My clients have come to me in all stages of career development and transition, discovering that these 5 mistakes have undermined early career change efforts or they’ve sought coaching assistance in time to course correct.  Here’s hoping these tips keep you ahead of the job candidate pool!

1.  Not Knowing What You Bring to the Party.  A common error in a new career or job search is pulling out the old resume and dusting it off simply by adding in your most recent job(s).  Before re-writing that resume and cover letter, take time to reassess how your career knowledge and experiences have blossomed.  Review what you have learned since you last wrote it and what specific benefits you added to the work you’ve done up till now.  Know your personal growth attributes as well and consider how you’ll include those in the information you pass on to your prospective employer or client.  There are many free assessments online, take a few different ones to uncover the infomation you need to know most about yourself, or consider paying for a Myers-Briggs or DiSC assessment.

2.  Not Knowning What the Party Will Bring to You.  If you haven’t researched the career offering or job, even if it was recommended by someone you know and trust, you can’t know if it will be a fit for you.  Investigate the client or company first, how long they’ve been in business, what their policies and practices are, the kind of people who work there and how long they’ve been there, what the education and background is of those you’d be working with and any information on a supervisor.  Then find out as much as you can about the work you’d be doing.  Besides reading about all this, form questions to ask when you’re called for an initial phone consultation or interview.  This knowledge demonstrates your interest, but also saves you lots of time in not pursuing something that’s not a match.

3.  Staying Within Your Comfort Zone.   Be willing to consider job possibilities that aren’t linear.  You may come upon a job that isn’t exactly what you had in mind, but uses many of the skills you’d hope to use and it is also a good fit.  Talk up your interests and work experiences with others and not just the title of the job you seek.  If you’ve done some research, you can even tell your associates a few different industries or jobs that you know use your skills.   Ask if they can refer you to someone who already does this kind of work, then conduct interviews with these individuals to learn more that will expand your options.

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