Your career path will be a long journey, so you shouldn’t allow a few bumps in the road to be what determines your success as a whole. There are a few components in this journey that are vital to long-term success. As you work to reach the next stage of your professional life, there are a few things to keep in mind. The following are a few mistakes that should be avoided as well as possible to help with success in your career and ways to avoid making these mistakes:
Mistake #1: Not Networking
Networking is one of the most important things you can do for your career. More often than not, companies prefer to hire job seekers that hold previous professional connections of some sort with their company. Businesses need employees that they can trust to get the job done and do it well. Whether it’s through a personal connection, previous work relationship, or even a recommendation from a high-profile individual in the field, having a good network is very beneficial to one's career. Not actively pursuing to maintain a good professional network is truly a disservice to you and your career.
Solution: Attend networking events and join professional networking platforms
In today’s age, there are several ways to easily connect with people, in person and virtually. You can start within the current company you work for. Seek out new perspectives and ideas from your coworkers, speak with people from other departments, form good relationships with clients, and reach out to leaders in your field or in positions you’d like to be in to gain information and advice.
LinkedIn can be your networking best friend, so if you don’t have one or haven’t put much effort into it, do it now. This platform, along with Instagram and occasionally Facebook, can help you build your brand online. Start by joining industry groups, ask countless questions, and share content that you believe is valuable for people in your field. Before you realize it, networking will become second nature and a constant part of your work to-do list, and the success in your career will, in turn, be better.
Mistake #2: Underselling yourself
Though humility is known to be a good character trait to have, it can lead to your downfall in your career if you’re not careful. Showing a lot of humility or underselling yourself in the job market can lead to employers not seeing your true value and potential. Whether you’re holding back discussing your accomplishments on your resume or not mentioning your successes in an interview, an employer won’t know how valuable you are unless you tell them. Recommendations can help within interviews but you cannot depend on them completely to help you get a job.
Solution: Express your accomplishments and strengths often
Whether you’re in an interview, talking with someone at a networking event, or even just writing out your resume, stand behind your work. You should be your support system in those situations, speaking highly of yourself and the work that you’ve accomplished. Know and express your strengths in the workplace. Communicate your value to potential employers so that they can understand what you can bring to the table and begin to appreciate your skill, too.
Mistake #3: Not challenging yourself or stepping out of your comfort zone
The professional world is constantly changing and evolving. New processes and technologies are being developed and released all the time, contributing to everyone’s desire to be the best in their market. This rapid rate of change may seem intimidating, especially if you’re already used to something, but letting yourself fall behind is a huge mistake. Trying new things will allow you to show your value to a current and future employer constantly and falling behind will allow others to surpass you and leave you in the dust. Don’t let your fear of trying new things keep you from living out your career dreams and goals.
Solution: Seek out challenging opportunities to learn new things for your career
If you have the opportunity, consider furthering your education in some way. Whether that be getting an associate's degree or a technical degree in something, look for ways that you can put yourself above the rest in your career field. Search for virtual courses you could take that seem interesting and challenging that you could do in your free time. If you don’t have the excess time or money to be able to traditionally further your education, try just educating yourself on the latest trends and tools that could make you more effective and efficient in your career.
For more advice on how to keep your career on target, connect with a recruiter at Allied OneSource today!
