One of the questions I get asked all the time from young professionals just starting out is

“What do I want to avoid in my career”?

Here are the top 4 things to avoid no matter what stage you are at in your career.

These are also the top 4 things most discussed to avoid in your career. 

Here we go ... 

1.  Thinking doing a particular assignment is not your job when you start off in any career.  It doesn’t matter if you work in an office, at a retail store, at a law firm or if it's your first day on the job as a resident or working at a hair salon.  In all of these environments, you need to you know that the way to be the best in your chosen field is to show up every day and do more than what’s expected. Every day, look for ways to do more than what you think your job is.  By all means, do your job ... and then do more. The world is filled with people who just do enough to collect a paycheck and let’s face it we don’t need any more of those kind of people. Nobody woke up today and said “oh I want to be mediocre.” So don’t be mediocre. Remember that going above and beyond what’s expected and doing more than what’s required for your job is sure to get you noticed.  Everyone notices the person that does more. Your team members your boss and the customers will appreciate you and that is what you want.
2. Waiting for the busy Bus to arrive.  (Aka your bus filled with raving fans screaming your name that have been waiting for you) If you are waiting for the busy bus to arrive, you will be waiting forever. Newsflash: the busy bus doesn’t arrive just because you decided to show up today for the first time and get your “career” started. I know it seems as if you’ve worked so hard already and now you’re ready for your life and your career to begin. But, the truth is you need to put in the work. Whatever you do in your career, you need to meet people that do the job really well and are really successful. Seek out the high performers in your industry and model their behavior. That’s really it! It truly is that simple. If you want to be successful, do what other successful people in your chosen profession are doing.
3. Blaming others for your situation. If you are unhappy with the terms of your employment for any reason, speak up!  Inform the people in charge that you need help or clarification on what you don’t like or understand. The world is filled with people that place blame and play victim of their circumstances.  These are not the people that ever truly achieve success. The most successful people are people that speak up even when their voice cracks and they’re scared to death that they might get fired or say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing. They speak up anyway because true courage comes from being scared and doing it anyway.  Speaking up and asking questions and getting more information is always going to lead to better communication and more effective training systems in every organization. If you don’t like something, speak up because the people in charge want to know how they can help you. All over the country, people own businesses that rely on the people they employ to serve as valuable team members to give them feedback both good and bad, negative and positive, because the more feedback you give to people who are actually in charge and can actually do something about it. You will effect change that can lead to something that actually improves the business and overall communication for the company. In turn, the better every team and company becomes for everyone they serve. The goal of every business owner is to have a successful profitable company where people enjoy working in and being a part of. I don’t have to interview every small business owner in America to know that this is true so have the courage to speak up and help out. Small Business owners everywhere will appreciate you!

4. Thinking your education is over. No matter what you’ve gone to school for or what level of education or degree you’ve achieved, your education is not over. Actually your work and education is never over. You always need to be thinking of ways to learn more to make things better or to improve in someway. That’s what makes things exciting, and it makes you feel like you’re actually living and growing. Committing to more education will lead to more opportunity. Lifelong learning leads to your personal and professional success. Don’t assume your education is ever over. Continuing education is required for your constant improvement and long-term development into becoming the most extraordinary version of yourself no matter what you choose to do for a living.

Since you are here I know you are looking for more ways to level up and achieve more success in your career and your personal development, please check out my latest book: Beyond Common – “12 essentials for success in life and in the workplace.”