5 Pieces of Career Advice from Seasoned Professionals
People tend to learn the most valuable lessons through experience; and generally speaking, wisdom comes with time. But wouldn’t it be nice if we could get a head start? Each workforce journey will lead to its own unique useful bits of career advice so we reached out to a variety of professionals asking them to share their own lessons.
“Own your failures as well as your successes. You can typically learn a lot more from the former.” - Adam White, Director of Communications at Ski Vermont
RYP’s take: Absolutely own your failures and successes! Most people associate failure with a negative, but we encourage you to reframe your thinking and see failures as opportunities - opportunities for growth.
“Never think you’re above making time for a connection or developing a relationship. Today’s emerging blogger could be tomorrow’s New York Times columnist.” - Jamie Stores, Director of Marketing at Chenmark
RYP’s take: We love this advice! Networking is valuable no matter which industry you’re in or position you hold. Part of our mission here at Rutland Young Professionals is to create social and professional networking opportunities. Not a member yet? Let us help you build your network instantly when you join RYP.
“Never assume anything. Always ask the questions.” - Kim Jackson, PR & Communications Strategist
RYP’s take: Sometimes it’s fear of looking unprepared or uneducated, but asking questions you need answers to in order to complete a task is an absolute must. Asking for clarification shows your manager that you care about a project and want to “get it right” so to speak - so don’t hesitate.
“Do something you love. If you’re not there yet, make sure whatever you’re doing now is a step in the right direction.” - Brad Belanger, Comedian
RYP’s take: Speaking from experience, the RYP team unanimously seconds this piece of advice! We love what we do which makes it much easier to do our jobs every day. When you have passion for what you do, it feels less like work and more like a hobby.
“Be curious. Ask yourself questions like what you could be doing better and what professional relationships you could grow. Then, take action.” - Benjamin Yardley, Editor at Climbing Magazine
RYP’s take: Successful professionals have the ability to see their own shortcomings and take action to improve those areas. This piece of advice speaks directly to that point.
All of this advice is great, but unless we take action and put it into practice it’s not very useful. So your challenge is to pick one and follow through. Let us know how it goes and share your own advice in the comments!