Powering My Career: 17 years of Growing and Learning on the Job!
When I started as a fresher right out of college interning at Mindshare, all I could care about is getting a half decent first job. And then the ‘what’s next’ cycle started – how do I grow my skills, how do get the next salary jump, how do I get the next promo. It is a never-ending cycle which can get tedious, reason why so many of my friends quit to follow their passion and start their own venture or just freelance on their own terms. I chose to stick on and pursue my passion for creative writing in my free time.
As I look back at what
seems like a different lifetime, the amazing experiences i’ve had and the great
people i’ve met and worked with could fill an entire book, but we will keep it
short for the purpose of this post and focus on some of what I learnt along the
way (and I wish I had known when I started out).
1. Nurture relationships and
friendships you make along the way.
A network only
gives. One of my mentors asked me to read ‘Love is the Killer App’ by Tim
Sanders. If you need someone else to tell you how important networking and
‘building relationships’ is, read the book.
2. Collaborate, don’t compete.
Everyone is
different, has different capabilities and strengths. If you are good, you will
survive. Unfortunately, a lot of teams and managers play one person against the
other. Competition only breeds insecurity. You end up undermining your
abilities and trying too hard to be someone you are not, which is exhausting
and doesn’t take you far as a professional. Collaborate instead and leverage
someone else’ strengths and help others along the way. Eventually, you forget
everything else and only fondly remember the people that treated you well and
helped you.
Which leads me to
the next learning -
3. Don’t be insecure.
Focus on your
strengths, build new skills and learn on the job. Insecurity is a waste of time
and causes unnecessary stress (I realize now when
I look back). As cheesy as it may sound, it is true that what is meant to be
will find a way to you. All you should (and can) do is focus on your work and
growing yourself instead of focusing
on others.
But of course,
4. Ask for what you think you
deserve.
I learnt this quite
late in life. I believed (quite naively) that a manager will give you what you
deserve without asking, only to realize much later that the process can be
accelerated if you ask for that promo or raise and work with them on the
milestones they think you need to achieve to get there. This way they are as
invested in the process and are a partner in your success. And sometimes you
will find a manager who is not invested in your career and this process
actually helps you save precious time and make the choice to stay or move on.
Either way, at least you know where you stand.
And don’t forget to
-
5. Talk about what you do.
I cannot emphasize
enough how important it is to show up for yourself and take every opportunity
to talk about the good work you are doing. But, please don’t be that person
that just talks and never does anything to show for it :)
And finally,
6. Take all your vacations!
Another one that I haven’t done enough of. Enjoy life outside of work, go
out more often, travel, nurture hobbies, do things that help you grow as a
person – they give you these vacation days to use and replenish yourself. No
one cares that you worked so hard that all your vacation days expired at the
end of the year, except that it leaves you fatigued.
What are some of
the lessons you've learnt along the way?