Career Lessons That Professionals from Other Fields Can Teach You

Erin Palmer

One of the hardest things that college students face is trying to figure out what they want to do for a career. One of the hardest things that recent graduates face is finding the right job to jumpstart their careers. A side effect of this pressure can be a narrow field of vision. Once you’ve chosen a major and began working towards a particular career path, it is easy to become single-minded.

Just because you are working towards a particular career or area of study doesn’t mean that you should remain within that silo for career guidance. Marketing majors can still learn from the finance industry. Healthcare professionals can benefit from the wisdom of people who work in hospitality. No matter what your career path consists of, there are lessons you can learn from other industries.

Learn Budgeting from the Financial Industry

If there is one thing that accountants know well, it is the value of a budget. Companies of all sizes will hire a CPA to manage their budgets and help create sales goals. Even if your career doesn’t require you to interact with numbers, you can still learn a lot from the art of a proper budget.

In a personal sense, learning how to budget your expenses will make your life a lot easier. Moreover, budgeting doesn’t exclusively relate to money. Learning how to budget your time will benefit you in any career. Once you master budgeting, you can use it to organize your time and to set and maintain goals. CPA’s are great role models when it comes to meticulous organization and tracking progress.

Learn Branding from the Marketing Industry

Branding no longer applies only to products or services. Whether you work on it or not, everyone has a personal brand. With the increase of social media in our society, being aware of your personal brand has become all the more important. For college students and recent graduates, taking time to build a positive personal brand can have a huge impact on your job search.

Even working professionals can gain insight from studying branding. Even if you don’t work in marketing, there are branding lessons that you can learn from. Examine the brand of your company, your department and yourself. Do all of these areas work together consistently? Are there ways you can improve? A good brand can leave a lasting impression, so work hard to make sure it is a good one.

Learn Problem Solving from the Technology Industry

An IT department is full of problem-solvers. Even if you aren’t very technically proficient, IT professionals can help you learn about the right way to fix a problem. People working in IT know how important it is to address a problem right away, because ignoring it can make the problem worse. Since new viruses and bugs are being found all of the time, IT professionals can’t rest on their laurels. They have to stay ahead of the curve and be proactive about learning.

The technology industry as a whole is great at innovation. The best problem-solvers don’t just wait for a problem to arrive and then fix it. They think ahead to what problems might occur. They consider what people need and develop products to satisfy those needs. No matter what you choose to do for a living, the ability to think ahead will always serve you well.

Continue Looking for Lessons

When working towards your career goals, stay aware of what other industries may have to teach you. Whether it’s learning patience from a teacher or improving your power of persuasion from a salesperson, there are an abundance of skills that other industries can teach you. Pay attention to professionals of all kinds and make sure that you take advantage of every learning opportunity. As you work towards becoming a success in your field, you can help other young professionals add new abilities to their arsenals as well!

This guest post was contributed by Erin Palmer. Erin is a writer who covers topics such as helping college accounting students with their CPA review courses, resume writing and interviewing tips. Erin can be reached on Twitter @Erin_E_Palmer.