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What's the best career decision you've ever made?
#career-choice #career-path
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Ryan’s Answer
The best decision I made in my career came after learning from the worst. When I graduated from college I thought my career had to align with my degree. (not true as I later learned in life) As I interviewed during my last semester I had blinders on and went after money and opportunity. I told the interviewers what they wanted to hear and treated the process as a competition to get hired. 3 months after I graduated and started my new job in another state I was hating life. I never stopped to think if the job aligned with my personal interests, my style of working, or if I even fit the company culture. The best decision I made was to leave that job and find something I could see myself enjoying for the foreseeable future. This required a lot introspection and thinking about what I always enjoyed doing when I was younger, before a salary was relevant. Transitioning was painful because starting anything new is, but to be truly successful you need to be dedicated to your craft no matter what that may be. Looking back I would have never gotten to where I am now if I hadn't followed my heart and not the money.
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Ryan’s Answer
This is as much life-advice as it is career-advice, but it is the type of decisions that ultimately helped me in my career.
It is simply this; as a young person you need to recognize which of your friends are people who are driven and are "going somewhere", and try to closely associate yourself with those people who are most likely headed for success. On the other hand, recognize those who lack aspiration and motivation and distance yourself from those folks. It doesn't mean you can't stay friends with those people. But rather, just recognize the people who are going to help you advance and grow as a person and a professional and focus your energy there. That may lead to some tough decisions, but those tough decisions will pay dividends in your success. I wish you the best!
It is simply this; as a young person you need to recognize which of your friends are people who are driven and are "going somewhere", and try to closely associate yourself with those people who are most likely headed for success. On the other hand, recognize those who lack aspiration and motivation and distance yourself from those folks. It doesn't mean you can't stay friends with those people. But rather, just recognize the people who are going to help you advance and grow as a person and a professional and focus your energy there. That may lead to some tough decisions, but those tough decisions will pay dividends in your success. I wish you the best!
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Danielle’s Answer
The best career decisions I've ever made have always taken root in me ultimately trusting myself over what people who may or may not know much about the situation/ my gifts and talents/ what will be fulfilling to me say I "should do." At times I've had to take short-term steps back in my career (making less money etc.) to pursue a position where I know I can find more experience I'm seeking/ to learn from a great boss/ to move more in the direction of my long-term goals. I think after you do all the research you can, talk to current professionals in the field you think you may be interested in, ask all the hard questions, consider your financial situation... At the end of the day a great career decision depends on whether it gets you closer to what YOU want.
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Darin’s Answer
Going back to school. I've gotten to experience so much more and I actually enjoy it. And it set me up for a possible future
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James’s Answer
The best career decision that I've made was starting my career at Verizon post college. I'd highly recommend staying in touch with the recruiters as I did as that can be a good way to network & get your foot in the door of the company you wish to join. Make sure that you do your homework and research about the company that you wish to join so that way you can have an informed discussion with either the recruiters / future hiring managers about what is going on in the company you are applying for.
In my case - I have had the opportunity to continue to network with people once I joined the company and have had several roles with increasing responsibility. The biggest piece of advice I can give is to be open to new challenges, and that it is okay to not know the answer. Always be open to new responsibilities as that shows growth.
In my most recent role, I have had the opportunity to hire a brand new team and establish processes that did not exist about a year ago. I say all of this to say that networking with the Verizon recruiter in 2013 / 2014 has led to 5 different roles over the past 8 years.
In my case - I have had the opportunity to continue to network with people once I joined the company and have had several roles with increasing responsibility. The biggest piece of advice I can give is to be open to new challenges, and that it is okay to not know the answer. Always be open to new responsibilities as that shows growth.
In my most recent role, I have had the opportunity to hire a brand new team and establish processes that did not exist about a year ago. I say all of this to say that networking with the Verizon recruiter in 2013 / 2014 has led to 5 different roles over the past 8 years.
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Gabrielle’s Answer
The best career decision I have made is going back to school after dropping out to find my real passions. Coming straight out of high school and going to college, who really knows themself? Who really knows what their true passion is? I first went to school to be a lawyer, which I could have been great at, but it wasn't a passion. Now I will be going back to school for business marketing, which I love and enjoy so much that I would almost do it for free. Almost though, hahah. Find your passion, that is the best decision you can make career, but also in your personal life.
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Natalia’s Answer
To drop out of law school and study Computer Science. Turned out that not only is software engineering my passion, but it also is an amazing and rewarding career.
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Blake’s Answer
Being willing to relocate. That opened doors for me that someone else might have been more qualified for, but they weren't able to relocate.
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Candace’s Answer
The best career decision I've ever made was leaving a job that I started to realize was not healthy for me. After college I wasn't sure what to do next, so I signed up to be a singer on a cruise ship. My time on the cruise ship was a growing experience for me so I don't regret it at all, but it was really hard for me to see that it actually wasn't a healthy environment for me. I didn't want to leave because I thought it was my dream job...getting to travel and sing for a living sounded perfect to me! But after a couple months I realized that the lifestyle of living on a cruise ship was starting to effect my physical health. I got to a point at which I was so exhausted and stressed that I couldn't even sing. I got sent home on vocal rest and received offers to come back after I was better, but the longer I was away the clearer my head was. I made a decision not to return because I finally realized that just because you WANT something to work out for you, doesn't mean that it will be the right fit. Overall my advice to anyone reading this is to listen to your intuition and respond when your body is sending you these signals, and eventually you will find something that is more of a healthy environment.
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Nicole’s Answer
The best career decision I have made is finding something I enjoy doing and not doing it just because of the money. I think it's very important to find a career that you love to do because you do not wanna waste your time on something that does not benefit you in any way.
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Rebecca’s Answer
The best career decision I made was to continue getting my degrees (part-time at night while working). When I look back, I can see the value of not giving up one or the other. It helped me to get work experience , while at the same time getting a formal education. It can get stressful and busy doing both at the same time, but if you give yourself some breaks and just keep plugging away... it is worth it!