The 5 most common career mistakes
Job seekers often overvalue salary and undervalue the quality of their future colleagues
I've posted about the top five career regrets but what are the most common career mistakes people make?
The job-change mistakes most frequently identified by recruiters were (1) doing inadequate research; (2) being swayed excessively by money; (3) moving "from" rather than "to"; (4) overestimating oneself; and (5) thinking short term.
Let's dig in and analyze each.
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Mistake 1: Doing inadequate research
Research isn't just a good idea before the interview.
It's necessary to understand whether the new company is someplace you're really going to be happy.
Mistake 2: Leaving for money
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Because money is an easy measuring stick of success, people often ignore less quantifiable metrics like fulfillment, respect, and good co-workers.
This leads to a bigger salary but less overall happiness.
Mistake 3: Moving "from" rather than "to"
This is one of the most common career mistakes I've seen personally: Some people are so eager to escape where they're at, they don't pay much attention to where they're headed.
Mistake 4: Overestimating oneself
I've posted about overconfidence many times.
People often overestimate their ability to tackle challenges in a new role. Combined with Mistake #1, this can have devastating results.
Mistake 5: Not taking a long-term perspective
We think of star employees as jumping around, taking bigger and better offers when it suits them.
Research shows A-players actually move to competitors less frequently.
Many stars recognize the value inherent in colleagues, context, and relationships and are smart enough to stick with a good thing.
So what should you do?
Work for the best company you can.
Sounds obvious but it's not. As described above, people's most common career mistakes often involve being lured by salary, titles, or sheer impulsiveness.
Working for top firms makes it easier to become a star in the first place, and the longer people stay, the better they do.
When B-players move to A-level firms, they don't suffer a decrease in performance.
When A-players step down to B-firms, they have the biggest declines.
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