Career Limiting Habits

You attend every meeting, work beyond the required number of hours, give constructive suggestions, and show up on time every morning. You are a model employee, but despite your amazing work conduct, you might not be as far along your career as you had hoped.

What’s wrong with this picture?

You may not be asserting and advocating yourself enough, especially in the office. As ambitious as you are, you may still doubt yourself, and this hinders your success. As much as you try to be the best there is, you may still be committing a few mistakes along the way. Could you be downplaying your accomplishments? Socially speaking, boys are encouraged to toot their own horn while girls are required to be more modest about their talents. Whether you are male or female, you must take a step forward and champion your accomplishments.

Your supervisors may be too busy to notice the staff. Chances are that they don’t know what you’re doing, and you need to tell them. Help them become aware by sending short and humble notes that hint that you are proud of what you’ve done because of the number of hours you put into it. A simple message like that will not make people think that you are egotistical. It’s short and sweet, but it’ll surely open the eyes of your supervisors so that they can help you fast-track your career.

Could you be speaking in a less than professional tone? You may find yourself using a lot of slang when talking to your supervisors. These speaking habits may indicate how you are professionally. “It was, like, uh, totally stressful!” Are you still going through puberty and unsure about your goal? Using a tone like that indicates that you still have some growing up to do. Be authoritative when you talk so that people will believe in what you have to say.

Confidence brings you further than you might think. If you know that what you’re saying is true, show it in your facade. People would rather listen to experts. Are you confident enough? If you want to command attention and ask for the respect that you so deserve, you must let go of the fear of rejection. If companies can negotiate, so can you. Research what you have to say and attend meetings well-prepared. If you know what you are talking about, then you’ll be ready to take your stand.

Everyone fears failure, so many people simply take the coward’s way out and play it safe. It is perfectly understandable that you want your life’s course to run smoothly. You don’t want to get into a situation that threatens to destroy the house of cards that you built, but ironically, real growth occurs when you step out of your comfort zone and set foot in the new territory. So if you want you career to blossom, you may have to just take a deep breath and go for it. This attitude is what can make people admire you. You just need the guts to play the game that everyone must join!

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