We are all prone to mistakes. After all, we are only human. Some of the mistakes we make can be attributed to a lack of knowledge, or at times, inexperience. Mistakes are an inevitable part of life and do help to shape what we become in the future.  Mistakes are a part of the learning process.

In our careers, there are several mistakes that we make. Though mistakes are essential for our improvement, these mistakes can wreck your future and your career.  

Career Mistakes To Avoid At All In Career Development

We came up with a list of 7 big career mistakes to avoid in your career.  Here is our list of the most common career mistakes to avoid in this century.

Chasing Success, Putting Your Life on Hold.

Attaining a life-work balance is an issue most people struggle with. Most people chase a successful career and forget they have a life to live. These people forget that if they don’t have a life, then they don’t have a career.

A bigger career mistake to avoid is to think that longer working hours are the sole determinant of your career success. However, it is not in the number of hours but the quality of work. 

Working longer hours leads to burnout which consequently leads to work inefficiency. The quality of work deteriorates while more and more working hours are consumed.

Chasing success in your career and forgetting to live a life is one of the career mistakes to avoid in this era. Strive to attain a good work-life balance.

Shiny Object Syndrome

Shiny object syndrome is a syndrome associated with distraction. Victims of shiny object syndrome tend to constantly chase new things that are bigger and better. These people hop from one place to another in pursuit of something revolutionary and unique.

This syndrome is normally associated with most business people with an entrepreneurial mindset. They crave new challenges and projects while overlooking the tasks at hand. They are highly motivated. While this is a highly admirable characteristic, it can be quite distractive. This might derail your career path.

If you are constantly chasing new challenges and opportunities, chances are that you might get your priorities wrong. Success is not necessarily about being over ambitious and extremely motivated. Sometimes, success requires that you focus on one task and see it to completion.

Burning Bridges

This is the biggest career mistake to avoid. Building good relationships with people is very important. You don’t want to ruin your career by burning bridges. Protecting your reputation goes a long way toward making your career. 

The world is fairly small and chances are that you will cross paths with people from your past. Ensure that you position yourself as a trusted and dependable person. 

While on your way out, do not be tempted by the excitement and urge of pointing out mistakes and dysfunctions of the organization.

Maintain a good relationship with former colleagues. Keep in touch with the former administration. 

Be a likable person that can be mentioned in a room full of opportunities. Burning bridges is definitely a career mistake to avoid. Leave nothing behind but golden footprints.

Ceasing to Develop Your Skills

Most people cease to develop themselves after landing that dream job. This is a career mistake to avoid. Your retention as a valuable employee, and consequently your career highly depends on your skills. It is therefore important to continually develop your skills while on the job.

There are several ways you can increase your skills. On-job training, workplace learning, and project-based learning are a few initiatives to increase your skills. Not only should you increase your technical skills, but you ought to also enhance your soft skills and relational skills. These skills enable you to work well with people and build a career.

Developing your leadership skills is also important in your career.  Being competent in your job is not enough. You must have the leadership skills to manage a team, mentor, guide, and coach your colleagues. 

This establishes you as a valuable person in the organization. Among all career mistakes to avoid in this era, this is one to take note of and avoid making.

Knowing and Doing Everything

Expertise and in-depth knowledge are important in building a career. However, thinking that you must know everything and do everything can be deceitful when building a career.  

Being overly obsessed with details and procedure makes you come across as a micromanager. You sell the notion that you do not trust your team and are better off working alone.

There is nothing wrong with being detail-oriented. In fact, a keen eye for detail and attention are requisite for good work output. However, attaining a balance is important. Do not put a lot of pressure on yourself to know and do everything. This is a career mistake to avoid while building your career.

Being Obsessed With Titles

The narrative that titles are the definition of a successful career is misguided and deceiving. Some people focus so much on titles that they forget to deliver the best results. A relentless pursuit of titles can make you ineffective in your work. 

Do not be overly concerned with titles and status that you forget the little things that matter like work quality. Titles are important but they do not define your career. Focus on building skills and establishing value. 

Being overly obsessed with titles is a career mistake to avoid in order to build your career.

Becoming Passive and Contented

This is a major career mistake to avoid. Most people are lax and become passive after obtaining a good job. They become contented and forget to continually build themselves. 

They barely go beyond obtaining the requisite skills for their job. This can be very harmful while building a career.

To curb this career mistake, it is important to set career goals. Career goals guide you through your career and ensure your constantly develop. Career goals make you proactive and up to the task. Becoming passive is a career mistake to avoid while building your career.

Wrap Up

Unexpected occurrences and mistakes help us grow. We learn from our mistakes and become better. However, some mistakes can be avoided. Our list of career mistakes to avoid will help you build your career without paying for the repercussions of these mistakes. We hope that this post will help you with career mistakes to avoid as you strive to build your career and establish value.

Are you looking to develop your career in the field of data science, cybersecurity, and Salesforce administration? We can help you build skills to enable you to excel in your career. 

We offer valuable courses in data science and analytics, cybersecurity, and Salesforce Administration. Check out our courses section and let’s get started on building that career.