10 TED talks that will improve your career prospects

Job hunting is an exhausting and intimidating process. From crafting cover letters and sending out CVs to going through multiple interviews and assessment rounds, we sometimes feel a little lost stepping into this new stage of our lives. TED Talks are an excellent way to get inspired and educated within a short time, and they may teach you something new in only a few minutes. We curated some TED talks that should help with your next career decision.

Kare Anderson: Be an opportunity maker

This TED Talk is for those who feel shy when they try to tell people about their achievements. Writer Kare Anderson tells the heartwarming story of how she overcame years of being coy. But everything changed for her when she started networking and helping the people she met to discover and use their skills and talents. Anderson talks about how many people work and spend their free time without thinking about how they could make their lives easier. We need to remember the three things that creators have in common: they work in different sectors, connect with others and always look for things they have in common.

Dan Pink: The puzzle of motivation 

Suppose you have a job you enjoy. But no matter how hard you try, you can't get yourself to put in more effort. There could be a deeper explanation for why you have experienced this issue now or in the past. Dan Pink, a career analyst, posits in his book 'The Puzzle of Motivation' that monetary bonuses and other benefits offered by your boss may not be as motivating as they seem. So is there a way to get back up to speed and rekindle that fire within you? He explains the potential upside of allowing workers to set their schedules and arrive at the office accordingly.

Jason Shen: Looking for a job? Highlight your ability, not your experience

Not all of us get lucky enough to land jobs that match up directly with our past experiences. An example might be TED Resident Jason Shen, who switched careers from biology to product management in the tech industry. In this brief but illuminating discussion about human potential, Shen offers fresh ideas on how job searchers might improve their appeal to potential employers and why ability, rather than qualifications, should be prioritised. Both employers and job seekers can benefit from listening to this TED Talk.

Kelly McGonigal: How to make stress your friend

Kelly says at the outset of her talk that she believes stress makes people sick and raises the likelihood of every unpleasant event they go through. Thus, she spent over a decade helping people avoid stress. After reading a study on how stress affects people, she rethought stress. The study compared the lives of those who thought stress was detrimental and usual. According to Kelly's study, people who believe stress is bad for their health die earlier. However, people who did feel negatively about stress had lower chances of stress-related death.

Susan Colantuono: The career advice you probably didn't get

Sometimes, we fail to move up the ladder despite doing everything right at work. The frustration builds up from years of being stuck in the same place, leaving us wondering what the reason could be. Susan Colantuono answers this problem through a piece of simple advice that you might not have heard before. Susan argues that women are not provided with the tools to fully take responsibility for their business, strategic and financial acumen as part of mentorship and organisation-wide leadership development programs.

Shawn Achor: The happy secret to better work

Many of us are under the assumption that we can only be happy if we are successful. However, reality works the other way around, and Shawn Achor explains this contradiction. He mentioned that in today's world, thinking that success will bring us happiness is a losing battle because when we do well, we want to do even better. Achor says we should change the way we think about happiness. Instead of only being happy when we are successful, we should use happiness to be successful. By paying more attention to the good things in our lives, we will be happier, enabling us to be more productive and successful. 

Angela Lee Duckworth: Grit: the power of passion and perseverance

Angela Lee Duckworth argues that 'grit' is a more important predictor of success than either talent or intelligence quotient (IQ) in various contexts, including but not limited to school-aged students, military cadets, salespeople, teachers in challenging neighbourhoods, and others. "We need to take our best ideas, strongest intuitions, test and measure them. We have to be willing to fail, to be wrong and start over again with lessons learned," says Angela.

Larry Smith: Why you will fail to have a great career

Although the title does not sound motivating, this TED Talk will challenge you to pursue your passion. You could be one of the many people who fear failing or feel like they have reached a professional impasse. If this describes you, then you must see this TED Talk by Larry Smith, an economics professor at Canada's University of Waterloo. He claims that we sabotage our progress by constantly finding reasons why we do not achieve our goals. We all make excuses when we are too scared to attempt something new or venture into unknown areas.

Tim Urban: Inside the mind of a master procrastinator

Procrastination is something that all of us struggle with, be it academically or professionally. Tim Urban took this one step further and wrote his 90-page senior thesis in 3 days, despite having an entire year to write it. Procrastination harms your progress when you have a deadline and a goal. Procrastinators put off school assignments, work projects, and even starting a business, a family, or fixing a serious problem until the last minute. Tim Urban says everyone procrastinates because no one has entirely achieved what they want in life.

Sarah Lewis: Embrace the near win

Art historian and critic Sarah Lewis believes that while success is nice, true fulfilment can only be attained by mastery. Sometimes people achieve something they have been working toward for a long time, but success is transient and is not always the best indicator of quality. According to Lewis, striving towards a goal is just as important as accomplishing the objective itself. However, Lewis notes that society lauds these people for their erect carriage, unwavering concentration, and calm demeanour. Even though they occasionally miss the mark, they are true masters.

Building a steady and successful career is not a piece of cake. It takes years of hard work, difficult predicaments, and decisions. However, a little guidance, motivation and advice can go a long way. So the next time you find yourself fretting over the future of your career, these videos will be there to help, as these people have, at some point in their lives, been in the same position where many of us are finding ourselves now.