Posted in Career Advice First Job Out of College on January 25, 2010 at 8:00 am
Exercise for 30 minutes a day. Sleep eight hours a night. Floss. Good habits are the building blocks of a healthy life.
The same goes for your career: small daily habits add up to big success. The earlier in your working life you develop smart daily practices, the easier they will be to maintain and the more overall impact they’ll have.
Here are 5 important career habits to cultivate:
1. Keep up with the news. We live in the Information Age, so there’s no excuse for not being informed. Whether you read a news site every morning, watch the headlines on TV or subscribe to a major news outlet’s e-newsletter, you have to know what’s happening in the world. Pay particular attention to any articles relating to your profession. This will give you topics to discuss at networking events, articles to discuss on Twitter and LinkedIn and a base of knowledge to apply to your current and future career decisions. I landed my first job at WorkingWoman.com because I learned about the site from an article in a news magazine!
2. Share. You know those little “Share” icons that appear next to almost every video and blog post these days? Imagine that “Share” button everywhere you look. One of the best ways to maintain a strong professional network is to share articles, job leads, book recommendations, etc. with the people you know. For instance, if you read an article about grad school scholarships, forward it to your friend who is applying to PhD programs. If you come across a video of an interview with Bobby Flay, send the link to your former internship colleague who loves to barbecue. A small, kind, helpful gesture is a great way to keep in touch with people in an authentic, professional way.
Read the rest of this blog post on MyPath.com…
Image: eHow.com
@fromplaygroundstopantsuits – Thanks for the comment. I love my to-do lists, too. Hope you’ll keep commenting, especially as you begin your new job!
Lindsey
To-do lists are a must, for whatever your situtation. I’m a soon to be graduate of WVU, and to-do lists get me through the day. Another habit, I think I will include once I get my first job is a regular sleep schedule. Going to bed and waking up at or around the same times, gets your body in a great cycle so you are least likely to over sleep or fall asleep during the work day.
Habit number two about sharing, I’ll agree is also a must these days. Social Media is continuing to grow and allows for people who are on opposite sides of the world to keep in touch and drop helpful hints.
I think the main thing is to say motivated once you become lazy, it’s hard to get back on track. I really loved these helpful habits and can’t wait to try them out when I get my first job in a couple months.
I like your recommendation about relaxing. It’s an often overlooked component of success. All tension and no play does not seem to be very sustainable.