A Decade & a Day: Top 10 lessons from my first 10 years of work.

Yesterday I celebrated my 10th anniversary with Labatt/Anheuser-Busch. Ten years is a long time to be at one place, especially for a millennial. In fact, a 2016 study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics says that median time people stay working for the same company is 4.2 years overall and that number decreases to 3.2 for workers aged 25-34. 

Gone are the days of lifetime employees, with the exception maybe of Japan. In fact, Jacob Morgan, Futurist and author of The Future of Work and The Employee Experience Advantage said this in a 2014 article in Forbes.

“Long term or life-time employment as we know it today is completely, utterly, and unequivocally, 120% dead, and it ain’t coming back…ever.”

So what can I share, as a rare millennial, 10 years into her career? Here’s my Top 10 from my decade long career journey thus far. 

1.     The toughest experiences of your career are the greatest growth opportunities.

Hindsight as they say is 20/20, or in my case 10/10. As I look back and reflect on the most difficult moments in my career, they have undoubtedly been the most defining. They are the challenges I have overcome, the lessons I have learned and the skills I have acquired and no matter how difficult they were at the time, there is no question that I am better because of them. 

2.     Learn from everyone, good bad or otherwise.

It’s easy to get caught up in the frustration of bad bosses, unsupportive coworkers or underperforming peers but the reality is you can learn just as much from the bad as the good. If we don’t experience or witness the bad things, we don’t have a point of reference to truly understand the power of the powerful leaders and incredible colleagues we encounter. The bad ones provide perspective and learning on what not to do and save us from making the same mistakes as others without missing out on the learning opportunity. So when you’re in the thick of it, just push forward so you can eventually look back in reflection, everything is a learning opportunity.

3.     Diversify your experiences, internally or externally.

As you grow your career, it’s important in today’s job market to develop new skills and to always challenge yourself in new ways so you can adapt to roles and needs in the market that you may not even know exist yet. So far, I’ve worked in supply, sales, media, marketing, sponsorship, trade marketing, experiential and now HR. When we first start in our careers, it’s natural that we try and rush directly to our function or role of choice but building diverse career experience will not only prepare you to pivot but it may just bring out a strength, skill set and passion you never would have known you had. For example, marketing has always been my career path of choice but I’ve found myself leveraging my marketing skills for Employer Brand and HR in ways that make my experience and perspective unique and valuable. I would never have found this career today without an openness to diverse career experiences. I also believe the diversity of cross functional experiences I’ve had have also made me more successful because I have empathy and perspective of different areas of the business and how they connect.

4.     Challenge yourself early on in your career, and then don’t stop.

We are creatures of habit, so like anything in life, it’s easy to fall into one path and build habits (good and bad) within your career. The more you are open to new challenges, to shaking things up and taking some calculated risks, the easier this will be as you progress in your career because you’ve learned how to flex those muscles early. As we get older, our responsibilities increase and the stakes get higher so it’s normal that we become more risk averse. Starting young helps to make challenges less daunting later.

5.     Close development gaps but capitalize on your strengths.

We often spend a lot of time working on our weaknesses to close developmental or skills gaps that we have. Although I agree this is important to establish a well-rounded and successful career, I think it’s even more valuable to not only hone in on your strengths but to force yourself to use them in unconventional ways. Relying solely on your strongest skills can be risky in a world where their useful life is now estimated at 5 years. However; using your strengths in slightly new and unexpected ways or more specifically in new roles or departments is a great way to differentiate yourself and build a strong career path that allows you to move between different functions, locations etc. with only 1 degree of separation. Don’t reinvent the wheel from scratch, just look for different ways to use the same tools and to pivot. 

6.     Skills trump passion.

I’m a believer that passion is a key element to success however I think we’ve let passion hold too much weight and the book Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport speaks to exactly that. There are many things we are passionate about but it doesn’t mean we are good at them. However, it’s not uncommon to become passionate about things we are good at. Take for example athletes. Lots of people are passionate about sports but there is a reason they haven’t built a career out of it. Focus on your greatest skills and deliver incredible things and the passion will follow the successful path you’re already paving. 

7.     Personal values > career.

Don’t sacrifice your personal values for anyone. It’s easy sometimes for career driven people to mimic behaviors and values of those who are successful, whether they are desirable or not. We often think if they are successful, I have to be like them to get there. Although mimicking is human nature and leaders are strong examples and inspiration, it’s important to stay true to your style and your values. Find other things to mimic like processes or tactics and approaches but don’t change who you are, after all it’s what got you started in the first place. 

8.     Be present in your current role.

We always want what we don’t have. When we are young we want more money, responsibility, a better title. But when we progress in our careers we often think back to simpler times when we didn’t have the same pressure, expectations and accountability. So, the important thing to remember is to be present and soak up every learning and experience while you’re in it. It’s great to have a plan and long-term goals but seize everything you can in the short term, it’s the only guarantee. 

9.     Lead your own agenda.

As a young women in a male dominant business, I didn’t speak up enough. There’s always a professional and acceptable way to approach even the most intimidating or difficult conversations provided you are respectful, professional, and you limit emotion. If you have a solid business case and you focus not only on what you want but what’s in it for the business, your manager, or your team, there’s virtually nothing you can’t ask for. Go in to every discussion or negotiation prepared for both the desired outcome and the undesired outcome. I wish I had learned this earlier in my career whether it was securing recognition, being considered for promotion or negotiating compensation, these are conversations you should always have so start early and it will only get easier. 

10.  Consider your path forward but also the path you leave behind.

It’s important to know where you want to go but reflecting on what you leave behind is key to establishing natural leadership. When you experience challenges, consider how you can impact greater change to create opportunity for those behind you. As you progress, use your tenure, experience and seniority to leave a lasting impact. Leverage your privilege to raise other people up. It will, in the end be your greatest legacy. 

Ten years down and plenty more to go but it’s been one hell of a ride and I’m better for it. I can only hope my next 10 years will offer greater learning and challenges.