Good advice can be simple, practical, inspiring, thought-provoking or even life-changing. Some of the best advice I ever received:
- It’s never too late to completely change your career path. Our hobbies and interests change and so do our values and priorities. It’s okay to change your job to fit your current situation.
- It’s okay to not know the answer to an interview question. Just be honest and communicate that you are eager to learn (this was particularly helpful in technical interviews).
- Work should fit your life, not the other way round. If you have to change everything about your life to fit your work, it may not be for you.
The worst advice was to apply for every single position even remotely related to what I wanted to do to increase my chances of finding a job (even if it’s not a job I wanted). It’s too difficult to keep track of so many applications, it becomes too stressful and your work is too important to compromise for the first position you’re offered. I think it’s better to apply for fewer positions but ones that you are truly interested in and dedicate more time to a few high-quality applications.
Please share what was the best and worst piece of career advice you’ve ever received. I’m particularly interested in what piece of advice helped you land a job in Data Science!
