Many people dream about what they want their future employment to look like – whether it is being a doctor, owning a business or moving up the corporate ladder. The road to achieving these professional aspirations is often an uneven one, where an individual may face numerous obstacles throughout their journey that prevent them from moving forward; obstacles may cause a person to feel lost and potentially give up on themselves.
The good news is that challenges can be found throughout all paths of career development. It’s how you view and deal with them that will have the largest impact on your upcoming success. Anyone, regardless of where they are in their career development, can experience these challenges simply because of being on a new journey or experiencing new growth opportunities.
This article will address the 10 most prevalent challenges to attaining a person's career goals, along with practical, simple suggestions to tackle each challenge. After reading this article, you should have a much clearer understanding of what is preventing you from attaining your career goals and, more importantly, the actions you can take to obtain your goals.
1. Lack of Clear Direction
The problem of not knowing what one wants is one of the main things people struggle with. Many individuals typically choose careers based on family expectations, friends' experiences, or what appears trendy rather than their passions and interests. This can result in confusion, insufficient drive, and a sense of being stuck.
Tips for overcoming this:
- Get to know yourself; find out your passions, your strengths and how you see your life developing.
- Have a career assessment done to help you find your skill set.
- Request help from an individual who has the knowledge to help you head in the right career direction.
- Remember, having a career change is acceptable as long as you are intentional about the change.
2. The Fear of Failure
The Challenge: Fear of failure is an intense emotion that prevents many people from taking a chance on new opportunities. Many gifted individuals won't even try something new because they are afraid of messing up or embarrassing themselves in front of someone else. While avoiding or escaping from your fear can provide you with comfort, it will also keep you in a rut.
Tips for overcoming this:
- Recognise that failure is a mentor to you and not an enemy. All successful individuals have experienced failure many times before achieving their current level of success.
- Begin by attempting small risks; to do this, take one little action each day that challenges you beyond what you feel comfortable doing.
- Change how you think through this type of situation; rather than saying to yourself, "What if I fail?" say, "What can I learn from this experience?"
- Begin to develop your confidence by taking the time to reward yourself for even the smallest of accomplishments.
3. Ineffective Use of Time
The Issue: Time is one of the most precious commodities you have in your career; however, most people do not use it effectively. Wasting time doing unimportant things, procrastinating, or being disorganised may greatly limit your ability to advance your career.
Tips for overcoming this:
- Utilise basic tools such as a to-do list or planner to help organise your day.
- Use the 80/20 principle, which states that 80% of your efforts will produce 20% of your results.
- Do not try to do too many things at the same time – concentrate on one important thing at a time.
- Establish regular business hours and take breaks at regular intervals to increase productivity.
4. Lack of Knowledge and Skills
Challenge: Today, the environment is changing rapidly; each day there are thousands of new technologies, tools and ways to work. If you don't continue to grow your skill set, you will get left behind by others in the industry. People miss out on opportunities because they do not have the right skill set for the position.
Tips for overcoming this:
- Commit to learning on an ongoing basis by reading books, viewing educational videos and keeping up with industry news.
- Enrol in online classes through sites such as Coursera, Udemy or LinkedIn Learning.
- Build both hard skills (technical knowledge) and soft skills (interpersonal skills, leadership, etc.)
- Speak with your supervisor or a mentor about the importance of having certain skill sets in your particular field and work towards those goals.
5. Weak Professional Network
The Challenge:
The proverb "It's not about what you know; it's about who you know," holds. A large portion of the possibilities that might support or launch your career comes from people, rather than only from job boards. The lack of a strong professional network means fewer connections and, subsequently, fewer opportunities for referrals and job leads.
Tips for overcoming this:
- Become an active networker. Attend trade shows, conferences, webinars and workshops in your industry/field.
- Use LinkedIn to make connections with other professionals in your field of expertise and engage in their postings.
- Do not wait until you need something before networking. Build authentic relationships by assisting others before seeking assistance from them.
- Continue to stay in touch with previous coworkers, classmates and mentors on a routine basis.
6. Negative Environment of the Workplace and Its Toxicity
The Difficulty in a Negative Environment:
Many times, it is not you that is creating feelings of being less than average; it is the workplace you are in. It can be filled with negative things, such as unsupportive bosses, constant office politics and an overall team culture of negativity; all of these elements sap your energy and destroy your career drive. Many people stay too long in negative work environments out of fear of making a move within their careers.
Tips for overcoming this:
- Establish healthy workplace boundaries; learn to say no when applicable.
- Concentrate on what you can control: your attitude, quality of work and response to any given situation.
- If the work environment truly is a negative one, start planning your exit strategy; update your resume and look for a better fit or opportunity.
- Surround yourself with people who are positive and growth-oriented, even outside of work.
7. Financial Stress & Responsibilities
Two Big Problems:
Money issues play a large role in the choices we make regarding our careers. Many people aren't able to pursue additional education; take a chance on creating their dream business; or leave their jobs that are a bad fit due to the financial obligations (i.e., loans, family and other expenses, etc.) that exist for them. Therefore, many times financial stress leads an individual to make safe, unfulfilling career decisions.
Tips for overcoming this:
- Build a safety net (emergency fund) — saving a small amount each month gives you greater ability to take on career risks down the road.
- Seek out affordable or free resources for learning — there are many great courses available online for free.
- Consider part-time or freelance work while you pursue your ultimate career goal.
- Develop a simple financial plan that complements your long-term career vision.
8. Low Self-Esteem
The Obligation:
People often underestimate their ability. They often feel like they do not have the knowledge, skills, or overall capability to move on in their careers. These types of thoughts greatly impact your ability to apply for jobs or speak in meetings. Low self-confidence usually keeps you from becoming a leader when you can.
Tips for overcoming this:
- Keep a "success journal" of all of your accomplishments — large and small — so that you can remind yourself of all that you have accomplished.
- Stop comparing yourself to other candidates. Everyone's path is different and will take different amounts of time.
- Make use of positive self-talk by replacing phrases such as "I'm not able to accomplish this" with "I'm now learning and developing".
- Push yourself out of your comfort zone and try taking on small amounts of additional responsibility to help you build actual confidence over time.
9. Lack of Work vs. Home Balance
The Obstacle:
In the pursuit of success, many workers fail to make self-care part of their daily routines. This often results in long hours, no time for rest, and neglecting one's personal life and relationships to the point of exhaustion (burnout) — complete physical and mental exhaustion. Burnout impacts both physical and mental health, as well as creativity and career advancement.
Tips for overcoming this:
- Establish clear boundaries between work time and personal time — have a goal to log out by a specific time each day.
- Create time for hobbies, exercise, family, and relaxation — each of these activities helps recharge energy for improved performance.
- Practice delegating tasks rather than attempting to do everything yourself.
- If feeling burnt out, it is acceptable to take a short break; rest is not wasted time, but vital time.
10. Resistance to Change
Change is constant in today’s career marketplace. Industries change, companies downsize or restructure, and jobs change. If you resist change (i.e. Learning new skills, accepting a new role, or changing to another industry), then there is a good chance that you will fall behind. People will often hold on to what they know, namely, their ‘comfort zone’, simply because of fear of the unknown to them, even if the ‘comfort zone’ is not helping them grow as a person.
Tips for overcoming this:
- Learn to have a growth mindset: Believe that you can grow, adapt, and learn at any age.
- Have an open mind; stay curious and willing to try something new and/or outside of your comfort zone.
- Pay attention to trends in your area of employment, so that you are never caught by surprise due to jobs/ companies changing.
- Keep in mind that those who adapt to change the quickest are generally the ones who will grow the fastest.
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