5 Mistakes that Could Damage Your Career

Let’s face it: it’s hard to be good employee. But being a model employee is even harder. In fact, it’s an impossible feat for most of us no matter how polite, patient or hardworking we are. And it’s alright: we’re only human after all. Making mistakes is part of work. What could get you into trouble though is if you don’t know how to recognize your mistakes, or worse, don’t even know you’re committing them. Found below are just some of the career mistakes that could be damaging to your career: Overestimating yourself. You bring a lot of value to the team for being able to deliver, we’ll give you that. And being the highly productive person that you are, you don’t mind taking on more projects whenever your boss asks you to do your team a solid by accepting more tasks. Libby Kane of Fast Company, however, warns against biting off more than you can chew. Kane advises workers to be realistic of their capabilities and to refrain from volunteering for work they aren’t so familiar with. Going offline. With all the privacy changes on Facebook and social media, more and more people are trying to limit their social media use. Some even resort to not using social media altogether. But using social media is not bad per se. It’s basically how you use it that makes all the difference. Kane’s article, which has also been published on Lifehacker.com, emphasizes on using social media to build a “dynamic presence” online. This presence can help get you better job prospects. She quotes Cheryl Palmer, Call to Career career coach and owner: “Majority of recruiters now scour online sources for additional information on candidates. Social media sites come up in the first few results and you’ll want to be represented well.” Job-hopping. Job-hopping may be something you have done a lot in your early 20s when you were just searching for your identity and all. But moving forward with this bad habit won’t do you any good if you’re looking for a long-term and stable career. Job hopping is a red-flag for HR generalists and unless you put an end to it and stick with a job, it will definitely come back and haunt you for throughout your career, one way or another. Usurping company resources/lack of integrity. Utilizing a study by Farh et al. (1999), the Management and Psychology website lists personal use of company resources as one of the top categories of unethical business practices. Well, news flash, if you’re doing it, it’s unethical and you should stop it. Besides being found out for doing so could be utterly humiliating, not to mention, career suicide for you. Failing to follow-up (follow through) on something. Listed by Forbes.com as a top networking blunder, this also applies to one’s everyday job. Failure to follow up on something, be it a task or a phone call, could negatively affect your credibility and how management perceives you.  Stay accountable at all times. Do what you promise to do. If you’re one of the people who procrastinate or keep on forgetting things, then keep a notepad and ballpen with you and make a to-do list. It’s never too late to change old habits. Improve on your work habits with career training and start building a vibrant career today! Meditec has a wide range of career training programs that could meet your needs.