Career advice from a lead adviser in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

What’s the best advice you ever received? What tips did you wish you knew earlier? How did this help you on your career journey?

We’ve spoken to members of the Apolitical community to share their top three pieces of career advice with us. In this article, Alex Shahryar-Davies explains why it’s important to use challenging experiences to grow in their role as a lead adviser in New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Your first piece of advice:

Be proactive. Whenever you find yourself frustrated about something not going to plan, or waiting for direction from others, think about what role you can play to resolve, unblock, or drive forward the situation.

Your second piece of advice:

Have a learning mindset. When you're in a particularly challenging situation, or if you feel like you have made a 'mistake' at work, think of it as great material for your next job interview! Imagine a hypothetical interviewer asking you "what did you do to overcome the challenge?" or "what did you learn from that situation?", and use that as a way to move forward, learn, and grow from the experience.

Your third piece of advice:

Try out different roles. At least in the early stages in your career, and potentially beyond, explore new roles and try your hand at different things. In virtually every case, it will make you a better public servant in the long run. The book 'Range' by David Epstein provides a compelling account of how developing a range of skills and experiences is critical to success.

Want to share your own career advice with the Apolitical community? Use this form to let us know!

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