Starting your career can feel overwhelming—how do you turn dreams into actual success? The truth is, your first few years in the workforce aren’t about climbing the ladder as quickly as possible; they’re about building a strong foundation.
We’ve gathered essential career advice for young professionals from helpful sources, such as Dana Perino’s I Wish Someone Had Told Me… and Tony Fadell’s Build, to bring you eight practical tips that will help you navigate the first stages of your career with confidence. Whether you’re just starting your first job or looking to make a strategic career shift, these strategies will show you how to position yourself for long-term success.
Table of Contents
Laying Your Foundation in Your Career
In I Wish Someone Had Told Me…, Dana Perino writes that the first years of your career are all about learning, whether from your own experience or from the more senior professionals around you. This article explores eight key pieces of career advice for young professionals:
- Figure out what you want to do.
- Choose the boss, not the job.
- Notice the company’s broad goals.
- Request feedback.
- Love what you do.
- Nurture your network.
- Master communication skills.
- Know when to quit.
Tip #1: Figure Out What You Want to Do
In his book Build, Tony Fadell shares four tips on how to start your career. The first thing you need to do is figure out what you want to do. This doesn’t entail a specific salary or position. Rather, ask yourself, What “mission,” or objective, inspires me to learn? For example, Fadell’s objective was to make handheld computing devices, which inspired him to learn everything he could about making them. Knowing what you want to accomplish will help you make better career decisions.
Tip #2: Choose the Boss, Not the Job
Your supervisor plays an important role in your career development, so Perino says to think about who you’ll be working for when you evaluate new opportunities. Marketing consultant Mora Neilson argues that you should choose your job based on the learning and mentorship opportunities it’ll bring, not the title you’ll have or the organization’s prestige. By prioritizing learning from experienced mentors, you’ll gain insights that aren’t available through formal training. To find a boss who can also be a mentor, assess whether your potential new boss will be able to show you what others can’t, such as important aspects of the industry, the job, or yourself as a professional.
Additionally, Fadell recommends that you work for the right company. It should be working toward an objective similar to yours, have an original solution to an everyday problem experienced by the masses, and have the technical know-how to successfully create the product they’re promising. Ideally, the experts in your field will be working there and the company is small enough that you can learn from them—fewer than 100 people is ideal. If a company fits all these criteria, don’t worry about your exact position. You can always switch internally within the company, but you can’t manufacture passion for an objective.
Tip #3: Notice the Company’s Broad Goals
Fadell suggests that you pay attention to the broader goals of the company. Instead of focusing exclusively on your short-term goals, occasionally shift your perspective so you can assess how your job fits into the company’s long-term goals, how you can do your job better, and notice any potential landmines that could harm the company. To do so, talk to your colleagues: your internal customers (the colleagues you send deliverables to), the people for whom you are the internal customer, and the people who talk directly to the customer (like sales or customer service). Each of these teams has a different perspective; by talking to them, you’ll have a more well-rounded view of what’s going on and how you can better support the company’s (and your) objective.
Tip #4: Request Feedback
When you’re starting out, it’s important to get constructive feedback to make sure you’re on the right track. Human Resources expert Michele Chase and Perino suggest that you proactively ask your boss for feedback rather than waiting for it to come to you. This transforms potentially adversarial performance conversations into a constructive dialogue because you’re requesting the feedback. In addition, you demonstrate self-awareness and a willingness to grow, which are key traits for early career success. To seek out feedback proactively, make a regular practice of asking your supervisor how you’re doing and whether there’s anything you should change.
Tip #5: Love What You Do
Regardless of the feedback you get, former judge Jeanine Pirro, who now serves as the US attorney for Washington, D.C., tells Perino that you should focus on loving the work you do—not on getting praise or recognition. When you concentrate on the work itself, attention and advancement will come. This mindset shifts your attention from external validation to internal motivation, making your achievements more genuine and sustainable. In practice, loving your job means you prioritize the quality of your work, maintain focus and perseverance, and let your efforts and results speak for themselves.
What about when you’re new at a job? You’re still learning, so your ability to make concrete contributions and achievements is limited. Human Resources expert Dan Barr says you should demonstrate you love what you do by being willing to work hard. Colleagues and supervisors are watching and evaluating you from day one, constantly observing your character and work ethic. So, Barr says you should always arrive early to work and stay later than required. Additionally, embrace every task, even the mundane ones, because they’re opportunities to learn and prove that you love the job.
| To Love the Job, Keep Your Eyes Peeled and Your Ear to the Ground If you love your job, you might want to bring that new employee energy to work well beyond your first few months. In Impact Players, Liz Wiseman says that star employees—who excel beyond their starting months—know how to make themselves valuable in their workplace. While Pirro focuses on shifting your mindset from external to internal validation, Wiseman says you should look outside yourself—but to learn and see how you can be of service. As Barr notes, your coworkers are constantly observing you, and Wiseman implies you should be equally observant. Star employees closely observe their surroundings and try to see things through other people’s eyes. In doing so, they notice things that average contributors miss. These insights are especially useful if you’re new, but they can set you apart from the pack even if you’ve been there for a while. Stars pick up on two things, according to Wiseman: 1. Unspoken rules: Every organization has rules and expectations that aren’t stated explicitly but shape its culture and how it operates. These might include whether workers are expected to arrive early or stay late, or which employees tend to sway others’ opinions. By broadening your perspective and decoding these unspoken rules, you can identify the best ways to communicate with colleagues, align your actions with the organization’s expectations, and gain respect from your superiors. 2. What others value: Considering other people’s perspectives ensures that you don’t waste your efforts on things people don’t find helpful. Instead, you’ll contribute to what your boss and coworkers need—even if it’s a mundane task. Ask people how they see a situation, and spend more time listening instead of rushing to share your thoughts. You can also put yourself in someone’s shoes by shadowing them or helping them with some of their responsibilities. Being a star employee can be highly rewarding not only for your organization but also for your career: When leaders see the exceptional value you bring to the table, they invest more in your growth. Consequently, you’ll receive more rewards, greater access to mentorship opportunities, more exciting and challenging assignments, and quicker career advancement. |
Tip #6: Nurture Your Network
While you work hard on loving your job, bring the same enthusiasm to your professional network. Fox News host Brian Kilmeade and Perino discuss how building meaningful professional relationships helps you establish a positive reputation in your industry and lays a strong foundation for long-term career success. To nurture your network, reach out and ask for advice, not favors. The people you want to connect with are probably fielding many requests for favors already. Also, find opportunities to be the one offering help. When someone you know is having a hard time, demonstrate your principles by offering your support.
| Other Ideas for Building Your Professional Network Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles, agrees with Kilmeade that forming a professional network can open doors to new career opportunities. However, Canfield focuses on sharing your skills and value with your network, not on asking for advice. He recommends you build your network in three stages: 1. Share your work: Tell people what kind of work you do and what your skills are. This helps them determine where your professional worlds intersect. When people know who you are and what you do, they’ll seek out your services or refer your services to others. 2. Cultivate credibility: Once people know your work, build trust with them so that they feel comfortable working with you or referring your services to others. Some easy ways to build credibility are showing up for meetings and providing the service you say you will. 3. Provide mutual benefits: In this stage, continue building trust with your connections until you and they regularly benefit from the exchange. One way to benefit is by doing business together. You can also benefit from each other’s connections to people in your industry or outside of it. |
Tip #7: Master Communication Skills
Perino writes that mastering communication skills makes you valuable in any organization. You can prevent most problems by ensuring you communicate thoroughly and effectively, whether you’re speaking or writing. Clear and thoughtful communication reduces the risk of misunderstandings, lessens the need for follow-up communications, and ensures that important information reaches the right people in the right way at the right time. It also protects your reputation and relationships in the workplace.
According to Perino, to be an effective communicator, you should:
- Ask questions to fully understand what others are thinking before responding.
- Plan your message by considering who needs to hear it, what’s the best way to get it across, and how it could be misinterpreted. This ensures that people receive your message as intended.
- Opt for verbal communication when tone matters. It’s easier to convey the right emotion verbally than in writing.
Tip #8: Know When to Quit
Fadell suggests that you know when to quit. At some point, you may realize that your company is not on track to fulfill the objective you share. If you see a major problem down the pipeline, point it out to your manager and offer a potential solution. If nobody does anything even after you’ve escalated the problem to the highest level you possibly can, leave, but make sure you don’t burn any bridges to keep your reputation intact.
(Shortform note: Other experts suggest that you should quit not just if you see potential issues with the company but also if you see potential issues with your career track. In particular, they suggest looking for alternative employment if you don’t want your manager’s job and can’t realistically envision a future at this company. But they agree with Fadell that it’s essential to quit as respectfully as possible. To do so, imagine how you’d want someone to quit if you were in your boss’s shoes.)
Explore More Career Advice for Young Professionals
To get more advice for the early years of your career, check out these Shortform guides that’ll help you take the next steps in your journey:
- I Wish Someone Had Told Me… by Dana Perino
- Build by Tony Fadell
- Impact Players by Liz Wiseman
- The Success Principles by Jack Canfield
