The Insider Guide to Careers
Insider information, secrets and tips about getting hired and building careers. For employees and job candidates.
Here are some common mistakes I have seen across companies I have worked for and with friends I have met:
1) Not focusing on skills: Employees need to know what they bring to the table and why the company pays them to do their job. If you do not know, just ask your manager. You are just another average employee if your Manager’s feedback is generic and without details. Unless one has some special technical, business or people skills, neither will the person you get promoted nor will they survive long in the company.
Do a realistic inventory of your skills every year. Identify some activities to improve your skills. It could be on the job, external training or a coach. Discuss the plan with your manager, especially the skills required for the next job level and your plan to get there. Open conversations and collecting 360-degree regular feedback are good ways to show yourself a mirror.
There could be a gap between action and perception. The more one can reconcile the company expectations and one’s own personal skillsets, the better off they will be.
2) Extreme compensation focus: Do not focus excessively on compensation. You are always one job switch away from getting the compensation you deserve. The deeper question to ask is whether you have the right skills required for not just the next promotion, but the level above that. Continuous growth may or may not happen with a substantial increase in compensation. In companies where competition is high, it is often a double-edged sword. They may have a terrible culture and extreme work-life imbalance. There are always pros and cons in any company. So, wisely choose your basket of expectations. Compensation is also inversely proportional to longevity on the job. So, choose your battles wisely. It is OK for compensation to be lower as long as you are learning on the job.
3) Mentorship and sponsorship: Some folks find other leaders to hitch their careers to. Sadly, this sycophancy works. Be with leaders who motivate and inspire you; you will be better off both personally and professionally. As you get promoted to senior positions, you reach a pyramid-structured hierarchy, where there is less and less room at the top. You need advocates to move up. Mentors can show you a path, and sponsors can lend you a helping hand. They will do this only when you check all the boxes. Dedication, loyalty and hard work are important to having a meaningful mentor relationship. You have to own this relationship. You get whatever you put in
4) Career stagnation: As one approaches their late thirties and early forties, they become lethargic to change. They settle into a comfortable mix of decent compensation, workplace proximity, school proximity, known neighbours, etc. The gravy train of monthly pay slips keeps chugging on, and there seems no incentive to change the status quo. This is precisely the time to be wary.
When employees are smug and too comfortable, they stop learning. They do not think that anything bad will happen to them. Companies care only about the top and bottom line. The company and employee come along in the journey as long as it is convenient for both. Initially, the smug employees do not volunteer for difficult projects, and neither do they spend long hours in the workplace. Long hours are still an ironclad signal of interest and passion for a manager evaluating you. Lacking these qualities, you do not learn anything new. On the other hand, employee compensation keeps rising slowly but steadily every year through cost of living and merit increases. One day, the gap between salary and performance will be so high that the person will be terminated through restructuring or layoffs.
There is also another side of career stagnation, in which people stay in toxic work environments. For fear of changing the current milieu, employees face the brunt of terrible managers and toxic teams. There is a lot of emotional distress and health consequences because of toxicity. It is always better to move to a different team inside the company or leave the company if you encounter a bad manager. Some people bear with it, hoping that the manager will leave or they will get promoted. It is a matter of individual choice. There is a major toll on your emotions and health, which will impact you when you are older. You end up sacrificing health for money, which is not a good idea.
5) Personal development: When you focus on learning daily, you will improve with time. This is the famous “growth mindset”. The opportunities can be volunteer projects within the company or lateral movements with no change in pay. Remember that one is not entitled to promotions. It is a one recognition of superlative performance. Just because others are promoted does not mean that you will be. Every person has to drag their lonely furrow.
Growth may also happen through further education, like an executive MBA or a PhD program. There is no age limit to learn. For the workplaces of the future facing rapid technology driven disruption, you will be expected to unlearn and relearn every one to two decades. It is ridiculous to assume that what you read 15-20 years back will be relevant today. Be ready for continuous learning. Since everyone lives longer, you may also need to work longer to have enough retirement savings.
Recruiters like to see growth every 3-4 years. Therefore, do not stay in the same job for more than 6-7 years. Keep moving, make yourself uncomfortable, and maintain a learning mentality every day. You will be amazed at the change you can generate.
