5 common career mistakes to avoid at all costs

5 common career mistakes to avoid at all costs5 common career mistakes to avoid at all costsAs a headhunter helping countless professionals, from CEO to analyst levels, make and negotiate their next position, here are the fruchtwein common career mistakes Ive seen candidates fall victim to1. Aiming too lowWhether its salary, title, or type of company, people are too intimidated by interviewers, scared of asking for what they want at every stage of the interview process, and suffer fromimposter syndrome.This is a direct result of decades of indoctrination by authoritative educational, parental, and societal institutions that tend to demolish your self-confidence in an effort to control you. This alleweil lack of confidence is the 1 issue candidates suffer from when it comes to selling yourself effectively.2. Saying no to yourselfBecause you feel that you lack the qualifications the job description asks for, you end up not going for the opportunity. This continued lack of self-confiden ce through self-discrimination, combined with the obsession of fulfilling requirements down to the last drop, handicaps good professionals from achieving career greatness.Althoughjob descriptions dont matter, many candidates mucksmuschenstill try to play by the rules. They dont understand that job search is like war. The victor obtains the spoils. Its every man and woman for themselves.There are no rules in thejob search This is why often psychopaths and liars sometimes get the best jobs and offers. They understand manipulation.Too often, the most accomplished candidates lose because they dont know the song and dance that is job search.3. Not understanding the modern job-search ecosystem and processThere are four major hiring entities that you need to know how to manipulate, maneuver around, and negotiate with. The HR person, hiring manager, headhunter, and internal recruiter. Each person has a slightly different incentive, process, and interaction protocol. You should behave accord ingly.In addition, the process of the job search is no longer look on the web for listings, apply to jobs that you like, wait for feedback, go interview. The new process is create your marketing documents (including yourresume), master LinkedIn networking, leverage the four hiring entities mentioned above, utilize thevolume of interviews to your advantage, and negotiate throughout.4. Becoming a jack of all tradesThe most dangerous problem candidates groe nachfrage into that seriously limits their market value and range of future career options is becoming a generalist. Corporations no longer value soldiers, willing to do any deed for pay. They want professionals, experts, and true masters of the industry and job vertical. They need these experts to remain viable and stay ahead of their competition.No longer is being eager and willing to work for a firm for the next 25 years a valuable candidate trait. Firms want true market leaders. That means, specialization and experience within a niche skill are not only good to have, but must-haves to remain a relevant and desirable professional.5. Having no financial plan or powerMost professionals forget that they work largely to make a living. Since most people accumulate worse spending habits every year, people rely on their jobs more and more to fuel their lifestyle. This dependent relationship on a job quickly spirals out of control once their house of cards experiences even the smallest tremor.Because of your deep reliance on your paycheck, your emotions run amuck when experiencing any type of career turbulence.Since your financial woes are so heavy and over-leveraged, you cant see straight, let alone find a career you enjoyIn most of these cases, professionals tend to work simply to chase the dollar, losing all meaning and passion for what theyre working towards outside of living the high life they buy with their post-tax dollars. They become money-mongers. Greed takes precedence. Career meaning, purpose, and ethic al behavior quickly fall by the wayside when confronted by financial greed.This is the 1 cause of corporate fraud, corruption, pollution, and general nastiness (think hautwolf of Wall Street, Enron, and Bernie Madoff). Individual greed driven by a need to keep up with the Joneses pollutes corporate cultures by attracting people who are in it just for the money.In conclusionCareer problems arent simply an amalgamation of your jobs stressors. Your personal, financial, and professional problems, weaknesses, and vices will all meld together to gang up on youif you let your guard down or stray off the righteous path of moralische verfassung behavior.Stay ahead of the game by learning, networking, and speaking with career experts, colleagues, mentors, and influencers that have the right advice to guide you.Extra tipParents, while well-intentioned, are from a previous generation with very different market dynamics and understanding of what it takes to succeed in the next 30 years. Their st rategies, while useful to them in their heyday, may not work for you.Take what people from an older generation say with amassivegrain of salt. If I listened to my old-school Chinese immigrant parents on what to do in my career, I would nothave retired from corporate life at age 28, thats for sureThis article originally appeared on Quora.5 common career mistakes to avoid at all costsAs a headhunter helping countless professionals, from CEO to analyst levels, make and negotiate their next position, here are the most common career mistakes Ive seen candidates fall victim to1. Aiming too lowWhether its salary, title, or type of company, people are too intimidated by interviewers, scared of asking for what they want at every stage of the interview process, and suffer fromimposter syndrome.This is a direct result of decades of indoctrination by authoritative educational, parental, and societal institutions that tend to demolish your self-confidence in an effort to control you. This persis tent lack of confidence is the 1 issue candidates suffer from when it comes to selling yourself effectively.2. Saying no to yourselfBecause you feel that you lack the qualifications the job description asks for, you end up not going for the opportunity. This continued lack of self-confidence through self-discrimination, combined with the obsession of fulfilling requirements down to the last drop, handicaps good professionals from achieving career greatness.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreAlthoughjob descriptions dont matter, many candidates still try to play by the rules. They dont understand that job search is like war. The victor obtains the spoils. Its every man and woman for themselves.There are no rules in thejob search This is why often psychopaths and liars sometimes get the best jobs and offers. They understand manipulation.Too often, the most accomplished candidates lo se because they dont know the song and dance that is job search.3. Not understanding the modern job-search ecosystem and processThere are four major hiring entities that you need to know how to manipulate, maneuver around, and negotiate with. The HR person, hiring manager, headhunter, and internal recruiter. Each person has a slightly different incentive, process, and interaction protocol. You should behave accordingly.In addition, the process of the job search is no longer look on the web for listings, apply to jobs that you like, wait for feedback, go interview. The new process is create your marketing documents (including yourresume), master LinkedIn networking, leverage the four hiring entities mentioned above, utilize thevolume of interviews to your advantage, and negotiate throughout.4. Becoming a jack of all tradesThe most dangerous problem candidates run into that seriously limits their market value and range of future career options is becoming a generalist. Corporations no longer value soldiers, willing to do any deed for pay. They want professionals, experts, and true masters of the industry and job vertical. They need these experts to remain viable and stay ahead of their competition.No longer is being eager and willing to work for a firm for the next 25 years a valuable candidate trait. Firms want true market leaders. That means, specialization and experience within a niche skill are not only good to have, but must-haves to remain a relevant and desirable professional.5. Having no financial plan or powerMost professionals forget that they work largely to make a living. Since most people accumulate worse spending habits every year, people rely on their jobs more and more to fuel their lifestyle. This dependent relationship on a job quickly spirals out of control once their house of cards experiences even the smallest tremor.Because of your deep reliance on your paycheck, your emotions run amuck when experiencing any type of career turbulence.Since your financial woes are so heavy and over-leveraged, you cant see straight, let alone find a career you enjoyIn most of these cases, professionals tend to work simply to chase the dollar, losing all meaning and passion for what theyre working towards outside of living the high life they buy with their post-tax dollars. They become money-mongers. Greed takes precedence. Career meaning, purpose, and ethical behavior quickly fall by the wayside when confronted by financial greed.This is the 1 cause of corporate fraud, corruption, pollution, and general nastiness (think Wolf of Wall Street, Enron, and Bernie Madoff). Individual greed driven by a need to keep up with the Joneses pollutes corporate cultures by attracting people who are in it just for the money.In conclusionCareer problems arent simply an amalgamation of your jobs stressors. Your personal, financial, and professional problems, weaknesses, and vices will all meld together to gang up on youif you let your guard down or stray off the righteous path of moral behavior.Stay ahead of the game by learning, networking, and speaking with career experts, colleagues, mentors, and influencers that have the right advice to guide you.Extra tipParents, while well-intentioned, are from a previous generation with very different market dynamics and understanding of what it takes to succeed in the next 30 years. Their strategies, while useful to them in their heyday, may not work for you.Take what people from an older generation say with amassivegrain of salt. If I listened to my old-school Chinese immigrant parents on what to do in my career, I would nothave retired from corporate life at age 28, thats for sureThis article originally appeared on Quora.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will ersatzdarsteller your productivityThe worst mistakes yo u can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people