Like many other Millennials hoping to break into the national security world, I hightailed it to Washington, DC the minute I had my master’s diploma in hand. Once there, I networked myself into a frenzy as I searched for a job that would satisfy my intellectual hunger.

A few weeks later, a defense contractor hired me to run the operations for a training program at the Pentagon. I was responsible for preparing high-ranking Department of Defense officials for a seamless deployment to Afghanistan, where they would then serve as advisors to the Afghan government. I sat at the forefront of the U.S. and NATO’s foreign policy efforts in Central Asia, and I was ready for the challenge. In fact, everything I had accomplished in my life up to that point was preparation for this exact opportunity. I was ready.

I was also 23 years old.

Read my approaches on how to manage someone older than you here, on the Daily Muse.

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