I've made quite a
lot of career mistakes. I also quit a well-paying job since I did not feel
fulfilled in it. Since then, I became so passionate about finding ways to build
a fulfilling, well-paying, and happy career. Being a coach, I read and connect
with so many top coaches and career development gurus; this has enlightened me
with all the mistakes I need to eliminate when trying to build a strong career
right from the scratch.
1. Not enough clarity
When I first got
into my corporate job it was like a labyrinth. I felt like I was lost inside a
maze. I was not clear on what I want and
what am I supposed to do. I know that at the beginning of every career it would
be like being left blindfolded in a dense forest with no choice of getting
out.
But let's say you
are allowed to untie your blindfold and given an option to walk out of the
forest. How will you get out from there?
You will be able to
escape from the forest full of thorns and thistles only and only if you clearly
know the path out. Or else, you will be searching for the way out not knowing
where to go or where to look. You might even lose all the hope of getting out
of the forest because of the lack of clarity!
That is what
happens, when you are not clear about what you want. You lose your confidence and
do not progress in your career. It's key to knowing what you want both in the short
term and long terms. You will miss a lot of opportunities due to a lack of clarity.
People who move forward in their careers are the ones who have a concise
understanding of what they want at every step.
2. Not building network
Building a meaningful
network is a great asset for the advancement of your career. Remember that no
one can do it all alone. We all need people to support and encourage us all the
way through our careers. It is important to nurture and maintain a good relationship
with people at work.
Do not bend yourself
to prove it to others. Instead, compliment others on the work they do. Make eye contact and smile in the hallway. Talk about how your work relates to
theirs and find ways in contributing your work to others. Be an active listener and listen to people.
Be confident and
calm enough to handle people. Situations will not be in your favor all the
time. So learning to be calm and cool at challenging times will increase your
confidence level and you will be trusted more. It is always better to remain
calm than saying something that you might regret later.
3. Working too much
Working hard and
burning out yourself is a sign of less productivity. Yes, you heard me right.
Grinding all day, every day will only burn you out. Any work that is done when
you are burning out is not the best work. It is not necessary that you should
work hard until you run out of energy in order to advance in your career. Most
often people who work smart are the once who progress fast in their careers.
It might sound
counterintuitive but working hard will only slow your progress. It will also
depict that you are not clear on setting priorities. Only work on things that
matter. Also, ensure to be on the best possible health. Any achievements or
hard work you do without a healthy life will become useless!
4. Not challenging yourself
The mistake that can
drain your whole career is not being proactive and lack of motivation. To be
upfront, I was not proactive and fully powered in my previous career. I was
okay doing monotonous work and hesitated taking up challenges. This made my
finite period in my previous job very tedious. I lost any interest in
continuing work only. This is because the job I chose did not align with my
values and aspirations. So, it is imperative that you choose a job that
satisfies your soul so that you will never lose motivation to work.
Remember that,
mundane and monotonous work might seem all comfortable. But, it is a career-destroying situation. You need to take immediate action in order to move
forward in your career. Do not wait for motivation to find you, start taking
action right away. Give yourself some challenging tasks. Seek something new and
always make it a priority to learn and grow.
5. Complaining
People who cannot
move forward in the career have this one quality of constantly complaining. Those
who want to move forward or already in the line of growing big will not
complain of things that are not working, instead, they appreciate the things
that they have. They possess the quality of exhibiting abundance and gratitude.
Most people tend to
complain about things that they cannot control. Next time when you are faced
with a challenging situation instead of controlling things or blaming others
try to ask yourself "What you can control in this situation?" and
then work towards solving in things that only you have complete control over.
Thank you!
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