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Particularly when you’ve been in a job for a while, you can stop seeing the woods for the trees and this can lead to actions (or inactions) that risk stunting your career or an aspect of it. We’ve put our heads together and come up with the most damaging career mistakes you might not even know you’re making.
Coasting along in the comfort zone
It’s all too easy to stick with what you know and stay in that lovely, safe comfort zone. The truth is, it’s not doing you any favours at all. Challenging yourself and pushing your limits is one of the best things you can do as a professional in any career you’ve chosen. Without challenges, you don’t learn and learning is crucial to progressing and developing.
Bridge-burning
Just don’t do it. It doesn’t matter how sure you are that you will never need the help of a previous employer or colleague, always remain gracious and never create bad blood. Any animosity you feel towards someone you worked with or for will be fleeting. The result of burning a bridge will be a much longer-lasting hindrance so regardless of how you feel at the time, remain composed and keep that link very much flame-free!
Neglecting networks
Always keep an active network going, whether it’s through physical events or online (preferably both). A good network is incredibly useful – maybe not right now, but it will be later. It does take some work to maintain a solid and current network but it is worth the effort. Resurrecting one you’ve neglected later on is much harder than nurturing your current one.
Not being online
You can’t avoid it, so embrace it. Now, we’re not saying you need to be active every day on every platform from Facebook to SnapChat, but choose a few (LinkedIn must be one of them) and keep the updates going. You are missing out on so much if you stay offline.
Progressing in your career takes work but sometimes you can forget about certain aspects that you might not deem very important at the time. Be careful not to fall into that trap. It all counts at some point so be mindful of any mistakes you might currently be making and nip them in the bud.