Building a successful career is not an easy task. Plus with so much competition everywhere, it is even more difficult to stand better than others. Earlier, people just used to get a decent job after graduation and spent their whole lives serving in the same position at the same organization. But nowadays, it is not enough. From getting an exciting and well-paying job to ensuring further career growth, people need to take care of everything. It does not matter if they are just starting their career or they have already been working for some time, there is always a chance of making career mistakes. And all it takes is one mistake to take anyone several steps back in their career.
Nobody wants to let their years of effort go in vain because of one silly mistake. But most people don’t realize that they are making a mistake. They only get to know about it years later when they cannot do anything to make it right. There are a lot of things that one need to keep in mind, to make sure that they get nothing but the best in their career. Here are 10 tips for avoiding the most common career mistakes made by the people.
Table of Contents
Lying in a resume:
The very first thing employers keep an eye on is the resume. It is the first impression of the candidate in front of the employer. So, they need to make sure that their resume is better than others. But what most people do is, they fill their resume with wrong information in order to stand better than their competition and impress the employer. This can be one of the biggest career mistakes for them. As this harms the candidate’s reputation in the long term and puts a halt on their future opportunities too.
So instead of lying on the resume, one can highlight their actual impressive points in it. This will increase their chances of getting a nice job without giving false expectations to the employer.
Continuing to be average:
Once a person has secured a decent job, the next step is to perform well in it. Most people go wrong in this step, which is why this is the most common of all career mistakes. Initially, they make good progress. But once they reach an average position, they stop making any further progress. This might be because they get comfortable in that position, but this stops their career growth. One should always look up to new ways in which they can make progress in their job. This can be easily done by setting up new goals every now and then. Once they achieve a particular goal, they will know they have passed a certain growth point in their career. And they can move further.
Always complaining:
This is one of the most common mistakes that people don’t realize while making. They think by correcting themselves or others, they are just making things better. But actually, by always complaining about everything or always pointing out mistakes, they are only making their thought process negative. Which in the long term, just attracts problems for them. This does not mean that one should completely ignore any issue in front of their eyes, but they should try to see more positive in things. This way, they will attract more positivity which helps them in growing.
Not learning:
All the industries are growing rapidly, which means the employees need to grow with them. If someone is not learning from their job or not learning new skills, they are most likely to lag behind. To make their careers bloom, a person needs to learn new skills every now and then. These skills depend on the domain’s standards and tech. This enables them to implement the newly learnt skills in their job, which can easily make them better than their colleagues.
Sticking to a boring job:
Gone are the days where people had limited job opportunities. Now there are plenty of good options in the market. And everybody would agree that not all jobs are meant for everyone. People have their specific interests and expectations. So if a person does not feel happy in a job, they should switch is as soon as possible. They should go for the job they think will keep their interest on. This will not only make them perform better at it but also will help in growing their career at a fast pace.
Avoiding new opportunities:
Once a person starts growing in their career, many organizations contact him/her for joining them. While leaving a job can be a little difficult for some, but avoiding good oppotunities can be proven as one of the career mistakes. They should always keep looking for new and better opportunities that can help them in growing.
Not keeping track of salary:
While money might not be the main aspect of the job, but it should not be avoided too. If a person feels that they are not getting paid enough according to their work, they should ask for a raise or switch to the job that will pay them well. While getting well-paid is important, being greedy can be harmful. So they should not be asking for raise every now and then. The organizations have their own system of raising the salary of their employees. They should follow the system too.
Not maintaining balance:
Work-life balance is as important as anything else in life. Work is just a part of life and people should remember that. Several people end up dedicating most of their time to their work. This might be exciting for a short period of time but in the long term, it only frustrates them. This way, they are not able to perform well in their jobs and also ruin their personal lives. So, one should always maintain a balance between their work and life.
Not giving importance to networking:
Networking is a very important aspect of anyone’s career. Whether it is within the organization or outside it. Networking within the company can let people know the company better and networking outside, can help them in opening up to new opportunities.
Buying liabilities:
This is one of those career mistakes that are not even considered as mistakes. People think buying a new house or car is important as soon as they start off their careers. What they don’t realize is that these liabilities can slow down their career growths. Because when they have a liability on them, they cannot take any risks and that just limits up their options. So buying liabilities in early career should be avoided.
By simply noticing these career mistakes and avoiding them, a person can grow their career at a fast pace.
