This article was initially published in March 2020 on Ignition's Time website in French. I was interviewed by my friend Vanina Lanfranchi as started her coaching practice.

Vincent is 25 years old with 10 years of career behind him.

There's no calculation error in this statement! Read on to find out more...

The chain of questions.

One of the rules of the blog is that the guest of the day answers the question posed by the previous guest. So I pass on to Vincent this question: "Do you think it would have been possible to choose the 'right' path earlier?"

For Vincent, earlier would have been "bloody early"! Before the age of 15...

More seriously, for Vincent, the path is far from over, and if this path exists for each of us, it's also to allow us to move forward through constant introspection.

I ask Vincent the ritual question:

Today, in your professional life, are you rather:
A/ On a motorway
B/ At a crossroads
C/ Going round and round a roundabout without knowing which exit to take
D/ In the middle of market research to buy yourself a GPS

=> Answer B; because Vincent wants to keep all possibilities open, constantly create connections, and find roles and positions that allow him to dabble in many things.

Vincent the eclectic

Today, Vincent is Head of Communications for an investment fund operating between London, Stockholm and New York.

What's eclectic about all this? Certainly the fact that Vincent started with Opera and producing radio shows on the internet before falling into communications!

A look back at his journey...

When Vincent was a child, he wanted to become a teacher... then he hated his schooling, and probably also dreaded the commitment it would have required.

Or a journalist, to "meet interesting people, write, and get paid for it".

What attracted him to each of these options: people, encounters.

He finds this dimension "100%" in his current position, which he would rate 8/10!

The elements that motivate him most today as Director of Communications:

• The complexity of the problems and challenges encountered;
• Having a concrete impact on multiple dimensions;
• The multidisciplinary nature: writing, strategy, networking, press relations...
• Exposure to different cultures, working daily with people from truly diverse backgrounds.

From Opera to Communications via radio, it's only a thread of voice

Vincent's journey is a mix of linear progression and more decisive choices, with his desire to mingle with networks of influence as a common thread.

From 10 to 15, he was passionate about Opera and sings! He then realised that it was possible to excel in an activity that wasn't academic.

Then his voice changed and he had to face the facts: all the work he had put into his voice would have to find another form of realisation than singing. This would be journalism, an effective way to convert voice learning into a profession.

This was at least his initial goal when he started an internet radio show at 15, at a time when people offering so-called podcasts could be counted on the fingers of two hands in France.

Living in Montpellier, Vincent doesn't exactly imagine moving at the heart of the right networks to be intellectually stimulated and be part of tomorrow's world. Yet thanks to his shows, he meets and interviews more than 100 people in 5 years. The show initially focuses on the political issues of digital technology. It then turns towards the internet, tech, startups. Vincent only receives guests who inspire him, some of whom have become friends.

Then Vincent chooses to "move up to Paris". He enrolls in a school but hardly sets foot in it. His time is already well taken up by his professional activities. Vincent quickly realises that all the know-how developed through his shows has a significant value in the job market, particularly in communication jobs. Creating content, interviewing people, disseminating messages, he already knows how to do it.

For Vincent, not having an official diploma is a driving force to learn all the time and constantly move forward.

An employment contract, the voice of reason

Often, we start with studies, then permanent contract, then possibly set up on our own. Vincent plays by shuffling the cards differently...

Before he was 20, he didn't want to be an employee, he wanted to be able to explore everything, he was afraid of getting bored, of not being able to be a good employee. And his remuneration was nothing to be ashamed of compared to that of an employee...

Finally, his intuition, reinforced by encounters with people who "are advancing in their professional journey", leads him to realise that it might be wise to become an employee and have his professional development supported by a company.

He joins France Digitale, then daphni, and it's a winning bet: the company "brand" gives a certain legitimacy in the professional world. Legitimacy that Vincent doesn't envisage without a good dose of passion! All the people potentially in competition with Vincent may have the diplomas, but they don't necessarily have the same flame. So he will always be a good bet and a good match for a company, at the extreme opposite of a mercenary.

Vincent's mantra: encounters, in English please

If today's Vincent had to talk to yesterday's Vincent, he would tell him 2 things:

1/ "Make as many encounters as possible". Today he thinks he hasn't done enough yet! And "Don't make any decision alone".

2/ "Learn English". For Vincent, most resources are to be discovered in English. Pursuing his learning to the maximum requires mastering this language.

And then?

The crossroads, for Vincent? "Not yet, not quite, not just yet". He's going to seek to gain a bit of stability, seniority, even if he's probably not going to remain Head of Communications for an investment fund all his life.

Until then, Vincent would like to improve or refine his current professional life even further, particularly by managing to make the most of the management experience. Being managed and managing oneself is an art, which can lead far if one knows how to play with all its subtleties.

In the longer term, Vincent is going to "work a lot, go the extra mile, continue to establish his position in his profession", while keeping multiple opportunities open, as solid and concrete as possible. And perhaps at the end of this road, financial autonomy and professional independence again?

To start this professional journey, Vincent carries in his satchel:

• People
• A notebook, particularly with the aim of building up archives, or at least systematically classifying observations on what he does, what has saved him time, the birth and development of certain convictions, including about himself.

The compass of all adventurers points North. And Vincent's, what does it indicate? In other words, what is the fundamental value that Vincent absolutely doesn't want to deviate from? "Freedom, always more"... to be reconciled sometimes with other life hazards...

If Vincent were to leave a message on a little white pebble on the path for the next travellers, he would write on it "Follow your passion, trust yourself, people aligned with themselves are those who have followed these precepts all their life".