21 Brutal Career Truths
Accept These To Propel Your Career Forward:
1. You are in the current position due to the habits you hold, the books you read and the lifestyle you have.
2. Those who get promoted the fastest are often those who are working past their hours.
3. Career progression often comes down to your level of relationships as much as it does skills or experience.
4. Building your personal brand will give you outsized leverage in comparison to anyone else within your company.
5. Some parts of the job you will hate. This is the case for 99% of positions. But get them done. And get them done well. They build discipline.
6. Aim to stack skills as quickly as possible. Don’t just rely on one main skill.
7. Build up your soft skills. Hard skills in the workplace are going further and further away from importance.
8. The highest positions in most companies will require you to be an excellent communicator.
9. If you’re not getting paid what you deserve or you’re not learning/progressing within your role, find an exit plan as soon as possible.
10. Never place unnecessary limits on yourself. Avoid saying ‘I’m not good at X’. Instead, say ‘I’m still working on X’
11. Be very self-aware. Know what your weaknesses are and more importantly, know what your strengths are.
12. No purpose with work? Start in a new position. It will be hard but you can progress so much faster once you have purpose.
13. No experience? Work for free. Build the portfolio first.
14. Be someone who is easy to work with. Complain as little as possible and aim to lift others up when they get down.
15. Eat the frog for your boss. Become great at the tasks they absolutely hate doing and take it off their plate. This will be appreciated deeply (H/T Sahil Bloom)
16. Become ruthless with execution. Don’t just settle for poor work. Ever.
17. Learn to read people to develop your relationships. Understand what frustrates them, what drives them and what will make them happy.
18. Go above and beyond with job applications. When you apply, you’re often just a name on a sheet. Put in the effort to help decision makers know you.
19. Be a problem solver. Take responsibility in finding answers to things even if it’s not in your title.
20. Follow the 10% rule. Think you’ve given you’re all in a task? Once finished, give that final extra 10%. It will make a huge difference in the long term.
21. Be great at receiving feedback. Take it in and apply it as soon as possible. This will not go unnoticed.