How many of us have heard the phrase, “We all make mistakes”, only then to completely forget about it when we make the actual mistake? I 100% fall into this trap, but it’s sort of easy to when mistakes are the things we fear the most.
I have absolutely made mistakes in my job (both my first and current job) and there’s no way of getting around them at the beginning. I almost think it's a right of passage. The key is to learn from them and move forward so you don't make the same one twice. As YoPros, we are at the beginning stages of our career, so it’s natural that we will make them. What’s important is how we respond, so here are a few tips to keep in mind if you're caught up on the fear of making mistakes or are still getting over one.
1. This is not a life or death situation.
It’s hard to remember this when you make a “big mistake” – it’s all relative. One of my all-time favorite interviews was with 27-year-old Binna Kim, who was then an Assistant Buyer at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas, at the time. I’m going to reference her several times in this article, FYI, because her honesty was inspiring. She made a pricing error with one of her Gucci lines and thought she was going to die (she actually calls it the Great Gucci Fiasco of 2017). Once she got over feeling this way, she quickly resolved the issue before the sale went live, but she also learned that her actions have real-time results. That’s a great lesson to learn early on, and remembering that it is not life or death is also part of the process.
2. Learn from your mistakes.
I know I keep hitting you with these cliché expressions, but I have to make my point here. Similar to what Binna said before about learning, Eric Jennings, 26-year-old Associate Transaction Advisor, now in Winston Salem, North Carolina, also says it’s important to have a leader who can help you learn when you do something wrong. It’s helpful to understand the mistakes you make so you don’t do it again. If you don’t have a leader who can walk you through a mistake, try to find someone else on your team that you trust because it could save you a lot of time later.
3. Before the mistake: It’s okay to admit you don’t know how to do something.
That’s a tough thing for most people to do, let alone a YoPro potentially starting off in their field. Caroline, a Speech Pathologist, shares with us that by being confident and swallowing your pride to ask for help, you can save yourself some time in the long-run. Before you make that mistake, think over the options: ask for help vs. not asking for help. One of these scenarios could lead you to making the wrong move, which will create more attention and necessary support later from others on your team. I am not suggesting you do this every week, but if something is on your mind and you think it could lead to an avoidable error, it might be time to reach out for help. Consider the potential risk out there for making mistakes and select when you ask for help wisely.
Although not everyone will have their “Gucci Fiasco of 2017” moment quite at the same level, I’m confident that everyone will at least get close. We all make mistakes and by following the tips from these YoPros above, I’m confident you will learn to adapt and thrive if a mistake is thrown your way. Good luck out there, YoPros.
