12 Guaranteed Ways to Sabotage Your Career Goals

Curt Rosengren, On Thursday April 8, 2010, 12:26 pm EDT

Let’s face it, jumping out of your comfy rut and pursuing your dreams can be scary. And who wants to be scared? To save you from actually having to come face-to-face with your potential, here are 12 surefire ways to let the air out of the tires so your dreams never have a chance to gain momentum:

[See the best careers for 2010.]

Make decisions based on what “they” think you should do: If you really want to shut those pesky dreams down from the get-go, then ignore your own feelings and make your decisions based on what somebody else thinks. It doesn’t matter who, as long as it’s not you. Choose your career because it’s what your parents expect, or because people will admire it, or because it fits our cultural definition of success. Under no circumstances should you ever look inside and take a good hard look at what energizes and inspires you.

Alternative: Ask, “What feels right to me?”

Don’t prioritize your dream: Making everything in your life a priority except for your dream is another great way to ensure that it grinds to a halt. If you make everything else more important than what you really want to do, guess what filters down to the bottom of the to-do list, ensuring little or no action gets taken on it? You guessed it!

Alternative: Commit to taking action on your dream as one of your top three priorities.

Look for the quick fix: If you want to make sure you are never in danger of turning that dream into reality, repeat after me, “It has to happen right away.” The more impatient you can be, the greater the potential to be frustrated when it doesn’t happen immediately (and odds are very good that it won’t happen immediately). And that will give you reason to throw your hands in the air and say, “See? It’s not possible.”

Alternative: Change your mindset from seeking a quick fix to taking a first step.

Equate today’s reality with tomorrow’s potential: In my experience, most people look at the potential for making an immediate career change and come to the conclusion that they can’t. At least not right away. There is almost always some kind of foundation to be laid, preparation to be made, or obstacle to be overcome before the actually change can take place. And that makes for a perfect excuse to never get started. Make this your mantra: “If I can’t do it today, then it’s impossible.” See how easy that was? You didn’t even have to take a single step.

Alternative: Ask, “By when could I do it? How? What needs to be in place for that change to happen?”

Make the obstacles the path: I can’t foresee your future, but I can almost guarantee that you’re going to encounter obstacles on the path to any dream you might pursue. So what better way to get in your own way than to fixate on those obstacles? They’re going to be there anyway, right? You might as well focus on them and make sure they stop you dead in your tracks.

Alternative: Make each obstacle a starting point, rather than an end point. Ask, “OK, how do I get past this one?”

Don’t question your assumptions: Don’t get me wrong. Assumptions themselves aren’t going to help you sabotage your dreams. It’s the flawed assumption that you never examine that will do the trick. Things like, “That person would never say yes to that request.” Or, “They would never let me do ‘x’.” Or even the tried and true, “I can’t do that.” Whatever you do, if you find yourself making assumptions about what’s possible in your life, do not look at them more carefully. You might find that they’re completely bogus.

Alternative: Ask, “What assumptions am I making? Are they valid? Is there another way to look at it?”

Try to sprint a marathon: If you really want to convince yourself that “all that talk about dreams is a bunch of hooey because I tried it and it didn’t work,” come sprinting out of the gate without settling in for the long haul. Get excited about the possibilities, commit yourself to running hard towards your goal, and then burn out because you didn’t put any kind of system in place to support your efforts for the long run.

Alternative: Ask, “What will help me stay focused and maintain momentum for the long haul?”

Say, “I can’t.” A lot! Any time you’re faced with something that isn’t a slam dunk guaranteed success, look at the obstacles and declare – loudly and with vigor – “I can’t!” If that doesn’t work, you can make your argument even more convincing by enumerating the countless reasons why you can’t. You can ratchet up the effectiveness on this one by combining it with “Make the obstacles the path.”

Alternative: Replace “I can’t” with, “How could I?”

Listen to the cynics: If you can’t convince yourself that you can’t, let others help you. You’ll find no shortage of cynics, skeptics, and nattering nabobs of negativism to lend a hand. They may say it with a smile under the guise of being “realistic,” but what they’re really doing is projecting their own lack of belief onto you. Take advantage of that!

Alternative: Seek out positive, motivated people to spend time with and get feedback from. Spend time with people who lift you up.

Try to do it all yourself: I don’t care how smart you are, how capable you are, or how much of a genius you are in your chosen field, you can’t do it on your own. You will always need support. There will always be things you don’t know, or aren’t good at. So take advantage of that fact and try to do it all yourself. It’s a guaranteed anchor for your progress!

Alternative: Ask, “What support do I need? Where can I find it?”

Wait until the time is right: If you want to shut down your dreams completely while still paying lip service to intending to pursue them, this is a great option! The fact is, the time will never be right. There will always be something getting in your way. You will always be able to find a way to consider yourself not-quite-prepared.

Alternative: Ask, “What step can I take right now that will lead me in that direction?”

Focus your attention on the negative: Whatever you do, don’t pay any attention to the positive. Don’t look at what you have done well. Don’t acknowledge your successes. Ignore the progress you have made. Focus instead on the negative. That will make sure you feel too uncertain and insecure to risk any real action (or even more dangerous, get any real traction) on the path to your dreams.

Alternative: Make a habit of identifying, acknowledging, and celebrating the positive.

It’s a bit of a Wake-Up Call message. Yet still, many people will find it difficult.  Why?  Because most people would rather be comfortable and unhappy then uncomfortable and happy.  The good news is there is a very simple way for you to build your “take charge muscles”.  Curious?  OK, I will give you that simple solution right here, right now, and all you have to PROMISE to use it. (I have this saying on my computer that says “Good information is perishable. Just like milk, use it now or you will throw it away.”)

A Simple Solution to Building Your Take Charge Muscles-  Ask yourself this question. “What is one thing I can do right now to take charge of something in my life?”  Now choose something you have been indecisive on, something you’ve procrastinated on, some call you know you “should” make, a follow up email that is on your task list.  Just pick one, and say in your mind “I can take charge of this, right now” . Now imagine for a minute if you do this today, tomorrow and every day for the rest of your life.  Your productivity will soar, your results will improve dramatically and you will feel so good about your ability to take charge in your life.

Here is the article

Take Charge of your Job Search: 12 Steps to Success

By: Michelle Casto

Despite what many people may say, a job search does not have to be an unpleasant experience. There are those people who choose to take charge of the process, who actually find the process to be very rewarding and stimulating.

Conducting a job search is in many ways a self discovery process and an opportunity to put your true endurance and attitude skills to the test.

Here is the secret to experiencing job search success: Be Productive, Be Proactive, Be Positive, Be Persistent, and Be Polished. It is a very easy formula to follow: Do your homework on what you want to do and where you would ideally like to do it. Do more than you think is necessary before it needs to be done. Maintain a positive attitude, it will make all the difference in the world.

Don’t give up too easily, good jobs go to those who “keep at it.” And throughout the entire job search process, be sure to look and act the part of a professional.

Steps to Help You Take Charge of Your Job Search:

1. Clarify Your Career Goals: When you know what you are looking for in a career, it is much easier to locate a job in that field. If you are not sure what you want to do with the rest of your life, see a career coach or counselor for assistance.

2. Tailor Your Resume and Cover Letter: Invest in a resume and cover letter reference book to view examples of good resumes. Use the examples as a guide to create your own version. Think of your resume and cover letter as “self-marketing” tools. Then, have a few, qualified people review and critique your first few drafts. (Remember, these are works in progress that are never really finished, as you will be continually updating them).

3. Identify Potential Employers: Appropriate employer directories and resources are available for your use in the library or local university career center. Get familiar with books, magazines, and on-line reference materials in your career field and use them regularly. Only rely on the resources that help you to identify relevant employment contacts.

4. Establish a Network: Identify people in various organizations and companies who can give you insight into their employment needs. Identify faculty, acquaintances, friends, and relatives who can assist you in your job search. Become actively involved in professional organizations.

5. Research Potential Employers: Read literature about them, talk with people who know of their work, check them out on the internet. Gather as much information about the company as you can, so if you ever get an interview, you will already be prepared.

6. Practice Your Interviewing Skills: Make an appointment for a mock interview session with a qualified career counselor. If possible, video-tape yourself to see how you can improve your interviewing technique.

7. Conduct an Informational Interview: Ask your contact(s) if they have a half hour to talk with you about their industry. Ask a lot of questions, listen up, and take notes. This is an ideal time to ask if there are any job opportunities within their company and/or people they may know that you should contact. Have a resume in hand, just in case they ask for it.

8. Follow Up with a Thank You Note: Immediately following the interview, send the person or persons you met with a thank you note to show your appreciation. For actual job interviews, follow up with a telephone call within an appropriate amount of time to find out the status of their decision. Show interest without being overly aggressive.

9. Get Organized: Place all of your job search materials in one binder, so that you can refer to the information easily and quickly. Make notes to yourself about the interview, something the person said you would like to remember, or other important information.

10. Develop the Skills and Qualities that Employers are Looking For: Desirable skills include: Good oral and written communication skills, initiative, honesty, reliability, the ability to work in a team, and resourcefulness. Equally important skills to have are appreciation of diversity and the technological know-how for access into your industry.

Qualities:

1. Character (someone who abides by morals and high ethics in all situations),
2. Confidence (someone who is comfortable leading and following, composed, and has healthy self esteem), and
3. Competence (someone who possesses the knowledge, skills, and motivation necessary to succeed in their career field).

11. Continue to Learn: Stay abreast of current trends in your field. Read, Read, Read. Attend workshops or lectures about your field of interest. Always be open to new information.

12. Repeat this Process: Repeat this process until you have secured your desired position.
Keep in mind that a full time job search may take anywhere from six months to a year to conduct, so be sure to start early. And remember that in the job search game, there are three kinds of people:
There are those who are destined to be successful.
There are those who are determined to be successful.
There are those who are neither destined or determined to be successful.

Which kind of job searcher are you? To be successful, take charge of the process and use the 5 P’s. All it takes to land your ideal job is fore-thought, maintaining a positive mental attitude, having a high level of energy, taking inspired action, following up and displaying professionalism.

For April and March combined, 573,000 jobs were added. After steadily losing jobs in 2009, we can finally be encouraged that the economy is sustaining its own recovery.

Jobs Added in Past 3 Months:

April: 290,000
March: 230,000
Feb: 39,000

These industries showed notable job gains:

Professional/Business Services: 80,000
Leisure & Hospitality 45,000
Manufacturing: 44,000
Services to Buildings/Dwellings: 26,000
Healthcare: 20,000
Construction: 14,000

Interestingly, the unemployment rate actually rose from 9.7% to 9.9% – indicating that thousands of workers who had given up their job search gained a new enthusiasm and restarted their searches.

1.  Manufacturing in the U.S. expanded

2.  Stocks Climb

3.  Rising Orders

May 3 (Bloomberg) — Manufacturing in the U.S. expanded in April at the fastest pace since June 2004, indicating the world’s largest economy accelerated as it entered the second quarter.

Stocks gained as the supply management’s report showed expanding production and a gauge of factory employment at the highest level since 2005. Parker Hannifin Corp. is among companies benefiting from a global manufacturing resurgence that may soon spark the hiring needed for a sustained economic expansion.

“This speaks to the tremendous health of the manufacturing sector and should be consistent with further gains in hiring,” said Carl Riccadonna, a senior economist at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. in New York. “The strength in economic activity in the first quarter has carried into the second quarter, and in fact, is probably accelerating.”

Readings greater than 50 in the supply management group’s index signal expansion and today’s report marks a ninth consecutive month of growth. The factory index was projected to rise to 60, based on the median forecast of 76 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Estimates ranged from 57 to 65.

Stocks Climb

Warren Buffett’s defense of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and an airline merger also helped propel stocks. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 1.3 percent to close at 1,202.26. The 10-year Treasury note declined, pushing the yield up 3 basis points to 3.69 percent at 4:13 p.m. in New York. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

Manufacturing is rebounding globally. Europe’s factories grew last month at the fastest pace since June 2006, while Australian manufacturing growth jumped to the highest level since May 2002, other reports showed today.

A manufacturing index based on a survey of euro-area purchasing managers increased to 57.6 from a March reading of 56.6, London-based Markit Economics said. A gauge of factory performance in Australia surged 9.3 points to 59.8 in April, the Australian Industry Group and PricewaterhouseCoopers said.

Consumer spending rose 0.6 percent in March after a 0.5 percent gain that was more than initially estimated, Commerce Department figures showed. Incomes increased 0.3 percent, the first gain this year.

Consumer Spending

The figures show American consumers, whose spending accounts for 70 percent of the economy, are gaining confidence in the recovery. Their purchases in the first quarter rose at a 3.6 percent annual rate, the fastest in three years, the Commerce Department reported last week.

Construction spending unexpectedly increased in March, propelled by gains in state and local government projects, a Commerce Department report showed. The 0.2 percent rise followed a 2.1 percent drop in February.

The ISM’s production index jumped to the highest since January 2004. The new orders index increased to a three-month high, while inventories at factories and at their customers declined.

“Production is barely keeping pace with demand, and the prospects for solid manufacturing growth in the coming months remain quite good,” Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase in New York, said in an e-mail to clients.

The factory employment index increased to the highest since level since January 2005. Manufacturing payrolls probably expanded for a fourth straight month, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey before a May 7 report from the Labor Department.

Federal Reserve

Federal Reserve policy makers said last week that the labor market is showing signs of improving, and kept interest rates near zero to ensure the expansion becomes well-rooted.

Employers increased payrolls again in April, economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast before the Labor Department’s report, which may also show the jobless rate held at 9.7 percent.

The ISM’s supplier delivery gauge, a measure of the time it takes to receive goods, fell to 61.3 from 64.9 the prior month. The index of prices paid rose to 78 from 75.

Flush with profits, businesses are spending more on equipment. Business investment rose at a 13 percent annual rate in the first quarter after a 19 percent surge at the end of 2009.

Rising Orders

Parker Hannifin’s total orders were up 23 percent in the first quarter and its international industrial orders surged 42 percent from a year earlier, the maker of hydraulic equipment reported last month.

“In most of our markets, we continue to see a more consistent picture of improving year-over-year trends,” Don Washkewicz, the Cleveland-based company’s chief executive officer, said in an April 20 conference call. “North America continues to show signs of recovery.”

Efforts to stabilize inventories contributed 1.6 percentage points to growth in the first quarter after a 3.8 point boost in the prior there months, the Commerce Department’s report on gross domestic product showed last week.

6 Career-Killing Facebook Mistakes

by Erin Joyce, Managing Editor

1. Inappropriate Pictures – It may go without saying, but prospective employers or clients don’t want to see pictures of you chugging a bottle of wine or dressed up for a night at the bar. Beyond the pictures you wouldn’t want your grandparents to see, seemingly innocent pictures of your personal life will likely not help to support the persona you want to present in your professional life.

2. Complaining About Your Current Job - You’ve no doubt done this at least once. It could be a full note about how much you hate your office, or how incompetent your boss is, or it could be as innocent as a status update about how your coworker always shows up late. While everyone complains about work sometimes, doing so in a public forum where it can be found by others is not the best career move. Though it may seem innocent, it’s not the kind of impression that sits well with a potential boss.

3. Posting Conflicting Information to Your Resume – If you say on your resume that your degree is from Harvard, but your Facebook profile says you went to UCLA, you’re likely to be immediately cut from the interview list. Even if the conflict doesn’t leave you looking better on your resume, disparities will make you look at worst like a liar, and at best careless.

4. Statuses You Wouldn’t Want Your Boss to See - Everyone should know to avoid statuses like “Tom plans to call in sick tomorrow so he can get drunk on a Wednesday. Who cares that my big work project isn’t done?” But you should also be aware of less flamboyant statuses like “Sarah is watching the gold medal hockey game online at her desk”. Statuses that imply you are unreliable, deceitful, and basically anything that doesn’t make you look as professional as you’d like, can seriously undermine your chances at landing that new job.

5. Not Understanding Your Security Settings - The security settings on Facebook have come a long way since the site started. It is now possible to customize lists of friends and decide what each list can and cannot see. However, many people do not fully understand these settings, or don’t bother to check who has access to what. If you are going to use Facebook professionally, and even if you aren’t, make sure you take the time to go through your privacy options. At the very least, your profile should be set so that people who are not your friend cannot see any of your pictures or information.

6. Losing by Association - You can’t control what your friends post to your profile (although you can remove it once you see it), nor what they post to their own profiles or to those of mutual friends. If a potential client or employer sees those Friday night pictures your friend has tagged you in where he is falling down drunk, it reflects poorly on you, even if the picture of you is completely innocent. It’s unfortunate, but we do judge others by the company they keep, at least to some extent. Take a look at everything connected to your profile, and keep an eye out for anything you wouldn’t want to show your mother.

You are entitled to be happy, so why not choose happiness everyday.

Everyday the sun comes up is an opportunity to choose to be happy.  You don’t have to…it is an opportunity. Life is minute to minute. I don’t know the future so why not plan on it being great!  That is a reason to feel happy.

Somewhere in my life I started counting every day, for the opportunity to be happy. Even if just for one thing, I could be happy about on this day.  So far, the sun has come up 16,834 days for me and I plan to have the rest of them start with a choice to be happy.  Will I be perfect…probably not. Will I make the most of the opportunity? You bet I will.

Our lives are full of potential sources of happiness, yett sometimes we become victims of negative thinking because we are focusing on all that has gone wrong. We have a habit of thinking that we have to face the challenges of survival, and struggle. Struggle is overrated.

Try this instead. Choose to focus on what makes you happy. You can find one thing, if you just look. There are many things all around you, it is simply up to you to identify it. A shift in your thinking and in your emotions occurs almost immediately.  It changes the way way you start to look at your life. The point of view, from which you see the world, is brought into perspective, and you can see that being alive truly is an opportunity.

All resistance and obstacles are created in the mind.  If you find yourself resisting or feeling blocked from experiencing happiness, you simply want to look within yourself and define that boulder that is blocking you. You will start to see, that you too, can choose happiness.

Keep a journal.  “My Choice is Happiness”  For those times that happiness seems to be a difficult choice, review your journal and all of the wonderful moments you have cataloged.  Happiness is unfolding all around us. Writing about what you notice, including the emotions you experience, gives you a treasured resource that will always be there for you.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2010/size/

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2010/full_list/

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2010/states/CA.html

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2010/pay/

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2010/benefits/index.html

Day 1: It starts today! The five-day “Pay It Forward Wave” to help friends find work January 11, 2010

Hello Everyone,

Today is the first of five days to create a powerful wave of action across the country in a tremendous force for good. If you didn’t see my earlier post about this idea, please read it for the full story.

Please do something right now. Just take a moment to do something simple and easy.

Reach out. Make a call. Ask a friend what one or two things you can do to help with his/her job search.

Pass the word so we can get thousands across the nations mobilized to help get friends back to work! Please help by sharing this on your email lists, Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

Ideas for Things to Do:

Forward a job lead
Write a LinkedIn recommendation
Review a friend’s resume and give objective feedback
Set a time to meet for coffee or a drink (heck, we all need one these days!). In-person meetings are important, it bouys spirits and sparks ideas and energy – plus it’s fun!
Make some calls on a friend’s behalf
Pass on a link to a good job site or a great article on job search
Make an introduction to a friend in a company he/she is interested in
Reach out to a colleague who has been laid off from your company to see how he/she is doing and offer to make connections for him/her
Become a “Job Buddy” – commit to meet on a regular basis to set goals and provide gentle accountability (if you are both looking for jobs, there’s a double benefit)
Offer to do some role playing for a job interview
Tell (and write down!) four strengths/qualities you see in your friend
Review or help write a strong cover letter
Invite a friend to connect to you on LinkedIn with the purpose of giving them access to your network so he/she can see if you have contacts in companies on their wish list
Help with career ideas, brainstorm on other ways to use their skills, suggest good companies to target, how to transition into a new industry

Let’s make this big push building a huge Pay It Forward Power Wave across the country!

Thanks so much,

Sue
KIT List Founder

www.KITlist.org