5 Career Risks You Should Never Take
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Career Advice » Career Development » Getting Promoted » 5 Career Risks You Should Never Take
5 Career Risks You Should Never Take
Taking chances is essential, but you need to be smart about your choices.
By Catherine Conlan
Monster Contributing Writer
Have you ever been tempted to make up a job offer with better pay in an attempt to
persuade your boss to give you a raise? If you have, career coach Alex Simon has a story that may put
that thought out of your mind for good.
“One of my newer clients came to me after being fired,” Simon says. “He had tried to negotiate a raise by
telling his direct boss that he had received an offer from a competitor and was going to jump ship unless
his current employer matched or beat the offer he received.” The problem was it was an offer he had made
up. “His direct boss contacted the competitor, the truth came out and he ended up with no job.”
To learn, grow and advance in your career, you’re going to have to take some risks. You just need to be
sure they’re the right ones, says Tom Cooper, principal of the BrightHill Group.
Sometimes people can be so worried about not taking risks that they take the wrong ones, Cooper says.
“Most people take zero risks intentionally, and many risks accidentally. Learning to take carefully
measured risks on purpose and being OK with failure allows you to learn and grow.”
Lying in an attempt to get a raise “is definitely not a risk worth taking,” Simon says. As you plan your
next career move, consider these other risks you should never take.
Rushing for the door
Even if your boss is a pain or your job is horrible, take a moment before you walk out, says career coach
Jon Le Breton — yes, even when you really hate it. While it might feel good to start applying for jobs,
doing so without a plan will make it hard to find one that’s a good fit and a good next step in your career.
Look at what you once liked about your job and other aspects of your career you’ve enjoyed, and use that
to fuel your job search.
Putting your reputation on the line
If you’re facing a choice in your career, assess what’s really at risk. Not all chances are created equal.
You can afford to take bigger risks with some relationships or a job title that will soon be forgotten, says
executive coach Dennis J. O’Neill. But risking your integrity or reputation in your industry could cause
permanent damage to your career.
For example, O’Neill says he worked with a 47-year-old married HR director who was having an affair with
his married administrative assistant, who wanted to end the relationship. “She eventually ended the affair
and his career in HR when she filed suit and the company investigated and fired him for sexual
harassment,” O’Neill says. “Approaching 50, divorced, and unable to replicate his income restarting his
career in another field, he lamented his stupidity.”
Taking chances close to retirement
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Similar to a financial portfolio, O’Neill says, taking career risks is safer when you’re just starting out than
when you’re older. Big risks such as working abroad, launching a startup or changing your career can be
costly if they don’t work out and may be hard for older workers to bounce back from in time to launch a
comfortable retirement.
Seeking ‘success’
Life coach Adrienne Masler says one of the biggest risks people take in their careers is worrying about
success and failure, because it keeps them from seeing their career paths. “Believing you've failed can
make you feel ashamed and defeated, so you're less likely to learn from your experience. Believing in
success means you constantly need to prove your intelligence and competence to yourself and everyone
around you.”
It’s important to see your career as a series of opportunities — opportunities to celebrate and
opportunities to learn, Masler says. “Most of the time, celebration and learning show up in the same
experiences; both keep you curious and challenged, which is key for continued growth.”
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