Career Killers to Watch Out For

Well, you may have a career killer that you are not aware of. So, here are my top five key career killers to be on the look out for. (This is a great thing to ask your success buddy about as well.)

Note: These are a bit different that "Career Limiting Moves" or CLMs that you hear people talking about. For example, a CLM might be to decline a promotion that requires relocation. In many organizations, high potential employees are given one or two chances to demonstrate their willingness to do what needs to be done in order to get ahead. If they decline to take advantage of these opportunities, then the organization just naturally goes to the next name on the list. Other CLMs include: behaving poorly when representing the company in public, embarrassing your boss with his boss or peers, any sort of overt flirting in an office or business environment and so on.

Here are my top five career killers:

1. Poor Hygiene

2. Poor Language

3. Lack of Discretion

4. Poor Attitude

5. Lack of Committment

I believe that these are some key areas where people don't even know that they are under cutting their career. A good coach once told me that everyone has desire but not everyone has enough desire to actually do what needs to be done to be successful. A great rewarding career is not about winning the lottery (although I am the first to admit that luck does play a role), it is about really being determined to do what has to be done in order to get recognized and take on the challenges of future roles.

Often people don't see how other people are seeing them. This lack of personal awareness can be deadly to a career. This is one of the key reasons that having a trusted friend or coach is so important - you need the unvarnished truth about how you are showing up so that you don't inadvertently embrace a career killer and suffer because of it.