Five Australian creatives on the best career advice they’ve received
IMAGE VIA @__MMAXINEWYLDE/INSTAGRAM
WORDS BY GITIKA GARG
Words of wisdom shared.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but from what I’ve learned everyone loves to give advice. Whether it be your mum, aunt, boss or the random guy at the shopping centre – everyone has some pearls of wisdom to offer up.
But sometimes people’s advice really sticks, like those cheesy anonymous Tumblr quotes you knew by heart at age 14. Many of us rely on advice to steer us through tricky situations and difficult decision-making, and when it comes to our careers, these words of wisdom can act as a guiding mantra.
For more advice like this, browse through our Life section.
Curious to hear (and hopefully learn from) what others have been told, I asked some of my favourite Australian creatives to reveal the best career advice they’ve received. From being the most authentic version of yourself to doing what you enjoy, there is much to take away from the wealth of knowledge they have accrued.
Maxine Wylde, content creator
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What’s the best career advice you’ve received?
When you feel lost, go back to who you are, your foundations, your essence, your beliefs and reflect on whether or not your path and actions are aligned to those things.
Who gave it to you?
A mentor at a previous job I worked in the music industry. I feel like although it was a different industry to the one I’m in now, the essence of it applies across our whole life.
How has it helped you?
It has helped me realise in times when things seemed to be crumbling or going a bit south, that it was most likely something that wasn’t 100 per cent aligned with who I am. It has helped me understand that it probably wasn’t meant for me and [know that] those things that are meant for me will always find their way to me. Keeping this advice in the back of my mind helps me find peace in the way things play out in my life and have faith that as long as I’m aligned with my true self, I’ll always be on the right path.
Any other notes?
I’ve found that when I stopped trying to be what I thought people wanted me to be, I found true success and happiness. You have a unique viewpoint, experiences and thoughts that no one else can offer – embrace that and share it with the world.
Hana Hong, freelance content specialist
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What’s the best career advice you’ve received?
Find a job you enjoy.
Who gave it to you?
My visa agent. When I first came to Australia, I was really stressed out about my visa and I was thinking about changing my career path to education or [becoming] a chef to get a visa easily. I honestly didn’t want to do this but there was no way to get a visa with the work I did.
The visa agent knew that it wasn’t right for me. She told me to do what I like instead of doing something that I don’t like just for a visa. That way even if I change my mind to go back to Korea at least I wouldn’t think I wasted my time here.
How has it helped you?
It gave me a lot of new opportunities. Had I decided to do something that I didn’t like, I wouldn’t have been passionate about it and [I wouldn’t be] doing very well either. But because I do what I enjoy, I have become better at what I’m doing and it has [led to] so many new opportunities – working with [my] favourite brands, being featured in [my] favourite fashion magazine, meeting interesting people, etc.
Any other notes?
Finding a job that you enjoy is first. But the second most important thing to consider is whether you are good at it or not. Doing something you like but you’re not that good at is a hobby. To make something you like a career, you’ll have to improve your skills and be really good at it.
Gemma Lyndon, founder of Raie Eyewear
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What’s the best career advice you’ve received?
The best career advice I have received was [to] enjoy doing what you love and the money will follow.
Who gave it to you?
My old boss gave me this advice.
How has it helped you?
It helped me, as if you put all of your creative energy and passion into truly doing something you love (e.g design and marketing), customers see this as a final product and this, in turn, creates sales. Letting your brand and flair shine through your products rather than following the trends really makes a point of difference [that] people are willing to pay for.
AJ Clementine, model and author of Girl Transcending
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What’s the best career advice you’ve received?
The best career advice I’ve received is to have the courage to stand out and do what you love despite what anybody says.
Who gave it to you?
My Aunty Zeny – she is like a lola (grandma) to me.
How has it helped you?
It’s helped me to be passionate, to remind myself of who I am and to be grounded in what I stand for.
Annie Carroll, publicist and founder of In Prose
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What’s the best career advice you’ve received?
When I left the cushy clutch of full-time employment, I was full of naked ambition to ‘be my own boss’ and ‘set my own rules’, as though deadlines, deliverables and the conventions of paying for rent, food and tax didn’t actually exist.
Unsurprisingly, I found the recalibration to self-employment strange and I wound up working far more than I ever did in the agency world, massively over-delivering and under-charging my clients in the process. It wasn’t until years later that [I received the advice] ‘know [your] worth’ and ‘reset [your] expectations of what [you] wanted in [your] working life’.
Who gave it to you?
Someone who I consider a mentor.
How has it helped you?
‘Knowing your worth’ can be hard advice to implement, but once you figure it out, it will change the course of your career regardless of your employment circumstances. Oh, and pay your tax on time. As a self-employed creative, I cannot stress this enough – tax money is not your money. I wish someone had told me this sooner.
For more helpful career advice, read this.
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