15 Notes you should take. 1. Trial and error - Don't be in a rush to find your passion. Allow yourself to experiment for a few things and find out what suits you best. 2. Ask for help from friends - Get opinion from your most trusted friends about what you should do with your career. Listen with an open mind. This doesn't mean doing what other people tell you to do, it's just to get some outside perspective. 3. Don't be too desperate - Everything takes time. Relax and be confident in your ability to find the right job. Start by pretending that you do. You'll be surprised how that leads to actual confidence. 4. Never hestitate to be on your own - If you can't find the perfect chance, go out and create it—starting your own business, freelancing, or getting creative in other ways. If other people can do it, so can you. 5. Ask for what you really want - Due to the hesitation of rejection, we don't dare to ask for what we want in career so we never get it. Get over the fear, devote your energy to what they will say yes to. 6. Find a role model - Everyone at the office don't need to know your deepest personal issues. Find the person in the office everyone looks up to (one level above you) and emulate him/her. 7. Learn to understand body languages - Dilated pupils, torso and feet facing you, tilting a head toward you: All good signs. Fidgeting, no eye contact, fast nodding indicates impatience, you should gracefully end the meeting as quickly as possible and try again another way. 8. Talk less - Don't confuse your co-workers with your friends even if you spend more time together. For instance, never bad mouth your other colleageus and previous boss or company. 9. Don't bash the competition, or yourself - You can't win the big promotion by bashing your in-house competitor. Step up your own game and be grateful for the motivation. Whatever you do, don't downplay yourself. It doesn't make you look humble. It makes you look insecure. 10. Don't expect others to change - If you've taken a job and then you discover that the company is too uptight (or too relaxed), or your boss is a jerk, not much is going to change that. Find a way to prosper despite it. Or get over it and move on. 11. Dress properly to win - Looks matter. The one who wins isn't necessarily the most gorgeous guy or girl in the room. But a person who makes an effort to dress appropriately attractive to get noticed. 12. Work-life balance - The boss do not expect you to do whatever it takes to get the job done. So if you've put your life on hold for your job, you are only hurting yourself. A healthy life outside of work refreshes you, expands your network, sparks your creativity. It's a bad idea to give up the rest of your life for your career. 13. Know the right time to let go - When your career has gotten stale, try adding some spice to it. Take time to enjoy a feeling of accomplishment at the tasks that you do well. See if you can power up that feeling of loving your work again. Add some variety to your work — take on a new project, learn a new skills and try delegating the ones that most drain you. 14. Don't spend years in a mediocre situation - Don't waste your life on something mediocre. Change something at your job to make it better for you and if you can't do that, don't lie to yourself: It's time to move on. 15. Get praises - Before you put the word out that you are looking for new opportunities within your network, "control your message". If your network can't do this for you, consider hiring a publicist or headhunter to help you spread the good word.