A SoFi exec says ignoring 5 common pieces of career advice helped her climb the ranks

• Anna Avalos is the chief people officer at financial management company SoFi.
• Throughout her career at companies like Tesla, Avalos says she's learned to take advice with a grain of salt.

It's not uncommon for young professionals to receive unsolicited professional advice early in their careers. Anna Avalos, the chief people officer at financial management company SoFi, understands this all too well. Throughout her career, she says she's received a plethora of advice - from superiors at companies like Tesla and Stryker to random passengers on an airplane.

"While the advice that friends, coworkers, and family share is almost always well-intentioned, remember it's always based on that person's perspective," Avalos said. "Your goals and experiences are uniquely yours to own and you'll reach your fullest potential by following your own path."

Avalos believes that not listening to some of these recommendations as a young professional has actually benefited her in the long run. Here's the five pieces of advice Avalos says she's glad she didn't follow early in her career.

1. 'Don't get too close to your coworkers'

"Early on in my career, right out of undergrad, a well-intended family member advised me to 'not get close to anyone at work.' They said I should be an enigma; that my work and personal life should be completely separate," Avalos said.

Avalos disregarded this advice and says she benefited from sharing personal struggles with her team, especially as a working parent. For example, scheduling conflicts involving work trips and back to school nights were resolved, because her management team was understanding of her personal and professional responsibilities.

2. 'It's all about the numbers'

Avalos says she was flying to her first interview after graduation when her airplane seatmate said not to accept any job offer below a specific salary amount. The offer she got was lower than expected, but Avalos took the job because she liked that the role would give her more control over her day-to-day workflow and career trajectory.

"I knew that the culture, the work I would be doing, and the growth potential more than made up for what I was offered."

3. 'When you're a newcomer, observe first'

When she began working at Tesla, one of Avalos' mentors advised her to act reserved and be a fly on the wall for one or two months before expressing her opinions.

"Within two days, they noticed that I was intentionally keeping quiet. My leader pulled me aside and asked me to share my thoughts with the team because they hired me for my perspective."

Now with new SoFi employees, Avalos makes a point to seek out employee feedback no matter how long they've worked in their role.

4. 'Let your results speak for themselves'

"A manager once told me I should let my results speak for themselves," Avalos said. "Results are important, but so are the formal conversations that call out these accomplishments."

She admits that people often notice hard work, yet don't formally acknowledge it. At SoFi, Avalos' team facilitates a quarterly check-in process that prioritizes two-way dialogue between employees and their direct managers. These conversations include employee self-reflection which helps managers gain a detailed understanding of what their employees accomplished.

5. 'There's only one path to success'

"Many people have tried to paint a picture of what my success should look like," Avalos said. "I'm proud that my career journey has always been uniquely my own because I choose to pursue my own pathway toward my goals."

Though it often meant going against the advice of her peers, her unique career journey is what Avalos is most proud of today. She made lateral moves from one role to another right after college. Peers cautioned her that it would delay her first promotion, but Avalos says the knowledge she gained working with engineering and tech teams has continued to help her throughout her career.

"While it was a little scary to go against the grain and not follow the advice of those I trusted, I learned to listen to my intuition and the benefit of owning my own career journey."