Feeling Lost in Your 20s? 5 Books to Help You Kick Off Your Career
So, you graduated…on one hand, you feel relieved that you're done with all-nighters and cramming for exams. But on the other hand, you start having a queasy feeling about how else to fill that void of the college experience.
You either moved a) moved back home and are trying to get your life together (again), or b) moved to a new place and are trying to get your life together (again). Despite how your life is going post-grad, we can all agree on the feeling of feeling lost. If you are a postgraduate and feeling unsure about your future, then here are some books that can set you up for success, helping you curate your own life and journey to success.
The word "success" is something we all strive for, but it takes time to understand the variables necessary to achieve it. This is why books can be so vital. If you don't have an immediate connection to someone in your aspired field, it can be hard to gain their wisdom, knowledge, and advice. A book serves as a portal to connect people with what's possible.
Your 20s can be a challenging time—not only for finding yourself, but also for discovering your career path. Below are some books that can help.
In a world where AI is increasingly woven into the fabric of our work, it’s easy to lose sight of who we are beyond our professional roles. When our identity becomes too tightly tied to our careers, we risk forgetting the essence of our authentic selves. True authenticity begins within — by taking the time to understand our values, strengths, and passions, we create a foundation that allows us to navigate our careers with confidence and integrity.
When we know who we are, we can approach our work without letting it define our worth. Instead, we show up as the unique leaders we were meant to be, bringing originality, empathy, and perspective to every challenge. In doing so, we not only thrive in our professional lives but also preserve the wholeness of our human selves in an ever-evolving, tech-driven world.
Gen Z has gained recognition for being a generation that prioritizes self-care, mental health, and personal growth more than any previous generation. We are often praised for challenging toxic work cultures, setting boundaries, and advocating for well-being — yet, we still face the weight of narratives imposed by older generations. Many of these narratives label our values as selfishness or weakness, reducing our pursuit of self-love to a generational flaw rather than a conscious act of resilience.
In All About Love, bell hooks invites us to reconsider what love truly means — not only in our romantic or familial relationships, but also in how we treat ourselves and engage with the world. She challenges us to understand love as an active choice, rooted in care, responsibility, and respect, rather than a fleeting feeling. This framework becomes essential for Gen Z: it offers a path to break free from inherited expectations and redefine self-love as a powerful, collective practice rather than an indulgence. Through her words, we learn that the true essence of love shapes how we navigate everyday situations, confront injustice, and extend compassion to ourselves. It is not simply about protecting our own peace, but also about building a more empathetic, intentional, and connected world.
First impressions matter, but navigating the professional world can make it challenging to know how to strategically pursue your career goals. The First 90 Days is more than just a guide to building a strong foundation in the workplace—it’s a roadmap for creating a strategic plan that fosters growth, no matter how “lost” you may feel. This book guides you through the process of growing and establishing yourself early in your career, helping you meet and exceed expectations as you transition into your new role. It offers detailed scenarios and actionable strategies to equip you to become a strong leader during times of transition.
This book has helped me understand the importance of self-development and creating a sense of structure, regardless of one's career path.
Have you ever received advice and thought, Why did I even ask?—especially when it’s something you can’t actually put into practice? Then this book is for you.
For postgrads with ambition and big dreams, society often tells us to set them aside to “get ahead” in our careers. But Flex flips that narrative. It offers practical, actionable, and motivational advice on how to excel professionally while remaining true to yourself. With real-world examples, relatable stories, and strategies you can actually use, this book shows you how to do it all—without losing yourself in the process.
As postgraduates, we often enter the world understanding that we may not be the best anymore; instead, we see how qualified others are, to the point where we overlook our own qualifications and the ability to brag about our accomplishments. #Qualified makes you think effectively and critically about bringing your strong suit to light. We all hold strong skills and characteristics that make us unique in our own way. This book challenged you to think authentically and reframe how your skills make you more qualified than you realized.
It challenges you to think honestly about the type of life you want to live and the type of career for which you may be a better fit. Creating the life you want starts with you—and this book will transform the way you approach it.
