5 Things Girls Should Know About Work

 By JESS WEINER

Special to the Times-Union

1. Follow your passion. You will spend over a third of your life working, so don’t choose a career based on prestige or money or fame. Choose your career based on something that you love doing, and the rest will fall into place.

2. Don’t be afraid of taking the long way around. My career has hardly been a linear line from the start to where I am now. Being open to opportunities has a way of making them appear. Grab them when you can, and don’t be too worried if they don’t lead in a straight path to your ultimate goal.

3. Study what you love. Whether you’re going to college for the first time or returning to start a new career, you can take the areas you love most and make money from them. Think outside the box and look for a need in your community, and then take your skills and fill that void!

4. Don’t avoid failure ╔ embrace it! My motto when it comes to career setbacks is “Rejection is God’s Protection.” If you find the power in the words “no” and “not now,” you can learn to recognize that as a sign that you are being guided to step back and reevaluate. Every failure I have had has led to increased success further down the line.

5. Don’t be afraid to make it up as you go along. You are unique, and it’s great if you can create a career as original as you are. As someone who has seized opportunities and adjusted them to suit me, I can tell you that my career is as rewarding and amazing as any in the world, and it all started with me jumping headlong into a new and different approach to my life and work.

Jess Weiner is the Chief Creative Officer for Talk to Jess, LLC, a media company dedicated to creating a nation of confident women and girls. Whether hosting a seminar on today’s pressure to be beautiful or writing her column for Seventeen, Jess motivates American girls to develop self confidence, self-knowledge and self-acceptance. Visit jessweiner.com for more info.