Learning and Career Development

The best career advice I have ever received came from my husband, who told me to 'NEVER GIVE UP.' There have been many challenging situations throughout my career, and there have been few times where clouds of doubt and uncertainty have pulled me down and I felt like giving up. But then my husband cheered me up, saying 'You will not just give up on a difficult situation because if you do, you will be giving up on all the hard work and the sacrifices you have made to be where and what you are today'.

To grow your career and take it to the next level, you need to make yourself redundant in the current role as soon as possible. We cannot really get promoted to the next level unless there is somebody else ready to fill in or replace us in our current position. It is contradictory to the common belief where people think they should make themselves so important that without them nothing can really move in the company.

The best career advice came from my first manager who told me 'If you really don't know - ASK.' Though it sounds pretty simple, at the beginning of my career I was unsure about how I was contributing to the company and its growth by doing my job. With this in mind, I did muster up the courage to ask my HR head this question and was immediately provided with truckload of resources and guidance to find out how I mattered to the company. To this day, this advice has never failed me in any situation.

Your career is in your hands. Do not expect your manager to manage your career. You have to take the initiative and responsibility for your career. Your manager can only facilitate what you want to do.

The best career advice I received actually came from my father back in my childhood. He always said and lived it himself that you will get the most attention and support from people when you are able to first show empathy for the situation they are in. It doesn't help to complain about others and their way of doing things – they do it their own way and sometimes just can't do it differently. But once you've found a common basis to start doing things together, you will be able to show the other person alternative ways to do things that might work even better for themselves, and you will also learn from their perspective to question your own way of perceiving and doing things!

My best advice wasn't given orally, but lived by a previous colleague: Take pride in your work. Don't just make it OK, go the extra mile to make it fabulous. It's the small things that count and they can be found in every task. Just do these two quick mental checks when you finish a task: 1. Am I happy with the result? 2. Can I add something that takes little time, but would be appreciated by the receiver? Often enough you can add extra value for both sides without much extra investment. Talk about satisfaction in your job.

My best career advice is… at 60, when you have retired and look back at your life, you should feel proud and satisfied that you shaped something significant and made a difference in the lives of the people around you… and you did this without any deviation from the principals of integrity and ethics.

What I have learned in life, including my college and personal life, is to always maintain a symbiotic relationship with your peers. Respect the people you are working with and learn from them. Also make sure that it goes the other way around too, where you also share your knowledge and experience with them.

Give your family as much respect as you give work. You don't allow your kids to interrupt you during work hours (unless for emergencies obviously), then give them the same respect when it's family time. Turn off your work phone, shut your laptop, and give them your full attention. Family comes first. Another great piece of advice was inspired by Sheryl Sandberg. I was given the advice not to take myself out of the game before I even get to that point in your life. Lean in. Work hard and strive for the career you want. You'll make it work when it comes time. You CAN have it all.

My best career advice came in my fourth job after college in a small marketing consulting firm. When my manager came back to the office after hours and found me still working on an analysis, he said 'You're no good to me dead. There will be time to work on this tomorrow. Please go home now…' It reminded me that you do need to strive for balance between work and the rest of your life.

The best advice I ever received was when I was pregnant with my first son, to 'LEAN IN', long before this term was coined. I was told that my career would not stop and the company would not assume my potential or enthusiasm was less. And make time for my family, and stop the crazy continuous 80+ hours weeks.

Be professional at work. Come to the office and work and leave the work at the office only! Don't carry home anything from the office. And don't always try to find happiness in work, indulge in different interests that will make us happier in life.