Three Ways to Inadvertently Self-Sabotage Your Career

Want to get ahead in your career? This sounds like a no brainer, right? Sometimes we may end up self-sabotaging ourselves without even knowing it. There may be a few misconceptions contributing to being in a job rut. Whether they're conscious or not, a few contributing factors may keep your career completely stalled instead of moving onward and upward. As pointed out by Alison Green in her blog post on U.S. News & World Report, one of the factors involves thinking doing your job adequately is enough. She wrote, "Doing a merely adequate job isn't enough these days. With so many qualified job seekers available for hire, you need to go above and beyond to be seen as valuable." If you're perceived as someone who does the minimum to simply get by instead of going the extra mile, a savvy boss will be able to quickly replace you with someone who goes above and beyond. In another example, Green remarked on a myth that your work speaks for itself. Reality check: It doesn't. It's almost like a tree that falls in a forest; if no one witnesses it, does it really make a sound? In the post Green wrote, "You could do great work, but if no one knows about it, you might not get the credit you deserve." Sure, you may have done stellar research on a feature piece or fact checked like it's nobody's business but if you don't toot your own horn, no one else will. Plus, when other people such as a new editor, let's say, sends an email thanking you for your hard work on turning around a polished piece ahead of deadline, it's up to you to send it up the food chain to your managing editor. Lastly, another misconception revolves around doing great work and letting it stand on its own merit. Well, the work doesn't speak for itself and neither does its independence. It's attached to something — check that, someone: You! And of course, your go get 'em attitude! Green explained in the piece, "If you complain frequently, regularly shoot down ideas, or act like the office prima donna, your boss probably considers you a pain." Enough said.

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Three Ways to Inadvertently Self-Sabotage Your Career

Vicki Salemi

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Vicki Salemi