Career Advice for Christian Twenty-Somethings
As I’m nearing my thirties and advancing in my career as an attorney, I’m getting more opportunities to encourage younger women coming up behind me in the workplace. So, if you’re a working twenty-something, here are five of my top 29 pieces of advice for Christian women who work (you can read the remaining 24 tips here!)
If you don’t speak up for yourself, no one will
If you go through life expecting people to notice you and reward you for your hard work; or to take the time to ask you about your career goals; or to make adjustments on your behalf to better align your work with your career goals, then you might be waiting for a long time. Passive career progression is slow and often grows stagnant.
If there is a certain project you want to try or an internal position you’re interested in, speak up about your interest and ask for the opportunity to try those things out. When your annual performance review comes up, have a list prepared of your major accomplishments. It’s not bragging but proving a matter of fact measurement of the value you provide to the company.
And if you’re miserable in your job and it is within the employer’s ability to resolve the issue, speak up! What your bosses don’t know, they can’t help you with, so stay vocal about your career goals and your accomplishments. Stay humble, but don’t be passive or silent.
Say yes to new work projects and opportunities
Asked to do a client presentation? Say yes. Your boss waiting for someone to volunteer to take the task no one else wants to do? Raise your hand and take it on. Even if you have no idea what you’re doing, you’ll figure it out as you go. Do it scared. This is how we learn and grow.
Besides, the perk of taking these chances and learning opportunities early on is that people already have low expectations for you when you’re still young in your career, so it is more acceptable to make mistakes, fail and to ask a ton of questions as you learn on the go.
Informational interviews are always a good idea
Your twenties are for discovering the work you’re good at and what you enjoy doing. Job hopping is one way to do this, but there is an even better way to explore job and career options: informational interviews. Basically, it’s a chance for you to sit down with a person who has the job that interests you (or works for a company/profession/industry you want to work in) and to ask more about what they do and how you can get there. I find that these are best done over coffee (offer to pay for their coffee though!).
Don’t be afraid to ask questions
If you don’t understand the assignment you’ve been given, ask clarifying questions. Also, always ask when your boss would like the project done by and how they prefer the final deliverable to look like (printed or emailed? What formatting and length, if it’s written?). As you work, compile your questions and then find a moment to talk to your boss and ask your questions all at once.
Note, make sure you’ve first tried every possible way to find the answer (Google it, ask a coworker, look at prior projects as examples, etc..), because there is nothing more frustrating as a supervisor than when someone asks you a question they could have easily Googled.
Dress for the job you want
Most workplaces today have moved to casual dress, but instead of looking at how your peers dress, look at how the person who has your dream job dresses and emulate that. Maintain your own personal style to a degree, but in terms of level of formality, look up the corporate hierarchy and strive for that.
When I was at PwC, we moved to “smart casual” which meant most people wore jeans to the office unless they had a client meeting. One of the managers though still always wore slacks and a dress shirt. When I asked him why, he explained that this is what the partners on the client wore and because he was always dressed ready to meet a client, he was always asked to participate in client meetings over a manager that wore jeans that day and couldn’t change in time to make a meeting.
Plus, for me personally, I just work differently when I am dressed in professional clothes and feel put together. Also, please dress modestly to work! No one wants to be known as the woman who wears clothes that are too tight or too revealing!
When you give advice to other women, what’s at the top of your list? We’d love to hear in the comments below!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yelena is the founder and editor in chief Tirzah. Yelena works as an attorney in tax and in her spare time, she is working on her first book for unmarried twenty-something women in extended waiting seasons and running Tirzah. She has a passion for pointing young women to Christ, and enjoys reading, writing, traveling, and spending time with her family.