This has been a long month with no blog entries. Apologies to all my readers: starting in a full time job as a digital adviser in one of the most prominent PR agencies in Norway, Dinamo PR, expectantly takes its toll on my free time.  

It’s been a month of ups and downs, excitements and frustrations, and I’ve learned a lot. For example, that work in a demanding industry is not about smart demagogical discussions but quick and concrete solutions. They don’t teach us this at the universities, you know, unless you’re lucky to be supervised by pedagogues like Richard Bailey – thank you for preparing me for real life.

To add value to this post I’d like to pass on some tips and advices to all those of you who are making first steps in their careers.

- Find balance between healthy professional insecurity and courage to step up to the challenge.

- Adopt “Yes we can” attitude. In the beginning it’s about selling yourself, and the best salesmen never turn down their clients. Be realistic but don’t down play your abilities: just because you’ve never done it before doesn’t mean you can’t do it.

- Be visible. Never stop learning, and make sure you share your knowledge with others – it will give you great dividends in the long term.

- Make connections. The world has never been so interconnected as now. Take advantage of densely populated social media sites to connect with interesting and powerful people. Remember that you have to give value to receive value.

- Listen. Even if you feel like you have tons to say – hold back and pay attention to your surroundings. It will help you to understand culture and mentality of your organization, and get to know your colleagues on their premises.

Even if you follow all the mentioned above instructions, there is no guarantee you’ll survive the wave of job cuts following the financial crisis, as gloomy as it sounds. But hopefully you’ll have a couple of handy numbers you can call and offer your services.

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