More than 60% of young people in South Africa are unemployed, and even for those who do find their way into a role, the experience of starting work often feels very different to what they expected.
I have met many young people entering the workplace with expectations of structure and a clear path they must follow to find success.
What they find instead is pace, pressure, and a lot of unspoken assumptions. They hit the ground running, and, if they do good work it will be obvious, right? In reality, their journey is not always so cut and dried. Visibility, communication, and relationships carry as much weight as output, and with no experience to lead the way, if no one has named that, it can feel disorientating – especially in hybrid or remote work models.
Being “work-ready” is easily misunderstood. It has less to do with having everything figured out and more to do with being willing to learn in real time, ask questions, and sit in the discomfort of not knowing yet. In those early months, the skills that matter most are often the ones no one has explicitly taught. The ability to listen well, follow through and read the room are crucial, and realising that small things carry weight early on is a skill that must be mastered. It could be as simple as replying properly. Taking notes, asking thoughtful questions, and showing that you can be trusted with what’s been given to you are all skills that were never taught but carry so much weight.
Why? Because reliability is often valued before brilliance. And once people trust you, everything else grows from there.
Confidence at the beginning is also often misunderstood. It is not about being loud or certain, but looks more like quiet ownership. Saying “I don’t know, but I’ll find out,” taking responsibility for your work, and being open to feedback without collapsing under it. Real confidence is gently showing your superiors that they can be confident in your accountability. People trust that far more than premature confidence.
Beginning well in a job has very little to do with how much you know. It comes down to how you show up. Be present. Be curious. And probably most importantly, care about the work and the people around you.
You don’t need to prove your worth in the first few weeks. You need to build trust. And trust is built in small, consistent moments, not big, impressive ones.
I always encourage young women to make an effort to get to know people. Listen a lot, be thoughtful about what you contribute while you are learning, and generous with what you give in terms of softer skills.
At the same time, I see patterns that hold people back without them realising it. Over-editing themselves, waiting to be perfect before speaking, and automatically assuming everyone else knows more than they do. There is a tendency for young people to shrink in rooms where they feel inexperienced. But early career is exactly where you are allowed to be inexperienced – that is the point. You don’t build credibility by disappearing. You build it by participating, even when you feel unsure.
Participation, however, needs to be intentional. Internal meetings, for example, are often the best place to start. You are not going to jump into giving client advice prematurely, but you can listen in on as many client interactions as possible and contribute internally. You will quickly start to see where your gaps are, and when you are ready to take that next step.
If I could shift the way we think about work-readiness entirely, this would be my advice:
- Treat your career like something you are learning to navigate, not something you are expected to already understand.
- Approach it with curiosity, not pressure. Ask better questions. Pay attention. Take responsibility for your growth, and accept feedback graciously.
- The people who do well long-term are not the ones who started the most “ready.” They are the ones who stayed open, adaptable, and willing to keep learning.
That’s what really builds capability over time. And it’s far more sustainable than trying to prove readiness from day one.
Written by Jeni-Anne Campbell, founder of The Good Businesswoman and author of Feeding Unicorns.