Yesterday I attended a careers panel where professionals from the media, communications, social research, academia and criminology told us about their work and what not. The panel was for sociology students, undergrads mostly, but we were a few postgrads in the room. Our different stages of education did not matter since we turned out to have the same questions. Three* things stood out from the panelists’ answers.
- Attitude is everything
All eight panelists have one or two technical skills that they need to get their job done. However, not once did they mention those skills when they were asked to tell us about their jobs. Or how the best advice they would have for someone who would want to pursue one of their careers.
The police officers did not mention being physically fit, which is something I assume you have to be in order to be in the police. The social researcher did not mention knowing how to use data analysis software. And the list goes on. Sure, all these things are important –for instance you need a PhD to be a university lecturer. However, they did not stress these too much. What they did stress though was the attitude with which you approach the role you are in.
One of the panelists was Sally Shelford, editor of Loose Women on ITV. She started her career in print journalism and is now on the broadcast side of things. Her job also requires a lot of interaction with social media and trends. When asked what skills she has had to learn throughout her career, she stressed that a positive attitude is what she has relied on the most. Sally mentioned a willingness to try out something you are not familiar with, keeping in touch with trends and figuring out how you can maximise them and a deep interest in the work you do. The technical bits you learn on the job.
- A little aggression never hurts
Almost every panelist mentioned being rejected by one potential employer or another and how that taught them to just keep trying. Olga Fraczek who works with the communications/PR agency, Zeno told of how she applied to get into a graduate programme and didn’t get in. And guess what she did next? She wrote to the company, telling them how she wanted a chance to learn some on-job skills, and would they give her work placement for a while. Turned out they had a job for her instead.
This got me thinking about how I look at a negative response. Honestly, majority of the time, I shrug my shoulders and move on. While that is a good approach for not letting things put me down, I realise now that it can also be limiting. I cannot help thinking of opportunities I may have missed out on because I was not aggressive enough. I’m sure going to try it out the next time I’m in a situation where I badly want something and don’t get it. The worst that can happen is a second rejection, right?
- It’s okay to feel like you’re out of your depth
I am familiar with that being so out of depth feeling. It can be so overwhelming that you wonder whether the people who have entrusted you with a task are out of their minds. It turns out that the feeling is normal, and that several people have felt that way once or twice in their careers.
As Yiljan Nevzt, Senior Producer on the Lorraine show on ITV put it, it is this feeling that inspires you to do your work well. It also shows that you care about the job you are doing. She was quick to advise that ou shouldn’t let the feeling linger for too long though. After a while, you should start to feel confident –not too much that you get complacent, but enough to do your work without being overcome by anxiety. If it becomes too much, ask for help from your team, a mentor or a trusted friend, she advised.
Her advice is right on the money. Every time I’ve felt out of my depth and asked for help, it has helped put things back into perspective. In fact, it is one of the reasons I applied for the professional mentorship programme at my university –one of the best decisions I have made. It is also why I show up for every career event I can find. You just never know what gems you will get to hear.
The beauty of all this advice is that it applies to anyone, whether you are still in school, searching for a job, starting a business or happily employed.
*There were more points raised by all nine panelists. I picked out those from media and communication because it’s my area of interest.