Ever wondered what Justin Bieber, the Spice Girls and Jack Black have in common? They've all given us some really excellent careers advice, of course! From persistence and self-belief to an excellent grasp of social media, here's what these celebrities have taught us about the big bad world of work.
**Don't stress about your rubbish stop-gap job **
Rachel McAdams worked in McDonalds for three years before becoming Rachel McAdams and making a generation of girls dump their perfectly nice boyfriends because 'You’re cute but I don’t know if you’d sit with me every day when I get Alzheimers in later life (That’s a reference to The Notebook, FYI). But seriously, if you’re slaving away at a shitty part-time job you hate because you can’t break into that industry then it can feel like you’re worth about as much as the mop you’re using to clean up that 18 year-old’s vomit. It’s not true - blast out some inspirational tunes (I used to clean the floors of a bar to Frank Sinatra’s My Way), focus your goals and work your ass off to get out of that stop-gap. Just like Rach (see also: Kanye West who worked in Gap).
Persistence, persistence, persistence
When starting out, The Spice Girls doorstopped Andy Coulson until the News of The World* *gave them an interview - and he wasn’t the only journo they did this to. An exemplary lesson in how to make stuff happen for yourself rather than sitting around hoping it’ll fall into your lap giftwrapped with little job-ribbons. If standing on someone’s doorstep freaks you out a bit, then take the essence of the message to heart and think emails, drinking in the same pub as the company you dream of working for, getting coffee with someone doing the job you’d love to do, or swinging through their bedroom window on a vine. Don’t give up. Mumble mumble something about 'career spice.'
Don’t do what your parents/friends/boyfriend wants
When Jack Black said he wanted to be an actor, his parents financially disowned him they were so goddamn appalled. Now he might not be joining the RSC anytime soon and King Kong was a bit crap but my god he’s funny in High Fidelity. And Orange County. And I sort of fancy him but that’s irrelevant - he has a shit-tonne of money, is a great actor and everyone knows his name. Thank god he didn’t listen to his parentsand did what the hell he wanted.
You don’t need the exact qualifications
Didn’t do a law degree but want to be a lawyer? Do a law conversion, babe. Dropped out of your journalism MA but want to be a journalist? Start interning, babe. Didn’t go to drama school but want to be an actress? So did Jennifer Lawrence and she managed it. Sure, she's Jennifer Lawrence - and it seems like there's a whole lot of luck involved in the acting industry - but the point is: there are ways around having spent your uni years too stoned to get anything above a third. Experience usually means more in most industries and, if you need qualifications, then go and get the goddamn qualifications OK? Yeah, it could take a bit longer than you first thought and you might not be the young hot one on campus but it’ll be worth it when you’re doing the job you love.
The easiest route isn’t always the best
Look at 90% of the X Factor winners (excluding Will Young and Leona Lewis who did pretty well). Look at Steve Brookstein, he’s a broken, bitter husk of a man. Why? Because when you go from Sgt. Normal to Top of The Ladder in the space of a few days, you don’t learn anything. You’ll get screwed over, make mistakes or, following the X Factor allegory, dropped by your record label thanks to being so out of your depth you can’t see what’s going on around you. Start from the bottom and work your way up, Iggy Azaelia style ("No money, no family, sixteen in the middle of Miami") - that way you’ll be invincible once you’re the big boss. Oh, and people won’t hate you for having it handed to you/call you the downfall of the music industry.
Don’t underestimate the importance of yer online profile
Justin Bieber might be a world class twonk but he’s a world class twonk who got famous because he worked YouTube like a mutha. I’m not saying you should start doing some teen-friendly crooning down a webcam or dress like a Bronx-born rapper doing an impression of a little geeky white kid who’s doing an impression of a Bronx-born rapper, but YouTube, Twitter, FourSquare, Instagram… they’re all there to be used. And used for good, rather than reporting on the fact your skirt just got caught in a door or a pigeon shat on your head.
Style out your mistakes
Do you remember how crap Ben Affleck used to be? No? Have you seen*Gigli*?! He was a joke. But instead of running, mortified, from the film industry (as quite a few people probably suggested), he got behind the camera and kept going like a bloody trooper. Fast forward a few years and he’s directed Argo which won the Best Picture Oscar and slated to be the next Batman. Don’t let a mistake, not matter how bad it is (seriously, Gigli is AWFUL), stand in the way of what you want to do - everyone has a shocker. It’s how you deal with them afterwards that matters (see also: Matthew McConaughey).
Be Beyonce
Sort of self explanatory, really. Just ask yourself, every time you're not sure what decision to make, what Beyonce would do. It really works: would Beyonce go and buy a burrito instead of spending her lunch hour at the gym/researching better jobs/networking/carving out her career path? No. Would Beyonce get drunk the night before a massive job interview because of 'nerves'? No. Would Beyonce forget to do her laundry for three weeks resulting in a pile you have to pole vault over in order to get to your bed? NO.
For more great work tips, check out GoThinkBig.co.uk for straight-talking careers advice
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.