When working at a company, you sometimes encounter short-term part-time workers or interns
who are assigned to a department for a brief period before leaving.
Often, they just come in, make copies, and spend their time browsing the internet,
essentially slacking off (월급루팡).
However, occasionally, you find some who work diligently.
When you see such individuals, you might feel a surge of '꼰대' (꼰대: an older person who acts superior and gives unsolicited advice) tendencies,
and a desire to help them in some way.
With the intention of offering some helpful advice, I sometimes call them in at the end of their part-time job
and treat them to a meal.
(If they're not impressive, I skip the meal.)
I listen to their thoughts on their current job search situation and,
if they express interest in our industry,
I offer advice on how they can enter the field.
Besides this, there's a common piece of advice I give,
When you join any company, you'll see various paths within it. You should strive to identify the most promising one
(the one that offers the best reward for your effort).
and try to move to that position.
You need to demonstrate your efforts, and I strongly advise them to do so until the age of 33.
Of course, you can always start fresh after that age,
but I believe the optimal time is before 33.
Until 32, you're considered 'young and inexperienced,' but from 33 onwards, you're 'young but not inexperienced.'
If there's something you want to pursue in a certain place, it's highly likely that others also desire the same.
The reason they might choose you for that position is your potential and attitude.
I offer them a meal because I see them as someone with a certain level of attitude,
and a major factor influencing their potential is their physical age.
You might question the relevance of age in the era of a 100-year lifespan,
but the increase in life expectancy is largely due to advancements in life-prolonging technologies,
while technologies that extend the period of youth haven't seen a similar increase.
Let's randomly bring up Confucius for a moment.
Confucius considered 30 years old as 'establishing oneself' (이립).
[이립(而立): In the Analects, it refers to the age of 30, the age of establishing one's foundation.]
The 'establishing one's foundation' that Confucius spoke of
would be best interpreted as deciding on a career path.
Whether it was Confucius's time thousands of years ago or today, 30 is
a time when one should determine their career path.
I recommend leveraging your youthful (potential) weapons
to transition to a department or company with better conditions.
The rewards for the same effort can vary depending on the department or company you're in.
Before your weapons for moving to a better place disappear,
it's wise to try multiple times.
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