What is the best piece of career advice you ever got?

The best career advice that I would give would be to always associate with people who you aspire to be like. Every-time I have had to make a decision regarding anything to do with my career - for instance which school to attend, what to study, which company to join and in what role I always optimize for highest probability of interacting with people that would inspire me. Nobody gave me this advice - its something that I have found to be really useful through my experience.

I have few from my career. Hope these helps.

1. Be the best you can be in your domain.


2. Make sure you are learning.


3. Don't forget your family. You can always find another job, but not your family


4. Salary is not everything


5. Good manager who you can be honest is the person who you want to work for.


6. Always think about the other side before executing.

Choose the boss, not the job.

A great boss will help you grow in your career and give you guidance and support. He or she will allow you to develop skills in areas you love. A terrible boss will make every work day feel like a chore and can significantly impact your career in a negative way.

I've worked for both types of bosses, and I'm so lucky to work for one of the best ever right now! I'm always amazed at how much of a difference it can make in whether you're happy in your career.

One of my very successful mentor told me how he evaluates career choices is to start with the big picture then go into the details:

1. Decide which industry you want to be in.


2. Decide on which company in the industry that looks promising.


3. Lastly match your skills with the career choices that's available in the company.

1. Find your purpose and what makes you happy


2. Find jobs that allows you to practice what makes you happy

For example, I enjoy helping others. So I help people with their IT stuff. :)

Do something that makes you happy and that helps you grow as an individual.
Find the area where you can make the most impact and add value.
Relationships really do matter so make sure you make a good impression and build up a good reputation for yourself.

There are no 'right' or 'wrong' decisions with your career. You simply need to embrace the consequences of your decision.

I was struggling with a decision about whether to leave my job for a new opportunity at another company, and I lamented to a friend "what if I am making the wrong decision?" She wisely gave me this advice- to stop worrying about "wrong decisions." I embraced the consequences of my decision, and even though I didn't end up loving the new job I accepted and didn't stay long, I knew I had learned something and developed as a person- and it wasn't the "wrong" thing to do to try it.

1. Be at the top 10% in your field. Constantly reevaluate so you stay there. If you aren't there, practice like a professional athlete to be there.


2. Liking the people you work with is more important than any other factor.


3. If you're hesitant about something, that means the decision is important to you. Forget the potential consequences and Just Do It (TM). It's better to regret than to not have done anything at all.

Don't worry about planning for the next 10-20 years. Just think about whether you'll be happy in the next 1-2 years. I got this advice leaving college when I was having a very difficult time trying to decide what type of job to go for. I think it's a lot less scary when you think the decision is only for the next couple of years rather than the rest of your life. Pick a job that will interest you, teach you new skills and surround you with talented people.

I have had a few great pieces of advice related to when I have struggled with career decisions:

There is no wrong path to take: you can't make a wrong decision, you learn something from every choice, every decision you make. So don't beat yourself up about any decision you make, it is the right one for you at the time.

Be loyal to people, not companies: people look out for you, companies look out for shareholders.

Find a mentor, or a few: You can learn something from everyone, find someone you can and want to learn from and who is willing to mentor you. Consider more than one as there is so much to learn!

Trying not to repeat anything that's already been said:

1) Be brutally honest with yourself. Do you like what you're doing? Do you need help? Are you happy? If you can't be honest with yourself, there's nothing that our advice can do to help when you're not sure if you're happy or not.

2) Make sure you are not stagnating. This means that you're going to be learning something new. This means that you'll need to be challenging yourself daily. If you feel like you're coasting or bored, you should have a great reason such as "I'm challenging myself elsewhere."

3) Toot your own horn. If you have a good manager, they're going to try to promote you and make you look good. But no one will know what you're doing unless you SAY SO. So get it out there. The saying "Good work will get you noticed" is not always true. "Good work will get you noticed IF IT GETS NOTICED" is more true.

Everything else is very specific but the above 3 are the best general advice that I've ever listened to.

Best of luck!

My neighbor has this big "painting" on their wall which I can see directly from my balcony, and it says:
WHAT DO YOU LOVE
DO WHAT YOU LOVE
LOVE WHAT YOU DO

It really helps to simplify a lot of things when in hesitation. And it may be the best career advice I've ever got.

The best piece of career advice I have ever received came from a friend and it wasn't directly career related, but a general suggestion that has trickled down into all parts of my life. It was this:

Find out what you have to do to become the ultimate potential of who you are. Wether you believe you exist for a reason, it doesn't change the fact that you exist. Now that you are here, what are you going to do? Here are some steps:

1. 
   

   Focus on Today, everyday. Are you going to live each day for what it is or are you going to make each day the absolute potential of what it could have been? When you look back at the end of the day, can you say to yourself "I did all that I could to make today the best day possible". Though no one can say that for everyday, it should be a constant goal to wake up and give the day every ounce of your passion and effort.

   
   


2. 
   

   Envision you in the future. The best way to achieve something is to know what you want to achieve. Take the time to sit down and daydream about your future; Imagine what your life would be like a few years from now when you've achieved what you want; picture it. Take the time to make sure that picture is clear and don't limit yourself to your imagination.

   
   

Once you have an idea of what you want, pretend you have achieved it and try and recreate the feeling of that success; feel the feeling you will feel and use that as a motivation to achieve.

1. 
   

   Take your vision and break it down. Once you know what you want and what you're passionate about, take that vision and break it down into smaller, more manageable milestones, goals, and tasks; work backwards. Continue to work backwards until you can get to the present tense and ask yourself "okay, what can I do today - right NOW - to get started on accomplishing my dreams and goals? What can I do tomorrow?" Then, start mapping out your timeframe and set your milestones so you'll feel motivated.

   
   


2. 
   

   When you reach a milestone, set up a reward for yourself.

   
   

I hope this helps, but it has helped me propel my career forward. In the last three years, I have transformed my entire life on these principles. Believe in yourself and most of all, take the time to find out what you want. Once you have, focus your job on that and make each day of your career a part of that potential.

Whatever you do, do it well!