Favorite career blunder?

KDubz·May 20, 2021

We've all gotten to where we are, at least in part by learning from our mistakes, right? What is your favorite lesson learned from a career blunder?

HannahBaldovino·May 20, 2021

What a fun question, Karen! I sat here thinking for a moment. I know I have a lot to choose from! Nothing coming to mind right off the bat but you have any ones you want to share first?

KDubz·May 20, 2021

Ooooh! So many! Lol let's see. I think one of the biggest ones that I have learned, is the value of relationships. I'm a bit of an introvert, and have handled friendships with a grain of salt. Now that I'm midway through my career, I wish I had done more to stay in touch with people.

KDubz·May 20, 2021

Oooh! And when you're on a conference call, and there is a painful awkward silence, especially when the higher-ups are on the line, don't blurt out the first thing you can think of to ease the tension..just ride out the awkward moment! 🤦‍♀️

Katyy·May 21, 2021

Speaking of conference calls.. I was completing an internship in college at an ad agency and we were in a conference room on a call with another branch. I had been sitting on my leg the entire time and went to get up to leave the room when the call was over and fell all the way to the floor haha! My manager turned around and looked so surprised. That was probably my second day at the gig :)

HannahBaldovino·May 28, 2021

I'm sure it was more endearing than anything!

KDubz·May 28, 2021

Lol That is such a nice thing to say. I sure hope so! I was the smallest guy there, and I think I had a reputation for blurting stuff out. 😊

KDubz·May 21, 2021

Lol that's a good one!

Gerald36·May 21, 2021

Hehe @gowriln are you raising your hand for your turn to speak?

gowriln·May 22, 2021

Sorry wrong emoji .. but I can totally relate to the comment about awkward silence 🙂🤐

KDubz·May 22, 2021

Hehe. 👍

KristineWagner·May 21, 2021

Not doing enough networking/relationship building to have a reference when I left the position. I worked abroad and didn't get solid contact info for my supervisor or ask if I could use her as a reference in the future. She moved offices and now it's really hard to list her as a reference for job applications as I don't have an email or phone # that I know she uses.

KDubz·May 21, 2021

I definitely feel ya on that one!

HannahBaldovino·May 28, 2021

Network is your net worth! So true.

maggiewolff·May 22, 2021

Definitely not my favorite, but does not negotiating salary count? It took me way too long to 1) realize negotiating was even an option 2) learn how to strategically respond to salary questions and 3) get the courage/confidence to actually negotiate and do it successfully. I think about how much money I left on the table in the past, and how much more debt I could have paid down, how much bigger my retirement would be since that's all a % of your base pay, how much higher my salary might be now, etc. It really adds up in the long run.

andreaz·May 23, 2021

Can you share some of your learnings with us :D ? Would love to know about 2) for example.

maggiewolff·May 23, 2021

I learned a while ago never ever to share my current salary, and now I don't like sharing my target range either. If they ask me for a number, I deflect by saying something like "[give an excuse], can you share your salary range for this role?" My excuses have been "I'm currently going through annual salary adjustments and don't feel comfortable giving a number that won't be accurate soon ..." or "I'm not as familiar with your industry ..." or "this role is a little bit different from my current one so I'm not comfortable giving a number ..." So far, every recruiter I've asked has shared their range. I still do tons of research in advance so I have a baseline/frame of reference for how competitive their range is, and I also have a good idea of my "price" - the minimum it would take me to consider leaving my current role, based on what % more I want to make, what I would lose if I leave (RSUs, etc), and what information I've learned via my research and conversations with recruiters. I don't share that number, but when they share their range I will either say "I think that should work" or "I would need to be on the high end or above that to consider leaving my current role" based on where my number falls on their range and also how competitive their range is.

KDubz·May 23, 2021

I try to ask for about 10K more than I think they would offer.

bejules·May 24, 2021

Here’s a ridiculous story that will hopefully give you a chuckle —> 2 weeks into my first job out of college, my extended team of 100ish people did an off-site to see Cirque De Soleil — it was at the Cow Palace in the Bay Area so probably meant their D-list cast, aka NOT SF. My absolute pet peeve / thing I cannot stand most is contortionism (besides ostriches and hot air balloons) so I should have trusted my instincts and not gone ;)Because I get sick to my stomach from watching contortionists and I was also exhausted getting used to a new schedule as the newbie at work, I started nodding off / falling asleep. However, I was jolted into waking up after I felt the warm light of the overhead spotlight on me—a cue to go on stage as part of the act. My team (who barely knew me) awkwardly cheered me on to join the circus ring leader on the stage. It was SO embarrassing, but I had to be a team player so I did it. The next 10 minutes felt like a century; I had to enact a love triangle with 2 strange men (GROSS!) also from the audience in front of thousands of people, and obviously including my new bosses and the whole food chain of bosses after that. My stomach’s in knots as I write this BUT I do think it helped set the stage for my time in that first role, which was to not ever take anything too seriously, be ok with standing out and being vulnerable. Nothing could ever happen that would have been any more embarrassing than that, so I was never afraid to go out on a limb after it—whether that meant being the only and therefore most dressed up person at the costume party or asking my boss to transfer me to a different office. Confidence is SO important, and I guess I’m lucky to have gained a good amount of it early on!!

KDubz·May 24, 2021

Omg! Lol A) I love this story. You handled yourself so well! B) The symbolism / metaphors in your story! 🤣 Work can truly be a bit of a circus, where you have to put yourself out there, be flexible, do stuff you never dreamed you'd do, and closely with people you wouldn't necessarily choose to work with! Lol you get an award for this story! 🏆

bejules·May 24, 2021

Thank you, @KarenVenner –you're 100% right. It's been 10 years and this is the first time I've written it down on paper, so that's progress, right?

KDubz·May 25, 2021

Fo sho!

Ingeborg96·May 26, 2021

Oh man, I have so many! In a previous humanitarian job I used to book travel. I got a call at 7am on a Saturday from Air France saying they had a passenger who couldn't transit. Turns out I had booked this man's flight but forgotten to book the final connecting leg to Cameroon and had gotten him stranded in Paris. His passport didn't allow him to exit the airport and it was a weekend with no connecting flights for a while. On top of it all, it happened to be my boss' birthday so when I called her in a panic to figure out what to do she was day drinking and over the course of the day became completely unreachable (until Monday morning when she realized I had spent literally several thousand dollars of company money to get this guy on the next flight, which only had first-class seats available).I've never sweat so much in my life. I was so devastated for this poor man. BUT it was a good lesson in owning up to mistakes and learning how to be upfront with my boss. I had thought of all kinds of excuses and people to blame but by the time I got to work on Monday (ok ... it was Tuesday, I definitely called in sick on Monday) I had written out a full explanation and apology and accepted the write-up so I could move on. That boss still provides me with glowing recommendations to this day :)

KDubz·May 26, 2021

That's a doozy! Thanks for sharing. Sounds like you know a thing or 2 about crisis management! You're boss is lucky to have someone that she can rely on! 👍