5 Best Career Advice for Women in their 20's
1.) Work Hard, Play Hard
There are so many articles about how dress for success, how to look confident, how to network but never forget that THE ONE most important thing you need to do is work hard. If you work hard you will learn more, you will make mistakes, but you will learn from them. You can look the part, and get promoted, or maybe you get a job or promotion because you know someone, however if your foundations in doing the core job are shakey, you’ll never be comfortable and will always be scared of being found out.
Make sure you work hard to know your stuff, that way you know you always deserve to be on top.
2.) Get Noticed
OK, so you’re working twice as hard as the guy opposite you, but he gets promoted over you right? Well working hard is all well and good but if you’re not going to get recognition for your hard work then what’s the point right?
There are many ways to get noticed:
Volunteer proactively to work on a project, don’t wait to be selected
Always dress with that little bit more edge and professionalism than your peers
Go to work do’s, chat to senior manager as well as your peers
Always volunteer for any presentation or training. Be the team social organiser.
Reach out and ask for feedback/advice from someone you admire.
3.) Keep a note of Key Achievements
Always document work moments you’ve been proud of, this will help you in appraisals, when you want to ask for promotion, or when you’re having to have a discussion about how you feel you’ve been overlooked.
Don’t restrict yourself to a particular report you handed in, think about:
Ideas you’ve implemented
Ideas you’ve suggested that went on to be implemented
Good questions you might have asked
Projects that you’ve worked on
Important relationships that you’ve built
4.) Move Jobs
If you’ve worked hard and there is a limit to where you can progress in your current company, never be afraid to find somewhere else to work. You will:
Learn different skills and processes
See how someone else does it, better or worse, you can compare the two and understand why things are done the way they are.
Build more contacts
and very importantly……Get better pay! It is well known that by moving jobs every few years, you are proven to get more money each time, than from internal promotions.
5.) Never accept the first salary you’re offered, ask for more.
You’ll be jumping for joy when you get an offer, but never accept the 1st offer. And if you feel embarrassed about asking for more, I can guarantee that if it were a guy, they’d be doing it without question. Do it! The company will have already gone through the whole hog of interviewing a bunch of people and chosen you, they won’t turn you down for the sake of a few extra thousand pounds, (which to the company might be very small).
GOOD LUCK!
