In the workplace, there are small missteps that are easy to recover from and then there are big blunders that can kill your career. Whether you are just starting out or have been in your career for years, here are four career missteps to avoid:
Everyone wants to get ahead, but the successful ones know their limitations and the timing associated with the right career move. Knowing when to push for a new promotion or career move is important. Trying to climb the corporate ladder to quickly can result in a poor reputation or worse failure in the new role. Often the new role is very visible and can greatly diminish your chances of moving up within the organization.
The average millennial will change job 6.3 times from age 18-25. Changing jobs for the right reason can benefit your career, but it depends on how and why you are making the change. While employers are much more willing to accept job hopping from the younger folk, a lot depends on how they do it. For more experience professional, be careful not to ‘job hop’. Moving jobs too often, even for the right reasons can make landing your dream role move difficult. When you do decided to leave a role, be candid, pick an exit timeline and stick to it and put in the extra work to ensure a smooth transition for you and your employer. This will prevent burned bridges that can come back to haunt you in the future.
Human nature doesn’t disappear when you start a new job, so it’s understandably that like-minded people tend to gravitate toward each other. Often, workplace bonds can be deep and long lasting. However, getting too close with one group of people and it can hurt your career, particularly if that group falls out of favor or are part of a round of layoffs. A better strategy is to make friends across the entire organization. This will help you build your name and reputation within the company. The more people you know throughout the company, the greater your connections and networking opportunities.
No matter your level within a company, we all have manager and mentors that can help us navigate and improve our job performance. These people can provide you with invaluable advice and feedback, but you must be willing to accept it. If you never learn to accept feedback or criticism, you’ll kill your career before it begins.
You worked hard to find a great job that fits your skills and experience. You tailed you resume to best represent you and your background. Now you are schedule for an in person interview. Don’t make the biggest mistake most candidate make during an interview…..they lack confidence!
An interview is a time to sell yourself. You need to spend the time creating a conversation about your experience, your successes, and your goals. You want to give the interviewer the impression you can handle the job and you have the confidence to fit into the corporate culture and succeed.
Take some time, as you prepare for the interview, to prepare several points about each job in your career history. Highlight tough challenges and how you overcame them. Use specific example and be sure to quantify your success.
Most importantly…remember to always make eye contact, smile and speak up!
Employers like confident people. When you are confident in yourself, they will be confident in you.
Delta Computer Consulting, Inc. is certified through the WBENC (Women’s Business Enterprise National Council) as a woman-owned and woman-operated business.
