Meet Kyyah Abdul | Founder of Career Savage, Author & Regulatory Affairs Professional

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kyyah Abdul and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kyyah, what’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
I love Generation Z and the younger subset of Millennials because they don’t feel the need remain in anything that doesn’t serve them. Older generations for years would tell young working professionals that staying in a job for a short amount of time would likely result in difficulty finding a job later on in their careers. They would encourage them to remain in a job that was toxic or had no growth opportunities for 10 plus years for reasons I don’t understand.

I wholeheartedly disagree with this advice. I also disagree with the ideology that the number of years worked is more important than what you did while you were there. In my career, I have worked for more companies than I can count and I have had no issues finding employment. More importantly, I have been able to climb the corporate ladder at a faster pace as a result of what I have achieved at my previous places of employment.

Since graduating college in 2016, I’ve had five and a half years of professional work experience in my field. Professionals with the same job title as me may have double if not more experience, in terms of time, but our knowledge of the subject matter is equivalent.

You have to create your own career trajectory and career path rather than listen to the advice of older generations. Their advice won’t always be relevant to the current market.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What am I excited about? I never thought I would become a published author, so I am the most excited about that. I started writing my book in 2018 during a dark period in my life and it was like writing almost restored my sense of self-worth. It was the craziest thing. I had very little energy to do anything apart from work, go to school, and write bits and pieces of my novel. Day by day I would write how I overcame career challenges. I wrote about getting my first internship. Finding a job after college. I even wrote about why and how I started my brand Career Savage, which is the premise of the text. My book aims to address the phenomenon of college students graduating with a degree and yet no sense of purpose. I take my life experiences and guide students through their final days of college and into the “real world”.

Was it easy to get to this point? Finding an agent and a publisher wasn’t as hard as I thought it would after I knew what I was doing. As far as writing, I wouldn’t say it was easy at all. I was borderline going through depression and writing was my form of therapy. It was like I was forcing myself to go to therapy every single day. Some people might think it’s really weird that I came up with the foundation for the book while going through a depression, but I honestly think the fruition of it all is beautiful. I chose to take a dark moment in life and make it bright by curating a piece of work that helps others.

Starting from my first job to this moment of becoming an author, I’ve learned a lot of lessons along the way but people will have to buy my book to know what exactly those lessons are!

What I want the world to know about me, my career strategy practices, and my brand as a whole can be summed up in a quote: “Success is what you deem it to be. Always abide by your own definition, not societies.”

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I actually just had friends in town and I took them to all my favorite places. For a week-long trip starting Saturday, I would start by taking them to brunch at Elephante in Santa Monica (230 pm to 5 pm-ish). Their food is always on point and the vibes never miss the mark. After brunch, we would walk down to the beach, buy some beach towels and watch the sun approach the horizon. Next, we would go to the Proper hotel for drinks at Calabra. After that, Ace Hotel, Broadway Bar, Clifftons, or any other location downtown would be the last stop. For some reason, I love the bars downtown. They are a bit more lively and fun.

I think each day would just be an assortment of good food, activities, and vibes. Some of my favorite brunch spots are Margot, Met Her At A Bar, The Highlight Room, Poppy & Rose, and Lady Byrd Cafe. Lunch/Dinner: Zinque in WeHo, Cho Dang Tofu for authentic Korean food, Ophelia, Robertas, Spartina, AVRA, Wally’s Santa Monica, Rossoblu, and all the mom and pops in Silver Lake/Echo Park. Drinks: EP & LP, Palihouse, Perch, Mrs. Fish (live music sometimes), Bar Lis, The Strand House, Genever Lounge, and any other rooftop.

I love to coordinate activities like hiking in Topanga. There are so many cool trails over there. I also love to take people to Malibu for the wine tours and the beaches. I grew up in Palos Verdes so Terenea is always on the list of places to visit. Sofar sounds shows, Amplify Africa events, a day trip to Catalina, art exhibits, exploring the Getty, Griffith Observatory, shopping in smaller communities like Silverlake, visiting my favorite coffee shops like Hiltop Coffee and Kitchen are just a few things I would make sure they experience/see.

I love LA and feel like there are so many other places I would take people but there is never enough time. I need 1 – 2 days for each section of Los Angeles.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to my publisher, Mango Publishing for giving me the opportunity for my voice to be amplified.

Website: www.careersavage.com

Instagram: Kyyah Abdul

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rabdulrahoof/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kyyahabdul

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=9lemY14B-k89aRNrXrmVJw

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqLjXWOCcrQF3f1XHjGIV4Q

Other: https://www.amazon.com/College-Students-Career-Survival-Guide/dp/1642507563 https://www.dymocks.com.au/book/the-college-students-career-survival-guide-by-kyyah-abdul-9781642507560 https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-college-students-career-survival-guide-kyyah-abdul/1139405582 https://www.walmart.com/ip/The-College-Student-s-Career-Survival-Guide-Paperback/642958352?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0