10 Pieces of Career Advice for My 21-Year-Old Self

10 Pieces of Career Advice for My 21-Year-Old Self Article by Kate GilbertThe corporate world is not for amateurs. Its ruthless, unforgiving, and downright brutal onyour self-esteem. I consider myself a survivor of this world, having escaped before it took the last remnants of my energy, moral standing, and sanity.But after 20+ years spent climbing the corporate ladder, I am now an outsider.Now that I havea more objective viewpoint, I understand what I did right and what I did wrong. If I knew then what I know now, I would have developed fewer grey hairs, drunk a lot less alcohol, and found more balance in my life well before I reached 45.If I could give advice to my 21-year-old self when she was just starting out in zu sichcareer, it would be this1. Associate Yourself With Good PeopleYou will work with hundreds of individuals in your career. Given the choice, you will never want to work with most of them again. The corporate world is full of mediocre people who occupy office chairs and not much else. Talent in the workforce is a bell curve. The truly awful people tend to get weeded out, unless they are related to someone in management. The middle of the bell curve is where most people are. When you find good people those individuals who care and want to do honest, good work stick with them as long as you can. When you work alongside a talented coworker, boss, or employee, you should never see them as a threat or competitor. Instead, feel lucky to be on the same team, learn from them, and share in their success.2. Leadership Is mora Important Than the Quality of Your ProductYou will probably work with some crappy products at some point in your career. But the best products dont always succeed. Some quality products or ideas will never get out of the starting gate, and less stellar ones will go on to be amazing successes. The line between success and failure is slim, and any given product will have its set of pros and cons. Don t be put off by a long list of cons. If you have to plattl between a good product and a crappy leadership team, or an average product with a killer team behind it, go with the latter. That team is far more likely to find a successful strategy, and you will learn a lot more in the process. You will also be better equipped to deal with less-than-perfect products in the future.3. Speak Your MindYou were given this job for a reason. You convinced someone you were smart enough to be worthy of a paycheck. Keeping your head down and going with the flow is not your style. Over time, you will gain experience that will give you insights many others dont have. You have valuable contributions to make participating and challenging is what you are there for. Dont be afraid to go against conventional thinking. Even if your ideas arent implemented, you will be recognized as someone who has earned a seat at the table.4. Know When to QuitYou might think youre right you might actually be right but t hat doesnt mean you will get your way. Sometimes you will think your company is making a wrong turn or launching a lousy product. Fight for what you believe in, but recognize when you lose. The moral high ground can be a lonely place. Dont waste valuable energy and career currency flogging a dead horse. When you lose an argument, dust yourself off, fall in line with the decision, and move on.5. Be Prepared to Be WrongMaking decisions is hard, and as your career progresses, you will be called upon to make more and more of them. Make the best decision you can with the information you have available to you at the time. Thats the best you can do. More information might become available later, but your position requires a sense of urgency.You dont have that luxury of waiting for more information. Sometimes you wont know you are wrong until you try, but at least you will know. Its better to make a wrong decision quickly than to make no decision at all.6. Respect People Who Make Tough Deci sionsPeople in executive positions have to make difficult decisions all the time. Reducing staff, cutting expenses, or stopping projects might seem illogical to you, but you cant always see the full picture. Its easy to criticize from the outside. Yes, sometimes these decisions are made out of self-interest or with bad intentions, but often they are not. You are not in the boardroom, nordo you have all of the facts. Once you get a seat at that table, you will have a chance to face these difficult choices.7. Be KindCompassion and empathy may not always be rewarded in business, but they will help you live with yourself as you make your way up the career ladder. You may have to make tough calls in your career, ones that affect real peoples lives. You might also be on the receiving end, so remember to always treat people with respect and kindness. Treat them as you would want to be treated yourself.8. Dont Give Someone Too Many ChancesAs your career progresses, you might find yourself m anaging people, or at the very least being someone your colleagues look up to. Be a good listener, coach, and mentor, but remember it is not your responsibility to resolve other peoples problems. While you might have the occasional success in turning a negative contributor around, most of the time, you wont. Instead, you will become frustrated at the time and effort invested in a losing battle.Often, thebest way to help someone is to give them a chance to move on. That way, they can find a role or situation that better suits them. You cant fix everyone.9. Keep Some Emotional PerspectiveYou will find this very hard. In fact, you might never master it. Your rational self will know it is not worth getting frustrated, angry, or upset that your boss doesnt value your contributions or the ideas that you poured your blood, sweat, and tears into but you will still find yourself crying, despondent, and defeated. Try tocontrol your reaction, andremember that you will meet some wonderful peop le during your career. They will become lifelong friends. They are worth emotionally investing in the rest wont matter.10. If You Dont Like the Rules, Make Your OwnThere is an alternative to working for the corporate world. At some point, you will realize the best way to work and live the way you want means walking away from your comfy cubicle. Dont be afraid to go it alone. Youll be surprised how fulfilling and challenging your life can be even when you dont have a fancy job title and a corner office.You are smart, thoughtful, and ambitious, and your career will be important to you. It will bring you great rewards and wonderful experiences. If you take my advice, you just might find that you need to spend less money on hair dye and sauvignon blanc. Good luckA version of this article originally appeared on SUCCESS.com.Kate Gilbert is the author of The Happy Camper How I Quit My Corporate Job and Sold Everything to Travel Full Time. After 20+years of pursuing the American dream of wo rking hard, getting promoted, and acquiring lots of stuff, she realized that she wasnt happy. At age 45, she walked away from her executive job, sold her home, and started a freelance career. She splits her time between apartment rentals around the world and roaming the US in an Airstream trailer, working from wherever she can connect to the Internet.