Remember when changing jobs every couple of years was viewed as problematic? How would you explain having three roles at three different companies in a span of seven or eight years? How would you address the unstable nature of your job history?

Fortunately, that's no longer a concern among an increasing number of hiring managers. Unlike your Baby Boomer parents, most of whom probably went to school, obtained a degree, and worked in the same field for the duration of their career, you're far more likely to scope out a few jobs — if not careers — in your lifetime.

In an article for Fast Company, Vivian Giang brings up a point that makes the case for moving around even stronger: "Workers who stay with a company longer than two years are said to get paid 50% less, and job hoppers are believed to have a higher learning curve, be higher performers, and even to be more loyal, because they care about making a good impression in the short amount of time they know they'll stay with each employer."

Patty McCord, a coach who advises companies on leadership and culture, speaks to this learning curve and notes that it exists, in part, because "critical change in people's mental outlook is to view employees as smart contributors from the beginning." For employees who are doing the hopping, that means getting with the program as quickly as possible and making a mark as early as it's feasible.

And, in a surprising twist, entrepreneur Penelope Trunk believes that with frequent job changes comes stability. This is because if you never have to look for a job, then you don't develop the skills to move on quickly and efficiently and are instead stuck being too dependent on the one employer you know.

Still, the term job-hopper carries with it a negative connotation and does suggest a certain inability to stick with something, even if that's far from the truth. Career-builder, on the other hand, indicates that your movement has to do with your own quest for learning and knowledge, so it's a phrase you should start incorporating into your professional tale. As long as you're making a strong impression, helping the company's bottom line, and not burning any bridges on your way out the door, you can comfortably keep adding jobs to your budding resume with impunity.

SEE ALSO: 12 things successful people do in the first week of a new job

DON'T MISS: The 27 jobs that are most damaging to your health

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's what a hiring manager scans for when reviewing résumés

Question: What is one skill you wish you'd cultivated before starting your business?

Mindfulness

"I didn't get into meditation until I was well into being a startup entrepreneur, and it's helped tremendously, but I wish I'd started earlier. Meditation assists in being mindful with not only my customers but my team members. If I had been more patient earlier, I would have been less aggressive with certain sales, and instead given just enough to have the customer ask for more."

— Rob Fulton

Patience

"A results-now attitude can really stunt long-term growth when you make sacrifices for short-term gain. Fortunately, my co-founder and I were quick in identifying areas for improvement and agreed to be in this for the long haul. So instead of turning a quick profit, we've aimed to grow a conglomerate that might even outlast us."

— Firas Kittaneh 

Learning to Say "No"

"When you're an entrepreneur, time is an even more precious commodity. In the early days of my business, I often agreed to engagements or projects that didn't align with my priorities, or help my business, just because I was uncomfortable saying No. I've since learned that every time you say Yes to something, it means saying No to something else. So, I'm much more careful about commitments."

— Brittany Hodack

Proofreading

"I move fast and try to get a lot done in a short period of time, which is necessary for successful entrepreneurs. But this can lead to sloppy mistakes. It's embarrassing to send emails that have spelling mistakes, so this is something I try to work on."

— John Berkowitz

Basic Accounting

"It took a lot of time and energy for me to learn basic accounting "on the job" when I started my business. I wanted to have a rudimentary understanding of it so that when I handed things off to my bookkeeper or accountant, I had an idea of what was going on and could keep a birds eye view on it."

— Darrah Brusten

Public Speaking

"I am great with individuals and small groups, but in front of a large audience it's different. I've gotten more accustomed to it, but I wish I had that skill coming out of the gate. That would have allowed me to speak at conferences and in front of other large groups of industry peers much sooner."

— Brooke Bergman

Programming

"We're all thinking it. I don't want to do it but I wish I knew it! I wish I knew more about programming. In the past two years I've taken three courses and can code up basic applications. It's helped my business grow because now I know how to build and scale our applications 10 times better and I can explain how to go about doing it. I recommend it to every business owner."

— John Rampton

Web Development

"If I could go back, I’d definitely learn the basics of web development, both front- and back-end systems. I wouldn’t be as dependent on others to bring my vision to life."

— Daniel Wesley

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A law professor tricked his students into lying, which shows why you should never talk to police

We all have certain fallback phrases we use at work. But some of them can be seriously annoying to co-workers and alarming to managers.

Here are eight phrases you might use at work without much thought – but are worth removing from your office vocabulary.

1. 'Are you busy?'

This one is likely to make your conscientious co-workers cringe. Few people want to say, "Nope, just browsing some celebrity gossip." And someone who is busy may still be available for an interruption, depending on what you need. They might be perfectly willing to make time for something urgent or important but not want to be interrupted to discuss the upcoming employee potluck. Instead say, "Do you have a few minutes to talk to me about X?"

2. 'Can you please come by my office?'

Like phrase No. 1, this is frustrating because recipients have no idea what you want. Is it important enough to prioritize above other pressing responsibilities? Or can they defer until later in the day if they're busy? Do they need to bring something to take notes with? Are they going to be put on the spot about a project when they would prefer to have a chance to review notes before meeting? If you're the boss, should they be bracing for a serious conversation? Or is it no big deal? Spare people the speculation and explain what you'd like to talk about.

3. 'I'll try.'

You might think this is a reasonable response to an assignment or request if you're not positive that you can do what's being asked or meet a deadline. But it will leave your manager unsure of whether or not you're actually committing to get it done. Of course, you don't want to commit to something that you're too overworked to complete, but in that case, explain what you're thinking. Rather than leaving it at "I'll try," it's better to say something like, "I think X might get in the way of that deadline. But if it starts looking like that will be the case, I'll come back to you well in advance to figure out how to prioritize."

4. 'That's so fattening!'

Your co-workers don't want to hear you pass judgment on what they're eating. You're not the diet police, and you should avoid any temptation to comment on the calories in co-workers' meals, the number of snacks they've had that day or the unhealthiness of what they eat.

5. 'It's not my fault.'

It's not that you should take blame when you're not at fault. But a more constructive formulation that doesn't focus on who is — or isn't — to blame will reflect better on you. For example, say, "I think what happened was X. And to avoid it, we'd need the marketing department to do Y earlier in the future. I'll talk to Sarah about getting that on our client checklist." However, on the other end of the blame equation …

6. 'Sorry.'

There are indeed times when you should apologize at work, such as if you've inadvertently offended someone or created additional work for a colleague. But some people tend to over-apologize, offering up regrets for everything from needing to ask a question to a project flaw that wasn't anyone's fault. Over-apologizing can make you seem weak and overly deferential. You may inadvertently end up taking responsibility for things that weren't your mistakes.

7. 'I can't keep up with my email.'

This is like saying to your co-workers, "You can't count on me to read and retain even important messages you send to me." It will raise doubts about your ability to keep on top of your workload and make you seem unreliable. If your manager hears you say it, she's likely to wonder if you're letting tasks slip through the cracks or not getting back to clients.

8. 'Gentle reminder.'

If you've ever prefaced a follow-up to a colleague with "just a gentle reminder," there's a good chance that it's making your recipient grind her teeth. The phrase often comes across like you're saying, "I worry that you might be offended by a normal business communication, so I feel like I need to approach you delicately." You don't need to tiptoe around or patronize your co-workers. It's okay to be direct and say, "I want to remind you about this because of X."

SEE ALSO: 18 Phrases Professionals Use To Get People To Trust Them

DON'T MISS: The 27 jobs that are most damaging to your health

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 8 things you should never say in a job interview

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Wait, don't answer that. It's a trick question. In fact, it might be the trickiest question there is, at least if you want to be happy. (Yet adults ask kids that all the time.)

Instead, it turns out there's another, much better question to ask — and a much smarter one to teach kids to ask themselves. 

Don't ask: "What do you want to be?"

Instead, ask: "What do you want to do?"

Subtle, right? But swapping out those two-letter words makes a huge difference.

Life-changing magic

I've been reading Marie Kondo's book, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up," which basically teaches you to discard anything in your life that doesn't bring joy. (So far, I'm six big garbage bags into its implementation at my house — more on this in a future column). 

For now, let's focus on a very insightful passage near the end:

"Think back to your own school days and the things you enjoyed doing. Perhaps you were responsible for feeding the pets or maybe you liked drawing pictures.

Whatever it was, the chances are that it is related in some way to something you are doing now, as a natural part of your life, even if you are not doing it in the same way. At their core, the things we really like do not change over time."

Happiness therefore comes from the things we do, not the statuses we attain. So here's what that means for your kids — or even for you.

They'll know themselves better.

Asking "what do you want to do" requires you to figure out who you really are.

Focusing on what you want to be, on the other hand — a teacher, or a doctor, or a football player, for example — tells you much less. That makes it much easier to wind up confusing what you want to do with what other people want you to do. 

They'll control their labels.

It's too easy to reply to the "be" question" with a job title or an occupation, without truly understanding how those people spend their time. Answering the "do" question requires you to abandon labels, and just get at the core activities.

Ask the state bar association who I am for example, and they'll tell you I'm a lawyer — even though I haven't actually practiced law in a decade. Ask them what I do with my days however, and they won't have a clue.

They'll find obvious but hidden truths.

In her book, Kondo describes herself as having been flat-out obsessed with organizing and cleaning, even as a very young child. However, if you asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, she'd only say that she wanted to get married someday.

It never occurred to her that she could make a career out of the thing she loved doing most — tidying — until after she already had a waiting list of clients and even a couple of bestselling books under her belt. 

They'll thrive in a changing world.

Who do you think turned out to be happier and more successful — the young man who 20 years ago decided he absolutely wanted to be a newspaper reporter, or the young woman who decided she wanted to write?

Focusing on how she wanted to spend her days, rather than the title or even the industry, makes it more likely she's been able to adapt, and therefore become successful and happy. 

SEE ALSO: 15 books successful people read to their kids

DON'T MISS: The 27 jobs that are most damaging to your health

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 'Shark Tank' investor reveals the biggest mistake you can make in the office

It's too easy to make some big mistakes when trying to represent yourself through a resume. Career advice expert for TopResume Amanda Augustine points out some of the worst offenses. 

Produced by Justin Gmoser

Follow BI Video: On Facebook

Join the conversation about this story »

The first day at your new job may be among the most memorable — and perhaps stressful — of your career.

"Most of us remember our first days at every job because of the heightened pressure to impress," says Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and the author of "Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job.""But you can reduce your anxiety by being as meticulous in planning your first day as you were in securing your new position."

David Parnell, a legal consultant and  communication expert, says it's easy, even tempting, to passively ride along with the "human resources tour that usually sets off the first day of employment." There will be forms to fill out, videos to watch, people to meet, "and generally speaking, no real position-specific responsibilities," he says. "But taking a passive versus proactive response would be a mistake. The first day sets the tone for the rest of your career with those who you'll be interacting with."

Here are 26 things you should do on the first day of your new job:

SEE ALSO: 13 things successful people do between jobs

1. Prepare and ask questions. 

Mark Strong, a life, career, and executive coach based in New York, says although you should spend much of your first day listening, you can and should ask questions when necessary. "Generally, you're trying to demonstrate your curiosity and desire to learn," he says.

Taylor says it's a good idea to prepare by writing down both practical and general questions about how you can be most successful in the role. "By now you have enough background on the company to integrate more in-depth questions at your orientation meetings," she says. "Have a list of questions handy for managers you think you might meet. Make sure you also have a contact in HR in case you have very basic inquiries before you start or on your first day."

2. Prepare an elevator pitch. 

Get ready to give a 30-second explainer of who you are and where you were before, as many new colleagues will likely ask about your previous place of employment, Taylor says. Be prepared to also describe what you'll be doing in this new position, since there may be people who have a vague understanding of your role or simply want to strike up a conversation.

3. Show up early, but enter the building on time. 

Get there at least 15 minutes early, suggests Teri Hockett, chief executive of What's For Work?, a career site for women. "If you haven't done the commute before, practice it a couple of times during rush hour a week before so that you're at least somewhat prepared for the unknown." But wait at a nearby coffee shop until the time your new boss or HR asked you to arrive. 

Have you ever you wondered how certain people have gotten so successful?

Sure you have.

A great idea, motivation, persistence, and a little luck helps, but most successful people share certain habits.

Here are nine habits that have helped place them on the top:

1. They meditate.

Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, told The Huffington Post in 2013 that "Meditation, more than anything in my life, was the biggest ingredient of whatever success I've had."

Dalio is not alone. Oprah, Rupert Murdoch, Russell Simmons, Arianna Huffington, Bill Ford and Padmasree Warrior have all attributed mediation as a huge component to their success.

Taking care of your body and mind by relaxing, exercising, healthy eating and getting enough sleep are all ways to improve your chances of success.

Related: Meditation Isn't Just For Hippies: Here is How it Can Help Entrepreneurs

2. They wake up early.

President Obama, Richard Branson, Jack Dorsey, Larry Schultz, Tim Cook, and Xerox CEO Ursula Burns are known to be early risers.

How has this contributed to their success? Because early risers are able to start their days ahead of everyone else by responding to others, exercising, and finding personal time, they also tend to be happier and are more proactive.

3. They network.

Successful people realize the importance of networking. In fact, research has found that networking can lead to people performing better at work and increases the chance of landing a job.

Networking helps our successful people be more innovative. According to Dale Carnegie’s classic “How To Win Friends & Influence People,” successful people rarely complain or criticize. They are sincere and try to be empathetic.

4. They keep themselves busy.

Successful people are rarely idle. Achievers like LBJ and Robert Moses were known to work 60-65 hours per work. Elon Musk works a whooping 80-100 hours per week and has said, “That's the type of work ethic an entrepreneur needs to have.”

5. They know when to say "no."

“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” – Warren Buffett

Successful people realize that by saying "no" to negativity, extra work, and activities that waste time, they can focus on increasing their productivity. If they say "yes" to everyone or everything, they’ll be too distracted and will not accomplish tasks that have to be done.

Related: Why 'No' is the Most Important Word You'll Ever Say

6. They don’t watch TV, they read.

According to Thomas Corley, author of "Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits Of Wealthy Individuals,” 67% of rich people only watch TV for one hour or less per day. Corley also found only 6% of the wealthy watch reality shows, while 78% of the poor do.

Additionally, 86% of the wealthy love to read, with an impressive 88% claiming that they read for self-improvement for 30 minutes or more per day.

7. They write to-do lists the night before.

Successful people are known for writing their to-do-lists the night before so that they are able to set priorities for the following day. They number their lists as well to identify which tasks are the most important.

8. They set goals and visualize.

Joel Brown interviewed a number of high achievers for Entrepreneur and found that “95% of the successful achievers I have interviewed practice writing down their goals, plans, or visions for success on a regular basis.”

Successful people do this the night before, or first thing in the morning so that they are prepared to tackle the challenges that await them.

9. They manage their money.

Successful people have gotten where they are because they were able to manage their finances well. This means that they invest their money wisely, look for new opportunities and set aside emergency funds. They are more generous and willing to donate to those who need help. 

Here are 101 ways that I've put together to save money like well-off people. In addition, I've found that my marriage has become 10x better with enough savings in the bank for a year of expenses. That saved us when my last business venture failed.

There is an old saying that luck and preparation always meet opportunity. The most successful people set themselves up for success by preparing all the time. Successful people expect that luck will find them, and it usually does.

SEE ALSO: 13 surprising ways your name affects your success

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The sleep habits all successful people share

Go skinny dipping, stay up all night partying in a foreign city, climb a mountain — there are plenty of adventures you should check off your personal bucket list before turning the big 3-0.

But what about your professional to-do list?

We polled the experts and collected the milestones you'd be wise to hit early on in your career.

Here's what every intrepid professional should do before turning 30:

SEE ALSO: 9 scientific ways having a child influences your success

DON'T MISS: My well-meaning mom gave me the worst career advice I ever received — here's why I'm so glad I didn't take it

1. Get fired.

"Getting fired early on can be a brutally tough life experience, but it can serve as a huge wake-up call for change if there was a performance issue," Michael Kerr, author of "The Humor Advantage: Why Some Businesses Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank," told Business Insider.

Getting this out of the way in your 20s could also alert you to being on the wrong career path and teach you to develop the skills necessary to always have a viable backup plan, he said.

2. Quit a dud job.

"Life's too short to stay in a job you hate, and your 20s are the time to take that kind of a risk," says Kate Swoboda, creator of the Courageous Coaching Training Program.

Swoboda suggests you swap your dead-end job for a salaried position that you like better or that you start working for yourself.

"And before you think that you can't work for yourself, remember: This is the digital age, and anyone with the right amount of heart, hustle, and patience can make a living online," she says.

3. Write a simple vision statement.

"You've got to know where you want to go if you want to get there," Swoboda says.

Your vision statement needn't be a long manifesto, she explains. You simply need to capture the "why" of what you do.

You can hone in on your vision statement by answering: "How do I want to feel when I go into work each day?""How does my work positively impact my life or the lives of others?" and "What feels satisfying about this line of work?"

At Business Insider, we have interviewed hundreds of job applicants.

We are usually impressed with the calibre of candidates. Most people we meet seem smart and accomplished, and applicants "get" our all-digital, fast-paced, anti-boring way of handling business news.

But ... young people are human, too. They make mistakes. And the following mistakes have cost them the jobs their CVs and résumés otherwise said they were good for ...

20. Typos in your cover letter, CV, or résumé.

Your command of written English — spelling, grammar, and punctuation — is a shorthand test of your intelligence. Or at least, of your ability to memorize the rules of the language. Typos make you look unintelligent, even though smart people make mistakes all the time.

Tip: Get someone else to edit your letter and CV before you send them.

19. Having bad breath.

Everyone suffers from dry mouth at the office.

Tip: Chew a piece of gum and then remove it five minutes before the interview.

18. Not telling a good story about your life.

Who are you, what are you good at, and what do you want to do with your life? We want a quick, clear history of your life and career so far. At Business Insider, storytelling is literally what we do, but at any company, communication is key. If you cannot communicate who you are quickly, you're not getting the job.

Tip: Write it down beforehand and rehearse with a friend.

At Business Insider, we have interviewed hundreds of job applicants.

We are usually impressed with the calibre of candidates. Most people we meet seem smart and accomplished, and applicants "get" our all-digital, fast-paced, anti-boring way of handling business news.

But ... young people are human, too. They make mistakes. And the following mistakes have cost them the jobs their CVs and résumés otherwise said they were good for ...

20. Typos in your cover letter, CV, or résumé.

Your command of written English — spelling, grammar, and punctuation — is a shorthand test of your intelligence. Or at least, of your ability to memorize the rules of the language. Typos make you look unintelligent, even though smart people make mistakes all the time.

Tip: Get someone else to edit your letter and CV before you send them.

19. Having bad breath.

Everyone suffers from dry mouth at the office.

Tip: Chew a piece of gum and then remove it five minutes before the interview.

18. Not telling a good story about your life.

Who are you, what are you good at, and what do you want to do with your life? We want a quick, clear history of your life and career so far. At Business Insider, storytelling is literally what we do, but at any company, communication is key. If you cannot communicate who you are quickly, you're not getting the job.

Tip: Write it down beforehand and rehearse with a friend.

A candidate for a software QA engineer position at Apple posted this tricky apple-related interview question on Glassdoor. See if you are smart enough to come up with the answer, and maybe you too might have a future at the wildly successful tech company.

Produced by Chris Snyder

Follow TI:On Facebook

Join the conversation about this story »

It's been 12 years since Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook out of his Harvard dorm room, and the company has come a long way since then.

For the past four years, Facebook has overtaken Google as the best place to work in the US on Business Insider's annual list. Google currently sits at No. 2.

While both tech giants are considered to be great companies to work for, Facebook edges out Google in a number of head-to-head comparisons.

Here are eight of them:

SEE ALSO: Facebook is at the forefront of a radical workplace shift — and every business in America should take notice

DON'T MISS: New dad Mark Zuckerberg posted about his return to work this week — here's how Facebook responded

1. Facebookers are happier.

Employees from both tech companies are pretty happy to be there, but Facebook has the edge over Google with a satisfaction rating of 93% compared to Google's rating of 84%, according to employees who completed PayScale's survey.

"Every morning when I go in, I feel like the luckiest guy on earth for ever landing a job here,"writes a Facebook data scientist in Menlo Park, California, on Glassdoor.

2. They get more freedom.

There are a lot of contributing factors to this high level of happiness, but one important reason stands out — Facebook trusts its people.

Don Faul, a former Facebook exec, recently told The Wall Street Journal that compared to Google, which he says is more structured and places more importance on "manager" titles, Facebook employees are often placed in roles that cater to their strengths and are encouraged to question and criticize their managers. And this kind of freedom is perhaps one of the best drivers for employee engagement.

"You get zero credit for your title," he said. "It's all about the quality of the work, the power of your conviction, and the ability to influence people."

3. They make more money.

We know money isn't everything when it comes to job satisfaction — but it certainly helps. In fact, while a higher salary won't necessarily boost your happiness, researchers from the University of British Columbia and Michigan State University found that people with higher incomes reported feeling less sad, something Facebook employees surely know well.

On average an experienced employee at Facebook makes $135,000 compared to $133,000 at Google. And the social media company typically pays 17% above market rates for its employees, while Google pays 10% above market.

Taking a closer look, according to data gathered by Glassdoor, an intern at Facebook makes almost $7,400 a month on average, while a Google intern makes closer to $7,200 a month.

Work can be taxing for everyone, and we all occasionally feel weary after a long day at the office.

But if your life is a chronic state of stress and exhaustion thanks to work, you're probably suffering fromjob burnout.

Sometimes it's hard to notice when the physical, emotional, or mental exhaustion from work is taking its toll, but with the help of burnout specialist Ben Fanning, we're able to identify some warning signs.

By taking note of these common habits workers exhibit when they're burnt out at work, you can take steps to avoid burnout entirely in your current role or reignite your career, Fanning says.

Steve Benna contributed to a previous version of this article.

SEE ALSO: Tens of thousands of people say there's only one thing worse than going to work every day

DON'T MISS: 12 signs you're suffering from job burnout

Feeling depleted after work

Consistently lacking the energy after work to do regular things like cook, go to the gym, or spend time with your family is not a good sign.

Disregarding how you treat coworkers or customers

If you're planning to quit or you're just sick of dealing with the same people every day, it may be reflected in how you treat your coworkers.

Constantly being asked about your feelings

Do your coworkers often approach you because they're worried that you're struggling or down on yourself? This is a signal that others are picking up on your misery.

Now is the time of year when we are all looking ahead with hopeful and determined eyes. “This is going to be my year. This is the year that I become my best self.” 

We get to be a little selfish and ask ourselves, “What do I want?” 

You might be looking at articles on how to set effective goals. These articles are likely telling you the same thing: Make the goal actionable and achievable. Give yourself a deadline. Reverse engineer the steps it will take to get there.

That's solid advice. However, in the hundreds of articles I’ve seen fly by my screen on this topic, none of them mention a vital element to your goal-creation process. 

You’ll read a lot about the when and how of setting your goals. But don’t forget the who.

Arguably, very few goals are accomplished by you and you alone. No person is an island, as the saying goes.

On your journey to success, there are four different types of people you will need. These people are the ones who will aid you in your endeavors. But if you don’t know to look for them, they might just pass you by. So, who are the people who can help you with your personal success?

1. The mentor

As Joseph Cambell famously points out with The Hero’s Journey, all great heroes have a mentor. Luke Skywalker had Yoda. The Karate Kid had Mr. Miyagi. Katniss Everdeen had Haymitch Abernathy.

A mentor is someone who has been there, done that and got the T-shirt. He or she is someone you can turn to, ask questions and get advice. If you want to grow your business, align yourself with someone who has succeeded with a similar business model. If you want to lose weight, you could get a personal trainer or you could reach out to a friend who has already succeeded in his or her weight loss journey.

Identify who has already walked the path you're on. Build or strengthen a relationship with them. Your mentors will help you achieve your goals in less time than it would take to figure it all out on your own.

2. The mark

In my coaching and speeches, I refer to “a mark” as a shorthand way of saying “the person you want to influence.” A mark is the person you want to hear “yes” from. Everyone has marks. Your husband could be your mark while you convince him to take a vacation at a ski resort. Your co-worker could be a mark while you motivate them during a project. 

Your mark is the one who can say “yes” and make your dreams come true, or they could say “no” and all efforts could feel lost. For your goals, who do you need to hear "yes" from? A big-name client? An investor? Your co-founder?

Get clear about your mark. How can you make your idea most appealing to him or her?

3. The sidekick

We all need sidekicks. Batman is better with Robin (or Alfred, depending on how you look at it). Neo needed Trinity. Doctor Who isn’t himself without a companion. (Am I getting too nerdy for you?)

The point is, we all need someone on the sidelines to cheer us on. But if you haven’t identified who will be your supporter for when you hit the bumps in the road, then you won't know who to turn to when they happen. Identify your sidekicks, reach out to them today and give them appreciation now for being and staying in your corner.

Also, don’t forget to consider sidekick groups. Group settings can be just as empowering. If you’re wanting to lose weight, then become a regular in gym class. If you need to clear out some mental baggage, support groups can be a safe haven for exactly that. If you want to express your artistry, sign up for a weekly painting class.

So who will you bring on your team? Who will keep you accountable?

4. The connector

This is, by far, the most overlooked “who” in the goal-setting process.

You have a goal and you know you need to hear a “yes” from a mark, but you give up when you realize you don’t have direct access to that mark. How can you get a “yes” when you can’t even get a “hello”?

It’s not over yet. 

If you run into this realization, then your next question is, “Who do I know who is connected to that person?” Our world is flatter than ever. Our marks are often just a LinkedIn connection away. The connector is the person who can introduce you to your mark. He or she makes the connection so you can make magic happen.

Remember the persuasive process -- observe, connect, influence. In this instance, you will go through the process twice -- once for the connector and once more for mark. 

As you create your goals, remember to include the people who will help you on your climb up. Goal setting isn’t a one-person show. Success is always achieved in numbers.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This deaf man quit his start-up career to travel the world

There's no question that the tech industry is filled with high-paying jobs, but it's also an ever-changing market. One day a skill is hot and the next it's not.

Job site Dice.com recently published its 2016 Salary Survey, which named the highest-paying tech skills.

Dice surveyed 16,301 IT professionals in fall 2015 to come up with this list.

Of course, skills alone won't always guarantee a high salary. Work experience counts, too. But if you're considering which skills to flaunt on a résumé, or which to learn this year, this list is a good place to start.

SEE ALSO: Why it's better to be a morning person and other facts about sleep from genetics-testing company 23andMe

No. 40: Matlab is worth $120,182

Matlab is a programming language from MathWorks that is popular with engineers and scientists worldwide. MathWorks is a company that makes computer software for engineers and scientists.

Pay for jobs involving Matlab has climbed 17.8% in the last year, Dice says.

No. 39: MicroStrategy is worth $120,184

MicroStrategy is a company that makes analytics software, a category that used to be called "business intelligence" but now is called "big data."

All things big data are in vogue and there's high demand for people who can write enterprise apps built on various MicroStrategy products.

Pay for jobs involving MicroStrategy has climbed 10.2% in the last year, Dice says.

No. 38: Groovy is worth $120,484

Groovy is a programming language that builds on the strengths of Java, but has additional features inspired by other languages, like Python and Ruby.

Groovy makes it easier for Java developers to write apps using these updated techniques.

Pay for Groovy-related jobs has climbed almost 12.4% over last year, Dice says.

Professional ballerina Misty Copeland, 33, made history last year when she became the first African American woman to be named principal dancer with the legendary American Ballet Theatre.

This week she's making headlines with a recent Harper's Bazaar photo shoot she did that recreated images from the famous paintings and sculptures of French artist Edgar Degas. 

Copeland told the magazine she had difficulty freezing in these certain pre-determined poses because, like all dancers, she's a bit of a control freak. "It was interesting to be on a shoot and to not have the freedom to just create like I normally do with my body," she told the magazine.

Her frame may be petite, but her stage presence is huge and has ignited opportunities that extend far beyond international magazines. She served as a judge on "So You think You Can Dance"; wrote a memoir and a children's book; was part of the Under Armour "I Will What I Want" campaign; was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME last year; and was the subject of the documentary "A Ballerina's Tale," which debuted at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. 

The dancer describes herself as an "unlikely ballerina" (it's the subtitle of her 2014 memoir), and it's true: whatever your ballet stereotypes, it's likely Copeland doesn't fit them. Here's how she went from "pretty much homeless" to dance superstar. 

Rachel Sugar contributed to a previous version of this article. 

SEE ALSO: There are only 229 Master Sommeliers in the world — here's how one 27-year-old worked his way into this exclusive club

DON'T MISS: The 27 jobs that are most damaging to your health

Misty Copeland was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1982. When she was 2, her parents divorced, and her mom, Sylvia, moved Copeland and her three older siblings to start over in Bellflower, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. The next time she saw her biological father, she would be 22 and a dancer with the American Ballet Theatre.

Source

Copeland spent her childhood "dancing to Mariah Carey videos, rewatching a movie about the gymnast Nadia Comaneci, and being very prepared for school, where she was a hall monitor and the class treasurer," wrote Rivka Galchen in a 2014 New Yorker profile.

Source

But she didn't take any formal gymnastics or dance classes until she was 13 — insanely late for a female ballet dancer. These kids below are auditioning for the super prestigious School of American Ballet. They're between 6 and 10.

Source

Dialogues with college seniors in the midst of trying to figure out "what comes next" often reveal a disconnect between student life and launching a successful career.

It's easy to empathize with the cry, "I can get an A in my senior seminar but I don't have a clue about how to get a job."

Ideally, colleges and universities would fund career services departments with a full complement of savvy professionals. However, more often than not, budgets are cramped and the staff doesn't have time to do as much as one would hope and expect from them.

To get the most out of this practical college offering, students shouldn't wait until senior year to build a relationship with a counselor. Even when they're freshmen or sophomores, students can take aptitude and other diagnostic tests to identify important traits and preferences to keep in mind when figuring out what career path to pursue. Still, sometimes professors and career services aren't up with the latest in the realm of workforce development and staffing best practices.

A recent conversation with a college senior at a competitive university revealed these misconceptions.

1. "My college professor told me that you can't have whole sentences in a bullet point, and that bullets can only be one line."

In a corporate PowerPoint presentation, that might be the case. However, on a resume, it has become common practice for a bullet to be a single complete idea rather than a sentence fragment.

For example, you might have two or three bullet points under any given position that describe, in a few lines each, how you went about fulfilling a given responsibility along with the results or accomplishment you attained.

2. "I haven't worked long enough to have any accomplishments."

It does take a while to build a true legacy of achievements in any given role. Still, all it takes is stepping back to get a larger perspective on what you have done.

Sometimes that means figuring out what you've done that enabled your boss to do his job better. Maybe your contribution was taking responsibility for something that freed up someone else to complete a task at a higher level.

When you think about it this way, your accomplishment résumé bullet might begin with one or another of these verbs: "handled,""enabled,""dispatched,""organized," or "contributed to."

3. "I posted my LinkedIn profile a year ago, so I'm all set with that."

Not really. This is a key time in your life to be building a professional network that will last for decades. It's time to graduate from Facebook and Snapchat to using social media to find people with whom to network.

Make sure that your LinkedIn profile is complete, giving full descriptions of what you've done, skills you've acquired, volunteer activities in which you've engaged, languages in which you have fluency, and more.

Use LinkedIn to find people with whom to conduct informational interviews to learn about what jobs are like from the inside rather than relying on your best guesses and fantasies.

Research many profiles to learn what jobs tend to lead to what other jobs, and where people have gone who have had the initial jobs you are considering. There is a host of ways to use LinkedIn, and it should become a part of your daily routine.

4. "I really would love to work in X industry, but I've never done it before, so I can't apply."

It is true that many companies use college internships as a way of trying out students to see them in action. They'll then offer jobs for after graduation to the most promising of those interns. But clearly, that is far from always the case.

Remember: Often entry-levels jobs are just what they purport to be — a way for people to get in at the ground level of any business or industry. Use personal and family contacts, LinkedIn and many other ways to network your way into companies in which you have an interest. Don't just rely on job boards.

This is the kickoff of key recruiting for upcoming spring graduates. Set your sights high, learn what you need to impress employers and go out and make your mark. What you might lack in experience, you can make up for with sheer energy, ambition and a clear, defined desire to contribute to your first employer.

Happy hunting!

SEE ALSO: The 10 states where college graduates have the best chance of getting a job

DON'T MISS: The 27 jobs that are most damaging to your health

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Harmless lies that can help you ace your job interview

Steve Schwarzman, CEO of Blackstone, is not shy about handing out career advice. Last year he cautioned against supposing you can leave an investment bank and have the sort of success he’s had. Now, he’s back, warning juniors of all the things that might destroy their finance careers before they’ve really begun.

In a long interview with the MBA website Poets and Quants, Schwarzman, who was a managing director at Lehman Brothers before moving into private equity, lists the following fatal errors when you’re starting out in financial services.

Don’t be difficult

“It’s very important that people understand that we only have people who want to be helpful, team-oriented, and believe in a meritocracy culture,” says Schwarzman. “We’re not looking for people who want to create more stress with people around them,” he adds. “So the firm internally should be a highly supportive environment and we’re very rigorous in making sure that’s what it is.”

Don’t try to reinvent the wheel

“In finance, there is very little new. It is an apprentice business…there’s no need for you to invent things that other people understand…Typically, the biggest mistake that first-year MBAs make is wasting their time trying to figure out something…There isn’t extra credit for figuring it out yourself. They just want you to do it.”

Don’t accept everything that’s asked of you

“You don’t need to take on too many assignments to be successful,” says Schwarzman. Junior bankers think working on a lot of things is good and accepting everything is right. Wrong.

“Since entry level people typically don’t know how long it takes to do anything, they all make the same mistake, which is that they accept too many things. And then they can’t finish them on time and they disappoint the people who asked them to work on those things.”

We gave a career advice expert some real résumés and let her go to work with the red pen. It didn't go so well. Amanda Augustine from TopResume points out some big mistakes. 

Produced by Justin Gmoser

Follow BI Video: On Twitter 

Join the conversation about this story »

Your early education greatly affects how and what you learn, as well as if and where you go to college.

Some families are so intent on sending their kids to the best schools that they relocate to join new school districts.

Niche, a company that researches and compiles information on schools, just released its ranking of the 2016 best school districts in America. The ranking was based on the grade each school district earned in overall experience, which included key factors such as the strength of academics, quality of teachers, school resources, student culture and diversity, student life, and student and parent reviews.

At the time of calculation, Niche's database contained records for 12,153 school districts — ones without sufficient data were not included in the ranking. Read more on the methodology here.

Below are the 25 best school districts in the US.

SEE ALSO: The 25 best public high schools in America

DON'T MISS: The best college in every state

25. Township High School District No. 113 — Highland Park, IL

Total schools: 2

Academics: A+

Teachers: A+

Resources & facilities: A

Student culture & diversity: B-

Extracurriculars at Deerfield High School are abundant, one commenter said: "We have everything from book club, anime club, Athletics, gima, model UN, movie club, environmental club, choraliers, plays/musicals, truly you name it."

One senior at Highland Park High School said that every teacher "wants the students to succeed" and that they "structure their classes in ways that help their students learn and retain the material in an easy way."

24. Aspen School District — Aspen Township, CO

Total schools: 5

Academics: A+

Teachers: A+

Resources & facilities: A+

Student culture & diversity: B

"The student-teacher dynamic is incredible. Most teachers are familiar enough with their students to respond to their first names, rather than their surnames," one Aspen High School junior commented. "They also offer help during office hours with understanding, and tend to be sympathetic towards scheduling issues involving IB classes and the even distribution of work. The student body is generally accepting of sexual orientation, racial, and socioeconomic differences."

23. Hinsdale Township High School District No. 86 — Downers Grove Township, IL

Total schools: 2

Academics: A+

Teachers: A+

Resources & facilities: A+

Student culture & diversity: A-

One senior at Hinsdale Central High School commented that "there is a constant competitive atmosphere [but it] pushes kids to do better since all their peers are trying to do the same. The majority of the students are working towards a mutual goal, that is going to a good college."

Commenters also said that safety at the high school is important.

"The nurse is always available, the school psychiatrists are great, and social workers are decent. I never felt threatened there," said one user.