Mistakes People Make When Looking for the Perfect Career

 

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Choosing a career is an important part of most people's lives. After all, it is an activity that you will spend a lot of our life doing. Some people don’t know what they want to be when they grow up, others have a change of heart later down the line, and some people just like to try new things. Whatever your situation is it is never too late to change careers and there are plenty of online resources and training centres such as stl that can provide you with the necessary courses, certificates, and skill sets to achieve your desired career path. However, when you are deciding on which path to take, make sure you don’t make these common mistakes people make when looking for the perfect career.

 

Choosing or chasing money over job satisfaction, ability, and interest

Often people can become blinded or tempted by the amount of money that they can potentially make if they are successfully chosen to fill a specific role, instead of researching the role they are applying for and thinking about how satisfying the job will be, or if they even have an interest in this area. Of course, having a high-paying job will relieve some of your daily worries and struggles, but it is important to weigh these benefits up against your happiness, mental health, and how long you can realistically stay in this job.

 

To avoid making this mistake, instead of chasing a salary or having “how much you earn per year” as a goal try and focus on whether you have an interest in the role you are applying for. This will help to keep you motivated, engaged, and interested at work, leading to higher chances of success within your company or even being offered better salaries elsewhere. If you are interested in your work, you are also much more likely to have higher job satisfaction than someone who is working purely for their paycheck. You should also consider your abilities. For example, if there is something that you are extremely good at then it would be a shame to put these skills on a shelf in exchange for just a salary.

 

Living out other people’s dreams for them

When growing up a common question that everyone is asked is “what do you want to be when you grow up” and your answer can often be put in your mouth by family members or friends when you are younger. This can be for many reasons such as parents wanting to live their lives and dreams through their children, or just simply noticing that their child has a particular skill set or flair in an area of their life, and as such believe it would be a waste if these skills were not put to use in the working world.

 

While there is merit to these beliefs and you should consider and take on what your friends and family tell you with regard to how well you do at certain tasks, it is also important to note that you should not make the mistake of solely following their dreams and ideas. Instead, use their thoughts as advice and pointers to help guide your intuition and feelings as to which type of career would best suit you.

 

Undervaluing personal potential

A mistake that a lot of people make in life, and specifically when choosing a career path is undervaluing capabilities and self-worth. This can come from being told you are not good enough by the people in your life, focusing too much on other people's achievements through social media platforms and becoming overwhelmed, or even just a lack of research into the career path in which you have an interest in.

 

To avoid undervaluing yourself, try to limit the amount of time you sit on social media as this will help you stop comparing everything in your life to others. This way you can put more time and effort into working and focusing on yourself, leading to a better positive mental attitude. While you cannot stop others from saying negative things that bring you down, you can choose who you surround yourself with. This doesn’t mean you need to cut everyone out of your life, but if you find yourself surrounded by negativity you should consider ways to deal with this.

 

There are many opportunities and careers out there for people of all ages, skills, and abilities. Just be sure when you are looking for the perfect career path to take that you don’t make one of these mistakes.