What's something most people do not know or fail to appreciate about your profession?
Anonymous
People think investing money is all about being good with numbers or doing great analysis. Having luck on your side and a strong risk appetite is still under-appreciated.
Anonymous
There are some good ones of us.*
*From a lawyer
Scott Schechter
Many people, especially my parents, don’t understand what I do. Others think my company (and internet advertising) tracks their lives. [Internet advertising] makes using the internet free and helps you find things you want more quickly.
Cecily Pulver
Teachers work well beyond the scope of an academic day and do not have unshackled free time during vacations. When they aren't actively instructing, they're still grading, planning, creating, and attending meetings that eat up a lot of their perceived free time.
Ojus Padston
I work in technology and have been in a range of roles and companies since graduating. Tech is a great career with fast growth, high compensation, strong work/life balance, smart colleagues, people-first cultures, and interesting problems. What most people don't know is that anyone can work in it. I'm a product manager and most of my colleagues didn't study CS and many don't have any sort of technical degree.
Erin B.
I worked for a number of years as an admin for nonprofits. People told me this wasn't "real work" because I was just doing administrative tasks, which is complete garbage. When you get to listen in to C Suite level conversations (even just as the note taker), you're learning so much from those opportunities. I eventually was able to use what I learned to become a manager myself, and those experiences have helped shape who I am as a nonprofit manager today.
Also, nonprofit work does NOT have to mean losing all sense of work/life balance - you can find jobs in the sector that pay well (maybe not as well as for-profits, but that is part of the trade-off) and give you balance between work and play. We get into nonprofit work because we're passionate about making a change, but it doesn't mean it's OK for employers to take advantage of you and your passion. Don't give your life to a job - at the end of the day, it's still just a job. It's important to give your life purpose outside of your job, even when you're completely passionate about the work you're doing.
What's the most overrated or underrated skill for career success?
Anonymous
I have found too often people want answers right here and right now. Being able to deal with ambiguity and giving others the room to work at their own pace are underrated skills for career success.
Scott Schechter
Underrated: Being honest and setting expectations is better than trying to sugarcoat bad outcomes. Explain how you will course correct in the future.
Anonymous
Underrated: Strong communication and time management skills. These skills are often taken for granted but are very important.
Anonymous
Emotional intelligence is perhaps one of the most underrated skills.
Anonymous
Scoping problems. Particularly in uncertain or early-stage environments, people do better when they are able to know how big the question they are facing really is and whether it’s a big deal if they are wrong.
Anonymous
Should I ever achieve career success, I will certainly let others know. In the meantime, I think it’s important to have compassion and empathy for all those who are impacted by your professional decisions.
Anonymous
I'm not sure that anything is necessarily overrated — it depends quite a bit on what someone has to do day-to-day. I think a lot of success before college and into college has to do with being good at as many situations as possible because you have less of an ability to determine which situations you'll find yourself in. Once you start your career, and especially as it advances, it's more often about knowing which games you can win and steering situations such that the metrics of success align with the things you're good at. For instance, I'm much better at synthesizing a lot of information quickly, determining what's most important, and moving with speed. When I need to research anything in depth and cover every potential outcome, I struggle. So really, succeeding for me is about putting myself in situations where my skill set is at a premium and I don't have to do much/any of the things I'm bad at.
Ojus Padston
Overrated - Your GPA. After a few years, no one cares.
Underrated - Asking for help. You will never be expected to know everything. In fact, the more senior you get, the more you're expected to collaborate by consulting others and solving problems together. Get used to admitting what you don't know and view it as an exciting opportunity to learn, not a failure to be ashamed about.
Cecily Pulver
Good communication skills and self-advocacy. Being able to effectively communicate to peers, bosses, and coworkers always leads to better outcomes. Knowing when to advocate for yourself and draw clear boundaries will do wonders for your work-life balance and overall state of mind.
Anonymous
Calculus
Erin B.
The most underrated skill is how to create action items at the end of a meeting. You're going to be in lots of meetings where nothing gets accomplished or moved forward. Listen during those meetings, take notes, and then create action items for yourself afterwards - and, if you're in the position to do so, remind others what their action items are before leaving. I always end a meeting with what each person is going to do after the meeting to move ourselves forward. Brainstorming is great, but if there's no action items that come out of it, it's just a waste of time.