HN Explorer

Ask HN: What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

6 points by dpmehta02 ↗ HN
When I was trying to find my way early in my career, my boss gave me the following advice: "find a way to be world class at something." It didn't immediately click, but over the years that advice has been extremely valuable to me on many levels, and I am thankful I received it at such an early age.

There are some cool answers in this Quora thread: http://www.quora.com/What-is-the-single-greatest-piece-of-career-advice-youve-ever-received?share=1

6 comments

[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 19.7 ms ] thread
bhhaskin
Never sell your self short. Your time is valuable.
brd
In regards to speaking out: "Ask yourself what you'll get out of it before you say it" if it's only to make yourself feel better its probably not worth it.

The advice I give constantly: "Be the squeaky wheel" in reference to the idiom "the squeaky wheel gets the grease". Let people know you exist and what you want and you'll be surprised how often you get it.

An interesting point an exec made to me about how to choose what to do with your career: "Find the biggest lever"

mattm
Read 15 minutes per day about your industry or improving your skillset. No matter where you start, within 5 years you'll be in the top 5% of your industry.
orky56
Do what you love. For everything else, love what you do.
RogerL
It wasn't advice so much as a question. Lead would walk by my desk each day and ask "what are you going to do to excel today?" There's a pretty big difference between getting the job done and excelling, and the latter is more fun to boot.
enigami
My boss once told me 'This is not the right place for you' -- I consider this as the best career advice i've received so far, because it came from a person who really cared about me and knows me.

What followed next is interesting...I am chasing my dreams now