What if the best career advice you ever received came from someone who cared about more than your résumé?

Welcome to the first episode of Boss Dad, a new series on The Jason Wright Show where I sit down with young professionals for honest conversations about careers, relationships, ambition, integrity, faith, failure, and figuring out adulthood.

My first guest is my former employee and current mentee, Abby Neilson.

About a year ago, Abby was a recent college graduate struggling to land her first real job. A phone call that was originally supposed to help her make a few connections unexpectedly turned into a job offer—and eventually into a mentorship and friendship that neither of us anticipated.

Abby jokingly calls herself the “personality hire.” But what I saw was something every young professional should understand: you don’t have to know everything when you start. You have to be willing to learn, work hard, accept coaching, and grow.

In this first episode, recorded over coffee at our unofficial “satellite office” in Highland Park Village, Abby and I talk about what the first year of a career can teach you—and why the right mentor can change the trajectory of your life.

We discuss the pressure young professionals feel to immediately land the perfect job, make six figures, have a prestigious title, and know exactly what they want to do with their lives. The truth is, most people don’t have it all figured out at 22. Your first job isn’t your final identity. It may simply be graduate school that pays you.

We also talk about one principle I have tried to instill in Abby from the beginning:

Never compromise your integrity.

You can recover from a bad decision. You can lose a sale. You can take the wrong job. You can change careers. You can fail and start again.

But no job, title, paycheck, opportunity, or relationship is worth becoming someone you don’t respect.

In this episode, we also explore:

Why your willingness to learn may matter more than what you already know
How to choose a boss or mentor who is invested in your future
Why your first job should be viewed as paid graduate school
The difference between having a job and abandoning your dream
How to pursue a passion project while still paying the bills
Why you should ask successful people for advice, not favors
How to approach potential mentors without asking to “pick their brain”
Why rejection is often redirection—and sometimes protection
The importance of building a network before you desperately need one
Why young professionals should stop being afraid to send the email, make the call, or ask for the meeting
How faith, family, purpose, and service can redefine what success actually means

Abby also shares how her definition of success has changed over the past year. What once looked like a title or a certain income now looks more like purpose, faith, meaningful work, relationships, and service.

That evolution is exactly why I wanted to create Boss Dad.

I’m 51 years old. I’ve been an entrepreneur. I’ve worked in corporate America. I’ve hired people, fired people, started businesses, made good decisions, and made plenty of bad ones. I was also once the entitled young professional who thought he deserved the title before he had earned the experience.

I can’t go back and change those mistakes.

But maybe I can help someone else avoid a few of them.

Boss Dad is a place for young professionals to ask the questions they may not know who else to ask. Career questions. Leadership questions. Networking questions. Dating questions. Money questions. Questions about ambition, faith, failure, and the uncomfortable transition from being a student to becoming an adult.

Sometimes you need a boss.

Sometimes you need a mentor.

And sometimes you need a Boss Dad.

If you’re a young professional with a question—or you want to join us for a future conversation—we want to hear from you.

And if you’re a parent, leader, executive, or mentor, share this episode with a young person who might need to hear it.

This is just the beginning.

Welcome to Boss Dad.