Your career is something you spend a lifetime working on. Life is not always a smooth sailing but instead, full of surprises and unexpected detours, and your career may have some hiccups along the way. To help keep your career on a steady path, there are some common career tips that friends, family and colleagues may give you. But, which are the ones that should be taken with a pinch of salt? Read on:
1. Follow your passion
While it may be true that you will be most happy and (probably) most productive doing something you are passionate about, it has its limits too.
Can you actually make a long-term career out of your passion? If so, lucky you! As the saying goes, “Find a job you love and you won’t have to work a day in your life”. However, if you find that following your passion can’t support yourself or your family financially, or that you simply don’t have the expertise to follow it, it’s completely okay to pursue a career in something else. And keep your passion as a hobby.
In fact, keeping your passion as something you enjoy outside of work may be a good thing. You can use it as a source of motivation or an outlet to recharge yourself at the end of a long day at work. Remember, you must be realistic. If following your passion as a career doesn’t work for you, focus on other options and set more attainable career goals. In reality, most people don’t get to have their passion as a career and that’s okay!
2. You can be anything/anyone you want
Sorry to break the news to you but the truth is that we can’t actually be anything we want. We all have to consider our unique skills and characters when choosing our career paths. Understand your own strengths and weaknesses; know what you can improve on though training or working experience, and know what you simply aren’t good at. If you’ve failed several times in a chosen career path, it may be time to reassess your choice and steer in a direction where your skill set and work role are better matched.
3. It’s good to multitask as much as possible
No matter how good you are at multitasking, there is always a limit – a point where it has a negative impact on the quality of your output. The common mistake people make is putting too much on their plate, losing focus and creating work that is substandard.
Taking on too many tasks at once can also be overwhelming and detrimental to your health. You may be able to juggle everything at first, but in the long run, you may be compromising your well-being. You aren’t an octopus who can use its eight hands to juggle eight jobs. Take care of your health first, both mental and physical.
Furthermore, with regards to your long-term career development, it may be better to gain in-depth knowledge and experience in a few key skills rather than limited know-how of multiple skills. Consider what is right for you and your career aspirations.
These are three common career tips that can be bad advice if one doesn’t consider them with caution. The key here is to know what is best for you, your career, and your life overall. You have probably heard of the saying “you are always one step away to a totally different life”, so choose your path wisely and don’t get carried away by unrealistic advice.
Find these tips useful? We have more career advice, workplace tips, and job search tips on our blog. Don’t forget to check them out!
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