Biggest Career Mistakes Millennials Make

Millennials have inherited a very different world from their predecessors. While the advantages of having the world at our fingertips is innumerable, it also provides us with a continuous psychological dilemma of choosing from innumerable options for everything. This acts as a major problem for millennials especially when they have to make major decisions such as their professional career. Some of the biggest career mistakes are:

Choosing the wrong profession: While this might apply to any person from any generation, the turn of the century has seen the development of many innovative fields that perhaps weren't even thought of before. Settling on a traditional career choice just because it is common, is therefore something millennials need to watch out for. Digital Bangladesh itself now has jobs in digital marketing, AI, data-mining, Youtubing (!!) so on and so forth.

Losing out on opportunities: There are so many internship and voluntary activities these days that not making use of the chance would be a real loss. Startups are on the rise in Dhaka presenting students with a rich opportunity to learn and grow with a business. The real work experience students gather from extracurricular activities often help bring many things into perspective profession wise. At the same time, online courses and other innovative ways of building up our talent has presented millennials with a wide range of opportunities to hone our skills by.

Knowing when to quit and when to stick: A common mistake millennials make is in recognising when to shift careers instead of specialising on their current field, or staying too long in a job they are not suited for. Good jobs are not easy to get in Bangladesh, and it can become repetitive and even harsh in certain stages. If there are learning and growth opportunities, or if you have a great mentor who teaches, the best thing to do is to stay with the job and power through by approaching the work using a different attitude. But if the environment is toxic and you feel suffocated, do not see any direction to grow etc. it is advisable to pack up, reevaluate, and maybe relook at the job choices in hand. Understanding the cause of the problem before reacting to it is something millennials need to do as well.  

Unrealistic expectations: For people who can google the 10 best office spaces to work for and be awed by the fun and vibrant nature of certain workplaces, it might be hard to accept their current jobs as 'good enough.' All firms have their positives and negatives and being too choosy is not going to do millennials any good. While it is great to dream and indeed we are a generation of dreamers being practical about certain things is a must for a healthy life and a person's career tops that list.

Photo: Collected