Before it became a day of infamy, September 11 was my father’s birthday. On the eve of what would have been his 80th birthday, I reflect on the lessons his example taught me about the business of healthcare. forbes.com/sites/sachinjain/…

For whatever reason, it’s been career advice season. Sharing some of what I’m sharing privately more broadly. 1. Don’t run from something, run to it. People make genuinely bad career decisions when they are made out of fear or frustration. 2. The best time to find a job is when you have a job, not after you’ve been laid off or fired and will have explaining to to do. 3. Do deep diligence on the people you will go work for. And then downward adjust your “high-case” for the fact that most people never share the raw truth—or even own it to themselves. 4. At the beginning of your career, build and make decisions with a 40 year career in mind, not a 4 year career. Small differences in salary or title today are meaningless. Think about trajectory and what you really want to do. 5. Even when painful, stay in your job through several business cycles. Your business acumen only grows when you stick around to see if your smart decision at year one was actually smart in year 3 or 4. Otherwise you may live in some form of self-delusion. 6. Short transition periods are ok. You’re persona non-grata when you announce a transition and your loyalties have shifted to the next thing. Best for everyone to move on when you can. If they don’t figure out how to live without you in two weeks, they won’t figure it out in two months. Four weeks is probably the max appropriate. Everyone will regret anything longer. 7. Whatever you do, don’t be a “first day” or even “first week” talker. Don’t volunteer your opinions on the first day or first week of your job. Trust me on this one. You want your brand to be thoughtful and curious and there are only rare cases where you will fully understand organizational context in week one. And I can guarantee you have no idea on day one. 8. When you move within an industry, don’t mention your prior employers. People tire quickly of “when I was at…”. And if you must talk about your old company, say “at a former employer.” 9. In an interview, when asked what your questions are, always avoid generic questions like, “what keeps you up at night.” No questions is waaay better than bad questions. Genuine questions that show you have been listening and processing and can think on your feet are best. And questions about the other person (when appropriately worded) are most likely to get them talking. 10. Hard as it is, don’t take failure or rejections personally. Companies are often not transparent about the real reason they didn’t choose you so most “feedback” you receive is vague and fake. Don’t let the shallow opinions from a 30 minute meeting with a stranger define you. 11. Choose a job or company where there are problems to solve. Where things are broken. You will learn the most and probably set yourself up for career success when you fix them. Too many people want perfect situations and choose the wrong ones as a result! What’s some helpful career advice you’ve given to others lately?