CAREER MISTAKES YOU’RE MOST LIKELY TO MAKE

As it is said, people learn from their mistakes. This is true. People with a lot of experience can also make career mistakes. You can’t say people who are successful today, they haven’t made any career mistakes. Anyone can make mistakes.

People grow in their career by making career mistakes. Learning from mistakes is a must. You shouldn’t have to be angry or frustrated if you have made a mistake. You have to learn from that mistake and make sure that you didn’t make that mistake again.

Let’s know more about some career mistakes you’re most likely to make.

10 Career Mistakes You’re Most Likely to Make

1. No other factor taken in account other than Money – The most common career mistake you make is you consider money over everything else.

Don’t choose a career or job only because it’s a highly paid job or career. You should have interest in the career you choose because you have to work for your complete life.

Also, don’t choose a job that is giving you more pay. You should also consider factors other than money like- job security, benefits, compensation, growth opportunities, work safety, work balance and many more.

2. Not Knowing Your Strengths and Weaknesses – If you don’t have knowledge about your strengths and weaknesses, you will be unable to set your career goals and your next career move.

Your strength is something you are confident about and you assure that you are the best. On the other hand, everyone has a weakness, there is nothing to be ashamed of. You have to work hard on yourself. So don’t stop, keep working on yourself.

3. Not Consider Networking – Most of us make this career mistake, but we have to know the importance of networking.

You have to consider networking because it’s important for your career. You should have professional contacts which can help you in future.

Networking can also bring you career opportunities. It also helps you to know about the latest trends and technologies in the industry.

4. Not Learning New Skills – Working for years, you may think that you have all the skills. But this is not true. As time keeps on changing, technology also keeps on changing.

For e.g., in earlier times, we used to use button phones and now smartphones. So as technology keeps on changing, requirements for the job also keep on changing. You can’t stay outdated. Hence, you have to upgrade your skills with the time.

So, take time and know where your skill or knowledge is lacking and then make sure you take necessary steps to cover these things.

5. Not Asking for a Raise – Many employees don’t know their worth. Maybe they underestimate themselves. So, not asking for a raise or settling for less pay than you deserve can be the result of this thing.

For asking for a raise, you must know the value of your skills. You need to be confident about your worth. If you don’t ask the employer to raise your salary, he/she will think that you are satisfied. So don’t be hesitant in asking for a raise. Salary.com is one the sites that tell you about salary range- industry wise, you should aim for.

6. Poor Communication Skills and Poor Writing Skills – You need to have good communication skills. For e.g. If you know everything and you are unable to get words to explain that, then you have poor communication skills.

Also, writing skills are also important. When you send an email that is full of grammatical errors and misspelled words, that will give a really bad impression of yours to others.

It doesn’t matter that you are a brilliant your ideas are, but your communication and writing skills will always make an impression

So, if you have this problem, you can improve it because it directly affects your career.

7. Organizational Skills

Organizational skills here, refers to meeting the deadlines of work that you are given. If you are unable to meet deadlines, you are gaining the tag of unorganized person. This tag is not good for your reputation.

If you face this problem, you need to priorities your work and distribute the work accordingly.

8. Not Stepping Forward for Responsibility – So, many of us think that: if we get promoted, we will get or take more responsibility.

But the fact is that you have to take an extra responsibility, to get yourself promoted. You have to take responsibility to show your abilities, so that you can be considered for promotion.

9. Not Setting Boundaries – By making this career mistake, you can affect your physical and mental health. You should know how to say “no” to your bosses and colleagues.

You may think that this is contradicting with taking more responsibility, but the main point is that you don’t have to take all the responsibilities. You have to take those responsibilities which can be helpful for your growth. You don’t have to put in your efforts for low- skill busy work.

You have to be wiser so that you know what type of work can be helpful for your career growth. Otherwise, your bosses and colleagues will keep giving you work until you become physically or mentally unfit.

10. Burning Bridges / Negative Attitude – So, this can include gossiping about your colleagues, boss, company or management. You don’t have to get personal as well. You have to remain positive in whatever circumstances. Future is uncertain, you don’t know who can help you in the future.

Backbiting and gossiping about your colleagues, bosses, management or company is not a professional thing to do. Maintain a positive and friendly relationship with your colleagues and bosses.

So, at the end of the day, you have to maintain a positive attitude to maintain a positive work environment.

Conclusion

At the end, we conclude that: – Making career mistakes is not something you should be scared of. You have put in little effort for yourself to grow more. Do not make money your first priority, consider other factors like growth opportunities etc.

You should know your strengths and weaknesses. Consider networking, it is a very important part of your career. Always learn new things to go hand in hand with time and technology. Never underestimate yourself, you can ask for a raise if you know your value and you think that you deserve much better than that.

You should have good communication, writing and organizational skills. You should also step forward for responsibility you know can help in future. On the other hand, you should also know how to say no to extra work that can affect your health. You should always and always have a positive attitude towards your bosses, colleagues, management and company.