Because good career advice never grows old...

They may make it look simple now, but there are a few career lessons that even the best professionals couldn’t have learnt from their Advanced Studies in Philosophy textbook. Fortunately, experience has taught our 24.com staff some valuable career lessons that they’d share with their younger selves, and which you can learn from.

1. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes

Making mistakes is the best way to grow and learn. If you’re not making any mistakes you’re not doing enough outside your comfort zone, which in itself is a mistake. Don’t look at your mistakes as failure.

Rather think of them as a means of getting rid of ways that don’t work so you come closer to finding ways that will.

2. Comparison will kill you

Think about this: When someone asks you how you’re doing, how often do you respond with how you’re really feeling? What people give off is usually not a true reflection of their reality.

Some people hide, while some people lie. So when you compare yourself to others, you’re only viewing what’s presented in front of you and not what happens behind the scenes. And by doing so you’re setting yourself up for a stench of failure. Don’t destroy your happiness, halt your goals or tarnish your dreams because of self-comparison.

3. Look at opportunities beyond your environment. 

After landing their first gig, very few people can admit to being fulfilled in their careers. Even if you are one of the lucky few who are, it’s important that you review your career from time to time. There is a world out there that goes beyond the walls of your 9-5. Go out there, explore and build new connections. You’ll never know what’s waiting on the other side.

4. Don’t be boxed by your job specifications

Sometimes your job will require you to do more than your job description entails, especially when working as part of a team.  You need to prove your value to everyone you’re working with and earn your team player stripes. Plus, your job may give you opportunities to do some really awesome things.

Take, Herman Eloff, Online Editor at Channel24 who even though he thought he was signing up for a desk job, had the opportunity to travel overseas. “Last year I travelled to the London where I interviewed Jennifer Aniston,” he says.

5. Don’t worry if you don’t have it all figured out

No matter where you are in your career, it’s okay if you don’t have it all figured out yet. It’s fine if your friends seem to have it together and you don’t. It’s fine if your job isn’t living up to your expectations.

If you were meant to know what tomorrow brings, you’d be living in the future.

6. There is more to accepting a job offer than what you studied

Pierre Jordaan, Space Station Designer says he wishes someone would have told him not to just focus on his qualification. “I would have liked to be told to look at the bigger picture and think about what a company can do for me and how I can grow.”

These are other things to consider before accepting a job offer:

- Your boss, your team and co-workers. They’ll have an impact on your job satisfaction and happiness.

- The pros and cons of working for a corporation, an agency, a non-profit organization and a start-up are vastly different. Weigh them in and know where you’ll thrive.

- Ask yourself if the company has been operating well in the unstable economic environment. If so, you’re in for a stable job.

- Money doesn’t always equate to happiness. Evaluate what salary you could live with, the amount of hours you’ll work and your commute.

- Pay attention to the feeling you get after walking out of an interview. Your gut will usually hold the truth.

7. Be as young as you can be for as long as you can be

“In my teens my only worries were ‘oh my gosh, what am I wearing to the party? And ‘oh my word! It’s exam time!’ I’d tell my younger self to get married at 40, have kids maybe at 50 and travel as much as you can.” - *Sarah

Oh yes, and if all else fails, remember you can always find a job with Careers24.

Are there any lessons you wish you’d learned sooner? Share them in the comments box below.