This is the fourth in a series written about Unwritten Rules: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt Your Career, a paper written by Catalyst.

If you take a look back to when you first started your career, what do you wish you had known then, that you know now? When Catalyst asked this question of their respondents in the research, here are the five top responses:

1. About organizational politics, becoming visible, and advocating more for myself. (35%)
2. To plan my goals and career in advance, learning about the next steps. (26%)
3. The importance of effective communication, asking questions, and asking for feedback. (22%)
4. The importance of social networks; to network more effectively. (18%)
5. To find a good mentor/coach/sponsor. (15%)

It is interesting to look at some of the insights the respondents shared. They wished they had known that “just” working hard is not enough to succeed. They wished they had better managed their work and personal lives. When they looked back they stated, “working too many hours and making personal trade-offs seemed - in hindsight - unnecessary to reaching their current positions.”

If you are new in your career, think about what you need to do to tap into the unwritten rules. If you are an old hat to the way things work in your organization, make sure you share those unwritten rules with junior people so they can take advantage of your experience and don’t waste time making the same mistakes you may have made.

Share your stories by leaving a comment. What do you wish you had known when you first started out that would have made a big difference in your career?

Next week, How Organizations Can Change.