If you could redo it, what career advice would you give your younger self?

While we tend to avoid reflecting on moments where we could have or should have done something else, it is undeniable that hindsight is a very insightful form of wisdom.

At the end of the day, what better way to prepare yourself for the future than by learning from your mistakes?

This is also the case in the world of business, particularly when individuals are reflecting on their career choices and certain events which had an impact on their decision making.

Reuben Abela, Chief Operations Officer at Lidion Bank plc, recently tackled this issue, providing a few pointers for his younger self, noting that he would have done some things differently had he known about the consequences.

Mr Abela is a fintech executive with over 10 years of experience in the industry. He joined Lidion Bank prior to its rebranding from AgriBank last year.

As he reflected on his career, Mr Abela said that one of the key pieces of advice he would give himself is that “mistakes are ok” and that it is important to not dwell for too long on a particular issue. “Absorb, learn, and move,” he added.

“Learn as many skills as possible. Literally, everything can come in handy,” Mr Abela continued.

He noted that it is also important to work on becoming “self-sufficient,” and to also sometimes find your own answers to issues. “Someone else’s conclusion might be very different from the one you get to,” he explained.

Mr Abela also remarked that on certain occasions, you might have to “fake it till you make it.”

In addition to this, he highlighted the importance of improving one’s communication with others, and to also make their opinions heard in a respectful manner.

“Share your ideas. It’s not always about being brilliant at the first try, but more about building it out, or even outright scrapping it,” Mr Abela affirmed.

Tied to the previous point, he also stressed the importance of networking in order to build contacts from a very early stage.

Additionally, Mr Abela said that it is crucial for individuals to find a mentor, yet to also embrace their intuition. Ultimately, “your gut knows best,” he added.