Your career is a long journey to an unknown destination without a map.
As you continue your college education, it's important to consider suggestions that can help you grow personally and professionally. Here are some tips to help you prepare for your future career while you're in university:
Learn How To Sell
A mentor who sold his business for hundreds of millions once told me:
If you ever want to be a CEO, learn how to sell.
Sales is a skill anyone can learn.
Regardless of how you're "wired".
If you produce revenue, you will succeed
Follow Before You Try To Lead
You can't be a great leader unless you are first a great follower.
Follow first. Lead later.
Find The Balance Between Talking And Listening
People who always speak up, lose their voice in the room.
Everyone rolls their eyes.
People who never speak up, lose their voice in the room.
No one can ever hear what they have to say.
Find the balance.
Read
I looked around and found one common trait among those I admired and aspired to be like.
They all - every one of them - read books
Readers always win in the end.
If you want to advance, read
Do The Little Things Well
People put their energy into making a big impact.
But it's excellence in the small things that sets you apart.
Show up to everything on time.
Double-check your work.
Prepare for meetings.
Support your boss.
The small things add up.
Choose Happiness
It's not your employer's job to make you happy at work.
It's their job to give you work to do.
It's your job to be happy doing it.
Happiness at work is a choice.
So is misery.
Act Like A Professional
Early on, I was the office clown. People loved me because I made them laugh.
But no one took me seriously as a contributor.
My career wasn't moving forward... and it was my fault.
If you don't take yourself seriously, why should anyone else?
Linear Isn't Better
I envied my friends who knew exactly what they wanted to do and did it.
That wasn't me.
So, I pursued passions, took jobs that interested me, and learned everything I could.
Now I can do almost any job in a business.
If you're aimless, make the most of it.
Communication Skills > Technical Skills
Master the technical side of your field.
But don't forget to put the same energy and focus into developing communication skills.
When you pair technical expertise with the ability to communicate ideas effectively,
You Become Unlimited
Treat Everyone Well
You are your network.
Your network includes everyone you've ever worked with and for.
It extends to every customer you talk to and vendor you buy from.
You never know who you'll need to pick up the phone and call for help.
Always keep that in mind.
Master Your Mindset
No one teaches you this in school:
The single most important thing you bring to work each day is your mindset
If you can:
- Keep going when others are conceding
- Praise when others are condemning
- Smile when others are complaining
You will be uncommon
You Don't Understand Until You Do
It's easy to say how good you'd be at something when you've never had to do it.
People who haven't run a book club love to tell you how they would run the company.
If you haven't done it yourself, keep your mouth shut.
Question Your Desire
So much of what you want out of your career is what you're told to want.
By well-meaning parents.
By a business culture that worships big wins and legendary personalities.
It's easy to get swept up in this.
But, is it what YOU want?
People Love To Help
Early on, I was afraid to admit what I didn't know. It made me feel vulnerable.
I'm still young and feel like I can just do it my own way.
Then I made a discovery -
People love to be seen as experts
And they really love sharing their expertise.
Be courageous and ask for help.
It will make someone's day.
Be Disciplined
No one ever said:
"I changed the world .... when I felt like it."
Discipline is the renewable resource that powers everything else in your career.
If you can only be good at one thing.
Be good at showing up and putting in the work day in, day out.
Take Risks
Unless you lack self-awareness, betting on yourself is scary as hell.
But everything you want is hidden behind a barricade of discomfort.
There are 2 types of risk:
Irrevocable: I can never do this
Revocable: I can undo this at any time
Take revocable risks.
Be Patient
One of the joys of work is that every day is an adventure.
You never know what change is around the corner.
Have you hit roadblocks and setbacks?
Do you feel like things will never break your way?
Give it time.
The patient win in the end.
Put Work In Its Proper Place
My wise father says work has 2 functions:
- To provide for your financial needs
- To give you something productive to do
That's it
If you're looking for validation or meaning from work, you'll be sorely disappointed.
Put work in its place
