Advice From Liz Lawley

June 25th, 2006

If you don’t read mamamusings, you should.

Today, Liz provides some timely advice (for me anyway) on taking on new jobs:

“The first, and most critical thing–at least for me–was to always look for and take jobs that were a little (or even a lot) beyond what I thought I could do. It often felt like I was bullshitting my way in the door, but once I got there I worked my ass off to do what I’d been hired to do. I learned RS-232 cable pinouts on the fly when I took a computer support job back in ‘87 and said “of course I can design and help install a computer network.” I leveraged that networking experience into my job interview at RIT, where I told them confidently that of course I could teach introductory networking classes…and then spent most of my first year barely an hour ahead of my students. (Turns out teaching is less about knowing it all, and more about knowing how to connect other people up with what they need…although it’s a helluva lot easier once you know the material well!) There are plenty of other examples. Really, every job I’ve ever had was something that I went into without all the knowledge I needed, and then had to push myself to grow into, quickly.”

“Doing that has a number of rewards associated with it. First, you learn a lot, quickly–because if you don’t, you’ll be out of a job even more quickly. Second, you get a great confidence boost when you pull it off despite your own doubts and fears. Third, that confidence boost shows in your interactions with others, and you get a reputation for being both fearless and dependable. Saying “yes” to the hard (and occasionally unpleasant) tasks makes people see you as the “go to girl” (or guy), which is a good reputation to have…and when interesting and enjoyable opportunities open up, you’ll then be the first one they think of.”

Liz is dead on here. Hard work, learning something new everyday, and pushing oneself to give 120% is one of the keys to being successful and happy with our jobs (and life, for that matter). I’m in the throes of this right now.

Do you think I’ve told anyone, “No, I cant’/won’t/don’t know how to do that” over the past two weeks? Nope.

Thanks Liz.

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