6 Career Resources That Will Make You A Tour De Force In The Workplace
They say to truly attain success in your career, you need to be confident. However, the problem for me for a long time was that success is what gave me confidence. It took a long time for me to feel sure of myself in the workplace without having a ton of “success” at first, and I had the sense that I was faking it during my first couple of years in the industry as a designer. Since graduating, I’ve come a long way from the timid entry-level employee I once was. I’ve learned to advocate for myself, speak with confidence, work more efficiency, and have gained a great deal of knowledge about my craft — all of which have supplied me with confidence to do my work better, and view myself more positively.
In college, I used to work at the on-campus career center as a peer career advisor (LOL). Looking back, it’s hilarious to me that I did this, because I was just as lost as my fellow peers whom I was advising. I changed majors twice, switching from marketing to art therapy and from art therapy to graphic design + literature. I studied abroad as an excuse to take literature classes from professors who sounded like the ones out of the Harry Potter movies. I spent more time my freshmen and sophomore year pondering my place in the universe rather than actually doing anything concrete to secure my “place” in it. I was confused and lost, and not super confident about having to embark on a #career that was looming ever closer.
However, over time I began to learn what I was good at and tried to fuse together the things I enjoyed doing the most with opportunities to make money. I found ways to build my confidence, got better at accepting my failures without letting them derail me, and surrounded myself with good hard-working friends who pushed me to be better.
I wanted the focus of this post to be about how one can maximize their time working to achieve their goals within the career path they’ve laid out for themselves. For me, I believe that confidence, tenacity, and a strong work ethic are at the very foundation of success. I’ve learned that there is a power in knowledge, an asset that no one can take away from you, which supplies you with more confidence than you might imagine. When I truly honed in on my job skills and discovered the resources that helped me do my job better, I grew infinitely more confident.
Each day, I work to maximize my ability to live my best life and fine tune the qualities and characteristics I know will help me in my career — and there are so many resources on the internet that have helped me do this. Over the last few months, I’ve taken more time than I ever have in my life to read articles about starting your own business, being an entrepreneur, and the value in not giving up when things are tough. Whether you work at an office or at home, these insights can shape the way you think about what you do and how well you (think) you do it. It also opens your mind to the improvements you can make, and where you can fill in gaps.
There have been a number of great resources, articles, and websites, that I frequently visit that have helped me build up the kind of extensive (but by NO means exhaustive) knowledge base that makes me feel more confident and secure. I’ve listed a few of my go-to websites below, which serve as mini libraries of insightful careers tips, advice, and wonderful stories and spotlights on women in business, which inspire me to do better.
The Everygirl/ Career + Finance
Top 100 Career Websites For Woman (Forbes Resource)
In keeping down that path of helpful career-themed readings on the internet, here are some of the best career advice articles that have helped me infinitely.
- 10 Career Tips For A 20-Something
- The “20-Something” Myths That Stall Your Career (And How To Stop Them)
- 10 Career Tips For 20-Something-Year-Olds
- The 31 Best Pieces Of Career Advice For Young Woman
- Readers’ Advice For Young Woman In The Workplace
- 3 Tips For Young Women — How To Maximize Your Early Career Years
- Young Woman Entrepreneurs Offer Some Career Advice To Their Peers
- 5 Pieces Of Career Advice For Women Tech Entrepreneurs
- How To Ask For A Raise — And Actually Get One
- The 20 People Skills You Need To Success In The Workplace
- 5 Ways To Create Your Value At The Workplace
I’ve learned that it’s up to me to take my career in the direction I want it to go, and that I cannot let someone else determine my value and worth. The more information I have, the more confident I become, which ultimately leads to smarter decisions being made. Although it took me a long time to feel like I could really grasp what it was that made me happy in my working life, I know that rushing to have it all figured out isn’t the answer. It’s the process of learning, failing, and persisting through difficulties is what really shapes your path.
