3 Best Commencement Speech Career Lessons - The Muse

3 Best Commencement Speech Career Lessons - The Muse3 Best Commencement Speech Career LessonsGraduation days right around the corner, which means various successful people will be delivering commencement speeches. And while their target audience may be 22-year-olds, theyre often doling out their very best advice- which can help anyone, at any stage in their career.Whether youre not exactly sure what you want to do or struggling to define success for yourself, here are three great lessons to remember1. You Might Want to Change Fields, So Focus on SkillsSally Krawcheck, CEO and co-founder of Ellevest wrote a letter to herself at 22 in which she advised being open to opportunities, rather than following the crowdAt this early stage of your career, theres a real temptation to go into a field of work because your friends are or because its hot. But theres also an enormously small likelihood that it will still be hot 10, 20, 30, 40 years from now. So, rather than wedding yourself to an ind ustry, instead shift your focus to gaining experiences and learning as much as you can, so that you build transferrable skills.At first glance, this advice is kind of scary Wouldnt it be easier if you could just pick one career and know that would be the path for you? As those of us with a few more years of experience know, not all jobs are what they appear to be. (And even if they are, you might find that theyre just not the right fit for you.)When you focus on gaining skills, youre setting yourself up for advanced opportunities in your industry- as well as others that you might find of greater interest down the road.Related How I Successfully Transitioned From Teaching Kindergarten to Working at Apple2. Even Successful People Fail (Big)Oprah Winfreys 2013 commencement address at Harvard University was inspired by the initial (terrible) reviews of her OWN network. She said, What could I possibly say to Harvard graduates, some of the fruchtwein successful graduates in the world in t he very moment when I had stopped succeeding? And so, she settled on the topic of failureIt doesnt matter how far you might rise. At some point you are bound to stumble because if youre constantly doing what we do, raising the bar. If youre constantly pushing yourself higher, higher, the law of averages, not to mention the Myth of Icarus, predicts that you will at some point fall. And when you do I want you to know this, remember this There is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction.There are lots of sayings about falling down, brushing yourself off, and trying again. You heard them throughout youth sports, and youll hear them throughout your life. But there are two things about Oprahs advice that are especially worth noting- failure can happen at any time, and to anyone.The first point is important because if youve only read stories about people who kick off their careers with screw-ups, you may be concerned if you fail as a mid-level o r senior professional. But setbacks- as well as learning and recovering from them- can happen at any time. Second, I love her emphasis on super achievers. If you mess up, its easy to think that if you were only smarter, more productive, or more visionary it wouldnt have happened. But- take it from Oprah- messing up big time happens even to those youd least expect. So, dont be too hard on yourself, and instead start looking for ways to redirect your energy.Related 19 Successful People Explain Why Failure Is the Key to Success3. Be True to YourselfIn his famous commencement address at Stanford, Steve Jobs advised students to listen to themselvesYour time is limited, so dont waste it living someone elses life. Dont be trapped by dogma- which is living with the results of other peoples thinking. Dont let the noise of others opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to be come.A lot of people will have opinions about your career- and not just at your graduation party. Yes, your parents and friends and mentors have well-intentioned (and sometimes super valuable) advice to impart. But in the end, its your career. Maybe no one understands why youd want to leave your steady job or how you could even consider quitting without a back-up plan. If youre reeling from a difficult conversation, remember, Steve Jobs thinks you should do what you think is best.When your social media feed fills with the latest graduation speeches next month, dont just scroll past them or forward them to your old intern. Check them out They just may contain the advice you need right now to advance in your career.