THE 3 HARDEST CAREER LESSONS I’VE HAD TO LEARN

My first job after graduating was as an editorial assistant at a popular women’s magazine. From there I moved up the ranks and by the fourth year, I was promoted to editor at a different title. My goal when I first started my career was to learn… and even till today, as I celebrate my 15th year anniversary as a freelance writer, I am still learning! Some lessons are easy to manoeuvre and move on; others while harder to navigate left a more lasting impact to truly form who I am today in my career. And here, I would like to share with you those hard but necessary lessons to hopefully inspire you to embrace the tough times in your career to be where you want to be.

#1 Dream big (but work even harder)
At my first performance review, my then editor asked me where I see myself in the next five years? My reply made her look at me in surprise: “Where you’re sitting”. It’s a bold reply but that truly was my aspiration – to be at the top of the ranks and call the shots, even though it was just my first year of working!

I never lost sight of that goal. I worked hard, moved up the ranks slowly, and proved to myself – as well as others – that with the proper mentoring and guidance, I could achieve these aspirations. I put in the extra hours when others didn’t; I went beyond what was expected, and when the opportunity arrived, I said yes even when others didn’t believe I could!

Thankfully, I had the support I needed from my superiors and managed to pull off what many thought was impossible. Sure there were days when I had a lot of self-doubt – managing a full team at a young age wasn’t easy and gaining confidence from clients who thought I was too young and inexperienced was the toughest thing I had to deal with in my career.

If anything, it made me more resilient, and I persevered. The tenacity stayed with me even till today as a freelancer, fueling my cup to have a rewarding career even years after leaving the corporate world.

#2 Know your worth
When I first started freelancing, I had a potential client who wanted to pay me a percentage of the sales that my work would bring. Wait, what? Exactly. He said if my copy was as good as I claim it to be, then he should have no problem getting traction for his product.

Pretty sure that’s not how it works so I said thanks but no thanks. However, as a newbie in the freelancing business, I understood how some might go for it to get the experience and maybe to maintain client relationships. When you are new – whether it is at the office or on your own – you are more likely to say yes to everything, even if it means accepting something that’s not quite your worth. Maybe it’s a lower salary but you really want to work for that company. Or in my case, a cut in what I would normally earn because who knows when the next pay cheque would come.

If this is you – stop. Know your worth. When you start low, there is a much higher scale to climb, and it could work against you as others reach the top much faster because they didn’t sell themselves short. Also, imagine the time and effort you waste trying to make up to your worth when you are already so much more! All that could be used to gain new skills or in my case, work with clients who appreciate my work much more. The next time someone tries to short change you at work, say no and stick to what you’re worth. After all, you’ve already worked so hard to be here so why the backtracking?

#3 Pace yourself
Sure, you want to be at the top as soon as you can but trust me when I say pace yourself and go slow. In hindsight, I felt as if I peaked too soon and because of this, I never really appreciated the journey to get there. Instead, I felt like I missed out on a lot of other valuable lessons that could give me more worth to my work as well as an individual. Which was why I made the hard decision to leave a comfortable position and strike out on my own.

Then, in the midst of trying to make ends meet as a freelancer, I forgot how important it was to schedule in rest between work. Oftentimes in the beginning, I would spend mornings going for meetings, work till late, and continue again the next day. Weekends were spent catching up on deadlines while holidays meant bringing the laptop as a carry-on luggage. How I knew I was pushing it? When I sat down for a much-needed manicure and promptly fell asleep – I mean, who sleeps during then!

I knew then it was my body’s way of telling me to pace myself. Now, I schedule my deadlines more comfortably and once a week, I take a day off to do absolutely nothing but recharge. It’s a luxury but one that is necessary to take good care of yourself. Do yourself that favour if you can – learn to keep your health and wellness in check, even if work is demanding. Fit exercise in to help deal with the stress. Ultimately, no work or salary or company is worth your health deteriorating. And when you’re healthy, you do better at work!

What are some tough lessons you’ve had throughout your career? Share it with us @Graduan.

Photo by Magnet.me on Unsplash.