Career Advice Our Consultants Give Their Kids

Day in and day out at Korn Ferry, our consultants fill C-suite roles at firms around the world. Their expertise doesn’t dissipate into thin air at the end of the day; many go home and share their perspectives with the young people in their lives—admittedly, to varying degrees of enthusiasm.

This year, kids are listening more than usual, because it’s a tricky time to be a young person on the job market: The teen unemployment rate has crept up to 13%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and recent college graduates are having a hard time getting a foot in the door. Despite making up only 5% of the workforce, they account for 12% of the increase in the national unemployment rate since 2023, according to Oxford Economics.

With AI’s reshaping of the workplace, even safe-bet careers that were essential just five years ago are now disappearing. So we asked our consultants what advice they give their children.

Learn to problem-solve early.

“I tell them that the world is changing so quickly, both in technology and geopolitics, that I’m most interested in them learning how to think for themselves and how to be insatiably curious. No matter what path or profession they go into, thinking about how to solve problems and create value will be critically important.”

—Seth Steinberg, senior client partner in Korn Ferry's Supply Chain Center of Expertise

Get good at something.

“I tell them to ignore the ‘follow your passion’ cliché. It’s backwards. Passion rarely precedes competence; it usually follows it. Get good at something first—ideally something hard, useful, and in demand. That’s what creates confidence, opens doors, and often becomes a passion. I also suggest trying something entrepreneurial early. Not because everyone should be a founder, but because building something forces you to engage with the real world—value, rejection, cash flow, self-discipline. That experience rewires your understanding of work in a way no job ever could.”
—Marnix Boorsma, senior client partner in Korn Ferry’s Amsterdam office

Be curious.

“I tell my kids that the one skill set that seems to have the most long-term value is curiosity, coupled with being interested in what other people think.”

—David Vied, Korn Ferry's global sector leader for medical devices and diagnostics 

Try the craft route.

“We’ve got two kids, and one is on a blue-collar track, and we are absolutely encouraging him to pursue it, because it’s a great life. Craftsperson business owners, landscapers, and bricklayers are all great businesspeople, and provide services that we need. Trade school had gone out of favor with all the technology jobs, but it’s coming back. We desperately need these folks.”

—Louis Montgomery Jr., principal in Korn Ferry's HR Center of Expertise 

Stress less, strategize more.

“I’ve got adult kids, and I tell them not to stress about what the job market’s going to do. Instead, figure out how to use it to your advantage. For example, those who understand how to really use AI may be propelled into bigger jobs quicker.” 

—Matt Bohn, senior client partner in Korn Ferry's Technology practice

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