5 career principles I wish I knew

5 Career Principles I Wish I Knew At 18…

This is possibly the greatest career paradox…

And it’s hindsight. Looking back with wiser eyes can be painful when you consider opportunities you missed, or situations you could have handled better.

In reflection you wonder how on earth you weren’t able to see what seems so darn obvious to you now! In this article you’re going to learn the top 5 career principles I wish I’d known when I was 18.

Principles that if applied could have massively fast tracked my career success…

Learning Is More Important Than Money

Woman reading a book in city beside window
When you finish university or college your goal should NOT be to make stacks of cash.

Sure that’s a good LONG TERM career strategy. But when you finish your degree you don’t have much leverage when it comes to salary negotiating.

Here’s what I recommend instead…

Put all of your emphasis on landing a job that’s going to help you build real SKILLS.

Be a sponge in the places you work and soak up everything that you can! Because if you build these skills and develop them overtime, the high paying jobs will naturally to you.

So don’t turn down a great job opportunity just because it pays peanuts, because the real truth is that your BIGGEST jumps in salary will come when you decide to change jobs or companies.

(NOTE: That last point is actually a MASSIVE pro tip).

Focus On Building Specific Skills & Knowledge

close up image of an architect drawing
Here’s the mistake I made…

I knew I wanted to work in a job where I got to write all day. Which seemed admirable at the time because many others I knew didn’t even have that degree of clarity…

…But looking back I can see how disastrously vague that was.

It would have been a THOUSAND times more practical to say that I wanted to work as a “digital content writer,” or “book editor”, or even something as silly as a “Hallmark card writer”!

Why?

Because then I would have a clear direction and a clear understanding of the SKILLS needed to land a job in that field. And here’s the thing when it comes to career success and landing your dream job skills are everything.

I highly suggest buying as many books, courses, and programs around your particular skill set as possible. Over time you’ll build a web of interrelated and complementary skills which will be incredible powerful for your career.

This strategy alone has the power to TURBOCHARGE your career growth & success.

Network With Influential People In Your Field

two guys in cafe on laptops talking
You’ve probably already heard about how important it is to network…

And yes it’s definitely important, here’s why…

Over time I’ve found that networking is great for two BIG reasons:

1. Your network can put you in touch with OTHER influential people
2. Your network can help you solve problems and advance forward

Let’s address the first one…

Imagine for a moment that you’ve been working in a company for 18 months, but now you’re ready to move on to the next challenge. You look around at other companies, and discover one that really stands out to you.

Now you’re ready to learn more about the company and what it’s like working there. Then you find out that a person you met at a seminar (or went to university with, or went to school with, or chatted to on LinkedIn) actually works there.

Perfect! Now you have an inside link to the company (massive advantage!)  

Now you have a direct line to:

A) Find out more about the company
B) Get someone inside the company to refer you and vouch for you
C) Organise a coffee meeting with a hiring manager (before the job has even been advertised)

See where I’m getting at?

And with the second point – no doubt you’re going to encounter problems in your career such as:

  • When you’re retrenched
  • When the company you work for is acquired
  • When a department of your company is getting outsourced
  • When you’re having conflict with someone you work with
  • When you’re in a rut

Well it pays to have people in your network who you know have encountered these situations before. And who you can reach out to for advice and a bit of wisdom.

Create Skill Building Projects & Side Hustles

This principle alone is what got me my first awesome job…

And it’s the principle of “do shit.” It’s the principle of going out there and creating things, and making things happen.

These days with the internet it’s so EASY to go out there and start a blog, make videos on Youtube, creating a newsletter, building an online portfolio, or a podcast.

And if doing any of these things can DIRECTLY move you forward in your career then you’re CRAZY if you don’t leverage them.

Here’s the thing about getting started with your career…

When you graduate you have ZERO career momentum. You don’t have 12-18 months experience in a position that serves as a launchpad to your next great job.

So you have to take initiative early on and be proactive!

You need to do things that demonstrate that you’re a go getter, that you can make things happen and take charge. That you’re someone who can create content, or organise an event, or get clients, or do great work out of thin air.

Building these kinds of “Skill Building Projects” can also put you in touch with influential people. So you’ll be demonstrating great qualities, building skills, and building your network – all in one!

Travel More In Your Early Twenties

Man sitting on rock in tropical location
As you get older it gets harder and harder to travel…

You only get so much holiday leave (in Australia we get four weeks annual leave a year). Not to mention as you get older your bills start to stack up and saving for a $7,000 trip becomes pretty darn hard.

As you get older you need to squirrel away your cash for things like buying a house, planning a wedding, and raising children. So I highly suggest travelling as MUCH as you can as EARLY as you can.

Work hard in a crappy job and save as much money as you can and go away for 1-6 months at a time. Even consider working and living overseas if that’s something that appeals to you.

You only get to be in your twenties once…

And trust me, travelling in your 30’s is NOT the same as travelling in your 20’s. At the time of writing this article I’m 27, and I’ve been to Thailand (20yrs old), USA (24yrs old), and Europe (27yrs old).

And I’m trying to travel as MUCH as I can before I’m 30.

(NOTE: I’m not trying to trash being in your 30’s, or saying that you can’t travel after your 20’s because that would be absurd…) I’m just saying it becomes harder as your life priorities change.

Your thoughts might differ on this, but this travel principle is a very strong personal value of mine.

And here’s a cool side benefit of travel…it will also pay dividends for your career!

In most cases, travel forces you to become:

  • More independant and resilient
  • Better at organising
  • Better at interacting with different people from various cultures & backgrounds
  • More mature
  • More aware of the way the world works

And as a final thought on this point, when you’re in a situation at work that sucks or is boring, it’s nice to have these travel memories to look back on.

They can allow you to take a much needed “mental vacation” from your work.

BONUS: Think In Terms Of Industries

This is one that I really wish I’d known in my 20’s…

Because (generally speaking) if you follow this principle, then the rest of the principles we’ve discussed should fall into place. Picking an awesome industry is ESSENTIAL to having a fun, exciting, and successful career.

A lot of people make the mistake of thinking about their dream job in isolation. What I’ve found is that when you don’t have an industry specific job…

…Then the difference between working in one industry and another can make the difference between doing work you hate…

And doing work you love! For example, I work as a digital copywriter.

Which means that I create written marketing content – and this can be applied to about any business or industry. Early in my career I had the opportunity to work in both the “fleet management” industry…

As well as the “digital marketing” industry. And I can tell you that even though the work itself was quite similar, I HATED working for the fleet management company.

Whereas I loved the digital marketing stuff. Similar work, different industry.

See where I’m getting at?

So find an industry that excites you (hopefully one you’re already passionate about). And start learning as much about how it works and who the key players are as possible.

This will give you a much clearer direction and focus for your job hunt!

Bringing It All Together…

To sum up here…

My top 6 career principles I wish I knew at 18 are:

  1. Learning is more important than money
  2. Focus on building specific skills & knowledge
  3. Network with influential people in your field
  4. Create skill building projects & side hustles
  5. Travel more in your early twenties
  6. BONUS: Think in terms of industries

Which one inspired you the most?

Are you going to focus on building more skills, or start booking your next exotic holiday?

Leave me a comment below and tell me what actions you’re going to implement!

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