Top Ten Job Seeker Mistakes – #1

Mistake #1 is “You do not know what you want to do.”

This mistake is made by all ages but usually for different reasons.

For college age, they usually don’t have enough world experience to know what is out there. Since they don’t know what they don’t know, it is hard to figure out what they should do. The response here is that they need to talk to experienced people who can share what they see the pros and cons are for careers in the real world. Placement, personality, and career inventory testing can be helpful tools but are only tools.

For experienced workers, most have either not worked in enough different areas to know how they should craft their career progression or they know that they want to change careers but don’t know where to start. The response here is that they need to talk to career coaches who understand broad areas of opportunities and then focus on talking to experienced people who can share more specific insights.

For executives, many have broad experiences within their fields of prior experience. However as they get older, their priorities may be changing from developing their career to doing something of “significance.” The challenge here is wanting the same lifestyle while shifting to another career. This trap causes mixed emotions and often a struggle over what should they do for the rest of their life. The decision to make a change often results in a disaster because, while they may know their prior career, they are usually not prepared or do not understand the implications of their new career choice. Many life savings are lost by common mistakes. The response here is to consider professional help from career coaches and life counselors before a change is made.

Why are these points mistake #1? Because until you know what you are passionate about and what you want to do, you will waste time and money chasing after any potential idea that gets your attention and you will not be able to get others on board to help you. After all, how can I help you if you don’t know what you want?