Here’s some career advice you’ll want to copy, paste, print out and laminate.
It comes via former First Lady, sometime Secretary of State and possible presidential candidate Hillary Clinton when she sat down with US Glamour magazine to talk about dealing with sexism and the expectation of perfection.
She also gave some kick arse career advice.
Here are five of our favourite quotes.
1. Don’t underestimate the value of putting your head down, and getting the job done.
“I will say, keeping your head down and doing the best job you can in the beginning gives you the opportunity to be evaluated on the basis of the contributions you are making. I often would listen more than talk in my early meetings with people…. [Then], when you feel strongly about your work or about a position, you’ll be given more attention [than] if you hadn’t done that constantly.”
2. Know when you need to speak up – and practice doing it.
“At the same time, you cannot be afraid to present yourself. And sometimes that takes practice. If you’re not comfortable with public speaking—and nobody starts out comfortable, you have to learn how to be comfortable—practice. I cannot overstate the importance of practicing. Get some close friends or family members to help evaluate you, or somebody at work that you trust.”
3. It’s okay to ask for help.
“I’m a big believer in that, because I don’t think any of us have the answers to everything. There’s no human being on earth who fits that category. So why wouldn’t you ask for help? Why wouldn’t you run ideas by people that you respect? Too many young people cast around trying to figure out what the answer is themselves, because they’re afraid to come back and say, “I’m not sure I understood you,” or “Could you give me a little more information about what you need?” Just do that. It saves you time, it saves your boss’s or mentor’s time. And it’s a great lesson to learn.”
4. Don’t let perfectionism get in the way of getting the job done.
“I think that for many women in the public eye, it just seems that the burden is so heavy. We’re doing a job that is not a celebrity job or an entertainment or fashion job…. In a professional setting, treat us as professionals…. [And] it takes a lot of time. I’ve often laughed with my male colleagues, like, ‘What did you do? You took a shower, you combed your hair, you put your clothes on. I couldn’t do that.’
“And I think this…”perfectionist gene” that too many young women have holds them back, and instead they should be really aiming for “good enough.” You don’t have to be perfect. Most men never think like that. They’re just trying to figure out what’s the opening and how they can seize it. They’re not thinking about, Oh my gosh, I’m not perfect, my hair’s not perfect today, I wore the wrong shoes. No.”
5. Form personal relationships in your professional life.
“The people-to-people level is critical. It is ironic, though—we can text with anybody in the world, we can have a videoconference with anybody in the world, but [there should be] an even higher premium on showing up and getting to know someone. Looking them in the eye, listening to them, trying to understand where they’re coming from…. When I became secretary of state, I felt one of my primary jobs was building relationships around the world. And I did spend a lot of time and effort thinking through, ‘How do I connect with this person?’”
The full Glamour interview is available through their app at the moment, and in the September issue of the magazine.
What is the best piece of career advice you’ve ever received? What advice would you give someone else if you had the chance?
Check out some of Hillary’s best quotes below.
Top Comments
Finally advice that is real and new, so much of the other so called inspirational advice is stuff that we have heard a million times before, eg believe in yourself, yes I agree important but it's nice to actually hear new advice. I liked her point about perfectionism, no one has stated it quite like that before, because guys mostly just aim for being neat and tidy, even the really well groomed ones probably wouldn't be bothered if their outfit wasn't a fashion template, just this morning I realised I had put the wrong lipstick on, I was annoyed with myself but was in a hurry and my lipstick is one of those industrial strength ones so not easy to remove (except of course when I want it to stay on). I was a little irked by this abc thought my perfect outfit ruined but I had a million other things to do. My hair wasn't great either. As it turned out received a lovely compliment today about how well I did my job. I have a very busy job so if I focused on my appearance all the time it would be less time on the important stuff in my job or alternatively less time sleeping! But today even with the nice compliment I felt a little substandard because of my not so perfect appearance, so thanks Hilary for getting it into perspective for me.
Love Hill!