How to avoid career blocking habits

Roger Gilpin of Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH) in Northern Ireland explains the bad habits which can affect an employee’s career development.

Whether you have been made redundant, or are simply looking for a change in career path, you may have picked up some bad habits that will prevent you from achieving the next steps.

Research conducted by VitalSmarts revealed that 97% of employees admit to adopting habits prohibitive to their careers. Furthermore, employers report that only an estimated 10-20% of their employees make any lasting change to these bad habits.

If any of the below sounds familiar, now is the time to make the change, kick the habit and move onwards and upwards.

1.    Unreliability. Unsurprisingly, this is the most common trait that can seal the fate of your career development. Unreliable staff members damage the success of the entire team. In order to progress, you must be trusted by those working around you. Think before you speak, and stop yourself before agreeing to unrealistic and unachievable commitments. Under promising, yet over delivering will earn you respect and praise. As soon as you realise a goal may be unattainable, be upfront and address the situation.

2.    Negative attitude. Negativity derives from emotion, frustration, anger and disappointment. Bringing these emotions to work can have severe consequences. Have you ever noticed that those with a ‘can do’ attitude achieve more than their pessimist peers? There’s a reason for that. No company wants to reward or promote negative behaviour which is why these characters are often shown the door or remain in junior positions.

3.    Lack of industry knowledge. A lack of knowledge of your industry gives the impression you have no interest in furthering your career within that field. The more you know about the climate you are operating in, the more prepared you will be to tackle and solve problems which are a threat to your organisation or clients. Familiarising yourself with trade publications and commentators may help you prepare for any potential opportunities or challenges on the horizon.

Long term career success requires long term preparation and planning. Every day that passes, if approached with the correct attitude, sees you move closer to your goal.

It is vital you remain positive and focused on the end goal and challenge yourself to make small steps of progress each working day.

Should you feel you require more guidance on climbing the career ladder, please contact us on: 0845 456 2269