When it comes to career advice, there aren’t many people above Richard Branson that you would be keen to take it from. In 2007 he was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time magazine and according to Forbes, Branson is now worth £2.1 billion.
Branson spoke to Max Klymenko, who runs the TikTok series The Career Ladder to share five career success secrets, including a tip for job hunters heading to interviews. Since founding his businesses, Branson disclosed that he has hired around 1.5 million people.
When asked about the advice he would give to job hunters attending interviews, he offered two tips.
He said: “Really know your subject matter before you sit down and do your job interview. Just be yourself, be friendly, you can get your personality across. If I’m doing public speaking, if I don’t know the subject matter I freeze.
When asked what the most underrated piece of career advice he could give was, Branson said: “Don’t just go into something because you think you’re going to make more money out of it, because life is more than that.
“Especially when you’re young, you should be doing something that you know fascinates and interests you.”
Branson also said that if people have an idea that could help people, they should create their own business rather than work for somebody else.
He said: “If you’ve got an idea that makes peoples lives better then you should start your own business, because even if it fails… try again until you succeed.”
Max shared that he was a “bad student” in school, with teachers telling him he would “amount to nothing” . He asked Branson for his advice to students who are getting bad grades.
He said: “Just don’t worry about your exam results. I’ve looked at my old exam results, I was the bottom of everything. So irrelevant.
“As long as you have got personality, you’re kind, you’re good with people, caring generally, you have a smile.”
Sir Richard Branson posted on Instagram following the death of his wife Joan Templeman. Richard married Joan in 1989 on Necker island in the Caribbean and they share three children Holly, Sam, and Clare Sarah, who died after four days.
In the post, Richard said: “Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away. She was the most wonderful mum and grandmum our kids and grandkids could have ever wished for.
