4 biggest career mistakes you should never make

Caree mistake

During the early stages of your working life, or throughout your student years. You are always told about supposed career faux pas which you must  avoid at all costs. Here we help you remove the noise and outline the 4 biggest career mistakes you can make.

If you can avoid these 4 mistakes, you will be on a fast-track to career bliss.

1) Ignoring your passion

One of the most important aspects of career success is the consistency of your career path with your passions. If you are passionate about your work, then it won’t seem like a chore. Not only will you feel fulfilled if you do what you love, but over time you will become great at what you do. In short, if you follow your passion, not only will you enjoy what you are doing, additionally you will be better at what you do.

Discovering your true passions can sometimes be incredibly difficult. The philosopher Allan Watts suggests, considering what you would do if money was not an object. For example, if money didn’t matter, what would you do with your time? It can also be a useful exercise to think back to your dreams and hobbies when you were younger.

2) Setting your expectations too low

If you set your expectations too low, there is little opportunity for you to achieve anything worthwhile in your life. By setting your expectations too low, you limit your opportunities.

Ambition is the fuel that will light the fire of your career. Human beings are goal fulfilling machines, if your aspirations are too low you will be stuck in a limbo of mediocrity. It is not your skills or talent that limits you, rather it is your vision and your drive to achieve that matters. 

3) Missing out on relevant experience

Work experience, internships, volunteering, blah, blah, blah. You are constantly told that you must have experience to have a successful career.

According to Forbes 66% of employers value work experience more than academic experience. But satisfying an employer isn’t the only reason to get experience in your chosen field. Experience lets you try things out, learn about a particular field and make your mistakes before being thrown in the deep end.

4) Not networking and burning bridges

“When you’ve worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. You reach back, and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed.” – Michelle Obama

Once they’ve got that job, many people will simply stop networking. This is completely the wrong approach to networking, networking should be a two-way exchange.  The key to continual career growth is the mutual exchange of assistance that is afforded by networking.

One burnt bridge, could be a missed opportunity further down the line. This implies the importance of continually managing your network and helping others connect with potential opportunities that may be of interest to them.

The old adage “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” becomes increasingly valid as the years go by.

Capital Placement

Capital Placement

Capital Placement offering global internship programmes for students and recent graduates since 2012 with one of our 1500+ partner companies across 25+ industries.

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