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After reading the other thread about regrets that affected careers, what are some of the things that you felt helped your career? Name things that are not related to pure luck, but things that you were in control of and you made your own choices.
These are some of the things that helped me:
-I graduated with a sucky degree and had my internship at an embarrassing field/company. High school drop outs got paid more than me when they were hired to be trained by me. I had to get out and started from scratch before I ended up in a field that was not in demand. There were more jobs in the financial field, so I started working for the financial industry by going through temp agencies. From there, I worked my way up and worked in many different areas of the financial industry. I now have a good diverse background that if I lost a job in banking (for example), I can go and work for the investment industry.
The drawbacks to this is that it may look like I can't make up my mind what I want to do (which is true) and I'm not specialized in anything. I guess I didn't want to be like my old manager who wanted to get out of his field, but he couldn't because he invested so many years at his job. The diverse background has helped me more than not help me though.
-I continually self educate myself. I try to stay on tops of trends, especially technology so that I'm not so ignorant, and I still remain somewhat competitive to someone much younger than me, who's also usually better in tech than someone my age. So far, I haven't ran into that problem where I've worked. I learned this by watching the older generation at work who can not start a computer and are so reliant on the old methods. They can be replaced easier because companies I've seen moved so fast, and some of the older workers I saw weren't able to adapt quickly enough. I do not want to be like them; although I'm starting to feel it as I approach my 40's and read on the news how many tech startups are evolving with teenagers and young 20-year olds.
Looking forward to reading others' tips so that I may learn something as well.
I had to move for my last job. It ended up not lasting long, but it did build up my resume, contacts, and UI benefits to get back into a better position while job hunting yet again. I really do loathe moving, as if kissing marriage and children goodbye when work isn't steady wasn't bad enough, it's hard to do those if you can't stay still long enough.
Except for one place where I let certain *******s get to me, I was nice and professional and not burned any bridges (not that I'd have the chance to cross any of them ever again, but to maintain that professionalism). For that one place, I learned that I really need to mind and play politics when necessary.
Despite how awful situations get, keep a cool head, and keep plugging away.
Value family. They provide emotional and financial support. When they ask for something, unless it's at the cost of work, then I do it for them. They would understand this anyways and wouldn't ask me to do stuff at the cost of working.
+college degree in a field i enjoyed and had a good internship experience
+started as a file clerk due to the economic conditions at the time (08), but worked hard at that position and built a good reputation.
+did not go to graduate school to delay employment while making less money than desired. instead, worked my way up which was still good but without the cost.
+got out of places when I read warning signs during acquisitions
+kept a "thanks for letting me help you!" attitude, which goes a long way!
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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Oh, I should have added volunteer and intern every summer during college and after college to get the critical experience and contacts I needed for my first job.
While I did all the right things to push my career forward such as graduate from one of the top business schools, be proactive, think outside the box, continuing education, the biggest thing that helped me push it forward was the riskiest one-10 years ago, without having another job lined up, I left a job where I was performing manager's role while getting paid as a staff, it was a very laid-back, position, I was very secure there, and the company, while in run-off (it's insurance), is still there because it will take years to close out all the multi-year contracts. The reason I left was when the run-off was announced, and they laid off quite a few, those of us who stayed, received guaranteed contracts till year-end, which provided a retention bonus, in my case, equal to 7 months of base salary. 3 months before the year-end, they issued another contract, this time, for 18 months, and I did not want to lock myself in, so I did not sign in, leaving the job with two small kids at home, aged 4.5 and 1.5, and husband who worked in factory, making 10 bucks an hour (this is NYC we are talking about). Within a month, I had an offer lined up for my current job, not at much of an increase from what I was making before. This has turned out to be the best thing for my career as it has really taken off through the roof. Why did I feel comfortable taking the risk? The job market was strong, and I knew that for the money I was making back then, I could always find something, plus, of course, I had that retention bonus, the year-end bonus and was able to apply for an unemployment, overall, it was a great decision.
1/ Completed my college education. Provided me with knowledge and made me more well rounded.
2/ Continued to educate myself after college with self-study.
3/ Kept a positive attitude.
4/ Networked with old colleagues and friends.
5/ Relocated where there were jobs in my field.
6/ Developed new skills.
7/ Adapted to changes cheerfully.
8/ Stayed flexible.
Focused on a sector where I could use my skills to make a good living, sales, after trying to save the world as a social worker. Big change, definite improvement.
- Climbing the ladder by moving to different companies
- Being open and improving my weaknesses, also recognizing my weaknesses and strengths
- Taking on leadership roles
- Opening my own business
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