By Wade G. Morgan
A series from Wade’s LinkedIn campaign, #HowIGotThere, to share tips centered on principles he believes has helped him advance in his career. His hope is that someone else finds them valuable, or knows someone to share them with. He recognizes that not all of these tips will apply to all people, and some may feel uncomfortable. That said, these are all tactics he’s employed at various times throughout his career.
Principle: Do your best with what you have
Tactic: Reframe experiences in the ways most in line with the work you want to do
Reason: We don’t always receive the opportunities we want. With the ones we receive, we always have the opportunity to tailor it to become as close as possible to the work we want to do.
For example, let’s say you wanted to secure a marketing internship, but were unsuccessful. How can you frame the current activities you are doing in a light most similar to marketing? Are you in a club at school? Does that club throw events and need attendees? Can you create a framework, industry-relevant KPIs, activation strategies, etc. to improve the events, and speak to that work in your subsequent interviews?
Alternatively, maybe you landed a role, but not exactly the work you wanted to do. How can you succeed in that role while creating work that aligns with your ultimate goal?
In a perfect world, you land the exact gig you wanted. If you don’t, people will be impressed by your ability to assess your situation and do your best with what you had.
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Wade G. Morgan is a writer, speaker, Account Executive at Airtable, and former member of LinkedIn’s Business Leadership Program, a rotational program for early-in-career talent. He is passionate about leadership, athletics, entrepreneurship, and tech, and loves helping people and organizations reach their potential.
For more info, check out his LinkedIn profile, previous articles, follow him on Twitter at @wadegmorgan, or visit his website, www.wadegmorgan.com.
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