Career Advice Admit You Need Help, Build Your Strengths

If you are serious about building a career, you’ll not be afraid to ask for help. No one expects you to have all of the answers.

Never be afraid to admit you need help and then ask for it. Many careerists, otherwise smart and capable, hamstring themselves by believing they lose face if they say, “Hey, I don’t understand this problem, much less what to do about it. Please help me.”

Career Tip: Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It is just the opposite; it is a sign of strength and maturity. When you ask for help, you are paying a compliment to the one you ask. You are saying, “You know something I don’t know. I trust you.”

Everyone likes to be asked to help. It’s the rare person who will refuse to assist those who admit a need.

It is paradoxical but true; when you control your ego and ask for help on your career path those to whom you turn for assistance end up being in your debt. You will often secure a relationship with a mentor who will add a strong element to your career.

None of this is to suggest that it is always easy to ask for help. Admitting a shortcoming tramples a bit on the ego.

If you’ve made a mistake and need help correcting it admit the miscue right away. Nobody is perfect. You have a right to make a few mistakes. If you act promptly, there is usually time to correct the situation. It is well to heed Confucius who declared, “Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes.”

If you are working for a boss who doesn’t accept this premise, you are in a relationship that doesn’t bode well for your career path.

Career Tip: Don’t ask for help in order to duck responsibility, to take a shortcut, or so you can sit on your butt. Make your best effort. Ask for information and assistance if you still fall short.

Volunteer to help others. Step in to offer a hand in finishing a tough project. Go on record that those with less experience than you have can always turn to you for help. You never know when those associates can help you.

When you get help, don’t be shy about sharing credit with those who gave you a hand and shared their knowledge.

When you ask for help and get it, be sure to seal the transaction with a sincere, “Thank you.That elementary action, which is too often ignored, assures that you can expect more assistance when you need it.

If you are working in an environment where people don’t share knowledge and help one another, you are in an unhealthy situation. Give carefully consideration to leaving for a new position.