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• The Secrets to Being More Persuasive
• Should I Let My Boss Know I’m Searching for Another Job?
• Decrease Stress, Increase Happiness Series: The Power of Paying Attention
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• The Secrets to Being More Persuasive • Should I Let My Boss Know I’m Searching for Another Job? • Decrease Stress, Increase Happiness Series: The Power of Paying Attention |
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 What’s the Best Advice Anyone Ever Gave You About Work or Your Career? Whether it came from a relative, a friend, a boss, a teacher, or a colleague, from time to time we’ve all benefited from others’ sage advice. What’s the best advice you ever got about your career or about working in general? That advice could be just what a fellow Women’s Link reader needs to hear right now, so be sure to share it! Please share now. SHARE:
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 To bank everything I made at my job so that when I had children, I could afford to stay home with them. By banking the money, you don't miss it when you leave your job/income behind:) Treat your people the way u want to be treated, with respect.
Your goal should be to exceed expectations of your customers.
Be a good example, a good manger sets the tone.
Never stop growing, learning or communicating. The best advice I ever received is make sure when you get up in the morning that you are "jazzed" about going to work. That you just can't wait to make a difference in your work place. There is nothing worse than being part of a company you dread to work for. Money isn't everything. Smell the roses along the way and enjoy your career journey. Look for ways to be a problem solver. This will make you an asset to your company. If you are always Flexible, Then you will never get bent out of shape! You may be the CEO of a large company or you may be a young person who's first job is to clean the stairs. Make sure you do the BEST job ever. Make those steps shine like they have never shined before. Go that extra mile to do your best. Never speak or write things in anger. Take a moment, cool down, and run your ideas by a person you trust and respect. "People will rise and fall to the level of your expectation." Empower your people and you will benefit from that empowerment. After putting in many, many long days and weekends, my more experienced colleague reminded me that "I work to have a life; work is not my life" The best time to negotiate for a raise is before you accept the job! Not to be "my own worst enemy". I guess it was apparent to one of my bosses that I was very hard on myself whenever I made a mistake, so this advise helped me recognize what I was doing and move forward. Two key items.
First - treat everyone with respect, always.
Second, make your decisions based upon the next 5 years of your life, not the last 5 years. This focuses on your future and where you want to be and helps avoid emotionally based decisions. Working in general.
Always strive to give your very best. Yes, we have job descriptions, but in today's fast and changing work enviroment, don't waste time saying, "that's not my job" or "that's not in my job description". It only slows down the work productivity.
Best Advice.
When you make a mistake, the important thing is how fast you resolve it and make it better. It's not in the mistake itself, but how you handle the outcome!
That it's the same 8 hours whether you enjoy it or not, so you might as well enjoy it. When I first obtained a management position, my boss told me to watch what I say because I was now in a position where people listen to me.
I was surprised to think that people actually WOULD listen to me, but through the years I have come to understand the truth in this statement. We all need to be aware of what we say and whether they are positive statements or negative statements. Years ago, a boss pointed out that I need not feel bad about a mistake I made because everyone makes mistakes and I had already thought of the solution. I use this advice with people at all levels... BE SOLUTION ORIENTED... think of the problem, at least two solutions and which solution you would recommend. It makes the bosses life much easier. A woman I work with always says, "the show must go on." For us, in our business, it means that the customer must be served and served well no matter how bad you might be feeling or how chaotic it might be "behind the curtain." Be myself ALWAYS leave your personal life at home when you go to work, and leave work out of your home life!!! This will make you far more successful at both. management 101;
never write anything down you wouldn't want everyone else to read
Not everyone who treats you badly is your enemy, not everyone who treats you well is your friend. Once you reach a level where you are supervising others, mastering communication skills must become the priority. "Be yourself - everyone else is taken" (Oscar Wilde) and "be an active listener". Too many people talk too much and miss critical information. That you can only control the controllables! Follow through to a successful conclusion; do not stop at roadblocks. Find a way around them. Ex: if your boss asks you to do something, don't come back and say you called and xyz wasn't in, and stop there. Keep going until you accomplish the task, achieve the goal, whatever.
Also, do not go to your boss with a problem. Go to your boss with a recommended solution to a problem. One of my supervisors told me to always be prepared. For example, if I'm attending a meeting, anticipate the questions which may be raised and to the greatest extent possible, know the answers. Always be on time and ready to work at your scheduled time. Be willing to help others. An old boss of mine told me to always work myself out of a job. In other words share and teach others as much as you can. It will come back to you double-fold. It's all about the customer-external and internal. Or should I say clients. If you have a good relationship with clients then the rest will fall into place. I attribute this to the CFO where I used to work. I owe him a lot for this advice. The best advice I ever received was at a Diversity conference. The speaker told a story about an employee that had worked for the company for 20 years and was never promoted. The employee never missed a day and always did his work. But the employee gave 20 years of day 1 over and over again. The point is that time vested does not get you the promotion. I learned that you have to give more than the same day over again you can't just show up, you need to show that you are eager to learn and do more than what is expected,you need to show that you are promotable. You can't be all things to all people. Play to your strengths, know your weaknesses. Seek help in areas where you are challenged. When I first became a manager 15 years ago, my CEO and mentor called me in his office and shared with me words of wisdom that have served me well. He said, "Take a good brutal look at yourself, access your strengths and weaknesses. Once you have been honest with yourself, surround yourself with individuals that possess the traits where you are deficient. This is truly the secret to success.” You cannot and should not change things over-night. Change starts with a well thought out plan. Never turn down an opportunity to learn something new even if it means taking on additional work or something outside your normal job description. It makes you a more valuable employee, may give you opportunities for networking you would not otherwise have, and will look good on any future resume. Never speak poorly of yourself or put your skills down in the work place, someone will try to use it against you at a key moment to shake your confidence. On their deathbed, no one wishes they spent more time at work. I would say the best advice that I received about my career was from my mother, she would always tell me to learn everything I can about the field I am in, because the more that I knew the more valuable I would be. And she was absolutely right. Thanks mom! The best advice I received was from a seasoned nurse who told me to calm down after making a medication error. She said, "own the mistake and ask for help to fix it. Mistakes happen. Learn from it and grow. I have always remembered her words especially now that I supervise a large group of nurses. I thank her for her guidance. It has served me well for some 40 years in nursing. Treat each day as if it were your first day or your interview. You will always do your best. Show up to work at least 20 minutes before your actual start time, enjoy a cup of coffee so I can be stress free when my day starts.
Never let your personal feelings influence any decissions made at work. "Bosses and jobs come and go but you have to live with yourself all your life. You have to look at yourself in the mirror every morning and go to sleep at night. Don't ever do anything that will compromise what you believe is right. Your ethics and values make you who you are."
"Do your best, be your best but don't sacrifice yourself for a job." Persistance always wins! No matter what your job description or education level, there will always be challanges to conquer. Giving up is never an option. Make sure that you have a network of family and friends. I was an employee for my local government as a tax assessor (business revenue). During my annual evaluation, I was asked if I felt if there were any areas I needed to improve on. I explained that I sometimes found it difficult to understand the state code. I was told by my superior that I should not focus on the words, but try to understand the intent.
Best advice ever, and applicable in all functions of life, all career paths. Not just the words, but the intent of your superiors, your direct reports, your co-workders, your customers, etc. The accomplishment of big things is done by doing little things well! Always maintain your ethic and integrity. Make decisions based on what is best for the customer and the company together. Then make all of your co workers your customers. There was a position on our team that had recently been vacated by a long term employee who retired. My boss was strongly encouraging me to apply but I knew I could not do everything this person had contributed to the team. My boss told me "you may not be able to do it all yourself, but you are resourceful and will get it all done." I took the position and did very well; I did get everything done that was ask of me. That little bit of confidence he passed out to me has propelled me into other challenging positions, and continual growth as a person. Always stay true to your core values Remember your Value. We often don't give ourself the credit we deserve. Toot your own horn and go for that promotion with confidence! This came from my grandpa. "Always have something to fall back on." he was meaning that i should always have experience doing more than one thing. to be versital. so i have done just that. at the moment i work in the accounting dept. as Accounts Receivable and i am a Massage Therapist (which i do on my time and make extra money.) so if i ever loose the A/R job i always have massage therapy to fall back on. You are always on stage. People look to you and take their cues to you. Act professionally at ALL times, even when you think it is okay to be a little looser than normal "You don't have to like everyone you work with, but you DO have to work with them." My Father once told me to give 150% when at work but to never forget family. You can always get another job, but you can never replace your family. Always do your best and the true character comes when you are by yourself. In order words, to know yourself, is to know how you are when you are by yourself or under no supervison. |
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