The Best Career Advice

As a designer, I’ve come up with three mantras:
1. You don’t get what you don’t ask for.
2. You don’t get paid for what you don’t invoice.
3. Deliver.

My business relies a lot on my network, relationships, and personal recommendations, so I strive to deliver the highest standard on every single project, because you never know who that client might recommend you to!

I had a teacher who always used to say, “No job too big, and no job too small.” He meant that we should rise to the occasion when challenged to do something that might seem beyond us, and that we should not feel too important to do more basic tasks, too. This philosophy has served me so well in my career. By both being the one who can take on bigger projects or added responsibility and being the one who can take care of the basic stuff that keeps everything running, you make yourself indispensable to your workplace. I swear I held onto my job in publishing through endless rounds of layoffs during the recession not just because I’m a good editor, but because, thanks to having started out as a receptionist, I was the only person in the office who knew how to un-jam the copier and reload the postage meter. A related piece of advice from my grandmother comes to mind: “Nothing we learn is ever lost to us.”

I once told my Grandpa that I wasn’t good at math – he looked straight at me and said “Get good at it”.

I love your post. It’s so encouraging. Its time to put down that inner voice of doubt and get things done. Thanks

Man I love when you post things like this! So encouraging! Thank you!

Abigail Ford Winkel’s piece of advice hit home for me as a student nurse-midwife. It can be so easy to press your own internal panic button, but taking a moment to breath and focus produces much better results. Thank you for sharing!

I had just started grad school and was interning for a real powerhouse of a woman at a major publishing house. The interns were invited to join a pitch meeting and observe/participate. Afterward, she called me over to where she was sitting at the table look at some materials. I crouched down and took a knee so as not to tower over her while reading. She looked down at me and said, “Get up. Don’t ever do that again.” Practically speaking, yeah, don’t kneel down on the floor in front of important people, you dumb kid. But also, don’t make yourself smaller because you feel like a nobody or insecure or “just an intern.”

In a world where everyone is specializing (especially in academia and consulting), it can be useful and rewarding to be a generalist with strong EQ and communication skills. Often experts struggle to synthesize ideas or work with people from different backgrounds – there is a role for people who can speak different ‘languages’ within their area of work, and help others to collaborate and communicate with each other. A professional mench, if you will, with broad interests and abilities, able to create new ideas out of this messiness. Long live the generalist!

My best advice I ever got was, “Don’t be recognized as a pretty face or for being nice. Be recognized for being good at your job.” It’s a piece of advice that was passed along to me from a coworker. It’s so simple, but for some reason I find myself chanting it every day, almost like a mantra. I can be so intimidated by others’ perceptions of myself that sometimes I forget what’s most important is doing my job well.

It wasn’t so much direct advice as it was something I learned from one of my former bosses. There were times when I (or someone else) would ask him a question and he took a moment to consider his answer before immediately responding. Before I caught on to this pattern, there were times when I wondered if he hadn’t heard me or if he didn’t understand. After I caught on, I realized he was just gathering his thoughts in attempt to give a conscious, truthful response. I really admire and try to emulate that. Often we’re so quick to begin speaking that we end up rambling or not making much sense. His words were always carefully chosen, clear and to the point: thinking before you speak has never rung truer.

This is great. Maybe this could be the basis for a series of interviews with successful women in different fields?

I hated almost every moment of being a young lawyer at a big corporate machine of a law firm, but one of the things that stuck with me and has helped me through my career (and life) is this very simple advice I received: BE PREPARED. For example, if I’m going to a meeting, I mentally walk through that meeting in the other person’s shoes (maybe another lawyer at the firm, or a client) and try to anticipate their follow-up questions/their next needs and think of the answers/solutions beforehand. Bring everything relevant with me if an in-person meeting, or have all the docs open on my computer if a conference call. I’ve realized it’s not necessarily about how smart you are, but how smart you work. Being prepared often gave me much more “props” than having the right answer or sending a well-drafted document. I think that’s because it shows your attitude towards your work–it shows that you take ownership and that you care. This is an important lesson for everyone, but I think it’s particularly so for young people just starting out in their career.

Oh how I love this all these are so helpful!! You are amazing Joanna!

I love Cheryl Strayed’s line in her book Tiny Beautiful Things and think back to it often:

“Don’t lament so much about how your career is going to turn out. You don’t have a career. You have a life. Do the work. Keep the faith. Be true blue.”

Best advice was a decade back – I was in my mid-20s in a new career and was getting attention for being sharp and competent; doors were starting to open. An older and very successful woman in another organization [unrelated to mine] praised my aptitude and said: “I’m going to give you advice that no one else will: be careful not to move up too fast.” It sounded funny to hear at the time but I’ve thought about it so many times for myself and also in watching the career paths of peers – many whiz kids in certain fields get promoted too quickly, and then they can’t keep up. They end up being less successful than if they had steadier rises where they were actually capable of the responsibility they were assuming. and had time to learn. This is especially true in management roles — if you ascend to power and management of others too quickly, you may be more likely to feel insecure and feel like you have to prove yourself, and then you assume a defensive/aggressive posture because you feel like your authority is hollow, and it’s hard to be a sound leader from that stance.

Many people focus on moving up, moving up, moving up. Sometimes it’s smart to get really good at things that are your size, so to speak, and be the tortoise and not the hare, and rise to new heights that way.

My first professional job was as a book designer for a publishing company. My boss told me something that I have never forgotten.

You never know who your boss will be someday or whose boss you will be someday.

It really makes you keep yourself in check at work and to helps you draw a professional/personal line. I have thought of this many times over the years. It’s a little thing, but it helps keep things professional and on the up and up!

I was told a few things. I was first told that I do not have to change me to be what I want. Changing aspects of how I think of what I want is changing. I have been told that so many times. I finally got it. I took that to heart. I was also told that I can do whatver I want in life. Have a foundation which mine is spiritual and the rest is all me. Last I was told to have a partner who supports me. Also support them. If they do not then stay clear. They do not care for my well being. I once told my late aunt that I wanted to be a karate princess ballerina ?? and you know she said I am smart and have a lot of sense I can do whatever I aim to do and to always do what I love not what others want.

My boss once said to me “When you’re on the phone, you should always sound like you’re smiling.” (I work in communications, so we’re on the phone a lot!) It’s stuck with me ever since.

Advice I recently gave to a colleague was even if you don’t know the answer, never reply with “I don’t know” to a question! I like to say “That’s a great point, I’ll look into that and let you know” (or something like that).

1. Make you boss’s life easier. I got this advice young and thought it was total bs, but then I learned that your boss controls your destiny in an organization. If you can make their life easier, they will fight for you.

2. As others have said, take ownership when you make a mistake. Clearly say it was your fault and what you will do to fix it (this is different than apologizing for having an opinion.) Everyone is also trying to shirk blame but you can really get respect by owning it and making it right.

3. Don’t complain. Frame things that you want to change as opportunities for the organization to be better and do so in a positive way.

Without a mentor, you don’t have momentum. Your skills and insight grow as your relationships do, so truly invest in relationships and your career will keep pace.

Ha! That cartoon is totally my brain, all the time!

This is such a helpful list and a great reminder of things some of us may have forgotten!
Shelley

Be proactive and own your work! Nobody likes a complainer or a blamestormer. Something not go right? Project not on schedule? Does something need to be fixed? Be forthright about the issue, take ownership, and give a solution for making it right!

This is sort of career / general life advice, but another perspective on apologizing: reframe your instinct to apologize into an opportunity to express gratitude. So, instead of saying “Sorry that meeting went so long,” you would say “Thank you so much for staying engaged for a full hour.” Instead of saying “Sorry for making so many requests” say “Thank you so much for taking the time to share this information with me,” etc…
There is a great cartoon about this here: https://brightside.me/article/stop-saying-sorry-if-you-want-to-say-thank-you-a-seriously-insightful-cartoon-57255/

“Work smarter, not harder.” It’s a good reminder to evaluate what you’re doing and find solutions to do what you’re doing more efficiently. I’m a scenic painter (I paint scenery for theatre) and I’m constantly telling employees and students that; it’s so easy to get lost in what you’re doing and continue a process that’s just not working! I think the advice is applicable for other jobs, though.

Also, don’t undervalue yourself or sell yourself short. If you quote someone a number they think is too high they’ll negotiate.