Ashton Johnson

Mark Cuban advises young people to approach their careers the same way that many professional athletes do: like they’re free agents.

The self-made billionaire entrepreneur and minority owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks recently took to social media platform BlueSkyto share his top piece of career advice for young professionals, responding to a post about college graduates feeling “locked into” a specific career path for the rest of their lives.

“I tell every kid that asks, that you paid money to learn. Now it’s time to get paid to learn,” wrote Cuban, 66. “You need to be the best as you can at your job ... But you are always a free agent. You can always be looking and learn more in a new job.”

Cuban followed that advice to build his own career. In his 20s, he landed a job at a computer software sales company despite having only one computer science class under his belt — so he studied computer manuals to teach himself how the technology worked.

The self-education helped Cuban launch his first startup, a software company called MicroSolutions, about a year later. In 1990, he sold MicroSolutions to CompuServe for $6 million.

Highly successful people often share soft skills like curiosity and an eagerness to learn, according to CEOs from Amazon’s Andy Jassyto Kickstarter’s Everette Taylor. Just be careful thinking of yourself as a constant free agent in the job market, says Patrice Williams Lindo, CEO of career consulting firm Career Nomad.

If you interpret “free agent” as constantly having one foot out the door, always looking for your next opportunity, you’ll struggle to perform well at your current job and foster workplace relationships that could pay dividends later in your career, Lindo says.

“Relationships matter. While staying open to opportunities is smart, being a ‘free agent’ doesn’t mean neglecting the importance of building trust, collaboration and loyalty within your current role,” says Lindo. “These relationships are often the gateway to future opportunities.”

Plus, constant job-hunting can “lead to burnout, or prevent individuals from fully immersing themselves in their current work,” she adds.

Instead of always looking for a new, better opportunity, try to focus on “staying relevant in a rapidly changing job market,” Lindo says. “Professionals should prioritize continuous learning and growth. Cuban’s focus on ‘getting paid to learn’ is especially valuable — every role should offer opportunities to build skills, expand your expertise, and increase your market value.”

CNBC