Kim Perell has what some might call a nontraditional path to success. She started her first company at just 23 years old from her kitchen table. By the time she was 30, she had become a multi-millionaire. Now, Perell is a CEO, nine-time founder, speaker, investor, TV and media personality, and two-time best-selling author. Her newest book, Mistakes That Made Me A Millionaire, is all about sharing the raw, honest truth when it comes to conquering the journey to success and the mistakes made along the way that can serve as million-dollar lessons.
These lessons, it turns out, can apply to college students as well — not just current working professionals who are already well on their way to their first million. In so many cases, the earlier you are made aware of mistakes, the better. When you’re in college, people usually tell you what you should be doing to get started on your career, and it can be a lot to take in. But you know what’s also really helpful? Knowing what *not* to do. In fact, sometimes that can be even more helpful. So, without further ado, Perell shares 10 common career mistakes college students make that you should avoid — and what to do instead.
Thinking You’re Unqualified
A lot of college students tend to underestimate themselves and their abilities when it comes to jobs or internships. But the fact of the matter is, everyone needs to get their start somewhere and you might not be as unqualified as you might believe. “I always felt that I was underqualified — I didn’t have the skills and I shouldn’t apply for things — and looking back, that was a huge mistake,” Perell tells Her Campus. “I should have taken more risks. I should have applied for jobs, even though I might get rejected. I should have put myself out there. And I feel that if I could tell my younger self [advice], it would have been to believe in myself, in my capabilities, and just to trust myself and have the confidence that, though I may not have all the skills, I was qualified enough.”
Being Afraid to Make Mistakes
Let’s face it, no one wants to mess up, especially if you’re a college student trying to figure things out and make a good first impression. But everyone, no matter how experienced, makes mistakes — and that’s OK. Use these mistakes as a learning opportunity to grow. “Mistakes are not the opposite of success — they are part of success,” Perell says. “And if you’re actually not making any mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough. You need to be able to put yourself out there, make mistakes, fail, and learn how to keep going despite those setbacks. I’ve learned more from my failures than I have [from] all my successes, undoubtedly, and that’s really important for young people to know that it’s OK to make mistakes, because you will get stronger, you’ll get smarter, you’ll be more able to face whatever comes next.”
Not Asking for Help
As a college student, this is your time to learn from others. If you don’t understand something or need clarity, then ask! Asking for help is not a sign of weakness; it can actually serve as a major strength and provide you with so much more knowledge than you had before. “I felt asking for help was a sign of weakness, and it meant that I didn’t know everything, which I didn’t, obviously, but I wouldn’t ask for help,” Perell says. “ I’d spend so many hours trying to figure things out by myself. And the moment I started asking for help, I was able to exponentially increase my ability to learn quickly. And so that was a huge mistake that I wish I wouldn’t have done. And I would encourage young people to ask for help. People want to help you, and trying to figure [it all] out yourself, it’s almost impossible sometimes. I remember in college trying to figure things out and until I went to the teacher and was like, ‘How do you actually do this?’ it was an unlock for me.”
Waiting for the “Perfect Moment”
Ever find yourself saying, “Maybe I should wait for the right time to apply to this internship”? If so, stop. I’m not saying there’s never a wrong time, but there is certainly no “perfect moment” — and by waiting for one, you’re just wasting what could be valuable time to gain experience. “People wait, thinking, ‘I’ll wait for this perfect moment [to apply for this] perfect job.’ Don’t. It never comes. You just have to jump in and you’ll figure it out along the way,” Perell says.
Luckily, Perell has a rule that she lives by, and it can help you decide if you are truly ready to apply for that job or internship. “I use a 70% rule,” she says. “If you’re 70% ready, then go. That’s really important, because I used to sit there waiting to get 100% ready. I’d get stuck in overthinking things whether it be my website, my social media, my resume, whatever it is. And so I think the 70% rule has been a really great guide. Once you have that 70% just go for it, because there’s never the ‘perfect time.’ People spend years trying to get to perfect, and it’s literally impossible.”
Not Having a Mentor
Having a mentor is one of the best things you can do to set yourself up for success. A mentor is someone you can talk to, who can steer you in the right direction based on their prior knowledge. Perell highlights how important it is for you to have a mentor during college and beyond. “Having a mentor is one of the most important keys to success throughout your entire career, because people with mentors are promoted five times more than people without them,” she says.
With this, keep in mind a mentor can be anyone — a professor, an upperclassman, an industry connection, and so forth. “In college, I’ve had amazing mentors,” Perell says. “I had professors that were mentors to me. It was a game-changer [for] helping me decide what type of job I wanted to have, where I wanted to be in the future, and encouraged me to take risks … Having a mentor is so key to success, and it’s one of the easiest things to get because truly people want to mentor young people.”
Viewing Networking As Superficial
Gen Z seems to have an aversion to networking — and TBH, Perell gets it. “I don’t like networking,” Perell admits. “It seems so superficial, to be honest, and I think that’s why no one likes it.” But, hate to break it to you, networking is key to career success. Perell recommends changing your mindset to see networking as an opportunity to gain a long-term relationship. “Every relationship that I have, it’s not just for today. It’s ‘How might this help in the long term?’ Because over 80% of jobs are actually based on referrals. So the more people you know or that know you, the more likely [you] are to get a new opportunity.”
Being Scared of Rejection
Unfortunately, getting a job or internship likely won’t be as easy as simply applying to the first position you see and automatically landing it. Rejection is inevitable, but it’s important to not let the rejections you face discourage you. “I feel that you never know until you put yourself out there what will happen,” Perell says. “It’s really important to know what’s the worst that can happen: You get rejected. Well, rejection is inevitable, and the faster you learn that that will happen, the more successful you’ll be … You gotta put yourself outside your comfort zone, because that’s where you’re really going to grow.”
Thinking Your First Job Will Be Your “Forever Job”
When Perell started her business at 23, that opportunity actually came about because she was fired from her first post-college job. She decided to use what she learned from that job and apply it toward her next venture. “I learned everything I knew, at that point, from someone else, and then I was able to transfer that to then start my own company,” she says. “If I hadn’t taken that, I would not have had the experience or any relationships to be able to start what was next.”
Remember, you never know what will happen in the future. Some things are out of your control. “You’re going to get a job [after college],” she says. “But, it doesn’t have to be a forever job. Try anything. If you don’t like it, then leave. Even though the outcome was not what I wanted necessarily at that time, it turned out to be like a huge blessing. I learned so much about digital advertising. I met incredible people that would then go on and I would be able to hire. I met incredible clients that I would be able to do business with. So just getting in the game and making those relationships was a huge impact on what would happen next.”
Waiting Until After Graduation To Get Started
With limited responsibilities outside of schoolwork, college is a great time to start a business or pursue a side hustle. Starting now gives you the time to get your business off the ground, so by the time you graduate, it might even be stable enough for you to solely focus on that instead of needing to find a full-time job for financial support. “You are young, and you can use that time to create something that then you can build,” Perell says. “I know so many college students right now that are creating college businesses, getting grants, winning accelerator programs. You can do that right now, while you’re in college.”
Being Afraid to Pivot
A lot of college students think you have to stick with the major you enter school with. But they’re wrong! The career path you might’ve envisioned for yourself for your entire childhood may not actually be the career path for you, and taking classes in college oftentimes helps students discover that. The truth is, around 80% of college students change their major at least once, so it’s completely normal to want to change your mind. This desire to change paths can also occur post-grad as well, after you finish your degree and are in the workforce. What’s important is that whatever direction you choose is the one that you want. Perell emphasizes the idea of being the CEO of your own life. “People are too afraid to make that pivot,” she says. “The more you’re aligned to what your true passion is, the more successful you will be. Staying in places that you are not happy in, or trying to do something because you’re trying to make someone else happy, like your parents or whoever, is just a bad idea … You got to be happy and everything else will fall into place.”