Today was the official start of the WEST Career Accelerator for my cohort.

We spent an hour going over the logistics of the program and getting to know the other women in our cohort of five.

My key take away(s) from this call came from one of our ice breaker questions: What is the one piece of career advice you wish you had known early in your career?

All the answers were great:

  • Advocate for yourself, no one else will.
  • Don’t sweat the small stuff.
  • Consciously define success for yourself.
  • Being good at soft skills is a real advantage, but you need to make sure you aren’t taken advantage of. (a la the classic Being Glue)
  • Just because I’m new and junior doesn’t mean I have to do all the terrible things.
  • Focus on outcomes.

We closed the meeting by sharing one word the summarized our current feeling. We were excited, energized, expansive and just a little bit nervous. A very great place start this journey!