Define Yourself Before the World Does

A note to young leaders.

The world will ask you who you are – and if you’re unsure, it will answer for you.

When I was 18, and still yet to complete my first year at Sydney University, I applied to Freehills for a part-time paralegal position in their banking and finance division.

I went through the interview process and was told that no such position was available, but that their constitutional law division was happy to take me on.

I politely declined – and a few weeks later I was offered the position I wanted.

A few years later, I applied to Macquarie Bank for a summer employment position in their Mergers & Acquisitions division. This was 1993, and Macquarie had no formal program of this kind. M&A I was told did not take on undergraduates, but their Economics Research and Forex divisions did.

Again, I politely declined – and a week or so later I was taken out to lunch and offered the M&A position I wanted. This in turn became my first full-time role.

There was nothing wrong with the two roles I turned down. They just weren’t for me. And even at 18, I knew enough about myself to say: “I’d rather do my own thing than take on roles I’m not passionate about.”

Sit on a rock, meditate deeply and fill in the blanks about who you are and what you want to do – because if you don’t, others will more than happily fill in the blanks for you.