Moving into the summer months it can sometimes be hard to stay motivated and focused at work. It’s way more fun to be outside enjoying the sunshine than sitting inside at your desk. To keep the energy (and productivity) up, we asked around our office for some of the best career advice our coworkers had been given.

Here’s hoping this gives you that little spark of inspiration you need to power through.

 Garima, program manager

“The best career advice I’ve ever gotten is ‘you don’t get if you don’t ask.’ The best way to move ahead in your career is by having the courage and confidence to ask for things. No one can read your mind, so it is up to you to step up. And if you don’t get what you asked for, it’s important to take away what you need for next time,” she says.

“The second-best advice that I’ve received is ‘age doesn’t matter, your capability does.’ It’s hard to be the youngest in a group of senior and experienced people. However, if you are at the table, you are there for a reason. Your knowledge and abilities are more important than your age and sometimes it’s beneficial to have a young person’s perspective.”

 Bailey, account manager

“Fake it until you make it.”

 Paige, digital copywriter

“I’d say the best piece of career advice I ever received came from a university professor, who told me that the way I spoke made me sound young and inexperienced (I think the word he used was “ditzy”). He told me to remove the word “like” from my vocabulary, and to embrace the long pause when speaking (or, at worst, use “um”). He told me to speak slowly, and choose my words carefully. This seems like a really small thing, but it’s something that had a huge impact in my communication skills, especially as a young journalist doing a lot of interviews.”

Dylan, account manager

“Make your work personal. Make it so that your goals here help you achieve your goals out there.”

Lawrey Body, vice president, national sales and customer experience

“The best career advice I’ve ever received is ‘Never fear failure; fear not trying.’ Another great one was, ‘trust your gut and learn how to make decisions.  A bad decision is better than no decision.’”

Sylvie, director, national sales

“Getting a meeting with a prospect is sometimes challenging. They don’t know you and can’t see the value you can bring to them. One prospect told me something that still sticks for me today – and was great advice. ‘If I invest an hour of my time with you, I expect you know about me (my business, my challenges, my needs). I will not give you a meeting if I am expected to educate you – you need to educate me.’ I still use this advice today when coaching sale reps.”

Jaimie, account manager – Applify

 “This came directly from a senior VP at a global recruitment firm: ‘When others leave an organization, don’t get discouraged. Look at all the open positions and figure out which ones to apply for.’ I laughed at first, but, he was right. Also, ‘never microwave fish in the office!’”

Madisyn, social media manager

“I think of all the advice I’ve been given the piece that stuck with me the most over the past couple of years was, ‘think before you speak.’ In all honestly I was a bit offended when first offered this unsolicited advice but the person who said it to me was right. You’re only doing yourself a disservice if you don’t take the time to properly think about what you’re saying before you say something, especially in business.”

Ashley, account manager

“To keep my head down, work hard and don’t get caught up in the drama around me; good results will follow.”

Faez, sales enablement specialist

“Always see how you can add value, even if it’s outside of your job description.”

Bethany, account director

 “Always maintain a positive attitude and treat every person you interact with respect. When I started at Workopolis, I focused on getting in front of all my clients, and my director at the time told me if I kept my activity levels high, I would be successful here. I’ve always kept that in mind and it really helped me, even when things got tough.”