What Drives Young Professionals to Outpace Their Peers? Lessons from a Decade of Hiring

Zhang Yiming, founder of Toutiao, was named by Forbes as one of China’s top entrepreneurs under 30 and by Fortune as a top business elite under 40.

Why do classmates with similar abilities diverge after graduation?

Speaking to a young audience nearly 11 years after his own graduation, Zhang reflects on the pressure of meeting fresh talent and introduces the theme “Stay hungry, Stay young,” adapting Steve Jobs’ famous slogan.

He defines “Stay hungry” as curiosity, thirst for knowledge, and ambition, and explains that “Stay young” means preserving those youthful traits—lack of rigid constraints, relentless effort, and continuous self‑growth—without hitting a career ceiling.

His own story: after graduating from Nankai University in 2005, he joined KuXun as an early employee. In his second year he led a team of 40‑50 people, overseeing all backend technology and many product responsibilities.

He attributes rapid early growth not to being the most technically skilled, but to habits he cultivated:

No boundaries: He helped colleagues beyond his own tasks, reviewed most of the codebase, and mentored newcomers, which reinforced his own learning.

Cross‑functional involvement: Though his role was engineering, he actively participated in product discussions and solutions, expanding his perspective.

Curiosity across domains: He pursued knowledge in front‑end, back‑end, and algorithms, enabling him to solve problems independently.

Humility and delayed gratification: He warns against overconfidence; even talented individuals must stay grounded and patient.

Judgment on important matters: He stresses long‑term career choices over short‑term gains, such as avoiding decisions driven solely by housing or salary.

From interviewing roughly 2,000 candidates, he observed both positive and negative outcomes. One former colleague, initially seen as average, grew to become a vice‑president of a multi‑billion‑dollar company by consistently taking responsibility and seeking feedback.

He concludes that the five traits—curiosity, optimism toward uncertainty, refusal to settle for mediocrity, humility, and sound judgment—are essential for young professionals to sustain growth and avoid stagnation.

Thank you for listening.