How to make the most of every job opportunity

Every job has its good and bad. Every boss, will have good days and off days - just like you.

When we receive hundreds of applications for a position, we always take the person who:

• Doesn't have 'freelance' or 'own their own business' all over their CV that may perhaps hide the reality of them chopping and changing positions, like they change their underwear;
• Can demonstrate commitment to a role and that means staying at least 2 years in a position, particularly early in your career;
• Know they don't know it all, which is a big one because people write on their CV's that they have done it all - when in fact, many don't even know the definition of digital, and are only found out once they start a position;
• Choose to be self-starters, and are not expecting that they learn everything from the company that is about to employ them.

If you have started a job and:

• You're out of your depth, and may have fudged your CV and find it too hard because you take so long to finish any task because you're learning on the job;
• You don't love your colleagues. They are a tad boring or just not your type of people;
• The culture is either too new age or not new age enough;
• Your boss is demanding

then think twice before you give up.

Giving up shows more about you than the job. In fact, those who start something and don't finish it, tend to do it throughout their careers and rarely reach their full potential. If you look at the CEO's of today, you will notice that they have reached the top by committing themselves to learning, pulling their sleeves up when things are tough and always bringing something to the table.

If you have chosen a career in marketing, the sky is the limit. Imagine where you can go from there! You can be agency side or client side. You may choose this career as a stepping stone to owning your own agency or better still, using those skills to be an entrepreneur in another field.

No matter what your choice is, you will need to have some skills under your belt and they won't all be tactical. The types of skills you can learn in any job include:

• How to adapt to new situations or one's that you find uncomfortable for whatever reason;
• How to read people, and work out ways in which you can get the most out of them, to enhance your own people skills;
• Challenge yourself to 'see the forest through the trees' and know that every role is a learning curve that is taking you to the place you want to go;
• Skills that may not only be tactical marketings skills, although I doubt there is a job that you will learn nothing in this area;
• Draw on your self-starting capabilities and make the most out of the situation;
• Show your manager that you can not only do the job you were employed to do, but you also bring so much more to the table;
• Put up your hand as many times as possible to take on new challenging jobs, that add to your credentials;
• Show people that you are a team player no matter what and learn about the different psychological profiles that exist within your team;
• Realise that not everyone is the same as you, and learn to appreciate them for their differences.

I learned so much making coffee in my first job. It taught me that no matter what you do in life, you will always be able to make coffee. Filing taught me how important it is to have a clean desk, and the value that that brings to the table when you are a creative. Going down to the local newspaper to drop off a bromide taught me about networking for the future. Get to know the receptionist as you never know where they will be next. I did, and she became a Sales Manager at News Limited and was forever helping me out throughout my career.

And that boring old lady in the office in the design room, well, she became a reference for life. Not bad huh!