old photo of newspaper photographers (Photo: Shutterstock)

There's nothing like your first day on the job in a new and vibrant industry. The deep knowledge of your veteran coworkers impresses if not awes you. You wonder if you'll ever be able to match them.

The short answer is "yes." Sure, it might take some time, but there's a way you can quick start your "veteran" status. It requires a little bit of work, but not "cramming for the finals" kind of work.

What if you had the ability to step into the shoes of those veterans before they became veterans? What if you could travel back in time and see what they saw in the industry as it unfolded? How much would you be willing to pay for this time travelling boost to your career?

Truth is, you can do this and all it will cost you is, as I said before, a little time. Perhaps the best way to begin to secure this advantage is to read about the tumultuous 10 years in the world of the fiduciary (see "The Decade's Top 5 All-Time Most Popular 401k Plan Sponsor and Fiduciary 'Must-Read' Articles," FiduciaryNews.com, December 31, 2019).

Here's the secret to current news articles that even journalists fail to recognize. Reporters work under deadlines. That can be stressful, but it also can be useful – to the readers of history.

That's right, I said "history" not current events.

In order to write quickly and coherently, the reporter often has to relay just the bare bones of the story. Those bare bones may sound spartan, but they're often chock full of raw emotion, frivolous innuendo, and exaggerated conjecture. The news may be wrong but it's not fake. This is how people actually felt at the time the story was written.

And it is these feelings – right, wrong, or indifferent – that allow you to live the experience "as it happened." There was an old Saturday morning TV Series called You Are There. Hosted by the venerable Walter Cronkite, the show took its young viewers on a trip back in time.

Children saw historic events as they unfolded. They got to experience the ups and downs of those living that history. From this, it was hoped the kids might find history – as told in living form – far more compelling than those dry lectures embedded in their history books.

In a way, perusing contemporary reporting offers the same experience. It's often faster to read than to watch a video, so you'll capture that experience much quicker.

So if you're just starting off in a new position or a new industry, no matter what your age, it makes sense to scan the internet for those old articles everyone was reading oh so many years ago.

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Christopher Carosa

Chris Carosa has been writing a weekly article and monthly column for BenefitsPRO online and BenefitsPRO Magazine since 2011 and is a nationally recognized award-winning writer, researcher and speaker. He’s written seven books, including From Cradle to Retire: The Child IRA; Hey! What’s My Number? – How to Increase the Odds You Will Retire in Comfort; A Pizza The Action: Everything I Ever Learned About Business I Learned By Working in a Pizza Stand at the Erie County Fair; and the widely acclaimed 401(k) Fiduciary Solutions. Carosa is also Chief Contributing Editor of the authoritative trade journal FiduciaryNews.com and publisher of the Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, a weekly community newspaper he founded in 1989. Currently serving as President of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and with more than 1,000 articles published in various publications, he appears regularly in the national media. A “parallel” entrepreneur, he actively runs a handful of businesses, including a small boutique investment adviser, providing hands-on experience for his writing. A trained astrophysicist, he also holds an MBA and has been designated a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor. Share your thoughts and story ideas with him through Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/christophercarosa/)and Twitter (https://twitter.com/ChrisCarosa).