10 Career Lessons I Wish Someone Had Told Me Before

04 Mar 2025 #career

Over 10 years ago, I was fired from my first job.

I worked as an entry-level software engineer. I learned a lot from that job. I had to learn about coding and to make my way through the corporate world while growing my career.

Coding was the easy part. I had books, courses, and tutorials for that. But to survive the corporate world? Not so much. I had to figure it out on my own, with lots of trial and error, and yes, getting fired.

Here are 10 career lessons I wish someone had told me over 10 years ago:

1. Be ready to leave your job at any time

A 9-5 is never safe.

You could lose your job at any time for reasons you don’t control. Yesterday? A pandemic, global crisis, recession, and high interest rates. Today? DOGE and AI. Tomorrow? Who knows.

Be ready to leave:

• Grow your professional network
• Keep your “tell me about yourself muscles” in shape
• Have an emergency fund to cover a few months of expenses

When you’re let go, you’ll have options, not just panic.

2. An online presence is your best CV and portfolio

CVs are so last century.

I wasn’t hired directly for my first job. I was hired under a staffing company. My salary passed from another couple of hands before getting into my bank account. Of course, they took a good chunk of it.

One day, I had to visit the office of the staffing company for some paperwork. Next to the main door, there was a sign: “Put your CV here.” It was a trash bin.

Well, the same type of receptacle offices used as trash bins. I guess it saved them the struggle of piling up and throwing away all the CVs from desperate people looking for a minimum wage job. They were already on a trash bin. That day, I knew the system was broken.

Ditch your CV and appear professionally anywhere online.

3. Pay raises won’t change an unfulfilling job

Vacations and pay raises won’t help you when you don’t want to get out of bed.

If Monday mornings are torture, or even worse, if Sunday evenings are also torture, you don’t need vacations. You need a way out of your job.

Trust me, I got burned out. And not wanting to get out of bed was the first sign I failed to notice. I learned it the hard way.

Find something that excites you to get up every morning.

4. Hoping and praying is a bad career strategy

Make a career plan and always have an exit route for every job.

OK, a career plan sounds like a lot of commitment, especially when we’re just starting. Let’s say, set an intention for your career. Do you want money, connections, recognition, travel opportunities, etc.?

Otherwise, society will give you its plan: work hard, get 3% yearly raises, please your bosses, keep your head down, then wait to retire.

5. Soft skills are more important than hard skills

Being good at coding, writing, or designing will give you a job, but being good at communication will give you promotions.

Your success depends on how good you are at communicating, managing, and coordinating people. I’m paraphrasing a lesson I learned from How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Work on your soft skills.

6. Detach your sense of meaning from your work

Being a “Senior Software Engineer” was my only identity.

My career was probably the most important part of my life. It was what gave me money and a sense of meaning.

Until I was laid off.

Suddenly, after one Zoom meeting, the title and the things I did with it were gone. It shook my world. That was the only thing I thought I enjoyed.

I had to learn I’m not a title. I’m more than a job. “Senior Software Engineer” was just a label I decided to accept. I was more than that.

You’re more than a job title.

7. Don’t be the only one doing something at work

It feels so good when you’re the only one who knows or does something.

But that’s a trap. Being the “only one” makes you a hero. And a hero can’t get sick, go on vacation, or be promoted. A hero is always stuck.

Don’t turn yourself into a hero. Teach, automate, or document what you only know or do.

Don’t be a hero. Be a team player.

8. Find mentors but don’t ask anyone to be your mentor

I put “Senior” in my title after one or two years of working next to the right people at one of my first jobs.

They taught me in just one year way more than what I learned in the next 5 years after I left that job.

A good mentor or role model can help you advance in your career faster.

But don’t ask anyone to be your mentor. Don’t drop the M-word. “Would you be my mentor?” That’s a strong ask. It implies commitment from one side more than the other. Often for free.

Find ways to learn from your role models without the M-word. Find not-mentors.

9. Two years is the tipping point for growth at a company

I’ve stayed too long at stagnant jobs and I regretted it.

I lost years, thousands of dollars an let some of my skills get rusty.

At one place, I stayed too long waiting for my chance. I tried to convince upper management I deserved a promotion. All the seats were taken. Every one of my ideas for roles was rejected. “Somebody is kind of already doing that.”

If after two or three years of doing good work, you don’t get a raise or a promotion, don’t wait any longer. You’re at the wrong place. Move on.

You’re leaving money on the table by staying too long at the same place.

10. You will be remembered by your attitude, not by your work

The long hours, the impeccable report, the great presentation. Nobody will remember them.

They will remember your answers in meetings, your willingness to help others, your treatment of clients.

Being easy to work with will pay off in your career. That’s the easiest way to stand out at work and to leave a lasting impression.

Remember, as Robert Martin said in the Clean Coder, “your career is your responsibility, not your employer’s.”