Some young professionals choose a job because of a high salary offer. Some choose their passion over a big paycheck. Some choose whatever job so long as they are in a stable company. While there’s nothing wrong with any of these directions, there are other things that need to be considered if you want to be exceptional. Do you want to push yourself beyond your “perceived” limitation? If yes, then here are the 5 best career advice for you.
1. Don’t be a perfectionist
If you really want to have your ideal career as soon as possible, you might fail to see better opportunities that can also lead you to your dream job. Nothing is set in stone. Don’t fixate on the idea of having a perfect career. You have so much to discover in life which can help you recreate yourself into someone who has a more defined goal. Be open to seeing possibilities because your perfectionism can harm your job search.
2. Embrace every experience
Things are connected. You might be in a marketing job right now even if all you want to do is to become a novel writer. Clearly, the skills that you acquired in marketing can be used to clearly convey your thoughts through writing. In fact, even if the job that seems to be irrelevant to the career you really want to pursue can be of high value. There’s a true story of a journalist in the Philippines who made a career change to aviation. Now as a pilot, he is great at multitasking which he learned from his former profession.
3. Learn from failures
You are not an invincible person. You will encounter failures. But the most important thing is to learn from them. Remember that if you fail, it doesn’t mean that the career is not meant for you. You might have other things to improve so you’ll be a better version when you give it another shot the next time. Thus, don’t be afraid to pursue a job even if you are not certain whether or not you will succeed in that craft. You will be able to improve yourself along the way. Allow it to happen because personal development is crucial for your career.
4. Make a five-year plan
This is not just to visualize what you want to happen in 5 years. This plan allows you to reverse-engineer your goal so you can create a step-by-step process on how to achieve it. Start with your desired outcome and work your way back to the first step. Every stage entails actions you have to take in order to get there. If you’re still confused about what you really want to happen in your career, it’s fine. Just don’t let yourself experience analysis paralysis that you become unable to make a decision. Life unfolds itself as you move forward.
5. Surround yourself with people you admire
Be with the people whom you look up to in your chosen field. If you don’t want to go through a lot of trial and error stages in your career, learn from those who have been there. While you can do it yourself, being with someone ahead of you helps you redefine your actions. What you can accomplish in 5 years can be attained in 3 years if you have a mentor. Being humble can make you successful faster than you expect.
Don’t be pressured to figure everything out when you’re young. But you need to have a goal and an action plan without being a perfectionist. You will rediscover yourself as you keep learning in your career. It’s not about the job title, but it’s about how you do it that determines the value that you give.
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