Melinda French Gates Tells Gen-Zers to Ask 1 Important Question About Their Career Path

As Gen Z struggles to land jobs, Melinda Gates argues transitions are their greatest tool.

BY MOSES JEANFRANCOIS, NEWS WRITER @MOSESJEANS

Melinda French Gates. Illustration: Inc.; Photos: Getty Images

As Gen-Z begins to enter the workforce, Melinda French Gates is urging the next generation to embrace transitions as they develop their careers and build long-term success. And she has one major question they should ask themselves.

“I even tell university graduates these days, you think the transition is when you go through graduation? No, it’s when you wake up the next day, and you’re saying, ‘Am I really on the way to where I want to go?,’” she said on Bloomberg’s Leaders with Francine Lacqua podcast. 

She Looks to Empower Young Women in Business

The billionaire philanthropist has used her nonprofit work with the Gates Foundation and Pivotal to empower younger generations, especially young women, hoping to advance their careers. Her advice to Gen Z? Embrace the chaos, and pivot when necessary. 

“If we pause and if we give ourselves time to learn, we can actually grow tremendously during those transitions, whether they’re easy or whether they’re hard.”   

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Gates, who got her bachelor’s degree in computer science back in 1986, climbed the career ladder by leaning into discomfort, trying new things, and showing up authentically.  

“I thought, ‘OK, before I leave, I will try—inside this company—being who I truly am. … And to my surprise, I did not fall flat on my face. I actually rose in the company,” she said.

Where Is Gen-Z Working?

With waves of layoffs across industries, the rise of AI reshaping the job market, and a generation whose early career years were disrupted by Covid, many Gen-Z workers are feeling stalled before they’ve even started. 

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