We all like to believe that once we’ve made a mistake, we’ll never make it again. As many times as we tell ourselves, “That’s the last time I’ll do THAT”, inevitably, we do it again. The words “Donald Trump” and “bankruptcy” used to a recurring headline. There are so many paths and variables to success. Each stumble brings with it a new learning experience, allowing us to make those mistakes less frequently.

The self-imposed hurdles I’ve faced over the last few weeks seem to have a recurring theme of professionalism in a digital age. We’ll start with the least embarrassing, and work our way up. Don’t forget to comment below, or tweet us with your own personal “Lessons Learned”.

The Mentor (Use your network)

I recently reached out to my social media network for help in dealing with a difficult client. The support, suggestions and advice was overwhelming, and greatly appreciated. The most incredible response came from a professor I had in university. As a professional in the field for years, he should’ve been the first person I asked for guidance.

Lesson Learned: The formal education you get in class is only part of the university experience. Developing a network of individuals, with unique (or similar) expertise is equally important. Don’t forget the people who were actually teaching you! They’re the ones you can learn from the most. Even after graduation.

The Guest (Sleep on it)

Preparing for an interview with a guest can take a lot of coordination. You need a clear head when communicating, and you probably don’t have it at one in the morning. This is especially true when communicating digitally, because so much falls between the cracks. We try to recreate personal interaction with emoticons and anagrams, but it’s not the same as a genuine smile, or laugh out loud. (Side note: Have you ever actually rolled on the floor laughing?)

Lesson Learned: There’s a time and place for everything. Once you’re in bed, and the lights are off, that’s neither. So put it on silent, or set your Blackberry to disable alerts after a certain time. Nothing productive happens via e-mail at that hour, and they’ll probably only get it in the morning anyway.

The Consultant (Communicate effectively)

Twitter and LinkedIn are great ways to meet people and develop professional connections. So how do you turn these tweets and e-mails into coffee or drinks?. VERY CAREFULLY. Take all the things that can go wrong in person, and multiply that by infinity because you only have 140 characters. So at the very least, GET THEIR NAME RIGHT! Mispronouncing a name is correctable, misspelling it? Unforgivable.

Lesson Learned: Choose your words carefully. Do your research, and have an idea of the person’s industry and personality. Never blame or trust auto-correction or spell check. Make sure you proof read any form of communication for typos, grammar, and tone. If you don’t need it, take it out.

What lessons have you learned, or re-learned, lately?