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Unless
you are very wealthy or extremely good at winning
lotteries, you can expect to be working for 40 years
of your life or more. And while not everyone has
what it takes to become a top executive, you do have
complete control over how far you go and how much
you earn in your career.
You can
crack the corporate success code! But only if you
stop making career-killing mistakes...
Here are the Top 5 Career-Killing Mistakes People
Still Make & Then Wonder Why They're Not Advancing
Their Careers:
Career Killing-Mistake #1: Not knowing the real
purpose of your resume.
Of all the things critical to landing a great job,
having a great resume isn't on the list because
that's not its real purpose! And you cannot create a
killer resume if you don't know what that purpose
actually is.
The purpose of your resume is not to get the job.
It's to be selected for the short-list of people
that the employer wants to interview. This decision
is made in less than 10 seconds and NOT by the
hiring manager. It's usually an administrative
assistant who looks at the submissions and it takes
him/her at least 3 seconds to look at your name! Not
understanding this means most resumes are thrown in
the trash immediately.
Career-Killing Mistake #2: Not getting the
answer to the most important question of all before
you start answering your interviewer's questions.
The hiring decision is made in the first four
minutes of a job interview. Everything that happens
after this only serves to reinforce your
interviewer's decision. You HAVE to get the answer
to this question before time is up: Are they looking
to hire MORE people like those they already have on
the team/in the department or are they looking for
people who are DIFFERENT from those already on staff
to inject new blood/fresh thinking into their
organization? The answer to this question will
determine how you respond to their questions.
Otherwise, you'll just be wasting their time and
yours.
Career-Killing Mistake #3: Believing the key to
success is working hard and putting in long hours
then making sure your boss knows about it.
Most people believe ensuring people know how hard
you are working is the #1 key to getting ahead. No
-- A thousand times no! This is actually one of the
fastest ways to hold yourself back in your career!
In fact only 3% of people working hard ever
experience success. And this career-killing mistake
is not good for your health either.
Career-Killing Mistake #4: Not doing the one
thing that renders all on-the-job competition
irrelevant.
The one thing is taking ACTION. Taking action
requires no special tools or intelligence. And 98%
of your co-workers will NOT be doing it.
In any organization there are always a bazillion
things that need to be done. However, 10% of the
employee population will make professional
commitments to getting things done with enthusiasm.
And only 2% ever actually take action.
Management has to constantly CHASE and FOLLOW UP
with the other 98% if they want to make sure things
are getting done. So what this means is if you work
in a department of 100 people, only 10 people will
have high potential and only 2 people will be in
direct competition for raises and promotions.
So, if you're not taking action you are
automatically keeping yourself from getting ahead
and won't be taking home the paycheck you deserve.
Career-Killing Mistake #5: Not setting up an
employment file at home and not checking what the
employer has in your personnel file once a year.
No one will ever care more about your career than
you do. Create your own employment file and keep it
at home.
Also, once a year, make an appointment with Human
Resources to review your personnel file. Mistakes
happen. Only you can make sure all the good things
that should be in your file are actually there.
Opinions (strong ones) of your worth to the employer
are formed on the basis of what is found in that
file. Don't let the wrong ones be made about you.
The Best Way to Avoid These Career-Killing Mistakes
These
career-killing mistakes and many others people still
make at work have one thing in common. They are all
easily preventable. The best way to do that is to
get a good mentor. Someone more experienced, who can
guide your way and keep you from making these
mistakes in the first place!
About the Author:
Career Advancement Expert Linda M. Lopeke can
help you turn your college degree or new job into a
corporate career worth hundreds of thousands of
dollars over the course of your professional
lifetime with her SmartStart Success virtual
mentoring programs. Linda dares you to take the
$1,000 cash-for-college challenge and test your
office smarts at
http://www.smartstartcoach.com.
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