early career advice

things to keep in mind

takeaways from attending an early career convention

• building a personal brand

  • it’s important to understand what you want, what your unique strengths are, what you admire, what energizes you

• building a habit of curiosity

  • curiosity is not a trait, it’s a habit that you work at - always ask questions. if you have a problem, come up with related questions that can help you get closer to the answer
  • (within reason) say yes to everything once - try new things

• be engaged and present in your work

  • work is what you make of it, and you should seek out interesting challenges
  • if people keep talking about something challenging, run towards it not away - there is a lot to learn from that

• ask for constructive criticism and take it - find the people who will actually give it to you

  • “good job” is not useful (lol, whiplash)
  • intentionally ask for areas of improvement within specific constraints (e.g. “how can I improve to be performing at the next level”)

• networking and coffee chats

  • immense emphasis on building a network early, to plant seeds for the future
    • “you can count the number of seeds in an apple, but you don’t know how many apples there will be in a seed” lol
  • set goal quotas for coffee chats - reach out to role models and people in higher positions that you admire or have achieved things you want - learn from their journies