Bold Career Advice Every Ambitious Leader Should Try, Especially Women
Most career advice sounds the same. How many more times can you listen to someone telling you to network more or polish your resume?
Sure, those strategies matter, but in this competitive job market, they're not enough to stand out. Successful professionals avoid conventional ideas and embrace creative, unconventional career hacks instead.
And there's movement in the job market to match that mindset. In March 2025, 3.3 million Americans voluntarily quit their jobs. The highest level in eight months. The quits rate, which tracks how many workers are leaving jobs by choice, ticked up to 2.1%, according to Trading Economics.
So, how do you rise above the competition? By using strategic career hacks that accelerate your growth and align with who you are, not just the role you want.
The workplace is evolving faster than most playbooks can keep up with. Skills-based hiring is outpacing degree requirements. Entire industries are shifting toward freelance and contract models. Artificial intelligence is reshaping workflows.
In this environment, those who think differently win.
Generic advice may help you fit in. But unique career hacks help you stand out. They demonstrate creativity. They also show initiative.
Most people avoid rejection at all costs. Samantha Martin, however, actively seeks it out. She credits it as the reason she's built a thriving startup. As cofounder of Left Field, a no-swipe dating app designed around real-life encounters, Martin took an unconventional route to entrepreneurship. She left a strategy role at Capital One and convinced her best friend to do the same. Her secret weapon? A mindset-shifting practice she calls rejection therapy.
'Rejection therapy is consistently putting yourself in situations where the likely answer is 'no,'' she explains in an interview. 'It's about getting comfortable asking for what you want, even if it makes you cringe a little.'
For Martin, rejection therapy is a tactical advantage. As a founder, she's constantly asking for things others might hesitate to request like free event space, partnership opportunities with big brands and investor meetings that may go nowhere. It's a volume game, and the more 'nos' she hears, the closer she gets to the right 'yes.'
'You can't raise capital or build a team without hearing 'no' hundreds of times,' she says. 'Rejection isn't failure; it's information. It tells you what to tweak, who to ask next and how to keep moving.'
To build rejection resilience, she recommends starting small. Ask to make your own cocktail at a bar. Ask a stranger for something absurd. Build tolerance for awkwardness. Over time, the 'no' loses its sting and asking for what you actually want becomes second nature.
'Rejection therapy doesn't just help your career,' Martin adds. 'It changes your relationship with risk, which is what really unlocks opportunity.'
While many entrepreneurs focus on time management or productivity tools, Lauren 'Lo' Bosworth discovered her most powerful career hack by tuning inward. Known for her appearances on MTV's Laguna Beach and The Hills, she pivoted into entrepreneurship with the launch of Love Wellness in 2016 amid a personal health crisis. Her wellness brand offers personal care products focused on body positivity, clean ingredients and holistic health. Bosworth then began working with medical advisors on women's hormonal health. That research led her to an insight that transformed how she worked; she synced her workweek with her menstrual cycle.
'I realized,' she explains, 'if I already know which weeks I'll feel more focused or more fatigued, why not use that to my advantage instead of pretending every day should feel the same?'
Like some women tailor their fitness routines to their cycle, Bosworth mapped her workflow to her hormonal rhythm. During low-energy menstrual phases, she focuses on strategy and reflection. During the follicular phase, she begins new projects and logistical planning. Ovulation becomes her power week, ideal for public-facing tasks like speaking engagements and creative brainstorming. In the luteal phase, she prioritizes editing, deep work and prepping for the month ahead. It's a fluid but intentional structure that lets her optimize her output while minimizing burnout.
'It works because it's biologically grounded and deeply intuitive,' the media personality explains. 'When you honor how your body operates, you actually get more done with less resistance.'
While the method isn't perfect, Bosworth doesn't view that as a failure. Instead, she sees it as a practice of awareness and self-leadership. Knowing where she is hormonally helps her adapt accordingly even when she can't fully align tasks to her cycle. For high-achieving professionals, constantly pushing through fatigue leads to burnout. Success comes from listening to your body.
'The point isn't perfection,' Bosworth smiles. 'It's awareness. That self-awareness is the real power of this approach.'
Career advancement is utilizing your leverage. Unique career hacks give you that leverage by helping you create opportunities instead of waiting for them.
The next time you feel stuck or unsure of your next step, look for a better angle. The best career moves often come from the most unexpected strategies.
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