Oxford Brookes University

Five great nuggets of advice to kickstart your career.

Last week I joined a number of Oxford Brookes University alumni to share our career experiences with an audience of management graduate students. All of my co-panellists spoke eloquently about their transition from study to employment and the myriad of opportunities they encountered along the way. 

In doing so, each had a little nugget or two of advice to offer the students setting out on their career paths of the future. Here are five worth considering:

1) Find the job you would do for free and build a career around it. 
I wrote a broader post about how to figure this out here. Starting out I just wanted to be a chef, but that lead to patisserie, then to restaurants, then to cooking demonstrations and TV, then consultancy, then management, then marketing, then social media and here we are. Back to you. Although the scenery may have changed, my vehicle was always hospitality and it was fueled by my desire to create great guest experiences. And guess what? I do it at home for free when we throw a dinner party.

2) Travel, learn a language and immerse yourself in other cultures.
Immerse yourself in other cultures
Try and do this while you are young and independent, because later in your career you will be swayed by other commitments which will talk you out of it. And why is this experience so important? At some stage you will be required to lead a team and understanding how we communicate will be fundamental in getting the best from your team. As Peter Drucker once said "Culture eats strategy for breakfast". You can put all the plans you like in place, but if the culture of your team, company or customers are not aligned with that plan, then you are setting yourself up for failure. Talking of which..

3) Embrace failure, learn from it and move on quickly.
We all have setbacks in our lives, but it is how we react and deal with them that sets us apart. If you can demonstrate your ability to bounce back from failure, you will show up on the radar of senior management or investors. Many, if not all of the greatest business leaders have been through some form of life changing setback which made them stronger and more measured as a result. Did you know Richard Branson has dyslexia? There's a fascinating article about some famous adversities here.

4) Be yourself, but bring your 'A' game.
Nobody is as well reahearsed at being unique as you are. If you're still trying to figure out certain aspects of who you want to be, don't worry. Most people are. Try and work with people you respect, learn about people you admire and don't be afraid to emulate their mannerisms, behaviours and thinking. However at some point you have to arrive at the person YOU ARE. When that day comes, you will have gained a huge advantage on many of your colleagues and competitors. (Bonus tip: also don't forget you can learn from the people you dislike about the kind of person you DON'T want to be. An equally important distinction.) As for your 'A' game - that simply means work hard, play hard. Make sure however that you know the distinction, because confusing the two is where most of the energy will be sucked out of your career on that ladder to success.


5) Don't underestimate loyalty, respect and determination.
These should be qualities you display and qualities you seek out in the people you work with. Sometimes you are faced with making a decision where you might appear to be letting someone down (leaving a job, re-locating, turning down a promotion etc). But if the overriding verdict was out of loyalty or respect for someone else, or as part of your determination to grow as a person or leader, then the other party will respect the outcome. A simple question to evaluate this thought process is to ask yourself: Is this the best I can do? Business leaders know they can teach tasks, duties and processes, but they can't 'teach' integrity. That comes built in as part of your character. Bring that as part of your 'A' Game and the road will rise to meet your journey.


These are just five. If you have any other qualities, characteristics or nuggets of advice to offer someone starting out in their career, please take a minute to write a small comment below. Who knows how inspirational that might be to someone.


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A simple question to help you find your dream job.

Last week I put a simple question to an audience of 150 management graduates at Oxford Brookes University during their annual 'Focus on Careers' eventFor me, it is one of the most powerful ways to evaluate your career and life goals, and since the answer constantly changes as our dreams and aspirations do, it is worth revisiting every now and then whether you are starting out, stuck in a rut or responding to changes of circumstance.

"If you couldn't believe you were being paid to do a job - a job you loved doing so much you would do it for free - what job would that be?"


This conundrum was first put to me a couple of years ago by BaxterStorey's Director of Sales, Simon Esner, who was my business mentor at the time. It was a proud moment to see Simon being crowned UK Sales Director of the Year in the National Sales Awards last week, so for me he embodies the very notion of what it means to have that elusive 'dream job'.

The question caught me off-guard at the time and consequently my answer to him was not a wholly satisfactory one, but not for the reasons you might think. The truth is I've had all of those jobs. The so-called dream job has been ticked off my list so many times, it's ridiculous. In any case, it was for this reason I had sought out his advice in the first place. Over the last three years I have been on a personal journey of introspection to find that elusive next one - the one job I'd do for free if money was no object! - and I needed his help in uncovering what it might be.

Of course you might be wondering why so many, if each one was such a so-called dream job. The thing I've learned about landing a dream job is that it's the journey to get there that makes it special, not the destination. Every time I felt I had 'arrived' (perhaps even getting slightly too comfortable in the role), I knew it was time to dream up another and go chase that. 

As I looked out across my audience, I couldn't help but notice the sheer abundance of potential that illuminated those fresh-faced management graduates. Each of them no doubt has a compelling idea of what their road to success might look like, but many will face setbacks and disappointments along the way. When (not if) this happens, they will feel the worst possible frustration, but I have found that these situations arise to point us towards new avenues of opportunity. And very often we find ourselves in a far more exciting place than if we'd planned for it.


Networking with some great people during the 'Focus on Careers' event at Oxford Brookes University


So consider again the question: if money was no object, what job would you do to fill your day?

If you think of a compass as showing you true North, then your answer to this simple evaluation will point you toward your true happiness and long term success. I've recently landed my new 'Dream Job' and can't wait to get started.

If you are doing what you feel is your dream job, please share your story in the comments below. If you're still looking, then I wish you every success in finding it and hope you can appreciate and enjoy the journey it takes you on. 


Please feel free to leave a comment. And if you enjoyed reading this you may like other related posts listed below. To receive future posts don't forget to subscribe via email (just enter your email above), or by RSS, or why not follow me on twitter @mykitchensync.