Dear Joan:
I am a 21 year-old senior at Penn State, looking to make a dent in the
world through entrepreneurship, inspiration, and the dissemination of
knowledge and wisdom. I'm actively seeking to learn from the experts
about how to be successful in my future endeavors (i.e. consulting,
entrepreneurship, public speaking, writing, etc.) and stumbled upon your
website in the process. You clearly have a wealth of knowledge and
experiences and I would greatly appreciate anything you would be willing
to share with me.
Specifically, what is your greatest piece of wisdom or advice (career or
personal) for an ambitious, young professional approaching graduation?
Answer:
What an exciting-and challenging-question!
The first piece of advice you are already demonstrating:
Seek advice from those you respect and can learn from.
This curiosity will cause people to open up to you and shorten your
learning curve about the companies, the people and the politics of work.
Unfortunately, many young grads charge into the work world thinking
they already know it all-after all, they have those shining new
diplomas! What the smart ones soon learn is that the real education
starts after they leave school.
Take risks early in your career.
You don't have much to lose when you are starting out; you probably
don't have a family to support; you can relocate; you can switch
jobs-even career direction without causing very much damage. Now is
the time to explore and test your skills.
Make networking a lifelong practice.
Waiting until you need something from someone guarantees it will be too
late. A networking mindset will cause you to seek out new acquaintances,
learn about them and find out about their organizations-this will
always put you in a position of knowing about opportunities before
anyone else does (not to mention getting to know some wonderful people).
Make people feel smart and important.
Draw people out and really be attentive to what they have to say. Be
honest and open with your compliments and encouragement. Develop a
reputation as a collaborator. Ironically, ambitious people sometimes
think they have to show how smart and important they are, so they are
dismissive toward everyone else; yet the secret to being regarded as
smart and important yourself, is to treat everyone else like they are.
(You indicated in the PS of your letter that you were offered a job in a
prestigious consulting firm. Be careful to make your clients feel smart
and important, too, so you stand out from other consultants who may
come off as condescending or know-it-all experts.)
Run into the fire, not away from it.
Go where the problems are and pull people together to solve them. The
single most visible way to earn your way up the ladder is to find and
fix problems. If there is a task force, ask to be assigned to it; if
there is an exciting new department forming, volunteer to take a lateral
job to be a part of it. If your department has been pushing a nagging
problem to the back burner, ask to start working on it. Adding value
will pay off-in pay, promotions and future success. And since you are
interested in becoming an entrepreneur, the secret to success is to
search out problems and find a solution no one else has thought of.
Save your perfectionist streak for things that really matter.
Eighty percent is good enough when it comes to doing staff work;
crossing every "T" on everything you do will just slow you down and make
your colleagues and employees resent you. It will stunt your career in
the long run. Instead, do "administrivia" well enough but save your real
energy for getting results that matter. I've seen many careers come to a
screeching halt because they can't let go of every detail.
When you blow your own horn, recognize the orchestra.
Be quick to share credit with others. If you watch respected, successful
leaders they always say things such as, "I couldn't have done it
without the skilled experts on my team.." In fact, one of the best ways
to bring up one of your accomplishments, is to recognize the team who
worked on it with you. It won't sound like bragging and it won't be lost
on the listener that you were the leader who made it happen.
Surround yourself with people who will tell you the truth.
It's easy to convince yourself that all of your good intentions are
clearly and correctly interpreted by others, and that your credibility
and winning personality are admired by all. And all of those great
ideas? Why, of course they will work! Without honest feedback to ground
you, you can fall prey to your own opinion of yourself. Being aware of
how you are perceived is critical; it helps you correct mistakes
quickly, helps you make the right decisions and helps you navigate
political minefields. Honest feedback from people you trust is like
having a trusted group of scouts who will keep you grounded and on the
right path.
Good luck and have fun on your career journey!
By Joan Lloyd
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