I may be in the early days of my career, but the short time that I have been in employment has certainly been a learning curve and a half! The last year has been a bit of a whirlwind of uncertainties about what I wanted to do with my life and settling into the 9-5 life.
Along the way I’ve learnt a lot of things about my career, that I’m sure I’ll keep with me for the remainder of it. Here are 24 things I’ve learnt about my career by 24!
- Enjoy: Find something that you actually enjoy doing. It will make that morning alarm so much more bearable!
- Yes: Don’t be afraid of saying yes to something you haven’t done before. You’ll never learn if you never try!
- Competition: Try not to compare yourself to other people. You are your own person and everyone has their own qualities and talents.
- Google: If you don’t know something, Google it.
- Ask: If Google fails, don’t be afraid to ask for help from others.
- Chill: Don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill. Work can get stressful, but don’t let it get the better of you!
- Feedback: Accept feedback rather than getting defensive and use it to improve.
- Confidence: Be confident in your abilities, don’t undermine yourself and what you are capable of.
- Challenge: Challenge yourself and make yourself try new things.
- Keep going: Don’t become discouraged by failure. Learn from it and move on.
- Learn: Don’t ever stop learning, whether it’s by keeping up to date with industry updates or undertaking some additional training.
- Goals: Have at least a vague idea of what you would like to achieve in the future.
- Kindness: Be nice to your coworkers. Conflict in the office only makes for a negative environment and no one wants that!
- Failure: Own up to mistakes and do your best to fix them. Hiding from them will not make them go away!
- Expertise: Master a skill. This is what will stand out about you when you are looking for a new job.
- Be punctual: Turning up late at work will not gain you brownie points with your boss!
- Network: Networking may be daunting, but it’s not optional for business and career success.
- Contacts: Stay in touch with old uni friends, colleagues, etc. You never know if you may want to call on them in the future.
- Intern: Internships are a really good gateway into your desired industry, even if it means living on a student budget for a bit longer.
- Work-life balance: Make sure that you have a life outside of work or you may go nuts.
- Age: Don’t think that you are too young or inexperienced to share your ideas and opinions.
- Money: Start saving, even if it’s easier said than done!
- Happiness: If you’re not happy, do something about it rather than just whinging.
- Lunch: Don’t be the one who brings smelly food into the office!
[Image Credit: Shutterstock]
