The beginning of a career

is tough

The beginning of a career is tough.
I regret not starting with a playbook.

10 suggestions to jumpstart your early career.

1. Create Opportunities

In your early career stage, you should be free to try out new things and create luck for yourselves.

You never know what would click.

So spend time:

– Cold emailing.
– Networking with as many people as you can
– Always say yes
– Get out of your comfort zone. Stop thinking of embarrassment.

2. Learn compounding

Any major result requires at least five to ten years.

Short-term impatience is acceptable, while long-term patience is preferred.

3. Responsibility

When you start a project, finish it.

You would perform better than most people if you simply followed through on your commitments.

4. Learn to prioritize.

A lot of stuff will be thrown at you.

Develop your sense of what is urgent and vital.

5. Become the guy who has all the answers

Eliminate items from your boss’s to-do list.

Determine how you can assist teams.

Make sure that when something happens, people think of you first.

6. Incline toward activity

Do not wait for instructions from others.

Just go ahead if you can do something.

7. Be curious.

The majority of people are eager to offer their expertise, but in order to do so, you must:

– Ask sincere questions
– Demonstrate curiosity
– Pay attention to their responses and consider the context of the use

8. Communicate.

Whatever position you hold, always remember to communicate with those above and below you.

You will advance through the organisation more quickly if you communicate well, which fosters trust.

9. Document Everything.

It does two things:

Gives clarity of what’s needed
Avoid misunderstanding among different team members

10. Think for people and not data

It is simple to become trapped in a screen and focus on metrics.

Success, however, is a team sport.

Find mentors and friends, and take care of those connections.