What are some of the things you did do RIGHT for your career? (IT job, debt)

[G-fused]

Soft skills can be underrated - mainly knowing how to network effectively, interview well, and be good at organizational politics. Learn how to do hose hints effectively and your career will blossom.

Best of luck.

[mdovell]

- Completed my undergrad and graduate degrees (and no graduate is not putting things off)

- Being able to read the complex and the long. some here might slam "book learning" but when I point out complete arguments and discussions that people made decades if not thousands of years ago still ring true today they see much is predictable

- Being able to travel. If it mean driving a few hours on a Tuesday morning with thick fog to a civil service test.

- Being able to produce. A writing sample, job summary, documents, research etc.

- Boiling things down so that people can understand them.

[veuvegirl]

Definitely continuing your education is important.

I think for me volunteering was the best thing. It taught me so much and gave me a chance to give back.

[andywire]

-Stuck with it, even when things were difficult.
-Worked my tail off. You will get attention if you display some work ethic.
-Put up with the old timers and their negative attitude. Besides the complaining, they usually have some valuable wisdom to share.
-Job hopped in order to learn more. You can only learn so much in one setting. Sometimes, the next step up is found elsewhere.
-Took on the challenging work. Sure, it often frustrated the heck out of me, but it catapulted my level of proficiency.
-Covered as many areas as possible. Most workers get pigeonholed into narrow roles. These folks experience a great deal of difficulty when the economy/work is slow. When laid off, it is very difficult to find work if you only know how to do a couple things really well.

-Learned on my own time. Spent plenty of time working on my own projects. While the boss may have been hesitant to hand me a complex or challenging job, there's nothing saying I can't hand myself the same type of task on my free time.
-Jumped ship when things looked bad. It's much easier to find a job when you're employed. Nothing says you have to follow the ship to the bottom of the sea.
-Accepted/admitted responsibility when I screwed up. Everyone screws up. Those who try to hide their mistakes are only delaying their discovery. It's much easier to deal with a screw up before it enters the hands of the customer. And yes, quality control misses things all the time.

-Picked a job I enjoy. I feel you will learn and progress much faster if you pick something you love. Pick something you love and the money will follow... Even if it doesn't, at least you'll have fun at work. How many people get to say that?
-Asked plenty of questions. You won't know unless you ask. The more you know, the more valuable you will be as an employee.
-Turned off the noise at work. Kept my focus squarely on my work.
-Always thought of how I could accomplish tasks faster and more efficiently. Sometimes, I would keep myself awake at night thinking about better ways do certain things. Creativity can be a great asset at work.

Originally Posted by mdovell

some here might slam "book learning" but when I point out complete arguments and discussions that people made decades if not thousands of years ago still ring true today they see much is predictable

Nothing wrong with book learning... But much of that depends on the quality of the material written. There are so many texts containing incorrect or out of date material. One has to question the quality of the content provided. Just because they read it in a book, doesn't mean it's true. When the information is put into practice, things don't always work out as suggested.

[hunterseat]

A really good work ethic, taking pride in my work, dependability have all helped me. I have over 600 sick hours on the books because I just don't call in sick. Maybe I'm blessed with good health but if I need it one day it will be there!

Something else. I try not to say no when my boss needs me to do something, come in on my off hours, or participate in extra stuff. I like being a yes-person when it comes to the person writing my evaluations. Not at the sake of my health and family, of course. Keep positive.

[Teckeeee]

Move to a location where there are more jobs in my field and more prospects to sell to.

[city living]

-Applied for jobs even if I didn't think I would get them.
-Always, always willing to learn something new.

[jdm2008]

I would say:
My major has netted be a pretty me a decent career so far with not much trouble getting good jobs(even though I was nervous after graduation with all the talk of manufacturing outsourcing).
Moving to Quality
Moving to the med device industry.

[don1945]

If I had to attribute one thing to whatever successes I have had over the years I would have to say that I was "likeable". That seems to be a big part of the battle, if people you work for and with "like" you they will go out of their way for you and move you ahead.

I also worked hard, did a good job, and was dependable, but the likeability thing got me jobs and helped me keep those jobs. It just seems to be human nature that people we like get special considerations and benefits.

Don

[skins_fan82]

keeping in contact with folks when they leave. I work in the procurement/acquisition/contracting field, and I've always kept in touch with folks as they come and go. I've worked in about 5 offices over the last 10 years (been moving a lot), and the job I was able to land now was through a friend that I worked with years ago in another state.
add them as friends on facebook, send them a text every now and then or call them every few months, send 'em an e-mail, etc.

Also agree with Don1945's post above me. Just be nice. I've always been a friendly guy, smiling at people in the halls, asking them how their weekend was (even if I didn't care LOL), talking about last night's game, etc. Just being friendly, IMO, leaves an impression on people.