ALT-1 Mistakes that can Hurt your Career
No one is perfect and everyone has made mistakes from time to time. The key is to make mistakes that are not large enough to derail your career, or cause you to lose some of your momentum as you try to go to the top. Many people make mistakes that they wish that they hadn't made, or mistakes that will ultimately affect the rest of their career. What mistakes do you really want to avoid?
The first big mistake you want to avoid is to come across as someone who is insubordinate. Not doing what your boss asks of you will really come back to haunt you. If future employers get wind that you are someone who will not do what you are asked, it will make you look really bad. For your own sake, you should make sure that you are doing what your boss says. You don't have to like it, but you should pick your battles.
Another big mistake that employees make is to pick a job that they don't want to do. It isn't that they don't have the skill to do the job, but they lack the motivation. Not being motivated at work will cause you to slip down into an abyss in terms of your reputation. Your boss won't appreciate you and others at the workplace will see you as someone who doesn't care. You might not jeopardize the paycheck, but your career won't go any farther.
Bashing your boss, or a former employer, is grounds for dismissal, or at least you won't get any future jobs easily. If you are willing to take shots at your current boss, who says you won't do it when you leave for another job? The boss that is signing your paychecks now doesn't want someone working for him that is going to take cheap shots. Would you feel good if your boss did that to you?
Sexual harassment is a tricky issue in the workplace, but being accused of it can ruin you. The best thing to do is to not make any sexual advances, or even joke about it. You never know who might take you seriously, or even take a good natured joke and turn it against you for political reasons. Stay classy and professional at all times.
Mistakes are made from time to time at work. No one is perfect and no one is expecting you to be perfect. All you can do is avoid certain situations that can ruin you more than you know. If you are able to do this, you are going to see that you have a good career ahead of you.
