Good afternoon, friends. It's Rohan and I'm back with the latest edition of Coached — your personal mentorship email that takes a few minutes to read, but speeds up your career by years. |
Ever caught yourself dreaming about that one prestigious job? The one that would impress everyone you know? In this Mentor's Corner, we're taking a closer look at what I call the "prestige trap" - and why those big name companies might not be the dream come true you think. |
Estimated read time: 4 minutes 35 seconds |
|
🌐 A post I thought you'd enjoy |
|
|
Before we get into it, here's a LinkedIn post I made earlier today that people seem to be enjoying. It's on how to build your social capital at work: |
 | (specific compliments are a superpower) |
|
If you're not following me on LinkedIn yet: I share bite-sized, candid advice on how to crush it at work, informed by my experiences coaching professionals. |
People tell me it gives them an easy way to stay motivated and learn how to navigate their careers. Follow me there so you don't miss a key insight. |
And if you don't use LinkedIn, you should! Or at least keep your profile updated. You never know who'll contact you about an opportunity you'll like. But make sure your profile's optimized so recruiters find you — use this free AI tool to guide you. |
|
📈 Mentor's Corner Insights put together by me. One practical lesson a week that will make a measurable impact on your career, delivered right to you — for $0. |
|
|
The "prestige" trap |
In his famous newsletter… |
Gary Halbert, (the so-called "Prince of Print") wrote about owning two very different watches: |
First, there was his "KGB" watch… |
Which, although being nothing to write home about, was easy to read (chunky numbers), water-proof enough to go on a spearfishing trip, and was so tough, it'd probably still be tickin' if a tank rolled over it. |
Plus, you could show people at parties (or not) the secret compartment where KGB agents hid their cyanide pills back in the day. |
Oh, and if Gary lost it? |
It'd only cost him $80 to replace. |
Then, there was Gary's $10,000 Rolex, one of the most prestigious watches in the world. |
Was it nice to have on his wrist? |
Sure. |
But… |
He had to squint to make out the tiny Roman numerals (which were the same colour as the background), and parts of it would randomly break, costing him thousands to replace. |
And what's worse? |
It was such a famous watch… |
It made him a target for "Rolex thieves" that wouldn't hesitate to chop off his arm to get it! |
So… |
While the Rolex might get him a nod once a year at the country club… |
Did it make Gary's life better in any way? |
No. |
Not only was it a pain in the ass to read… |
It could've gotten him killed! |
Moral of the story: |
Chasing prestige for prestige's sake is a sucker's game. |
And it's the same with chasing prestigious careers too. |
|
I mean, I can count on, I dunno, 5 hands, the number of people I know who devoted years of blood, sweat and tears to join the Harvards, the Goldman Sachs, the McKinseys, and the Googles of the world. |
And you know what? |
10 years later, most of them have told me the same thing: |
"I'm not fulfilled" |
 | (honestly, it's super commendable to recognize something's not for you, even though the world tells you it's supposed to be right for you) |
|
Seeking prestige for its own sake can lead you down a path of unfulfilling career choices. |
So… |
If you're hearing the siren song calling you down a "prestigious" career path, here's a few things to keep in mind before you make the jump. |
😷 Are you infected? |
Ok, be honest: |
Do you want the job for YOUR sake? |
Or, are you infected with a bad case of the disease to please? |
You might be trying to please your parents (I know the feeling!), or to "please" (i.e make jealous) your classmates at a reunion… or please the good-looking strangers at the bar. |
|
Sure, there are a few noble reasons to taking a job for pleasing others (like, for example, feeding your family), but in most cases, if it's gonna make you miserable for 40 years, is it really worth it? |
Remember, social validation and approval are nice to have, but they shouldn't be the driving force behind your career decisions. |
|
🏀 That's Mr. Towel & Gatorade to you |
The thing about prestigious firms is… |
Because everyone's been brainwas— ahem, rationally persuaded to work there, the competition is insane. Which means, if you're "lucky" enough to get a job there, you're going to end up at the bottom of the totem pole… |
…where you won't get a chance to use and develop your skills. |
(Wait, wasn't that the point of getting the job?) |
Whereas… |
If you'd gone with a less prestigious firm? |
You'd land a higher position, giving you more room to spread your wings & grow. |
| | | | …by the way, if this email is giving you a new perspective on things, you'll enjoy what I write on LinkedIn. Go to my profile and hit the 'Follow' button. | I share a mix of practical career strategy and mid-week motivation — stuff that helps with decision-making in your career. | alright, let's get back to my essay… |
| |
| | |
|
Put another way: |
Which path would improve your basketball skills faster: |
Sitting on the bench for the NBA champs, carrying towels and gatorade? Or by joining the lowly Nets and playing 40 minutes a night? (No offense, Nets fans). |
Think about it in the business world: |
You could be a senior manager at a smaller firm, making decisions and honing your leadership skills… |
…or an associate at a prestigious firm, stuck doing grunt work and waiting for your chance to shine. |
9 times out of 10, the less prestigious role will give you more opportunities for growth and impact (stuff that will serve your career a lot more longer term — hiring managers prefer to see real impact over a big name) |
 | the story of working at a big prestigious company |
|
👴🏻 Prestigious companies are old. |
And they're big, too. |
And if it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks, don't get me started on teaching an old, BIG dog new tricks. |
Your "can-do", "think-outside-the-box", "nothing's impossible" attitude might be welcomed (and handsomely rewarded) at a start-up… but trying to change procedures at a multinational? |
I wouldn't expect many "atta boy's". |
=> "Prestigious" companies often come with tightly defined roles and expectations, limiting creative freedom. |
 | 🤣 |
|
🤔 "But Rohan," you ask… |
"If these companies aren't all hyped up to be, why does everyone want to work there?" |
Well, here's what you've got to realize: |
Huge firms have massive marketing departments, and spend millions on making sure that every job seeker knows their name. |
But just like a Rolex… |
Just because you've heard about them, doesn't mean they're the best for your career. |
|
Final thought: |
I'm not trying to "pooh-pooh" every big, prestigious company. |
Some of them do great, important work, and provide thousands of people with exciting, fulfilling careers. |
Just bear in mind… |
A lot of it is hype… |
And I'm not saying they're all bad. I just want to give you a framework to make decisions in your career. Just because a company seems more prestigious doesn't mean its the right role for you. |
And the last thing I'd want you to do is chase an unfulfilling career purely to make your LinkedIn profile good. |
Especially when all you need to do is go here to optimize your profile (an optimized LinkedIn profile will do more for you than any big name) |
…so that's my rant on prestige. |
Before I wrap up, I need something from you. |
These emails take me freakin' forever to write up. And cost a lot in email sending costs. But yet I don't litter them with ads nor paywall the best parts. |
That said, there is a (non-monetary) fee for them: |
If an email changes the way you think, opens your mind to a new perspective, or gives you an insight you get value from, please do one of these things: |
|
Stuff like this helps and makes all the efforts feel worth it — thank you. |
|
|
 | PSA: environments that stifle your creativity are never good for you longer term |
|
 | the reality of big companies |
|
 | 🤣 |
|
|
🔎 Speed Up Your Job Search One actionable piece of advice to help you hack your job search. |
How to list projects on your resume |
Read the full article here (it has some good examples too). |
If you don't have enough relevant experience in the industry you're applying to — perhaps you're a career changer or a student — it's a good idea to include a projects section on your resume where you highlight personal projects, side hustles or volunteering work. |
For example, if you're trying to break into digital marketing and don't have marketing experience, you might use a projects section to describe how you created a personal website and used Facebook Ads to market it. |
🎯 If you're working on your resume, I'd really recommend using a tool like Score My Resume. It'll scan your work experiences and projects (if you added any) and give you instant suggestions on how to rewrite them using AI and recruiter advice. Try it now. |
|
From Our Team Tried our other AI tools? | Want a better resume? Upload it to Score My Resume and get expert feedback, instantly. You'll find out if and where your resume falls short. Get your resume review |  |
| Want to make your LinkedIn profile work for you? Our optimization tool will show you how to optimize it so you get more leads, jobs and opportunities. Optimize your profile |  |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
What'd you think of today's edition? |
👍 I loved it. |
🤔 Pretty average, step it up. |
🤢 You didn't bring enough value. |
Here are some reviews of last week's email. Leave one here. |
 | thank you Danielle! |
|
 | thanks Marion :) |
|
 | thanks Martin! |
|
|
|
If you're new here, hi! |
Hey, I'm Rohan. Some people are into yoga, others are into fishing - me, I'm all about self-improvement. Years ago, I got fed up with the fluff that passes for career advice out there. So, I started Resume Worded and this email series, Coached, to share the industry insider info I was learning. |
Think of this email as your weekly dose of career coaching you didn't know you needed. No fluff, no platitudes, no-BS — just real stuff that you need to hear to shape your career into what you want it to be. |
Until next time, |
|
Rohan
Founder at Coached & Resume Worded |
|
P. S. To make sure your career never goes off the rails, don't miss my future emails. A simple way to make sure you get each email is: |
If you're using Gmail, hit the 3 dots at the top-right corner, and choose Move to -> Primary. Or drag this email to Primary if you're on your computer. If you're using Apple Mail, tap on our email address at the top of this email (next to "From:" on mobile) and click "Add to VIPs.".
|
|
Comments
Post a Comment