3

How to Avoid the

BIGGEST
MISTAKES
People Make When
Choosing a Career

MEREDITH   WALTERS

MEREDITH WALTERS
 Choosing a career is a difficult decision. It can feel like the
weight of the world is on your shoulders or that your family’s
future well-being is at stake. In fact, for those of us who are
committed to finding meaningful and satisfying work, it’s
common to feel uncertain, overwhelmed, or downright para-
lyzed when making a major career decision.
We don’t want to end up in another job we hate. We don’t
want to find that we can’t support ourselves financially with
what we choose. We don’t want to invest our time and energy
in one direction only to find that it’s the wrong one.
The good news is, when people regret their career decisions,
it’s usually for one of just three reasons. Here are the 3 biggest
mistakes people make when choosing a career and how you
can avoid them:

1. They choose the safest-sounding

option.
I had a client once who chose jobs her whole life based on what
seemed to offer the most security. By her early 50s she had a
stable, well-paying job that made her miserable.
Being safe isn’t the same thing as being fulfilled. It’s good to be
pragmatic, but when we make decisions out of fear, we miss out
on all the joy that comes from doing work we’re passionate about;
the excitement of forging our own path; and the fulfillment that
comes from sharing our greatest gifts with the world.
What’s more, no job offers true safety. Any job can be down-
sized or taken away at any moment. Security doesn’t come from
our work situation; it comes from our inherent ability to respond
and adapt to any challenges life might throw our way.
In general, you find what you’re looking for. So when choosing
a career, look for work that’s heartfelt, joyful, meaningful, and
pragmatic. If you don’t think that exists, get really clear about what
you most want and share it with as many other people as you can,
gathering and learning about ideas until you discover an option
that’s both exciting and practical.
When my client did this, she found a job that inspired and
fulfilled her, in addition to paying the bills.

2 MeredithWalters.com
2. Their ego gets in the way.
Ego can cause us to make two kinds of mistakes when it comes to
choosing a career.
The first mistake is to believe what we really want is money,
status, and/or a certain job title. The ego thinks these things will
satisfy whatever we feel we lack.
It’s wrong.
Harvard Business Review found that the single biggest career
regret of the professionals it studied was, “I wish I hadn’t taken the
job for the money.”
Money promises so much, but once we get it, it hardly ever
delivers what we think it will.
The other mistake ego has us make is to believe that it’s in our
best interest to stay small.
The second biggest regret in the HBR study was, “I wish I had
quit my job earlier.” The third was, “I wish I had the confidence to
start my own business.”
Ego fears failure, starting over, and looking bad to others. But
we exaggerate the likelihood of these things and imagine them to
be worse than they actually are. The truth is, we’re far more likely
to regret not taking the risk of bringing our dream to life than we
are to lament any bruises our ego may incur along the way.
To avoid blindly following your ego, first listen for what it’s
telling you. Usually our ego’s voice is loud, urgent, and quite insis-
tent. What does your ego think you need to be happy? Is it telling
you that you can’t do something, or that you’ll fail? Now, whatever
its message is, ask yourself: what’s the evidence that this is true?

3. They don’t investigate enough.

When I mention the idea of being an entrepreneur, what comes to
mind? Creativity, freedom, and working from home in your under-
wear? Or stress, failure, and having to do everything yourself?
Every profession has its rewards and challenges. Too often, we
default to seeing only one or the other. Or we make decisions
based on the idea of something without understanding what’s
truly involved.
I had a client once who got a masters degree in library and
information science only to find that he didn’t like being a librarian
and that academia was a terrible fit for him.

How to Avoid the 3 Biggest Mistakes People Make When Choosing a Career 3
 Everything he read about the career sounded good on paper,
but he hadn’t really understood what was involved in the day-to-
day, how little creative control he’d have, how many departmental
meetings he’d have to attend, or how challenging the culture
would be for him.
Choosing the wrong career isn’t a death sentence; you can
always make a change — even a dramatic one — as my client was
able to do. But to avoid this pitfall in the first place, find out as
much as you can about the options you’re considering.
Talk to multiple people doing what you think you want to do.
Ask them: What do you do in an average day or week? What do
you like most about your work? What do you like least? What’s
surprised you about your occupation? What did you have to do,
learn, invest, or give up to enter this line of work? What would you
do differently if you could do it all again?
Better yet, try it out. Shadow someone for a day. Ask for an
assignment in the capacity you’re pursuing. Take a class. Teach a
class. Volunteer. Participate in an industry event. Freelance on a
side project. Create and sell something. Do it as a hobby.
No matter what you do, treat your career change as an adven-
ture. Let yourself have fun as you explore by doing things you
love. Know that you can always change course — that almost
all of us have to at some point. And remember that adventures
are worthwhile no matter where you end up, because you’re
always discovering something of value if you’re going into
uncharted waters.

MEREDITH        WALTERS

MEREDITH WALTERS
Meredith Walters is certified by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and has a
Masters in Business Administration from USF. In addition to one-on-one coaching, she
also coaches groups and leads workshops for organizations such as Emory University
and the U.S. Peace Corps. She’s a former board member of the Georgia chapter of ICF
and has served as an adjunct faculty member at New Ventures West coaching school in
San Francisco.
Before finding her calling as a coach and writer, Meredith worked as a cashier,
baker, tenant organizer, program manager, international volunteer, marketing
manager, senior associate for investor relations, receptionist, community manager, and
director of operations. She understands the challenges of finding your calling from the
inside out.
For more help finding a career you love, go to meredithwalters.com.
4 © 2015 Meredith Walters. All rights reserved. MeredithWalters.com