This is the sixteenth piece in our twenty-part series on how to accelerate your career in your twenties and this time we’re talking about mentoring. Some roles will automatically assign a mentor figure - someone you can speak to about your concerns at work in order to be more effective in your role. While this is increasingly common in larger organisations, it’s not always a given. Even if you have been ‘assigned’ a mentor, there’s no harm in taking advice from other sources as and when you need it.

This is the fourteenth piece in our twenty-part series on how to accelerate your career in your twenties and this time we’re talking about weaknesses. We all have them. Most of us are happy to talk about our strengths, but weaknesses are something that most of us would rather forget. The thing is, that can actually be counterproductive when it comes to getting on in your career. Knowing your strengths is important, but it could be argued that knowing your limitations and weaknesses is even more vital. Here’s why…

This is the thirteenth post in our twenty-part series on how to accelerate your career in your twenties, and this time we’re focusing on reliability. We touched on some elements of this in our article on commitment, but the importance of demonstrating reliability cannot be overstated. You want to be a rock for your colleagues - being so will earn you a great deal of kudos and respect. However, you should also respect your own shortcomings and say in advance when you might be about to let someone down.

This is the twelfth article in our twenty-part series on how to accelerate your career in your twenties, and this time we’re talking about how failure can sometimes be a good thing. We all make mistakes from time to time, but one of the things that defines us is our ability to learn from them. In fact, many would argue that success can’t be reached without a few failures along the way - we shouldn’t think of ‘failure’ as such a negative word. All it means is that we tried something that didn’t quite work, in order to find out what does work. Even science is built on this very premise.

This is the eleventh article in our twenty-part series on how to accelerate your career in your twenties, and today we’re talking about commitment. In other words, always following through on promises and finishing what you start. The last thing you want to do is gain a reputation for being a ‘non-finisher’. As you get on in your career, you’ll find that this reputation becomes increasingly hard to shake off, so don’t start down that road. This doesn’t necessarily mean giving up all of your free time to finish a task because you’ve over-promised - it’s more about being open and honest with yourself and your colleagues.

This is the tenth article in our twenty-part series on how to accelerate your career in your twenties, and this time we’re focusing on the art of communication. Communication skills are vastly underappreciated in most workplaces. Many of us get through day-to-day work life without really thinking about how we communicate, but it really does penetrate every aspect of who we are and what we do. Whether you’re sitting at a desk typing emails, making phone calls or working face-to-face with people in a group, how we put ourselves forward can have a huge impact on our careers. 

This is the ninth article in our twenty-part series on how to accelerate your career in your twenties and it's all about analysing your strengths and weaknesses. We all want to perform well in our roles at work. If you’re a twenty-something trying to make your way in a busy working environment, you should absolutely use your initiative and play to your strengths wherever possible. At this stage in your career, it’s okay to make mistakes so long as you can rectify them and learn from them. However, a big part of knowing your own strengths and value lies in understanding your weaknesses.

This is the eighth article in our twenty-part series on how to accelerate your career in your twenties and it's all about leadership. There are no doubt people in your workplace that make leading look easy. Those managers and supervisors who can effortlessly direct projects and motivate people to meet deadlines. That’s because part of being a good leader is acting well under pressure and being able to handle the responsibility of crucial deadlines. Chances are, these people in your company have been honing these skills for decades, so where does that leave you as a twenty-something who’s still relatively new to their job? Here’s a secret: you don’t need to be in a superior position of authority to be a leader.

This is the seventh article in our twenty-part series on how to accelerate your career in your twenties and it's all about playing well in a team. In past posts we’ve covered networking, thought leadership and the importance of good planning, but none of this matters if you don’t have the collaborative mindset to work well in a group.