There’s no shortage of career advice, quite honestly. All you need to do is to do a search on the Internet, send a text message or give someone a call. You’re sure to get a few tips here and there. In fact, you can spend an entire lifetime reading up on career tips available just online these days.
Of course, following your passion isn’t going to get you anywhere even if it does seem aligned with your wishes–not necessarily, in line with reality. Unfortunately, this will not give you an edge over the competition since they are pretty generic in nature.
So, is there any career advice that can make a difference in one’s life? Is there any unique, yet effective, advice that can help in one’s career?
Here are 5 pieces of career advice that no one ever talks about:
1: Being Excellent At Your Job Isn’t Enough
A lot of people think that doing your job well enough should help them get that promotion. This is just true for entry or mid-level jobs. But if you want to move on up, then you have to add value to the business, in terms of revenue.
This requires a different skill-set altogether. Simply put, people who can think of what needs to be done in this regard and then go about delivering future value are the ones who most likely get promoted.
2: Who You Work For Matters Greatly
You might wish that who you worked for would matter less. Unfortunately, this matters more than you think. If you have worked for the best in the business, people will definitely take you more seriously. You don’t have to work with the best in the business nor do you have to be passionate about your work. All that matters is who you have worked with.
It’s absolutely vital that you find the best mentor possible who can help you grow by teaching you everything that they know.
3: Where You Work Matters Greatly Too
Yes, who you work for matters. But where you work also matters greatly too. Of course, taking a job at a company with an impressive name will hardly get your anywhere. For that matter, don’t take a job at any company just because it is in the right sector or impresses your friends.
What you must also realise is that no matter how talented you are, it will be hard to break out of a sluggish hierarchy. In comparison, a company that is just the opposite will help you move upwards even if you are an average employee.
4: Being Very Busy Isn’t a Good Career Advice
Most people assume that high achievers work long hours and are continuously busy. Unfortunately, the more busy you are, the less your chances of moving up. In a number of
cases, taking on too much and appearing busy and stressed results in one not being promoted.
In appearing to look stressed, people will make the assumption that you aren’t ready to take on anymore responsibility. This will result in you missing out on new and important projects.
5: Hiding Your Failure Isn’t a Good Idea
Failure isn’t being seen as a sign of incompetence anymore. Now, it indicates whether you are willing to take a risk and innovate, if necessary. Without a doubt, your career will speed up if people understand what you are doing and which involves taking risks too.
In fact, they will not take advice or recommendations from you if you aren’t willing to walk the walk. Ideally, if you are taking risks and falter from time to time, this will encourage your team to take risks too.
