Pocket Career Advice
As you continue to elevate in your career, you will most likely come in contact with a bucketload of advice regarding careers. This is especially true for fresh graduates who are more often than not, confused and clueless about their career choices, or pathways.
It is important to accept criticism and feedback. You can take in a few suggestions and affirm what you progress and what you should keep on developing. Now let’s get into business!
Cultivate/Assimilate perseverance
Every graduate should understand that from the moment you get hired, you may not immediately become a top performer. Fresh graduates should always understand that they will stumble and fall at first, before they can stand strong. It is of utmost importance to have perseverance so that you could reach your career goals. For instance, if you are a trainee designer, and a senior designer of the company continuously expects you to be creative and unique with your ideas, you may have to have a look at existing designs and re-pitch your artwork. Dont worry, sometimes we have to fail in order to succeed! Always give it your best shot!
Set realistic goals
Setting goals will help to keep you motivated throughout your career. You should set periodic goals that are achievable and reward yourself when you do meet the goals you set. It’s good to be ambitious, but a friendly reminder is to not set goals that are beyond realism!
Search for value in feedback or criticism
Each piece of feedback you receive can be used to help you grow and further develop yourself in your career. Try not to focus on the method of delivery or the person providing you with the feedback. Instead, you should do your best to avoid getting upset and take the value out of the message you are receiving and move on. Always be positive and don’t worry about things too much!
If you need help, ask for it
There will most likely be certain tasks or projects you must complete at your workplace that you may not understand. It is best to ask questions to clarify, rather than to make unnecessary mistakes. By doing so, you get to save time and also complete the task or project successfully on your first attempt.
Be confident and humble
Confidence can lead to major productivity at work. It is important to develop your confidence to effectively communicate your ideas in the workplace. Always remain humble, and always accept that you will not be the one who knows the most in the room. Remember, a smile and a positive attitude is the best way to show off your confidence!
Positive mindset and wellbeing
Mental health plays a huge role in career development. The healthier the mind, the better your life would be. Feeding your mind and thoughts with positive news and positive words will help to boost your working mood. There will definitely be days where you will need to face a moody boss, ill-mannered colleagues and other office shenanigans, but nothing should affect your mind. Be very aware with your choice of words and even if you have to react, make sure to do it in a very subtle manner. A lovely quote by Robert Schuller perfectly captures this point; “Tough times never last, but tough people do!”.
In today’s reality, employers look for candidates with great interpersonal skills who can thrive at a job. Once you are victorious and you’ve obtained that new job or promotion, you won’t have to deceive yourself into being confident and courageous. It will start to flow naturally. Now you realise that you can defy the odds and prevail at what you need to accomplish. The next time you go after a new, seemingly unattainable goal, you will be brimming with confidence.
As a quote says “No matter how far you get, you always have to look back and see how far you came, that will motivate you to keep moving forward”.
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