10 BIGGEST CAREER LESSONS

I thought I'd share what I think are the biggest lessons I've picked up in my career so far in the hope they might help others. It would be great to hear some of your own tips!

So, in no particular order:

1- Treat 'Triumph and Disaster' the same

This advice comes from my favorite poem.

In my career I've had lots of moments when I feel I've achieved something and also lots of other moments when something has gone wrong. I've learned that it helps to use neither to define who you can are or what you can achieve. There are days when you won't put in much effort and everything good will fall in your lap. There are other days when you will try your hardest and nothing will go right. That's just life.

2- Don’t be afraid to tread a lonely path

In some ways this is an easy one for me to live up to. I come from a loving home and I was born in a wealthy country. Even so, I feel that there have been certain key points that I have taken the less obvious path in my career (actually that reminds me of another famous poem I like!).

This is something that I think I did from a reasonably early age. For example, I was the only person from my primary school to go to my secondary school and I was the first person in my family to go to university (and that university was Cambridge, which made it in some ways a singular experience).

Throughout my career I haven't been afraid to try something new and to go somewhere that (for me) was a bit scary or new.

How can you step out of your comfort zone and do something different?

3- Find excuses to be nosy/talk to anyone

The lesson that I think I most wish I learned even earlier in my career is the idea of giving yourself the excuse to be nosy.

What I mean by this is that if you can give yourself a legitimate excuse to meet lots of interesting people you are bound to discover so much more.

4- Have curiosity and go on adventures

It helped me to see the world through different eyes and understand that the way I had been doing things was only one way to do things- a valuable lesson. Note that of course having an adventure doesn't mean having to go to a different country. Being curious about the world and your place in it means that life can be interesting wherever you are. I find even really simple things like walking a different route through a familiar city makes a difference.

5- Never stop learning

I have never been a person who thought that learning stopped when I left school or university. For example, during lockdown this year I completed a short philosophy course online- I've wanted to do some sort of course in philosophy for very many years.

The world of work is changing so fast that you can't stand still. My love of learning new things is something that continues to help me.

Also, if you have been learning something that you think might be useful to others, why not share it? For example, if you enter an industry and there are resources that you wish you had- maybe at some point you will create them. For example, when I joined the charity sector I was at a small charity and I wish that I had been able to network with others. So when I felt a bit more established, I set up a group to encourage people to join the sector.

6- Adapt and grow

The world isn't standing still and you can't either.

As well as the point about always learning that I made above, you also need to think more generally about how the world of work is changing.

I feel I've managed to do that a little bit by moving between different sectors and I also try to listen out about work trends and think how my own career will cope. Change is always on the horizon- how will you react?

7- Do things that excite you

When you look back at your career, what are the things that will really excite you?

I've done a few things that don't really relate to the career path I'm on now but which were an amazing experience and something I'm very proud that I tried. Work takes up so much of most people's lives that, if you can, you may well as do something that excites you in some way. What it is, is entirely up to you. One of my favorite things professionally is meeting people who are involved in jobs that I have no personal connection to or aptitude for- and seeing their passion for it shine through. They really bring alive for me why it matters and why it is something they want to be involved with.

8- Learn from people you know (and don’t)

One of my biggest career inspirations is learning from other people.

Whether it is people I know personally and whose work I admire like Meghansh, Yash or Vishal - or people I have learned so much from but never met, like the Mahatma Gandhi, or APJ Abdul kalam, there are people whose work and whose own career journey inspires me again and again.

Taking the time to look out for people who inspire you, whether they are in your industry or not, makes such a difference.

9- Take the time to reflect

One of the biggest things I've tried to do more in recent years is to be more 'in the moment'. My head is often full of things, so I'm not naturally the best at this!

Taking the time out of your busy schedule- whether it is simply getting out of the house for a walk, having a cup of coffee and time away from your computer, or, if possible, a longer period to let your mind relax, can really help.

10- Be less hard on yourself

There is a difficult balance to strike between being ambitious- and being too hard on yourself- and finding that sweet spot for your own career is a difficult but crucial task.

Everyone is going to make mistakes- I make so many still. Not only is it part of being human, but if you aren't making mistakes, you probably aren't growing and trying new things. So try not to blame yourself if things go wrong.

I hope these tips were useful and I'd love to hear your own!