Career tips good enough for my own daughter

“How can I help junior team members get unstuck and push through obstacles?”

That was the question an EVP at a PR agency asked me during a small group meeting recently. While I was thinking through my answer, one of the other agency leads in the group jumped in:

“That email you sent out about the advice you gave your daughter when she graduated from college was really helpful. I still refer to that.”

I thought, if people are still quoting an email newsletter I sent four years ago, it is worthy of revisiting. Perhaps you have a member of the class of 2026 in your life, or a junior teammate, who might benefit from these tips.

Here’s what bosses wish their junior staff knew and did but rarely tell them:

• Be accountable – “finishers wanted”
  • When given an assignment in person, visibly write it down
  • When given by email, reply with “got it” or “on it” or a thumbs-up emoji
  • Give unsolicited progress reports (not your activities, but your progress)
• When encountering obstacles, push through whenever possible without involving your boss
  • Write out the question(s) you would ask
  • Pretend you can’t reach the boss – what’s your best guess?
  • If you don’t need permission or resources to implement that guess, go for it
  • Never bring a problem to your boss without proposing a solution
• Follow instructions
  • Do it their way, then innovate (only after doing it their way first)
• Don’t ask for other tasks/responsibilities until you’ve delivered on your assignments
  • Succeed at what you’re asked, then ask for more opportunities
  • Deliver a project ahead of schedule, then ask, “What else can I help you with?”
• “Work smart” is true, but for the first three months at a new job, it’s about working hard first
  • Put in the hours: first one in, last one out
  • Prove you’ve got the work ethic and attitude to deserve cool opportunities