Absolute Best Career Advice: 7 Tips You Need To Be Successful
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This post is all about the absolute best career advice I wish I had known when I first started my career. I recommend these tips to be successful in any industry!
There are going to be a ton of people who say, “just work hard and you’ll be recognized for your efforts”. That may be true for some, but here is some of the best career advice that is practical for what you should do in order to do well in your career and move up.
1. Ask For Advice Consistently
I absolutely recommend putting yourself out there, especially when you first start in a new role.
It’s critical to ask for advice consistently from those around you.
People love to talk about themselves and love when people look to them for advice because it makes them feel like an authoritative source and good for helping!
Everyone has a different take on how a company runs, what the expectations are, how to rise in rank, how to perform well, and what is most efficient so it’s important to ask as many people as possible for their advice.
Be perceptive — if someone is stressed out or not in a good place you might want to wait to ask for their feedback and advice.
Make sure to prepare some questions in advance to ask them and make sure to really listen — because chances are they will answer it in advance!
Here are some questions to ask either when you first start out in a job or consistently throughout:
In your opinion, what is the best way to do well at this company?
What are some general tips that you have for interacting with management?
What have you observed that has worked out really well for yourself or your colleagues?
What advice do you have for improving your performance or position in this role?
If you are candid and respectful you are almost guaranteed to get a positive response.
2. Templatize Your Work Process
Most job functions are relatively repetitive and usually follow the same processes on a consistent basis.
When you first start don’t worry about your process right away — just observe and make note of how others perform in their role and what works best. Over time you will develop your own method and procedure for doing things.
Over time, start to recognize processes that are repetitive and determine what is the best way to do them…
For example, create a checklist for similar functions to make sure you:
Don’t forget anything
Keep track of things
Stay on top of dates
Are reminded of important to-dos
Avoid common errors
Here are some tips for templates to use in your work:
Set calendar reminders for important to-dos at the time they need to be started.
Set calendar reminders for when things need to be completed.
Set up charts or checklists for highly manual or tedious processes to help with error prevention.
Set up templatized responses or comments that are formal and clear.
Example:
Hi [@NAME] - This [Insert Process] is complete - [Item] is ready for your [next step (e.g. approval, stamp, QC)]. Please reference: [File Name, Attached, Filepath, Code, etc.] If this could be completed by [Date and/or Time or Time of Day (e.g. EOD, EOW, EOM)] that would be appreciated. Thank you!
Set up templates for things that are repeatedly entered for ease of access.
Set up a process for tracking things that need to be referenced later such as versions, IDs, codes, pages, dates, etc.
3. Offer Process Improvements Consistently
Once you have been in a role for a while you might notice areas that need changes, additions, improvements, need to be scrapped because they are redundant, etc.
It is very important to be respectful and come from a place of being helpful when offering suggestions for process improvement. Everyone has a different way of doing things so it’s critical that you are polite and respectful when making them.
People, especially management appreciate when people take initiative so make sure that if you notice the need for these changes that you are willing to help implement them.
If you do, don’t expect a reward every time, but hopefully, this might help your reputation and establishment as someone who is a hard worker and a helpful contributor. You never know what doors it might open up!
4. Offer Solutions When Bringing Up Issues
Look, there will be times when work will be really frustrating and overwhelming. Maybe a new process that has been implemented is a huge strain on you and is completely unfair or wrong.
Even when things are difficult, it’s important to maintain a level of professionalism. If you need to step away for a moment, take that time.
If you need to bring things up to be addressed, always approach it calmly and respectfully. Things will almost never go well if you approach them from a problematic standpoint.
When addressing issues, make sure to think through the points first and even if it is difficult — come up with some potential solutions or at least suggestions.
If you are purely negative it can be seen as unhelpful or you are unwilling to adopt change. Nobody likes a negative nelly — someone who is always bringing up problems. People always have things going on in the background so it’s important to ask questions and not make assumptions.
If you offer solutions and try to remain calm and positive people will be more willing to listen to you and management might be more receptive to it.
5. Push For Transparency - Ask How You Can Move Up
Look, I get it — it is super stressful to ask your manager/boss about your performance as it is … but it’s absolutely critical to ask for candid feedback …
You Need To Ask For These Three Things!
You need to ask for advice on how to move up.
You need to ask if you’re on track to move up.
You need to know when you are eligible or can expect to move up. (this is the most important — you have to know the timeline. You never know, they might say you aren’t even eligible to move up for years and years!)
Even if the news is disappointing it’s still better knowing!
If end-of-year performance reviews come around and this is the first time you are asking — it’s not a good thing.
You cannot expect your manager — even if it’s their job — to know where you stand and what you expect/want.
Even if you have stellar reviews from other employees or teams and are meeting all expectations you still might not be in the running to get promoted or earn more money.
You might be left feeling disappointed, frustrated, etc. so it’s critical to know where you stand.
Even if your manager is elusive and beats around the bush, you have to hold firm and continue to ask. It’s not fun, but it’s a part of life. You need to make your expectations known.
If your manager isn’t supportive, you need to look elsewhere (while still being respectful!) for mentorship advice. You need to network and find people who support you.
If you don’t ask — you won’t know.
6. Keep A Running List Of What You Did / Do At Work
At the end of the year, it can be really hard to keep track of and remember what you did — which is why it’s incredibly important to keep detailed tabs on what you did/do especially when it’s something that involves going above and beyond!
Annual reviews shouldn’t be the only time that you are keeping track of the work you put in.
Here are some ideas for things you should keep track of at work:
Written praise or positive feedback such as an email thanking you.
Evidence of you volunteering for an event.
A process improvement you made or contributed to.
Valuable contributions you made to a project.
Increase in timeline such as a faster speed to market.
Awards or Rewards.
Not only will this be helpful for you come performance review — but it can also help you to build a case for getting promoted or earning more money.
Plus, you can also use those points and add them to your:
LinkedIn
Resume
Reminders for answers during a job interview
7. Connect With People On A Personal Level & Go To $hit
It can be tempting to want to duck in and out during the workday. Maybe you don’t want to be super-social, maybe you have a lot of work to do, maybe you need fewer distractions — whatever the case may be I would warn against that.
The reason I think it’s incredibly important to connect with your colleagues on a personal level is because of a number of reasons:
You might start to really like your colleagues.
If you have a personal relationship with your colleagues you will feel less lonely.
It can be easier to ask for help if you know your colleagues better.
People are a lot more understanding and cooperative when you know them personally.
Connecting with people varies in different workplaces in different regions.
A great place to start is to simply ask people how they are doing on a consistent basis. You will be surprised how much people appreciate it.
As a more introverted individual — look, I totally get it.
Going to corporate/company-sponsored events can be exhausting or can feel unnecessary, especially when you see or work with those people every single day.
However — recognize that participating in them is part of the game.
It’s like dressing up for work. Most companies these days are pretty relaxed about clothing and require a more dressed-down, business-casual wardrobe such as offering people the option to wear jeans and even sneakers. But the truth is that most execs still dress up and at minimum nice button-downs, ties, suit jackets or blazers, etc.
Why? Because dressing the part, like it or not is part of people’s perception of you. If you dress well, people will assume better of you — harder worker, more responsible, etc.
Participating in things like baby showers, birthday surprises, work anniversaries, and happy hours — all of that boosts your image. It shows that you care about others, that you are an active member, and that you are open to networking.
Career Planning Bundle
I always try to offer something of value at the end of each new blog post — so if you would like, I have created a college planning bundle of templates I recommend using when in school.
This is a paid offering, but I try to keep all my products low-cost or free so as many people as possible can use them! I hope you like it and it is helpful to you!
This post was all about the best career advice that you absolutely need to be successful in the working world.
