Uber CEO says this is the career mistake youngsters must avoid

Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber Technologies CEO.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was never in a hurry in his career and he suggests neither should the young people of today.

Greatness takes time, he said in an interview with LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky, adding that one needs to "stick around for a while" if they really want to refine their craft and build something.

"It’s so much more satisfying (to take time)," the Uber boss said.

Before he took over the reigns of Uber in 2017, Khosrowshahi, 53, was the CEO of engineering company Expedia for 16 years. He had switched to Expedia from IT company IAC, where he served for seven years.

Unlike him, young people are in a hurry to reach certain positions in life by a set time Khosrowshahi said. That can be a harmful.

“Don’t over-plan your career … I see young people make this mistake all the time,” Khosrowshahi said during the interview. “They’ll say, ‘I want to be a VP by this time,’ or ‘I want to make X amount of money.’”

It is all right to know what direction you want to take, he said.

"But if your idea is too narrow...if you see a signal that doesn't agree with that direction, you are just going to ignore it," Khosrowshahi added.

He advised professionals to be open to opportunities. "Then you’ve got to jump at it, you’ve got to take advantage of it,” he continued.

Khosrowshahi, who grew up in Iran, was always expected to join his wealthy family's conglomerate. But life had other plans.

So how is it that he got where he is today? Khosrowshahi said it was hard work and "career compounding"

"I think if you’re a ‘three or four years and out’ kind of a person, you’re really missing out on that career compounding … it does take time, but when you take advantage of that, magic happens then."