Are You Guilty of These: 5 Worst Career Change Mistakes To Make

There are many reasons why you might consider a career switch – you may be bored at your current position or you may think that you are ready for better things. Or it could just be a simple case of not being happy at work anymore. Having said that, there are also a lot of instances that is absolutely wrong for wanting to change careers. Here are the common mistakes you need to be aware of so that you don’t make that huge decision based on them.

#1 Choosing a New Career Based on Salary A higher salary can often be the reason why people leave their current jobs. But you shouldn’t base your decision solely on it – consider other important factors like work-life balance and room for growth. What if the new job comes with a higher salary but nothing else to match your interests or strengths? It will only be a matter of time when you realise that you made the wrong decision and that novelty of a higher salary will likely wear off soon.

#2 Making a Career Change without a Plan Landing a dream job doesn’t happen overnight; it takes proper planning to eventually get there. So if you want to quit your current job in hope that you’ll end up in a better situation within the same month, think again. Without a proper strategy on how you are going to get there (where to send resumes, how to prepare yourself in terms of skills, how you will survive financially without a job or even what that dream job is!), you could end up jobless and worried for an even longer period. That might cause you to take the first job offer that comes along, an offer that isn’t quite what you’re waiting for.

#3 Changing Because You are Bored/Restless/Tired All these may fall within reasons on why you should change your job. But because humans are emotional beings, you really need to sit down and think through your real reasons. Are you bored because you haven’t really put yourself out there to take on more interesting projects? Are you restless because you’re envious of your friends who get to travel around the world while you are desk bound? Are you tired because you have too much to do? Review whether it is your own reasons for feeling all of the above or if it is really the job. If it is the former, then it is time to approach your boss on how circumstances can be changed to help you instead of simply switching jobs (you might even end up feeling the same way all over again in under a year!).

#4 Switching Jobs Based on the Success of Others Your former uni mates seem to be doing so well in their careers and having a time of their lives while you are stuck doing something that used to bring you joy but not anymore. It is natural for you to feel envious of what may seem like a dream job for others, causing you to want to change jobs pronto. Just because it seems like the grass is greener on the other side, it really isn’t. You may find that after switching jobs, things aren’t better or more exciting; it could be worst! Make sure your job switch is based on real reasons like giving yourself better opportunities to grow, not to show off to friends.

#5 Because Things aren’t Just Moving Fast Enough Throwing in the towel because you didn’t get that promotion? Hang on mate, you just started eight months ago! A lot of new employees make the mistake of expecting major changes to happen overnight or within a few months. So when it doesn’t (and realistically, it won’t!), they decide that it is time to move on to something else only to repeat the same mistake. In order to get somewhere, you need to tough it out and really do the groundwork, all of which will take even more than a year to accomplish. So until then, stay put and learn as much as you can while proving yourself before considering a new job.