Building a career the ‘Gen Z’ way

In a rapidly changing world, careers aren’t what they once were. Although there is certainly a place for getting a degree and working your way up the career ladder with a nine-to-five job, there are now many other avenues to financial success and living a more flexible life.

Talya Goldberg, 31, is a successful freelance creative director and social media strategist based in Cape Town. “The jobs that exist now didn’t exist ten years ago. They’re not things you can go to university and be taught,” she says. “There’s no older generation teaching these things, so there’s a big gap. For example, who’s creating content for brands on TikTok? They hire people in their teens or early 20s. There’s so much opportunity, and there are many more people working in a ‘nomadic’ way, not tied to an office,” she says.

Chad Nathan, 27, better known as @gingerwithagopro, defines himself as “a digital nomad with a wild passion for travel, adventure, and storytelling through the lens of a camera”. He reflects that “at school, I had this mentality that I would take a gap year, go to varsity, and do a BCom like every other Jewish boy in King David [schools], and then maybe join my father in his business”.

But while doing the gap year and the degree, he “fell in love with storytelling and capturing memories on camera”, which he would post on social media, and people loved it. The result is that he has now built a successful career as a filmmaker, photographer, and digital marketer.

He taught himself everything he knows while travelling to 34 countries and “hustling” to make it in the social media game. He has more than 26 000 followers on Instagram, and more than 34 000 on TikTok – both accounts reaching an estimated two million people a month. He employs people in a number of cities.

Goldberg followed a similar path. She did a business science marketing degree, and at the same time started interning, doing social media for a company that eventually hired her, as it urgently needed someone who knew how this new thing called social media worked.

No-one ever taught Goldberg the ins and outs of social media. She just loves it, and has spent so much time online, she has become a self-taught expert. “The best way to teach yourself something is to do it. If you do it enough, it eventually becomes second nature,” she says.

She began working with brands, meeting people who would become part of her extensive network. She then built a tech start-up with business partner Lucas Adams, which allowed users to print Instagram photos in various formats, as well as “social printing” for brands at events, which was extremely successful.

“To be honest, we didn’t know what we were doing! But it shows that you have to trust your instincts and try something,” says Goldberg. “The worst is when people ‘over-think’ themselves out of something. It’s about trusting your gut and if it feels right, say yes to it.”

Nathan echoes these sentiments. “At the beginning, I had no idea what I was doing. At the time, content wasn’t a big thing. But during my gap year, I saw someone using a GoPro, and it sparked my imagination – the idea that you could strap a camera to your head and record your life. As a kid I had always loved making home videos, and now I could do something similar. People would say, ‘This is amazing, can you do it for our business?’ I didn’t know how to edit or write an invoice or anything, but it was very much a case of ‘fake it till you make it’.”

Goldberg built Nifty250’s Instagram account into a much-loved online community. “It was about playing around and responding to what worked best. I loved the engagement.” They sold the business after four years and she went freelance, but eventually decided to take up an opportunity as a creative director. Within 18 months, she had transformed that company’s branding and social media offering.

She now works for herself, assisting a number of companies on a retainer basis, and doing consulting work. “I’m really enjoying the freelancer lifestyle and flexibility. I think work/life balance is almost impossible to achieve if you work a nine-to-five job. There’s not enough time for life,” she says.

Goldberg says that in careers these days, age is just a number. “I have a friend who is 21 years old and her very successful business is already more than six years old! And it’s all powered by the internet. It’s about marketing yourself and having chutzpah.”

Building a career these days is about following your passion, whether it is photography, knitting, graphic design, or dance. “In fact, it’s good to be as ‘niche’ as possible, and to stick to your niche,” says Goldberg. “The more random and unusual your work is, the better. The best content always rises, because people find and share good content.”

Goldberg advises matrics to use their first few years out of school to build a portfolio and online following. “When you finish matric, you probably don’t have a lot of expenses, you may still be living with your parents, and you’re not expected to earn a huge income. So you may have a year or two to figure things out.”

She emphasises that you don’t need expensive equipment, and people engage more with ‘natural’ photos taken on a smartphone.

However, Nathan says drone photography and videography is “huge” at the moment, and is only going to get bigger. “People always want to sit by the window seat on a plane because they’re mesmerised by a top-down image. You know as a kid you wondered what it’s like to fly? Well, the drone has given me that ability, and to show people art from the sky. Ten years ago, no-one was doing videography. Now, every kid wants to do it.”

Goldberg says it’s important to network. “It’s definitely about making the effort to meet the right people. In South Africa, people prefer to work with their friends or people they know. In addition, being thorough, on time, and easy to work with can get you far.”

She says this kind of work isn’t for everyone. If you prefer the structure of a regular salary and an office job, then it’s best to stick to that. You need to be motivated and disciplined but also able to go with the flow, work hard, and be passionate and knowledgeable.

To the matrics of today, she says, “It’s an exciting time. I recommend interning. Not only do you find out what you like, but what you don’t like. It’s much easier than studying the wrong degree and then finding out that you hate the work at the end. So have chutzpah, use this time to network and gain experience, and take every opportunity that comes your way.”

Says Nathan, “You can’t be shy – you need to be okay to put yourself out there on social media. You need to be the person who has the drive to succeed no matter what. You have to have creativity and passion. You’re not necessarily taught your passion – it comes to you. You can’t expect everything on a silver platter, but start a hobby, and you might just be able to create a career that suits your personality, and to do what you love. Follow your passion, and success will follow you.”