Top 5 Ways to Deal with Your Career

I'm learning that the industry I am in is very small.
Very.
Very.
VERY small.

I have run into a few situations that I didn't quite understand, or quite know how to deal with when I first started, until now. I have compiled the top 5 ways to deal with your career in a professional way.

1.) Keep It Exclusive.


We are in a digital world: Twitter, Facebook, Gmail and Tumblr has become our daily bread. Everything you say and do, once it has been trapped in the digital world, it is trapped forever. So if you are ever in a situation where someone has made you angry, bitter, upset, or confused about a situation and you feel like you NEED to type it out to feel better in hopes to receive tender loving care from random people on facebook:
DO NOT TALK ABOUT IT IN PUBLIC.

The world is not your diary.
You do NOT need to spread ALL your business out on the streets.
What you said three years ago could come back to haunt you at the height of your career. So my best piece of advice is: Don't talk TOO much.

Or as I personally like to say: Keep It Exclusive

2.) Market Yourself Wisely.


I am understanding that the career I have chosen is a visual industry. I have also learned very quickly that people are watching me. Trust me when I say people are watching your every move as well. Rich people, poor people, young people, older people; all people are watching you in this digital world.

The way you talk online should be who you are when people meet you.
Literally, every tweet, every status update, every profile picture change; you never know who is reading into what you are saying.
Be wise in your choices.

3.) Stay On Point


Remember, this is a visual and digital world. If you have a website or blog, you are also in a visual industry. Make sure your website, blog, portfolio, business cards, and resume` are always on point and always updated. If you stay ready, you don't have to get ready at inconveinent times.

4.) Prepare for 'The Shift'


You may be thinking, what is 'The Shift'?
Let me break it down: There will come a point in your career when you will do better and you will be better. Since we are in a digital age, people will see what you are doing and they will have a reaction. Prepare for 'The Shift' in friendships, 'The Shift' in relationships, 'The Shift' in business partners. You know the one person you used to hang out with in the clubs when you were a little younger? The moment you slow down or stop clubbing, prepare for 'The Shift' in that friendship. You know that one person that couldn't stand you and didn't give you the time of day? They just left a message in your inbox.

Trust me, 'The Shift' will happen from the people you least expect.

5.) Stay Positive.


No matter who says what about whom, or what was said about you, or what she said about him last week, or what they said about them: Be Nice.
Kind people survive in a cut throat industry, believe that.
And I have met a LOT of nice professionals that feel their niceness is taken for granted and wish they could turn into a cold-hearted person: Don't even go there.
Nice people prevail; I believe in that and I live by that.
Your hard work will pay off.
Your positivity will be seen and appreciated.
Your generosity will be accepted and appreciated, just hold tight.

I hope this helps. :-)