, you will end up in that situation where that person knows you, they know about your goals, and they're also in a position of authority to make some of those decisions or at least influence the powers that be.

Andrew: Yeah. That's a really good explanation of that because I remember the first time I heard of a sponsor, and until that time, I had only heard of mentors. And then when someone mentioned "sponsor," I was a few years into my career and I sort of said to myself, "How did I never hear of this?" So it really is one of those unspoken things that a lot of people don't know about.

Gorick: Yeah, and another way that I think about the difference between mentors and sponsors is mentors will help point you to the right doors to open. A sponsor could kick down that door for you.

Andrew: Yeah.

Gorick: That's the difference between the two.

Andrew: Looking back over your career, and obviously you've had a few different positions, you do a lot of different things. As someone who came from a background where you didn't have access to those unspoken rules, what would you say has been the most beneficial thing in your career when you were job searching or trying to chart your path?

Gorick: I'd say it's two things, if I may. One is to realize that people are actually very willing to help you if you just simply asked. There are so many situations that I'm thinking back to where I was suffering but suffering in silence. And now as a career advisor, I see this all the time where the students that I worry about most are often the students that I hardly ever get to interact with. And I'm thinking about you, I want to talk to you, I want to help. But they maybe don't think that it's in their place to ask for help. Maybe it's a sign of weakness. Please know that if you're struggling, if you want a shoulder to cry on, if you want a sounding board, there are many people around you who care about you, who want to have that conversation. And I was just too shy. I had too much of that imposter syndrome to ever ask for help.

The second thing, this came actually rather recently, but I only just realized that my first-generation professional background is an asset, not a liability. Sorry to use some business terms on you, but it's a superpower. And I didn't realize it. Where in the past I would be so focused on what I lacked. I didn't have these sports equipment growing up or this instrument or this vacation, and I was just always so focused on what I didn't have that I lost sight of what I did have, which is for anyone who is coming to the US as a new immigrant, who's making a critical job transition, who's the first in your community or family to do anything, I mean, you've got bravery, you've got grit, you've got persistence, you've got creativity, you've got so much. And what I realized only after releasing my book is that it's actually my first-generation college student and professional background that people find most exciting and most eager to learn about.

I'm thinking back to when I was sending emails out about my book in the early stages, and I would talk about, "Oh, I worked in this company and I have this degree," and folks in the end actually weren't all that interested in the professional resume. People were much more interested in my personal story. So everyone has a personal story. It's probably inspiring as heck, and it deserves to be shared because this is how you stand out. This is how you'll be remembered. This is what makes you you.

Andrew: Yeah. It's one of those things where you can't necessarily change where you come from, but you can have a hand in where you're going to end up. And I think that when you feel that you have some sense of autonomy in that, it's empowering.

Gorick: Absolutely. And people love stories of grit, and people love to know the distance that you had to travel to get to where you are today. It actually shows how great of an employee you could be or a team member and how much potential you have. So share it.

Andrew: Yeah, and I think that's a wonderful note to end on. So thank you so much, Gorick.

Gorick: I appreciate the conversation, Andrew. Thank you so much.

Andrew: That was Gorick Ng, Harvard career advisor and author of The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right. Remember, it's up to you to put our advice into practice. Still, you always have a community backing you up and cheering you on. Connect with me and the Get Hired community on LinkedIn to continue this conversation. Also, if you liked this episode, please take a moment to leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts. It helps people like you find the show. And of course, don't forget to click that follow, subscribe, or whatever other button you find to get our podcast delivered to you every Wednesday because we'll be continuing these conversations on the next episode right here, wherever you like to listen.

Get Hired is a production of LinkedIn News. This episode was produced by Alexis Ramdaou. Grace Rubin is our associate producer. Assaf Gidron engineered our show. Joe DiGiorgi mixed our show. Dave Pond is head of news production. Enrique Montalvo is our executive producer. Courtney Coupe is the head of original programming for LinkedIn. Dan Roth is the editor in chief of LinkedIn. And I'm Andrew Seaman. Until next time, stay well and best of luck.