June 2nd, 2025

As I've continued to grow, I've found myself seeking out guidance and perspective on much more than just my career.
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And as a result, I wanted to create a weekly curated selection of everything that's helping me navigate my work, my purpose, and my growing responsibilities at home.

Welcome to First Things First. I'm so glad you're here.

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Colin Rocker Founder, @careercolin & For The Firsts ​Instagram | LinkedIn​

LinkedIn recently changed its job search function to respond to more natural language, and it really excites me how this may lead to people finding jobs and industries they would have never discovered before.

Justin Welsh on why it seems everyone is burning out.

A reminder from me to all recent grads on the dangers of comparing yourself to others.

The CEO of Anthropic (the company behind Claude) recently said that AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs. He also gives a few suggestions on how to navigate this possibility.

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If you'll be interning in New York City this summer, you'll definitely want to sign up for this Intern Summer Kickoff hosted by GenZtea.

NY Tech Week is this week! Here's a list of the events I'd check out.

If you're looking for a better way to find your people professionally, you should download Fide! Be sure to check out my channel there for For The Firsts, where I share BTS from our events and give early-access registration to our future meetups.

Kaylee and I finally finished the first season of Your Friends & Neighbors, and we were hooked the whole way through. Jon Hamm is perfect as a rich guy-turned-home burglar.

I recently discovered the best cinnamon roll in NYC, and they're home-baked each week in small batches by The Baked Box in Brooklyn!

What's your creation story? The Primal Branding framework by Patrick Hanlon is probably the best way to think about building a brand that I've come across.

Andrew Yeung (a first by any definition) on why you should move to New York in your 20s​

Last week I shared every salary I've ever had in my corporate career and reflected on what that growth has meant to me as a first-gen professional.

The Brooklyn Stroll Club is hosting a Father's Day event next week I can't wait to check out (still insane I'm even celebrating this holiday tbh).

Speaking of Father's Day, let's skip the beard oil and axe throwing this year. I've always used Uncrate to find unique gifts for the men in my life that aren't a tired stereotype.

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It really means the world to me that you show up to explore these topics with me each week, so thank you for reading. If something above resonated with you, consider sharing it with someone else who might need it too.

If you have any feedback, you can always reply or email me at me@colinrocker.com

And remember that you’re not behind. You’re just building something different.

Chat soon,

Colin