Early in his career, Lonnie Pacelli wished someone would have told him "You don't know what you don't know."

"I thought, quite frankly, I knew it all." says the 43-year old CEO of Banzai Sushi.

Most 20-somethings today are either too embarrassed to ask for advice or when it's offered, look at you expressionless, leaving you to wonder if you really do know anything.

The value of advice, it seems, is appreciated when you've had experience and can see the wisdom in it.

But not all career advice is helpful. Bellaria Jamarillo, a financial planner at MetLife says she was told by college professors that the financial services industry was too aggressive for a woman and was discouraged from going into the field. "Lucky for me, I didn't listen to the skeptics," she says.

Other workers lament about advice they wished they had gotten but didn't.

Small business owner Dan O'Keeffe wishes someone had told him not to worry about benefits and job security early on. "I was a healthy 22-year old kid with no attachments and responsibilities, yet I took the lowest-paying of three job offers because that employer offered ‘great benefits.' Either of my other two offers would likely have provided more entrepreneurial insights and education that would have benefited me more in my current career as a business owner."

Kenneth Levin, an attorney with Edmunds.com, wishes someone had told him that "the business world prizes good judgment over all other assets. The earlier you demonstrate that, the further you'll go."

Julie Michener of the College of St. Catherine wishes she would have been steered towards a class that really made you "think, discuss and write about what you value as you explore who you are and what you want for your life and career. I found myself in jobs where I struggled because I just didn't have a clear handle on what my values really were--all I knew was I was confused or upset and couldn't define why."

Pacelli also wishes he would have been told that taking risks doesn't mean being reckless. "Risks need to be calculated, where you understand the consequences and are willing to face them if something goes wrong."

Donna DeRosa wished she had listened to her father who told her to learn to drive a manual transmission car. DeRosa is managing editor for Edmunds.com where she provides online car reviews and says, "When I joined the editorial department at Edmunds, I immediately had to learn how to drive a stick shift." Several performance driving schools later, she says, "It was not easy learning as an adult."

Others are grateful for the advice they did get. Wendy Schmidt of Deloitte Forensic & Dispute Services is thankful a mentor suggested she volunteer. When she took six years off to have kids, she says volunteering helped her maintain contacts and kept her in the "mindset of a working person" helping her maintain her ability to lead an organization.

Flower De Raadt of Texas did what she was advised at leadership camp in high school: Stay connected with everyone you meet along the way. Neil Gussman of Chemical Heritage says he was told to "Pick your job based on who you will work with. To me a good life means spending your time with people you respect and want to spend your time with."

The earliest career advice I got was to take Mr. Hartung's typing class in the ninth grade. I have used that skill every day of my career.

Everyone has advice to offer--including me. Mine is to assess the advice-giver's motive and preconceptions and not take someone's word as the gospel. Evaluate it wisely, then think for yourself. And be sure to take typing.

© by Andrea Kay

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