I've been working on being intentional and setting some goals for the year, as well as my 3-5 year plan. I'd love to know what advice has helped you accelerate your career!
What's the best advice you've gotten that helped to accelerate your career?
BrianaBrownell·Feb 09, 2022BrianaBrownell·Feb 09, 2022One thing that really helped me was to get involved in industry-related associations, committees, and speaking at/attending industry events. It allowed me to meet people who worked in a similar industry but in different companies, and to better understand the industry as a whole.
@angelaparr Do it afraid. Imposter Syndrome is one thing I have constantly battled with and It makes me shy away from advancement. But I have learnt to do it afraid.
What does do it afraid mean?
I think it means 'do it even if you're afraid', or 'don't let fear stop you' x
Men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them. Men are confident about their ability at 60%, but women don’t feel confident until they’ve checked off each item on the list. The advice in this is we need to take more chances and put ourselves out there!
The best advice I received early is break your career into components you care about — learning, flexibility, power, stability, salary, balance — and evaluate those independently. Since no job can offer all, pick the one that you want to optimize for and then set a regular cadence to check in if you're still getting what you want.I've always optimized for learning; I'm insatiably curious. I started my career as a classroom teacher. I *loved* it, and I pushed myself to get better and better (going so far as to tape my classes daily only to come home and break down what I saw in order to improve). In my 5th year of teaching, a won a national teaching award. It was an incredible honor. For most, it would solidify that they were in the right career, but since I was optimizing for learning and my the slope of my curve was leveling off, I knew it was time to leave. I took a role in VC, which I knew very little about, and it was being dropped in the deep end without floaties. Now I am a startup founder, which is constant learning, too. Along the way, power, salary, balance... it has ebbed and flowed. I think there might be a point in my life where balance or flexibility is a key driver; I'm always open to changing my focus.I hope this helps. I also know that choosing a topic and knowing what you want as you set your goals is very hard. So is checking in with yourself on a regular cadence. My startup actually helps with this quite well. It's a personal development club that is affordable, flexibility, and communal. If you want support, check it out: withtopknot.com (it's also free to try out for a month!)
1. Cultivate the audacity to ask - and not just ask for things (salary, insurance benefits, promotion, annual leave) that are realistic but outside of your comfort zone! As they say it - 'manifest beyond your reality' 2. Build networks & connections before you need them 3. Find mentor(s) and mentor others 4. Prioritize Challenge > Comfort5. Notice once work starts to feel robotic/boring and seek to change/improve/grow something
Things that continue to resonate with me:You don’t need permission to lead; learn to model servant leadership; leadership can be modeled by anyone not just managers, and in many different ways.Don’t let other people’s limitations hold you back.Everyone’s goals, values and experiences are unique. When you get advice, no matter how well-intentioned, know that it may come from other goals, values, and experiences not your own. Take what works for you, leave what doesn’t.
Don't be afraid to make a change. Your career is likely going to span 40+ years. The decisions you made when you were young (such as picking your major or accepting your first job offer) don't have to determine how you spend half your life. It is never "too late" to change course.Also, the best "exercise" I've done for career planning is to envision what you want your life to look like in 10 years - not just your career but all of your life. Then work back and map out a 5-year milestone and then plan what you can do in the next year to get there. And don't be afraid to revisit and revise this vision as often as necessary.
Know that you are the expert. In many instances, I find myself questioning my work, which in turn meant questioning my professional worth. Never look for validation. If you're coming into a meeting or project, and you are contributing a unique skillset - own it. You are the expert. Others can ask questions and will always challenge you - that's fine. Let them, but remember that you are always the expert.
Put yourself out there! Basically raise your hand for anything that could give you visibility. When you’re early, take the support role, have an impact on your management, so they can see your potential, and continue to do so even later in your career. And also shoot your shot. Very happy to say that I am straight shooter hahaI am really grateful for this because it has really helped me to be aware of a ton of opportunities! Have you had any good advice?
Hi Angela,Here are some that have helped a lot:- Build your network - “Don’t believe everything you think”, especially when dealing with the negative thoughts - Create a sense of urgency - Remember the power of the compound work. This. doesn’t only apply to money
First, this is interesting. I'm guessing you're setting your 3-5 year plan for your career?If so, I'd love a break-down of how you're going about doing that. As far as your question, informational interviews.And you can go about this in two ways: Talking with someone who used to work at the company you're thinking about applying to OR Talking with someone who has your career (dream position) and asking them what it took for them to get there.The latter REALLY opened my eyes to certain career paths I definitely did NOT want to take.You can google the term "informational interview" and check out Ramit Sethi's spot-on, take on it.
Get clear on your ideal career path BEFORE you begin job searching! -- iamwoken.com
A mentor once told me that anything I do twice will become my job. This advice was critical for me, especially as a young professional without much experience creating and upholding healthy boundaries. Also, I was advised to be wary of any situation in which high-performance and efficiency is rewarded with more work. Hope that helps!
share this article
read these next
Office Hours: I’m the CEO & Co-founder of Andy AI. Previously made 100M+ mosquitoes. I’m Tiantian Zha. AMA!
How I got my job as a Product Design Manager at Etsy
Office Hours: I’m Sophia Amoruso. I’m the founder and CEO of Business Class, investor at Trust Fund, and the author of the New York Times bestseller #GIRLBOSS. AMA!
How meditation changed my life
Have something to say about mental health in your workplace? I'd love to hear from you!! 👋🏼
Introducing Awakening Roots