Career Advancement Mistakes to Avoid

I did everything you’re told to do to get promoted. I worked hard. Delivered stellar results. Said “yes” to extra work. Stayed “professional” and low-drama. And I was still overlooked. It was one of the most frustrating lessons of my corporate career in a big organisation. Now, after coaching hundreds of women managers in science and tech, here’s what I know for sure: It’s not always about how much effort you put in. It’s about the invisible habits that quietly cancel out your impact. The ones no one teaches you. The ones polite corporate culture tells women are “good behaviour”. Here are 7 invisible mistakes I wish I’d known earlier, and what to do instead: 1️⃣ Being too easy to work with ↪ Over-accommodating doesn’t make you a dream teammate. It makes you forgettable. Boundaries signal that your time has value. 2️⃣ Saying yes too quickly ↪ Instant agreement looks reactive, not strategic. Leaders respect people who pause, prioritise and then commit. 3️⃣ Making progress without telling anyone ↪ In male-dominated spaces, invisible effort gets ignored. Strategic updates are not bragging. They’re how leaders track impact. 4️⃣ Overthinking feedback instead of asking for clarity ↪ Spinning for hours on “what did they mean?” drains your energy. Ask for specifics so you can course-correct like a leader. 5️⃣ Trying to be liked by everyone ↪ Avoiding conflict to stay “neutral” makes you look weak. Senior leaders are paid to handle tension, not escape it. 6️⃣ Delivering “perfect” work too late ↪ Endless polishing delays decisions. In reality, progress beats perfection every single time. 7️⃣ Saying sorry too much ↪ Over-apologising shrinks your presence. It trains people to see you as less confident than you are. Bonus – the biggest trap of all: 8️⃣ Waiting for recognition ↪ Hoping your work will “speak for itself” keeps you stuck in the shadows. Self-advocacy isn’t arrogance; it’s part of the job. In today’s corporate world, visibility beats effort every time. Which of these habits hit home for you? And which one are you ready to ditch first? If this hits a nerve and you’re ready to be visible (not just busy): 🔹 Elevate – my leadership accelerator for promotion-ready women managers – opens in January. Comment ELEVATE if you want details. ♻️ Repost to help others see their blindspots. ➕ Follow Nadira Artyk for more on leadership, career and mindset.

Most careers don’t stall because of lack of talent. They stall because of habits people don’t realize are holding them back. That sounds uncomfortable. But it’s true. You can work hard, stay loyal, and mean well - and still slow your own growth without noticing it. I’ve seen this across industries and roles. Smart people. Capable people. Doing the “right” things… but in the wrong way. Here are 8 mistakes many professionals make in their careers - often quietly: 1. Waiting to be noticed Hard work without visibility gets overlooked. Leaders reward impact they can clearly see. 2. Avoiding hard conversations Silence around feedback, pay, or boundaries compounds problems instead of solving them. 3. Staying too long for comfort Familiarity feels safe, but comfort slowly erodes ambition, skills, and momentum. 4. Chasing titles over skills Titles fade fast. Skills compound and travel with you across roles and industries. 5. Saying yes too often Overcommitment spreads focus thin and quietly damages performance and credibility. 6. Ignoring your reputation Perception shapes opportunity long before formal reviews ever do. 7. Playing too safe Avoiding risk limits learning, leadership exposure, and breakthrough moments. 8. Measuring effort instead of impact Long hours don’t equal value. Outcomes do. None of these make you bad at your job. They just make growth slower than it needs to be. The good news? Every one of these is fixable with awareness and small, intentional shifts. Careers don’t change overnight. They change when you stop repeating patterns that no longer serve you. Which one hit a little too close to home?

The 10 Biggest Mistakes I See Associates Make (and How to Avoid Them) After decades of practice, mentoring, and watching careers rise (and stall), these patterns repeat themselves—every generation. 1. Treating assignments like tasks instead of responsibilities If your name is on it, you own it. Period. 2. Waiting to be told what to do next Leaders anticipate. Passengers wait. 3. Not asking questions—then guessing Silence doesn’t signal confidence. It signals risk. 4. Sending work up without context or recommendations Don’t dump. Guide. “Here’s the issue. Here’s my suggested path.” 5. Defensiveness when receiving edits Edits aren’t criticism. They’re training. 6. Overpromising and underdelivering Credibility is built by hitting deadlines—not explaining why you missed them. 7. Thinking long hours equals high value Results, judgment, and reliability matter more than war stories. 8. Ignoring staff, paralegals, and court personnel How you treat people without power says everything about your future leadership. 9. Assuming someone is managing your career for you No one is. That’s your job. 10. Forgetting that reputation compounds—fast People remember how you made things easier…or harder. None of this is about brilliance. It’s about judgment, humility, and professionalism. The good news? Every one of these mistakes is fixable. And the associates who fix them early tend to have very long, very successful careers.

𝟭𝟬 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗨𝗽 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻... Over my 20+ years as a corporate insider and Chief Talent Officer, I saw firsthand what separates the promotable leaders from those perpetually stuck and overlooked. Time and again, the same career derailers kept surfacing for folks striving to reach the executive ranks. In this two-part series, I'll reveal the top 10 things I witnessed holding high-achievers back from earning their next promotion and pay raise. My hope is that by shining a light on these roadblocks, you can avoid the same pitfalls and accelerate your own career trajectory. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝟱 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳: 1. 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿: Many shy away from increased authority due to the responsibility and visibility it brings. This hesitation signals to decision-makers that you may not be ready for that bigger role.     2. 𝗦𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴: Today's leaders must be able to synthesize information and make judicious, timely calls. A penchant for indecisiveness or analysis paralysis raises doubts about your leadership acumen.         3. 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Doing great work in a silo is an express lane to being overlooked. You need broad visibility as someone who can drive meaningful impact across the organization.     4. 𝗜𝗹𝗹-𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱/𝗣𝗼𝗼𝗿𝗹𝘆-𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄: Executives must bring a clear, well-articulated perspective to the table. Lacking a definitive point of view or failing to communicate it crisply undermines your credibility.     5. 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝘃𝘆: Organizational politics is inescapable, especially at senior levels. The inability to navigate complex power dynamics and influence the influencers can be a career staller. Do any resonate? Which have tripped you up before? 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 - 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘁'𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹. And 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟮 where I'll reveal the other 5 make-or-break factors that distinguish the promotable from the passed over. PS. If you found this helpful, hit repost to share with others ♻️ 🧡

5 Uncomfortable Truths Most High-Achieving Women Spend Their Entire Careers Avoiding: 1.) Deflecting Compliments Hurts Your Career. For years, I was the queen of deflecting compliments—brushing off praise with "Oh, it was nothing" or redirecting it to others. I didn’t realize I was diminishing my value and reinforcing the idea that my contributions were not worth celebrating. This habit cost me visibility and career advancement. 2.) Your Achievements Won't Speak for Themselves. Here's why it takes women so long to learn this truth: 1️⃣ Belief 1: Good work alone should be enough. 2️⃣ Belief 2: Self-promotion feels like bragging. 3️⃣ Belief 3: Staying humble will make me more likable. Avoid this trap: Recognize that sharing your success is not arrogance; it’s accurately representing your value. 3.) Staying Silent Costs You Opportunities. Think of every opportunity you've missed because you didn’t speak up. I stayed quiet about a project that saved millions, assuming my work would speak for itself. It didn’t. A male colleague, who contributed far less but wasn’t shy about promoting his role, received the recognition—and the promotion. Face it: Silence doesn’t serve you. If you don’t promote yourself, someone else will—and they might not tell your story how it deserves to be told. 4.) You Can Be Liked and Respected, but Respect is Non-Negotiable. ✅ If you confidently own your achievements, you’ll be seen as a leader. ✅ If you continue deflecting compliments, you’ll remain invisible. ✅ If you stay silent, you’ll reinforce the status quo that women’s contributions are less valuable. Choose wisely: Would you rather be liked for your silence or respected for your contributions? 5.) Women Often Play Small, But the World Needs You to Play Big. Most people think modesty will open doors, but in reality, it’s flipped: owning your awesome is the key to unlocking new opportunities. Actions tell your story, so start making yours count by confidently representing your value.

Career mistakes I made so you don't have to. I've made plenty of missteps over 20 years across my roles with Big 3 Consulting firms such as Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Fortune 50 companies such as Procter & Gamble. But looking back, each of those mistakes exposed blind spots. They taught me great lessons that helped me ‘level up’ each time. So I'm sharing three whoppers - and how to navigate them better: ❌ Thinking it’s linear, when it’s actually chess No two paths are the same because they don’t have to be. Each step you take guides the next. Each role buttresses your future skills. ✅ Rather: Ditch assumptions about linear progression. Embrace adaptability and open-mindedness to what comes and how it may be unique versus others. ❌ Chasing success rather than experience Failures forged me more than wins. In my two-decade long career, I missed fiscal targets only two years - yet those 10% failures were more formative than those 90% successes. ✅ Rather: Don't fear flops - extract learnings from scar tissue that makes you stronger. ❌ Undervaluing self-care Careers are a marathon, not a sprint. Unsustainable sprints that many of us ‘buckle down’ to compromise your long-term endurance. ✅ Rather: Prioritize your wellbeing. Nurture mind, body, spirit - that's how you gain staying power for the long haul. My early missteps taught me invaluable lessons to steer my working life and career. What career pitfalls tripped you up and how did you course-correct? #CareerMistakes #LeadershipAdvice #CareerWisdom #NavigatingSuccess #lLinkedinnewsasia

So many leaders I talk to are asking, "If I'm so good at my job, why aren't I getting promoted?" It can feel like you're doing all of the right things, but what served you early in your career may actually be holding you back from the next level.   Let's unpack this. When you take your first steps into leadership, it's often assumed that a magic transformation happens overnight - that you'll stop jumping into fix things, feel comfortable coaching your former peers and make tough decisions with ease. But it doesn't work that way.   We spend most of our careers proving ourselves and earning accolades as the fixer, the achiever and the responsible one. So, when we advance into leadership, it can be hard to shed this identity and the rewards that come with it.    Hardworking, humble and heads-down, we juggle managing our team while remaining a sought-after expert and go-to performer. We believe our results should speak for themselves. Then, we look up and realize something frustrating: people with less experience and dedication are moving past us. We aren't accomplishing our strategic goals. Why? Because our willingness to do the work—and our hesitation to advocate for ourselves—has landed us an advancement trap.    After coaching across industries and job levels, I've noticed four advancement traps that come up again and again. What's sneaky is that these traps don't feel bad at first—they're rooted in things we pride ourselves on: 1. Being an expert 2. Being loyal and dependable 3. Avoiding risk 4. Supporting others In excess, these strengths become traps. And they tend to hit just when leaders are ready to move from working manager roles into more strategic or c-level positions. It's almost as if being too good in their role has hindered their leadership potential.   Here are four traps I see often—and what to do if you're caught in one. Do these traps resonate with you? Have you seen people in your organization caught in them as they are trying to level up? I want to hear about it!

The Fundamental Misconception Stalling Professional Advancement   After placing executives for over 25 years, I've observed a consistent pattern among professionals experiencing slower-than-desired career progression: they're operating on an outdated assumption about how recognition and advancement actually occur.   The most insidious career misconception is that consistent performance naturally leads to recognition and advancement.   In reality, organizational systems aren't designed to automatically identify and reward quiet competence.   Executives who achieve rapid advancement understand several critical principles: • Visibility Engineering: Deliberately creating awareness of achievements among decision-makers without relying on immediate supervisors as sole advocates • Documentation Priority: Systematically recording contributions and impact, making it easier for leaders to recognize patterns of value when advancement opportunities arise • Strategic Relationship Building: Developing connections with leaders who influence advancement decisions, not just peers and immediate managers • Opportunity Anticipation: Positioning themselves for roles before they're formally available, rather than waiting for announcements   The professionals who advance most efficiently aren't necessarily performing at higher levels - they're ensuring their performance is strategically visible and aligned with organizational priorities.   If your career progress feels disproportionately slow relative to your contributions, the solution may not be working harder, but rather shifting how you position your existing work within the organization.   What strategies have you found effective for ensuring your contributions receive appropriate recognition?   Sign up to my newsletter for more corporate insights and truths here: https://lnkd.in/ei_uQjju   #deepalivyas #eliterecruiter #recruiter #recruitment #jobsearch #corporate #careeradvancement #executivedevelopment #professionalrecognition #careerstrategist

I wasted my entire 30s making these mistakes. Don't be me. After 15+ years in recruiting, I've watched careers explode. And careers implode. The difference? These 16 subtle mistakes that kill momentum. Here's what NOT to do in your 30s (and how to fix it before it's too late): 1/ Playing It Safe in Your Comfort Zone ❌ "I'll take risks later when I'm more ready" ✅ Take that scary project NOW. Growth lives in discomfort 2/ Treating Your Network Like an ATM ❌ Only calling when you need something ✅ Check in monthly. Give first. Ask later 3/ Waiting for Your Boss to Notice You Deserve More Money ❌ "They'll give me a raise when I deserve it" ✅ Research. Prepare. ASK. They won't offer 4/ Obsessing Over Technical Skills Only ❌ Being the smartest person who can't communicate ✅ EQ > IQ. Learn to read rooms, not just spreadsheets 5/ Saying Yes to Everything Like a Rookie ❌ Taking on 10 projects, delivering on 3 ✅ Under-promise. Over-deliver. Every single time 6/ Getting Defensive About Feedback ❌ "They just don't understand my style" ✅ Feedback is free consulting. Take it. Use it 7/ Having a LinkedIn Profile from 2019 ❌ Same headshot. Same bio. Same everything ✅ Update quarterly. Share weekly. Stay visible 8/ Being Everyone's Yes-Person ❌ Burnout isn't a badge of honor ✅ "No" is a complete sentence. Use it 9/ Keeping Your Wins a Secret ❌ "My work will speak for itself" ✅ Document everything. Your boss has amnesia during reviews 10/ Thinking Your Current Skills Are Forever Skills ❌ "I'm good at what I do" ✅ Your industry will change. Change faster 11/ Burning Bridges Like They're Free ❌ "I'll never see these people again" ✅ Singapore is SMALL. That intern becomes your CEO/client! 12/ Chasing Fancy Titles Over Real Growth ❌ "Senior Vice President of Nothing" ✅ Skills > Titles. Always 13/ Staying Silent in Meetings ❌ "My ideas aren't good enough" ✅ That "dumb" question? Everyone's thinking it 14/ Comparing Your Chapter 3 to Someone's Chapter 10 ❌ "They're so far ahead of me" ✅ Run your own race. Comparison kills careers 15/ Sacrificing Everything for Work ❌ "I'll have work-life harmony when I'm senior" ✅ Set boundaries NOW. Health is No. 1! 16/ Hoping Your Reputation Will Market Itself ❌ Doing great work in silence ✅ If you don't tell your story, someone else will. Badly. 👉 The brutal truth? Your 30s aren't practice rounds. This is the decade that sets up your 40s, 50s, and beyond. Every "small" mistake compounds. Every "later" becomes never. I learnt this the hard way. Lost opportunities. Missed promotions. Burnt bridges. But you don't have to. Start fixing these TODAY. Future you is counting on it. — Which mistake are you guilty of? Drop the number below ⬇️ — ♻️ Repost to save someone's career ➕ Follow Shulin Lee for more hard truths P.S. If you're reading this in your 40s or 50s thinking "too late"? It's NEVER too late. Just start NOW.

I made every mistake imaginable in my 20's Here are 3 career traps I wish I hadn’t walked into headfirst: (1) Your job is not your identity When you’re fresh out of school, it’s easy to make your first job your entire world. New friends, new routines, new sense of purpose. Feels great—until you wake up one day and realize you’re stuck in a job you don’t even like. I did this. I blinked, and suddenly I was in my late 20s, trapped in a “good” job that felt like a slow death. The comfort made me complacent. The fear of leaving kept me there longer than I care to admit. Don’t let this be you. Keep building your life outside of work. (2) Lifestyle creep is a silent killer You get a raise. You celebrate by upgrading your apartment, buying nicer clothes, saying “why not?” to that $18 cocktail. Before you know it, your paycheck needs to be that high just to sustain your lifestyle. And boom—you’ve got golden handcuffs. Now you’re answering emails at 10pm, scared to lose the job that funds the life you built. Making good money is great. But the second your lifestyle owns you, you’re screwed. (3) Don’t stop exploring Your 20s are not about picking one job, climbing the ladder, and never looking around. The biggest career risk isn’t making a wrong move—it’s never moving at all. Learn new skills. Take weird opportunities. Say yes to stuff that excites you, even if it doesn’t fit into a perfect 10-year plan. And if you feel stuck? Rip the bandaid off and go find what’s next. The sooner you avoid these traps, the more freedom you’ll have to build a life that actually feels good. I learned this the hard way—don’t be me.