We have had a new graduate in our team at work for the summer. He’s bright and destined for good things but he’s moving on to a permanent place at another firm in September so we’ve only got him for a few weeks.
So what?
Well, until he arrived, I thought I was pretty new to my line of work. Looking around, I could see plenty of people who have been doing the same thing for a lot longer than me. Then he turned up, saying, yeah, like I’m 22 and I’ve just graduated, what do I need to know?
Damn, I thought. I’ve been doing this 10 years already.
Ten years of experience takes a while to relate
I discovered that a few weeks is not long enough to convey 10 years of experience. So I boiled it down to a few bullet points for him:
- Decide what you want most
- Based on (1), have an ultimate career goal
- Identify role models who have already achieved that goal and learn from them
- Establish what you are prepared to do to get there… and what you are not
- Plan your long-term progression
- Periodically check progress against your ultimate goal
- Have short-term goals
- Identify blockers to your short-term goals and remove or go around them
- Seek advice from people who have faced the same challenges
- Frequently check progress against your short-term goals
- If in any doubt, do as you’re told
- If still in doubt, do what the most trustworthy people are doing
- If doubt still unresolved, write everything down and proceed… slowly
- Invest in your skills
- Invest in your network
- Invest in your family and friends
- Keep challenging yourself to try new things
- Don’t underestimate yourself
- Don’t forget to take time out to rest and recuperate
- Lighten up and have fun from time to time… no, really
And then I realised that was quite a good checklist for me when I’m thinking about my training…
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