These 5 ways to screw up you career may seem exaggerated, but I have run into each of these ideas many times in classes and coaching. Often, they are not exactly people’s first topic of conversation. They are hidden in their assumptions, but once revealed, tell a lot about why someone is having problems with their careers. See if any of them are lurking in your assumptions. Below each is a short discussion of a better way to go.
1. Decide that what you’ve done in the past and your current skills list are all you can ever do unless you start from scratch.
The past need not predict the future. It’s up to you. There are many ways to move into new areas or advance. Look out for projects at your company that will expand your role or set of skills. Look for mentors. Look for volunteer opportunities. Look for internships. Change doesn’t necessarily require going back for another degree, though that’s an option too.
Even if you go for education, you may not need to get a degree. A client of mine who decided he wanted to switch careers and become a technical writer was discouraged when he talked with a for-profit university about the courses he might take. They told him he couldn’t choose a few courses, but had to get a full degree. That wasn’t possible. But that was only one view. Fortunately, we were working with a variety of informational interviews. He talked with technical writers and managers who were hiring technical writers and learned that he didn’t necessarily need a degree. Some job postings confirmed this. He needed to develop a solid portfolio and that this was very possible to do without a degree.
2. Rely on career assessments and follow their advice even if you feel uncomfortable with the career options
I continue to have clients who have done extensive career testing and have come up with ideas for careers that not only don’t excite them, but actually depress them. This doesn’t mean assessments can’t be helpful, only that the ultimate guide is you–not a standardized assessment comparing your answers to others. Look for what challenges and interests you instead of how you match up with others. Look for what seems meaningful to you that you’d like to keep doing and what you’d like to learn about. In addition, look for the kind of work environment and opportunities you’d like.
3. Decide where the big paying careers are and choose one of those that you can do.
As practical as that sounds, it can be a sad choice in the long-term. We want happiness and a sense of purpose most of all. So start with those factors before looking at the money.
4. Put off a career decision until you feel inspired to act
A great idea if you want to procrastinate. As artist Chuck Close says, inspiration is for amateurs (vs. hard work, dedication, trying things out…) Or Edison–Genius is 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration. Inspiration can be amazing and set your brain and life on fire. But if you’re just waiting for it, it’s not likely to arrive. Instead, if you start moving toward a decision regardles of inspiration, you are making progress on getting a career you may really love and creating a better mental space for inspiration to strike.
5. Go for whatever opportunity comes up and just see where that will lead.
That might be a cool way for someone in college to try out some part time jobs or internships, but I hear client after client tell me that’s what they did in their careers, and now they want to make a more conscious choice about their lives and careers.
Don’t get me wrong. Unexpected opportunities are great. Research has shown that people who are deemed “lucky” are people who do notice opportunities, so that’s a great skill. Sometimes you have to jump at new opportunities without knowing if they will work out.
But that doesn’t take the place of defining a career you’ll love. Once you do that, you are more likely to see RELEVANT opportunities than if you just wait for someone to hand you a job opportunity.
While the new year is a great time psychologically to set new goals, we often go about it the wrong way.
You’re headed for the job interview, and you know it’s coming. After that first moment of good eye contact, the firm (but not too firm) handshake and getting settled in an attentive, but not too-eager position in your chair, it arrives: The simple question that stymies so many jobseekers–Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?
Work references are crucial to any job search, even when switching jobs within the same company. Recently, Team Office, a major placement firm, released the results of an independent survey of hiring managers, showing the importance of references AND what the hiring managers were seeking from references. You can read the full official release 
Instead rethink what you’re really trying to accomplish. Instead of framing this primarily as a time management issue, look at your situation as a creative problem solving situation around your main goals (overall or for the day or week). Instead of cutting out 5 minutes here and there so you can get home 15 minutes earlier so you can run off to do something else–figure out what you really want your life to look like. Then look at what changes need to be made to start moving you in that direction. Only THEN can you meaningfully start looking at what needs cutting and what doesn’t.
In fact, sometimes making things faster and avoiding interruptions may be a big mistake as it can increase the sense of being always on the go. It can eliminate time to be creative and fully engaged. It can eliminate the best social elements of work (which are always important even if not part of anyone’s job description).
In other words, don’t start by trying to save time every which way or writing down your to do list in a computer program or iPhone app. Start by deciding what you’d really like.
For example, if one thing you’d really like is an hour a day more with your kids, start solving that challenge. That may lead to dropping less important tasks or it may involve rearranging a schedule or even batching errands together more efficiently. The point is to know that this is a priority and you’ll do whatever works best for making sure that gets done. It may mean slowing down rather than speeding up so you can be relaxed enough to really enjoy time with your kids.
Step one then is to come up with all your goals about work and personal life and prioritizing them. Even better is to start with your dreams rather than the more rational idea of goals. A great way to do this that I use all the time with clients is to journal a few days in your ideal life as you’d imagine it. That makes it concrete, real and detailed.
If you start this way you are motivated by your passions. But if you start trying to save time with a sense of getting more done, you may get more done but then you will likely wind up with so much more stuffed into your schedule, you are wind up back where you were, feeling as stressed and overwhelmed as ever.
Here’s a start to this approach:
I know that isn’t always easy. But I also know if you start with reading another book (or seeing another talk on) time management and don’t do these 3 steps first or something like them, you may become more efficient and technically more productive (if you’re lucky), but not happier–and isn’t that your real goal?