5 Things I Wish I Had Learned Earlier in My Career

1. Don’t be afraid to go outside of your comfort zone.

It’s scary to go outside of your comfort zone at work. But, when you learn new skills and push yourself, you prepare yourself for your next role. To expand your skillset and marketability, you must have the courage to try new and difficult tasks that you aren’t comfortable with to grow in your career

2. View everything you do and everyone you meet as an opportunity.

You never know how a project, presentation, or person can add to your life professionally or personally. The people you meet, the things you learn, and the connections you make will make all of the difference in your future career moves. View everything you do as valuable and worthy endeavor, and always try your best. You never know who is paying attention, and what even the smallest task can do for your reputation.

3. Never stop learning and growing.

You should continue to learn no matter what stage of your career you are in. When you learn continuously, you can gain more skills and become valuable and adaptable. Every day is an opportunity to learn, and don’t ever fall into the trap of thinking that you have learned everything you need to know. Technology is always advancing, and learning new ways to do things will help you continuously improve processes.

4. Always follow through & follow-up.

If you say you are going to do something, do it. Be a reliable and dependable employee. This goes a very long way, and although it should be the standard, you will stand out by always keeping your word. Sometimes issues occur, but if there’s a delay in the timeframe, just be sure to communicate that and do your best to prevent delays when possible.

5. Ask for honest feedback.

Just the act of being open to feedback can go a very long way. After a project, a meeting, or during a one-on-one with your boss, go out of your way to elicit feedback. There’s always room to grow and do better, and without feedback, it may be a blind spot for you. Feedback on even the smallest things will help you grow and further develop in your career.