💼 Hey Kelly: "What are your top career tips?"
I've got some opinions and not all of them are popular.
Hello and welcome to another Hey Kelly. Today’s question was a short one, but a big one: “What are your top career tips?”
Now, I’ll try to make my answer as career-agnostic as possible, but do bear in mind that I’ve worked in content creation/editing for about 10 years. Before that, I was a TEFL teacher. Before that, I worked customer service jobs at Malta’s only bowling alley. Yes, the shoes were a bit smelly and some customers were awful.
One lady threatened to ‘tell my manager’ and ‘get me fired’ because she didn’t like having a lane next to a large group of kids with special needs. I was 16. Good times.
Moving on. Let’s get into my top tips as a left-leaning creative with a low tolerance for BS.
💜 Remember, you are not your job
But it does take up a significant amount of time week to week. If you’re spending about 40 hours a week doing anything, you best believe it’s impacting you mentally and physically. What matters is whether that impact is good or bad.
I’ll give you a personal example. One morning I realised that every week, I’d wake up with a tight chest and nausea—anxiety. Then, I noticed that I’d been feeling that way, give or take some depressive moods, for a while. My motivation was gone. My confidence in my abilities was in the toilet. That’s a clear sign that something needed to change, and I knew that if the company or my manager weren’t going to change (spoiler: they weren’t, even when I expressed what was going on and what I needed in terms of support), then I had to. So, I left. And it felt like a combination of clouds clearing and shaking a heavy backpack off after a long trek.
Doing good work and excelling in your career is great, but nothing on this planet is worth your physical or mental health. If it costs you your peace, it’s too expensive.
💰 Always negotiate
There’s a great expression I’ve learnt since living in the North East, and that’s ‘shy bairns get nowt’. It means the same thing as ‘no risk, no reward’, just more charming. Or at least I’m sure it is when it’s not in my mangled accent.
Whether it's your initial offer or a pay raise, negotiation is key. Even if the offer seems good, there's almost always room for improvement. When it comes to negotiating salary, look at the market rates for your role, then factor in things like how many years of experience you have, and the unique things you bring to the table.
But remember, you're not just negotiating salary; consider other perks like flexible hours, professional development funds, or stock options.
💷 Don’t be afraid to talk money
That goes for negotiating your salary or pay rise and for talking about what you earn with your peers. Some companies will discourage you from doing this, but they legally can’t stop you, not even if they try to write something to that effect into your contract.
Keeping this kind of thing under wraps only makes it easier for big companies to underpay people (including you).
🤫 Apologise less
Only apologise if you’ve wronged someone or if you think you might be interrupting them. You’re a strong independent person and you’re not going to whimper in the corner saying ‘sorry’ for no good reason, right? Do not apologise for things like:
asking a question
requesting time off
needing sick leave
needing more sick leave than anticipated
reacting appropriately to a toxic/chaotic situation
creating healthy boundaries
turning down after-work drinks
not attending meetings outside your contracted hours
Under this little umbrella, I’d like to include that it’s okay to not include a single solitary emoji or smiley face in your emails.
I think women tend to do this a bit more than men, primarily because of that societal pressure to seem warm and approachable, give us a smile darlin’—all that good stuff we’re collectively tired of. I’m still weaning myself off the insidious smiley at the end of a perfectly pleasant email. It’s a journey.
🧾 Keep the receipts
I’ve had some pretty ridiculous ‘professional’ conversations in my time in the corporate realm. But it’s only recently that I learnt a great tip: document everything, especially the conversations that don’t sit right with you.
I’m talking screenshots, email follow-ups outlining key parts of the conversation, and recordings if you have them. Keep. Those. Receipts.
📣 Speak up
If something doesn’t sit right with you, speak up. This could mean having a private chat with your line manager or their superior (a 'skip level' meeting).
Remember to document these conversations (keep the receipts!). If you don’t think it’s worth speaking up for yourself, consider that there’s a pretty good chance that if something’s bothering you, it’s bothering someone else, too.
🙅🏻♀️ Say ‘no’
I love saying ‘no’. I don’t mean it in the sense of being obstinate, or unhelpful. I mean saying no to work way outside my remit and pay grade; saying no to out-of-hours meetings; no to unrealistic deadlines and unqualified opinions on things you’re beyond qualified to do.
Saying 'no’ in life and in work is an important part of protecting your energy. You just need to be civil about it. Here are some choice phrases you can use to push back on things at work:
“This meeting falls outside my working hours, so I’m unable to attend. But do feel free to send me any action points that come up.”
“Sounds like an interesting project, but I don’t have space for this in my queue at the moment. Is there room to move the deadline?”
“I unfortunately don’t have the capacity for this right now. My colleague [Name] might be able to support on this instead, though.”
“I’m a bit booked up with other priorities right now. If there’s no wiggle room on the deadline, could you catch up with [name of manager/project manager] to discuss which of my priorities can be moved to accommodate this?”
🌟 Stick to your values
A lot of people, particularly in the corporate space, seem comfortable compromising their beliefs or values in favour of climbing up that golden ladder. And for some, that might work just fine.
But this approach does not sit right with me. I also think it can be damaging to yourself and those around you if you’re willing to trade in your values for…what, exactly? The fleeting approval of a VP? A shoutout on a massive company call? I’ve seen people give everything to a company only to be made redundant after 10 years of service. Not sure that’s a good deal.
It’s also okay to leave if you join a company because it seems to align with your values, only to discover a well of hypocrisy under the surface. As with people, actions mean a lot more than nice words. Believe both people and companies when they show you what they are.
🤬 Never email angry
If something’s got you in a tizzy, it’s okay to write your email while you’re still a little pissed off—just don’t hit ‘send’. Get up, go for a walk, maybe grab a cup of coffee and a biscuit. When you return to your desk, either re-write or edit the email so it’s a little more neutral.
Take it from a reformed hothead. Honestly, very little is worth getting worked up and starting a passive-aggressive war over in life, and it’s even less worth it if it’s work-related. Go for the path that will give you the easiest life. But if someone consistently disrespects you or makes it difficult to do your job, raise it with your line manager.
Got career tips of your own? Share them in a comment to help other readers!
Super SUPER tips Kelly ♥️ as someone who’s been working “corporate” all her life, this is exactly right. Thank you 🙏