Anibal Valente kicked off our inaugural U35 Network Mentoring Breakfast on Tuesday, December 6, 2011. It was a full house, a great event with plans of organizing another session at the end of January 2012.
If you weren't able to make it to the breakfast, here are a few words of wisdom from the PCL'er himself:
- Persistence pays off in your career search and in business in general
- Look for opportunities
- See and seize opportunities when they arise
- Take initiative
- Have fun
- Network within your industry
- Be team-oriented
- Set goals (and at the same time, if you don't have a goal, don't worry, just keep going)
- Think outside the box
- Take opportunities whenever they are offered, even if they’ve been turned down by others, or are in a location you hadn’t considered
- Move to a new city or town if your company asks you to
- Listen to the news and know what’s happening around you, esp. politically – know the business climate
- Get involved in the community (i.e. with charity/volunteer work)
- Get involved in your construction association
- Invest in your company if you’re offered shares = this makes people feel like they are owners in the company and the effect trickles down through all areas of the business, including customer service
- Make your clients feel special
Questions from the crowd: What qualities do you look for in an employee?
- Personality – people skills, outgoing, positive attitude
- Education/skills…but the grades themselves aren’t very important…the technical side can be taught