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Virtual vs In-Person Women’s Conferences: Which Is Right For You?

01.03.2023 by admin // Leave a Comment

attending an in person women's conference

Back in 2019, I wrote about why you should attend a women’s conference and a follow up post highlighting the Best Conferences for Women. I had attended these conferences in person for years and felt they really helped my career. But, there was very little information out there on how to make the most of attending a women’s conference. I wrote about my personal experiences and advice on getting the most out of attending these conferences. Then, in 2020, these conferences were cancelled for a few years. Starting in 2022, these conferences were back being offered in person and also virtual. I had the opportunity to attend the virtual Texas Conference for Women the last two years. Here’s my updated experience on attending both in person and virtual women’s conferences and why I recommend attending in person moving forward.

Benefits of Attending A Women’s Conference In General

The Main Stage and Breakout Session Speakers

Whether you decide to attend a women’s conference in person or virtually, you can expect a great selection of main stage speakers and breakouts. Every main stage speaker is so inspirational and has always motivated me to aim higher by the end.

The breakout sessions you attend give you more tangible knowledge on what to change to be more successful. Whether you attend in person or virtual doesn’t matter as much to learn from the breakout sessions.

Now that many conferences offer a virtual option, they also have replays available. If there were multiple breakout sessions you wanted to attend, you can now watch them after the conference.

Attending a Women’s Conference Improves Your Odds Of A Salary Increase

It turns out if you attend a women’s conference your odds of increasing your salary are higher and on average you’ll feel more optimistic about the future if you attend a women’s conference. Prior to the pandemic, the Harvard Business Review shared a study about 2,600 women that attended a women’s conference. They found that a year later there were positive outcomes with only 5% of women in the control group receiving a pay increase of more than 10% compared with the 15% of women who attended the conference. Hopefully another study is done that compares in person to virtual in the future.

Benefits of Attending A Women’s Conference In Person

Networking Opportunities With Other Women

Attending a women’s conference in person allows for great networking opportunities with coworkers, and other female leaders. Typically, there are a lot of women from the companies that are sponsoring the program, so it’s a great opportunity to network with other companies you may be interested in. Additionally, many companies have an employee referral program. If you make a strong enough connection, having that referral can increase your odds of landing that interview and will also help the referrer get a bonus.

Taking Advantage of the Freebies on the Exhibit Floor

One of my absolute favorite parts of the in person conference format is the exhibit floor. Prior to the pandemic the floor had a station for getting hair and makeup done for free and other stations for getting a professional photograph done for free. I am probably not the only person that is very ready for a new LinkedIn photo! Especially now that I am full time remote and haven’t worn a blazer since late 2019.

No Distractions

When you attend a women’s conference virtually, you don’t have your computer out. You put up an OOO and take advantage of being at the conference. Even though you may decide to connect with someone and skip a breakout session, you’re benefiting from networking. When you attend virtually though, you need your computer to attend the conference. Even if you put up the OOO message, your email is still right there. So are your IMs popping up on the right bottom corner of your screen. It’s harder to give your devoted attention to the conference. It’s much easier to say, there is a break during this time so I’ll take a meeting. Then, the meeting runs over or doesn’t line up perfectly to the break and you miss parts of the conference. It’s also easier to say you’ll take the meeting and watch a replay later.

Benefits of Attending a Women’s Conference Virtually

More Convenient to Attend A Conference Virtually

The virtual women’s conferences are much easier to attend. Don’t live near a city hosting a women’s conference? Now, you can join from your computer. You don’t have to worry about flying into another city to attend. Life is busy, and setting aside an entire day to go to a conference (or longer if you have to travel in!) is hard. Sometimes, the value of attending in person doesn’t outweigh the effort to do so. If the options are not attend at all, or attend part of the conference virtually it’s better to attend what you can virtually.

Cheaper to Attend Virtually

The tickets to the virtual conference are cheaper than the tickets to attend the conference in person. Because of this, companies can buy tickets for more employees than before and spend the same amount. If your company doesn’t offer tickets to a women’s conference, it is also more likely you can go to your boss and ask for a virtual ticket to be expensed.

Verdict: Attend the In Person Conference Women’s Conference If You Can

I attended an in person women’s conference for the majority of years the first decade of my career. In that time, I got promoted 4 times in 9 years. What I learned by attending these conferences around negotiation, leadership attributes and networking definitely helped me get those promotions. More recently, I have only attended the virtual conferences since the pandemic. During those virtual conferences, I am guilty of responding to IMs, jumping on calls when asked and not watching the replays following the conference. I didn’t make the most of the virtual option and also missed my favorite parts like running into people I haven’t seen in a while and the exhibit floor.

After spending the last two years attending women’s conferences remotely I’ve realized that I prefer the in person experience. I miss the only distractions being people you’ve met at the conference, building those relationships and discussing the sessions with other attendees immediately after. While I haven’t received a job offer from attending these conferences, seeing people in person helped strengthen relationships that resulted in career sponsorships. I also enjoy walking the exhibit floor and dedicating a full day to learning. It’s nice to not have to travel but for me I will look to attending in person again in the future.

Ultimately, whether attending a women’s conference virtually or in person depends on your personal goals and priorities. Your budget and availability will be key drivers in this decision. Have you attended a Women’s Conference in person and virtually? Did you prefer attending in person or virtually?

Landing a Job at a Tech Company: Tips and Strategies for Success

07.23.2020 by admin // Leave a Comment

how to get a job in tech, how to get into IT, how to get a job at a tech company, how to start an IT career

The more money you make, the easier it is to save money and make more money through investing or starting your own business. You can achieve financial independence quicker and decide if you want to retire early or keep working and have a nicer lifestyle. So, how do you get that high salary? One way to get a high salary is to get hired by a tech company. The IT industry is known for high salaries. According to Indeed, the average base salary for a software engineer is almost $110,000. That doesn’t even include bonuses or RSUs. CNBC highlights 11 jobs that pay $150,000 or more at Amazon including product management, technical program management and solution architect.

A common misconception is that you need to know how to code to get a job at a tech company. This is not true. There are plenty of jobs in operations, sales, marketing, finance, HR and additional departments that don’t require you to be an engineer. The hardest part about getting a job at a technology company is getting your foot in the door. So, how do you get a job in tech? I reached out to a few bloggers to share their stories on how they got their jobs in tech.

Apply To a Leadership Development Program

This is my story of how I got a job in tech. I started at a IT company by applying to a leadership development program during my senior year in undergrad through career services. I was a senior in college during the Great Recession, majoring in business management. Wondering, what jobs exactly does a business management major apply to? I spoke to career services and they recommended I apply to leadership development programs. These programs allow you to have multiple different jobs over the course of 2-3 years and is a great program for people that don’t know what they want to do for work. One of the [business operations] leadership development programs they recommended was at a technology company that recruits on campus.

As luck would have it, the recruiter happened to be in my same sorority at another school. We immediately hit it off. I knew nothing about the IT industry. But, before the second round, I happened to read an article about how cloud computing was the next best thing. I brought that up in my interview, the panel was impressed and I got the job.

My advice to getting a job at a tech company: apply for a leadership development program if you are graduating college or a masters program, and read a couple articles about the next “big thing” in tech right before your interview. CIO magazine is a good place to find a few of these articles. When you’re in your interviews, look for ways you relate to each person you interact with. Do you like the same sports or sports teams? Do you have a similar hobby? A lot of acing any interview is to be liked and deemed that you’ll be a good fit. Sometimes it’s as simple as having a similar hobby.

Self-Teach Yourself to Code

Money Mage shares their story on how to get into IT by learning how to code:

I learnt to code in my bedroom as a teenager and got my first job aged 16. It paid my way through University. I studied Computer Science at undergraduate, and specialized in Computer Games postgraduate. I’ve always been into games! I now work for one of the biggest companies on the planet, in an engineering role that’s also customer-facing. I love my 9-5, I know that’s not a popular view, but it’s awesome. I’ve been fortunate in my career, finding a low cost of living area that has high employability. Starting early really helped, as University was a breeze. I’ve also got to work with some amazingly talented people in the Games industry.

Employability in tech is high at the moment. It’s highly white-male skewed, and many companies are positively discriminating to correct the balance. Tech-bro culture is horrid. The correction means it’s a great time to get into tech, you can start self-taught and work your way up. I’d strongly recommend brushing up on the fundamentals, data structures, algorithms, even performance and optimization. It’s so easy to get hung up on the latest frameworks and language trends. The fundamentals are lasting. The big companies select for fundamentals + fit, not frameworks.

Take Digitally Focused PR Classes to Gain Technical Experience

Madison, from Best Company, shares her tips on how to get into IT in a digital marketing role:

Although I work in tech, I’ve always considered myself as a creative. One that loves to create something out of nothing. My journey as a creative started by filming weddings, but in recent years i’ve pivoted into my current job—a digital marketer in the tech space. How did I make this huge leap? Well, the most crucial decision was my college major, Public Relations. My program did not teach “traditional PR” but instead had digitally focused PR classes. We learned about SEO, social media listening, content creation, blog writing and how to structure Google AD campaigns. My college program showed me that the tech space was more than just software engineers. Creatives had a niche to showcase their technical and creative skills through digital marketing. My major’s unique digital initiatives allowed me gain technical experience in college and land jobs in the tech industry that fit my skills and interests.

Join The Military in a Cyber Security Role

Eric, from FireTheMillennial, shares his story of how he got into tech through a Cyber Security Analyst role within the military:

My name is Eric, and I started working in tech when I turned 18. I enlisted in the military and was given the job of Cyber Security Analyst, which sounded exciting on paper but was just policy enforcement. We were required to obtain the CompTIA Security+ certification to graduate from our technical training. That certification is a requirement in the cybersecurity field. It shows a base level of understanding of information security and networking concepts. I left the military after 5 years and worked for a couple of the top 10 defense contractors as an information systems security officer and have been working for them ever since. A few tips to get a foot in the door:

Figure out what exactly your end goal is. Do you want to go the security route? Networking? Penetration tester? – Get a baseline certification. Whether that be Security+, Network+, you’re going to have to show recruiters/the company that you have at least a base knowledge of the field
Do you want to work for a defense contractor? You’re going to need a security clearance. Nine times out of ten, you won’t get considered without one. The easiest way to get one is to join the military, but that’s a commitment you have to think about.
If you want to work for the tech giants (Amazon, Microsoft, etc), start working on their cloud certifications. Whether that be Azure (Microsoft) or AWS (Amazon), cloud technologies are huge right now and they’re not going anywhere. They both provide online study resources for their certifications “

Leverage C++ Skills To Land A Job As a Junior Developer At A Software Company

Adam, from Awesome Personal Finance, shares his journey on how he got into IT through a Ph.D. in math:

My journey into tech is unconventional. It starts with a Ph.D. in math. While this is a great accomplishment it initially limited my employment options because I had no significant experience. From California, I tried to initially work in finance in New York. The timing couldn’t have been worse as Wall Street banks were melting down. I was standing in Times Square when Lehman Brothers announced their closure.

Having decent skills in C++ from some mathematical modeling classes I looked for a job as a junior developer at some software companies. Jobs were still very hard to find back then and competition was stiff. I had to finally settle by taking a professor job. The pay was low and it was not what I wanted to be doing, but I had my own office and was back to looking for tech for jobs. After one year of looking I decided I needed help. Hours of sifting through the internet led me to find a senior Amazon Engineer who offered tech interview coaching. I paid him $199 and he got me pointed in the right direction over the phone.

Being sick of online resume submissions I decided to try some job fairs in major cities. It was literally the last person I gave my resume to that pulled out a cell phone and offered me an interview that day. I nailed the white board interview and have been working as a software developer ever since.

Get A Technical Job At a Non Tech Company and Leverage That Skill Set To Move Into a Tech Company

Moving and Baking shares their story on how they moved into IT from working in tech at a financial services company:

I grew up with computers before it was cool. I probably wrote my first program in Basic around age 7, and built web pages for extra credit in high school. Then, I went on to major in computer science and math in college. Coming into the job market after the dot com bubble burst, I took the only offer I got with an online financial services company. I spent 13 years in financial services technology in NY and CA before moving to Texas in 2016. At that point I was ready for a change, and connected with recruiters at several technology companies here. The skills I had built in tech and product management translated well to a tech company. Though different in business purpose, the problems are surprisingly similar and I’m enjoying this role tremendously.

Work with a Recruiting Agency Who Can Help Find Tech Jobs That Match Your Background

Zero, at Walking to FIRE, shares her story of how she got into tech with a background in Special Education and using recruiting agencies:

I graduated in May, 2014 with an M.Ed. in Special Education. As a senior in college, I was diagnosed with a rare vascular condition in my brain that required me to have brain surgery. Because of my background in special education as well as newfound personal interest in working to improve the living conditions of people with disabilities as a newly disabled person myself, I moved to NYC with a few thousand in the bank, a lot of enthusiasm, and no experiences to actually get me in the door.

I was job hunting for half a year, sending hundreds of resumes to every disability advocacy nonprofit and service organizations in the city. Unfortunately, my half-year sublet to an apartment was ending, and I still didn’t have a full-time job, paying my bills by juggling multiple gigs (babysitting, tutoring, working as therapist for boy with down syndrome). It was either go back to my hometown to try to find a job there, or find a full-time job ASAP to justify a new lease.

In the last month of my job hunt, I found out that recruiting agencies existed, and what’s better – they’re free! I submitted my resume to multiple recruiting agencies, and unlike the hundreds of resumes that probably went unread, I got calls immediately. Within days, I was interviewing with a consulting firm who needed to fill a client’s IT Helpdesk Engineer role. The caveat was that the client wanted a Japanese/English bilingual, and those are very hard to come by. “We know you have no technical backgrounds,” the recruiter said. “And though we can’t teach linguistic skills, we can teach technical skills. Would you be interested in trying a help desk role?” And that was how I began my journey that got me from a Special Education teacher to Helpdesk Engineer to SysAdmin to working freelance as a Technical Writer!

Major in Marketing? Learn to Code to Differentiate Yourself

Forrest is a Digital Marketing Manager at a restaurant technology company and blogs at Don’t Work Another Day shares his story about how he majored in marketing and learned how to code:

For me, getting a job in tech was not planned. I have always loved technology and having the latest gadgets, but it was not to focus of my education. Instead, I received my degree in marketing and taught myself web development throughout college. This enabled me to build websites for others, bolstering my career into digital marketing. Tech is highly dependent on your skills rather than education. If you have the skillset, you’re likely to receive a job offer even without a college diploma. Because the vast majority of marketers are unable to write code, this positioned me in a good place to work as a digital marketer, combining my skills in marketing and web development.

If you’re interested in working in tech, I encourage you to learn as many coding languages as you can to set yourself apart. There are many free resources available to help you. Most of my knowledge came from YouTube videos and a few books, all of which are free.

Become a Consultant That Partners with Tech Companies

Jordan, at One Cricketeer, shares his story on how he works with tech companies in his current role:

I had access to a computer as long as I remember. I played PC games that honed my problem solving abilities at a young age and excelled in STEM classes throughout school. Next, I got accepted to the highest ranked undergraduate engineering school in the US. I graduated with double major in Software Engineering and Computer Science, with a double minor in Math and Computational Science (using computers to do modeling and solve complex math problems). After graduation, I applied to a bunch of companies and accepted my current one that a professor had worked for and recommended me to.

I currently work in a boutique consulting firm, which then partners with larger corporations like IBM, Google, Amazon, etc and then I work at their clients for a few months to years at a time. I can rotate whenever a job is finished or talk to my manager about where my interests exist, and we work on a plan such as certifications or job shadowing.

Get An Interview At A Tech Company Through A Referral

Steve at NW Outlier shares his story of how he started working in IT through a referral with a high school diploma and a drive to succeed:

Getting into tech in the late 90’s was different than today. When I decided to finally make that move, I chose to work in a used computer store. I always was on time, worked hard, got noticed… was promoted to manager. Fast forward a couple years when my sister in law was working as a contractor (temp worker testing software) at Microsoft and called me one day at the store and asked “do you want to work at Microsoft?” I did not hesitate to interview. At the time, Microsoft would hire less knowledgeable workers to point out difficulties that users would experience with their software. I started as a temp worker making $18/hr working on Windows 98. I would spend my time writing the best defects, with high levels of accuracy and detail for the developers.

Over time my knowledge was sufficient or significant to be considered an engineer, but still not hired as a full-time person. After 3.5 years I moved on to a dot com that failed within a year, then interviewed at Microsoft and my current employer. My objective was to move towards full time employee, and I was open during my interview with both to let them know this was my goal/objective. I ended up being there through a couple mergers for a total (my temp work and full-time employee work) of just over 17 years. While building that career, I kept the same work ethic, I was in early and stayed late – I loved technology, so it was easy for me. When I started as an employee at my current employer, I was an entry level person, from there over the years I worked myself up to a Principle Solutions Architect.

All this was accomplished with just a high school diploma. I will admit, part of me wishes I spent some time in school to get a 2-4 year degree to compete with some of my peers. Towards the end of my career I was working shoulder to shoulder with PhD level network architects. Working this hard, for this long is for sure going to burn anyone out, so please – be sure to be saving a significant portion of your income. So, when the time comes you can shift down and maintain the same lifestyle. I have started following the personal finance blogs, and the FI/RE crowd – this saved my life! We’ve saved and invested almost enough to not worry about having a W2 or day job income, but I still have a few more years…. Stay Tuned.

How to Get Into IT Summary

There are plenty of ways to get into IT, this only includes examples from 10 different people! Some people pursued the route of learning how to code and others leveraged their skill sets in other areas like marketing and operations to get jobs in those respective divisions. Another got their foot in the door through an employee referral.

Technology companies pay well and can help you achieve your financial goals faster. You are able to earn a higher salary and increase your savings rate. If you work in tech now, how did you get into IT originally?

10 Pieces of Career Advice for Young Professionals

12.30.2019 by admin // 7 Comments

Career Advice for Young Professionals, advice for young professionals, advice to young professionals, career tips for young professionals

Entering the working world after graduating is intimidating and likely out of your comfort zone. As a young professional your resume is likely light, primarily filled with extracurricular activities, internships and summer jobs. You’ve adjusted to being a senior in college, part of the group that knows everyone and everything within your college bubble. In your new workplace, you’ll transition to the most junior person in the room and learning to adjust to the new culture. It’s tough, but with the right moves you can get quickly back on track to being recognized as knowledgeable and a leader within the team. No matter what industry you’re in, here are 10 pieces of career advice for young professionals to help you advance your career.

1. Get Promoted Quicker By Hustling At Your Job

Your lifetime earnings are decided in the first decade of your career. When you are a young professional you must make the first 10 years of your career count. Create a plan to double, triple or even quadruple your salary. Does that seem out of reach right now? Maybe, but you need to think big and set high goals. You’ll get farther setting high goals for yourself than if you set really achievable goals.

2. Make a 5 Year Career Plan

Technology changes quickly. Whether or not you work in the technology industry the changes to technology will impact your career. There are news articles about potential jobs that will be displaced by automation by 2030. It’s hard to know what the hottest jobs and best career paths will be 10-20 years down the line. Start mapping your career by making a 5 year plan. What skill sets do you want to acquire? What do you want to learn more about?

3. Advance Your Career Through Investing In Yourself

Don’t put yourself on the path where your job will be automated in the next 10 years. Always continue learning and acquiring additional skills. You’ve invested in yourself by attending college, but it doesn’t end there. There are other professional certifications and additional degrees that can significantly increase your earning potential. Investing in yourself in your 20s is easiest when you have fewer responsibilities. This can mean getting your MBA or another Masters degree, getting your CPA, CFA or PMP. It can also mean strengthening your soft skills such as communication skills and leadership skills.

Investing in yourself doesn’t have to cost money. If you work for a large corporation your team likely has money for training and internal training available. Some companies also offer LinkedIn Learning for free or you can subscribe for free for a month. Don’t hesitate to ask your manager about what training options you have available through your company, or what opportunities there are for external training / certifications. If the external training / certifications will help you in your current job your employer may be willing to partially or fully pay for it.

4. Expand Your Network To Unlock Career Opportunities

Unlock career opportunities by expanding your network at your company and within your industry. You’ll be able to learn a lot about their own career journey and learn from their expertise.

It’s incredibly important to find advocates within your company. First, give them a reason to advocate for you by doing a good job. Then, get asked to be put on tough projects. Know that many decisions will be made about your career when you aren’t in the room. Have people who are in that room that will advocate on your behalf. Don’t know who will be in the room? A likely place to start is the head of the division, their right hand, and their human resources business partner.

It’s equally as important to have a network outside your company. You are more likely to get a job through an employee referral and will have even greater odds if the person referring you is one of your sponsors. To build the network external to your company go through your Linked In contacts and see who you’re already connected with from school, neighbors, former coworkers, etc that work in the same industry as you. Then, reach out and ask to grab a coffee to catch up or ask to catch up on the phone. It’s best to periodically connect with your network and not wait until you need a favor.

Once you’ve assessed your current network, strategically network. This means now that you know what gaps you have in your current network, expand your network so that those gaps are filled. Starting with friends of friends or “2nd” connections on LinkedIn are the easiest places to start.

5. Advance Your Career Through Mentors and Sponsors

It’s important to have both mentors and sponsors in order to advance in your career. Mentors will help give you career advice when you don’t know how to navigate a situation and help guide you on topics you discuss. Think of a mentor like a coach. Many companies offer formal mentor programs that you can sign up to be a part of. Career advice is especially important for young professionals because the visibility you have so far is limited. Those with more experience or have greater visibility to the bigger picture can help you dream bigger.

Sponsors will advocate for you to be put on good projects, considered for new roles and for promotions. They will help push you in the right direction, put you in meetings to help you get executive visibility or expand your network. If they ever come to you about a job in their group, or with a referral to another job you know that person is one of your sponsors. The best piece of career advice for young professionals is to get a career sponsor early on.

6. Maintain Your Network

Young professionals spend time building their network. A key piece of career advice for young professionals is to maintain that network. Add connections on LinkedIn. Schedule coffees, lunches and drinks after work with current colleagues. Reach out to classmates that are in your industry often. It’s very easy to lose connections with classmates if you don’t live in the same area and as you get farther out from college. Check in with former colleagues from time to time as well. It takes a lot of effort to establish that sponsorship relationship. These are the connections you should work hardest at maintaining.

If you see an article that someone in your network may find interesting, send it to them. Or, if you have heard that they have a major life event change (such as a promotion, having a child, kid going to college, kid graduating college, etc) reach out and congratulate them. Know their birthday, put it in your calendar and text them happy birthday. Time flies by. Even if it’s been a few years since you’ve connected it won’t feel as out of the blue as you think. Keeping in periodic touch with your network helps maintain your network and keep additional career opportunities open.

7. Say Yes to Attending Workplace Events

It’s important to build relationships at work. When you are invited to team building activities or holiday parties, attend them. If you do travel frequently for work go out for the breakfasts and dinners with the team.

When leaders or peers are traveling into town try to grab a coffee with them or a drink. As you advance in an organization, it’s more likely you travel and have the opportunity to build relationships with the coworkers you travel with. When you’re starting out, unless you are a consultant, it’s unlikely you have this opportunity. You need to create these opportunities for yourself.

Even if you are an introvert, try your best to attend a few work events. Attending for 30 minutes to say a quick hi and mingle is better than not attending at all.

8. Attend Conferences

Conferences provide an excellent opportunity to network and improve your skills. Women’s leadership development conferences will help you network with other women, how to get through barriers in the workplace that affect women and improve soft skills like leadership skills.

Other conferences, like industry conferences, will help you stay on top of the latest industry trends and network with other people in your industry. These conferences provide an excellent way to expand your network into other companies in the industry that you may want to work at one day. These conferences will also help your business acumen in your current job.

Don’t wait to be extended an offer to attend a women’s conference or an industry conference. Research what conferences interest you, find out if your company already sponsors other coworkers to attend and ask your manager if you’d be able to attend. The closer to the conference the less of a chance they will say yes as tickets sometimes sell out the same day they go on sale. But, this will put it on your managers radar that you’re interested in attending and open up the possibility of you attending a conference sooner than later.

9. Dress For the Job You Want

If you want to be a VP, you do not need to dress like a VP from day 1. You do, however, need to dress professionally. Professionally doesn’t mean suit and tie, it depends on how people dress in your office. When you first enter the workforce or if you naturally look “young” it is easy to be mistaken for an intern. Don’t wear something where someone will walk by and think you look sloppy. Spending money on clothes can sometimes be frowned upon, but in the context of work it should really be looked at as an investment (within reason). If you don’t know what to wear, Corporette is a blog focused on professional wardrobes and there are plenty of ideas on Pinterest as well.

You can buy nice work outfits from TJ Maxx or buy second hand and look professional. If work gives you a laptop bag with your laptop use that for a bit while you’re getting on your feet. From there, take advantage of Black Friday shopping at the outlets for a nice black tote bag. You do not need to start day 1 (or even year 2) with a Tory Burch or Goyard tote bag.

10. Figure Out What Work You Don’t Enjoy

The first decade of your career is as much about figuring out what you don’t like as figuring out what you do like. Do you want to be a manager or individual contributor? What projects do you like and what projects do you hate? Where would you never want to live? You don’t have to have this all figured out. But, you do need to begin to get a better understanding of what brings you joy, and what doesn’t. The best way to do this is to continuously try new things and step out of your comfort zone.

Hopefully you can find passion in your work and your job isn’t just a paycheck. If you aren’t passionate about what you do learn what you don’t like and what are areas you do enjoy. This will help you identify your next career move that you’ll find more happiness in.

Understanding what you don’t enjoy will help narrow the list to help you find your true calling.

See Also: Smart Money Moves in Your 20s

Career Advice for Young Professionals Summary

Set yourself up for success with this career advice for young professionals. Start by hustling at your job and make a 5 year plan. Continue investing in your education and network, network, network. Find a few mentors and sponsors to help coach you and advocate for you. Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Lastly, don’t forget to learn more about what you like and what you don’t like.

What career advice do you recommend for young professionals? What do you wish you knew when you were just starting your career?