All Career Advice Can Be Boiled Down to This
When it comes to career advice, I feel like say the same stuff, over and over again. I like to think I’m finding creative new ways to say it and explain it. Once in awhile I succeed at that but often, I fail.
I haven’t written anything here in awhile because of this. So I decided to write about how I have nothing to write about because it’s all been written about.
Basically, your career comes down to these things:
- Be honest
- Be proactive
- Communicate well
- Build relationships, help others and be kind
- Work hard
- Focus, but be flexible
- Be curious and keep learning
How these apply to a job search or career development may vary over time and depend on individual circumstances, but these are the fundamental pieces of successful career development.
Anything I missed?
I would only add “Know who you are and have examples to prove it.” It makes the job search process much easier when you don’t have to worry about whether you answered a question the way the employer wanted. You answered from the heart – and with facts.
LOL Kelly Re: your Tweet – not bad for 5 minutes. I can appreciate your thoughts since often times I feel the same way via my blog. I guess what it means is that the best advice can never be given just once – but as often as we can give it. Thanks for post!
Well said- now if we could just do what we know…be intentional everyday.
@Leah – Good addition to the list. A healthy sense of self-awareness and confidence in who you are and what you can do are definitely important.
@Miguel – Interesting take in that the best advice needs to be repeated. I like it!
@Teri – Agreed!
While I strongly agree with the statement made by Kelly Cuene re “a healthy sense of self-awareness . . . ” I must admit that is much easier said than done. As a woman in her “senior years” who has lived a lifetime of work, marriage, raising children, etc. we were not prorammed to think along those lines. Simply put we did what we had to do and did not question it regardless of how pleasant or nasty the situation might have been. Self-awareness was the last thing on our collective mind – self preservation was more the focus. I have just completed an intensive career analysis course and I highly commend today’s focus on young people first finding out who they are and what they like to do before investing time and money on any serious career training courses.
@Sharron You make an interesting point, which has recently come up in the office I work. Some staff feel that self-awareness and an openness to feedback differ among the generations. Certainly, having the time to self-reflect and think critically about who we are and where we want to go is often a privilege. Thanks for your comment!