If you’re happy where you are in your career, stop reading now. This article isn’t for you. For those of us continually looking forward, these tips are for you.

• Fail to plan, plan to fail – You would be surprised to find out how many people don’t have career goals and a written plan. I’m not talking about the half-hearted attempt at career planning that some companies require. People who achieve have a realistic plan they believe in.
• Assuming if you just get it done, the rest will take care of itself – Trusting others to drive your career is a huge risk. While there are some great leaders who proactively drive career development for their team, this is not common. Top performers take accountability to driving their own results when it comes to career development.
• Lack of execution – In order for you to stay on the fast track, you will need to get work done. Not creating accomplishments and working the system may work for a short time, but in the end you will fail. The top 20% of any workforce does 80% of the work. Accept that fact and be among the top producers.
• Job hopping – Studies show that after 2 to 3 years in the same role top performers often master the demands and become bored. It’s important to change responsibilities or take on more so you will keep improving your skills and building your accomplishments. Avoid the temptation to change companies of roles every 1 to 2 years—you need to build stability in your career, otherwise companies will not invest in you. While one wrong turn in a career is explainable, 2 or 3 1 to 3 year stints will get you off the fast track really quick.
• Staying too long in one company or role – The opposite of job hopping is growing roots. While experts will argue, the ideal time in one company is either 5 to 7 years or 7 to 10 years. After a while, the company will take you for granted no matter how good you are, and you will no longer be learning and growing. The exception to this is very large companies like J&J where you can literally change jobs 2 to 3 times in your career and be in the same company for 20 years. It’s still unlikely in this scenario that another company will hire you for a top job after 20 years in one company. The question is whether you can “learn” a new company and culture.
• Failure to create a network – A healthy and growing network of people who have been down the road you’re headed, peers who face the same challenges as you, as well as 1 to 2 good professional career advisers (head hunters focused on relationships not job sales people) are key components to your career.

 

This list of fatal career mistakes is by no means exhaustive, but it should keep you clear of the most common issues people fall into. If you’re looking for a career counselor you can trust or to build your network, reach out to me or a member of my team here at Med Device Talent.

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