Five Common Misconceptions About Starting Your Career
Your career journey can be like a rollercoaster – there could be high and low moments, but overall it’ll be an eventful ride. Despite the advice, you may have received or the assumptions you may have made about what your journey would be like, it would be unlike anyone else's.
Here are five misconceptions and myths for you to get rid of to expand your mind and explore all of your possibilities.
Misconception #1: The career path I choose first will be the one I stick with
From the age of ten, I envisioned being an accountant. Throughout my academics, I selected courses that served as little stones on my journey to that goal. I had my eyes on working for a major accounting firm. However, when I started exploring work experience opportunities in my second year of university, I landed my first internship in investment banking. I recall having quite the turmoil trying to decide my pathway, thinking I would be stuck in the first path I chose.
Over the years, even while working in Banking, I have tried different roles and had to evolve to succeed. I have also embraced a 2nd career as a Coach and Strategist for Early Career Professionals, proving that I can simultaneously be more than one thing. The same goes for you. You are dynamic and multifaceted, and every choice you make is a stone on the footpath of your journey.
Misconception #2: The job opportunities I can access will depend on what I study at university
There are countless examples of people who studied seemingly unrelated courses in school to what their chosen career may require, yet have been very successful in their fields. I have worked with Engineering, Literature, History, Art and Medical students who have made fantastic bankers and business leaders.
My friend Busola Banjo graduated from the University of Nottingham with an electrical and electronics engineering degree. She started her career as an electrical engineer in 2008. Seven years later, she embarked on an MBA at INSEAD to pivot her career into business. Following graduation, she got a job at Siemens Energy as a business development and program manager, blending her technical background as an engineer with her newer passion for business. It has been many years since that transition, and Busola is now head of a department.
Kanyinsola Oyeyinka is another example. I met her in 2006 during our Deutsche Bank, London internship program. At the time, she was an undergraduate Medical Sciences student at the University of Oxford. After graduating, she spent about a year as a junior banker before returning to the medical field as a doctor for six years. Afterwards, she became a healthcare investment adviser and then moved to Harvard Business School to study for a master’s in public health.
These examples prove it is less about what course you study in school and more important is your attitude and aptitude for climbing up the technical learning curve your role requires.
Misconception #3: Once I get the job I want, it’s not necessary to pursue any further education
Business growth specialist Brain Tracy said, “Personal development is your springboard to personal excellence. Ongoing, continuous, non-stop personal development assures you that there is no limit to what you can accomplish.”
To stay relevant in the workplace, you must understand what competencies you must demonstrate to give yourself and your stakeholders the confidence that you are ready to take up a new challenge and then take the initiative to close any knowledge and skills gaps. Keep your knowledge and skills bank full. You must know new cases, rulings, and statutes as a lawyer. If you are an architect, you need to stay updated with modern design and construction techniques. If you are a graphic designer, you must keep up with the latest design tools. Whatever field you are in, continue developing yourself to meet new and emerging challenges. Read journals and articles, take courses, attend conferences, listen to thought leaders, and engage in discourse that keeps your mind agile and can connect the dots.
Misconception #4: There is one perfect job for me
The myth of perfection is one that many struggle with in many areas of our lives. The concept of Ikigai paints a utopic picture of a ‘sweet spot’ where you can craft a career that adequately compensates you for solving world problems by doing what you are good at and love. Sounds perfect, right??
While it is wonderful to seek a job that you love, searching for one job that checks off every box on your list of wants and needs will probably be extremely difficult, especially as your priorities will change as you evolve.
At various career seasons, you may prioritize some elements of your ikigai more than others. Whether they be big or small, trade-offs are likely necessary. For example, the opportunity cost of working for an NGO to solve a world problem may mean you have to sacrifice getting paid as much as you may like. Alternatively, you may need to work a corporate job with a high salary but have to offer more of your time because of the job's demands.
I advise creating your state of Ikigai that incorporates these elements at various points of your evolving career across a portfolio of activities. Take me, for example; I can earn a living as a risk manager doing what I am good at and enjoy alongside my work at viSHEbility, where I am helping to solve a world problem related to improving the outcomes for women in the marketplace. Don’t get me wrong. Working in banking, I get to help solve many world problems when financing some of the world's most innovative companies. However, the impact feels less tangible than my grassroots work at viSHEbility.
Misconception #5: My technical skills alone are enough to be successful
When I accepted my first full-time role as a credit analyst at Bank of America, I came in with bright eyes, ready to work up the corporate ladder. It wasn’t long before I realized my technical competence and work-hard strategy weren’t translating into the perception others had of me. I wasn’t standing out at work, not because I lacked the capabilities but because I didn’t know how to showcase them properly. It took me years to learn that doing good work was not helpful if no one knew about the job and how it could add value to them.
The truth is that work doesn’t speak; people do. You need to master the art of telling others the story of the work you do or have done, how you have done it, and why it is the solution to their most pressing problems. Being able to tell this story is the key to being recognized and adequately compensated. You cannot empower, influence, or rise to significance without visibility.
The best strategy for maximizing your career success is to focus on who you are and take the steps that allow you to be your whole self. This new approach requires facing fears and potentially going against the misconceptions you’ve previously believed. That can be difficult to do. However, most people create the success they want by looking beyond fear and moving forward anyway.
For more resources on how to create the career you want, read Visible Strengths, which you can purchase today on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Scribd, Rovingheights and Selar
This article was written by Mary Mosope Adeyemi, career strategist and author of Visible Strengths, available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Roving Heights and Scribd today.
