An Incomplete List of My Career-Limiting Moves

The internet, and LinkedIn in particular, is awash in content by people detailing all of the things they did to get ahead in their careers. 

Some of it is touted as “hustle”, some as “hacks”. Others are near-mythical stories of against-all-odds triumphs that arose out of wildly fortuitous circumstances. And in the same breath, many people will be sure to warn you off about all the things you shouldn’t do.

I’d like to explore that last part…because I’ve done a lot of them. So here’s a list of some of my clear (ahem) career-limiting maneuvers, and what they actually did for me along the way.

I didn’t graduate with a degree.

I went to college, but I didn’t get to finish my degree because of a blend of personal and financial things. Would I have liked to finish? Sure. Did I let that become my limiting factor? Oh, hell no. I scrapped for opportunities, I invested heavily in developing new skills, I focused on relationships and network building even at the very start of my career.

And yep, there are doors that closed in my face as a result. But that just helped me turn my attention to the open ones. I also recognize that I have an immense amount of privilege that has granted me access to people and places that others might not...and I worked hard to make sure that was not squandered. As more and more companies today start reconsidering their degree requirements, I’m more convinced than ever that, in most industries, there is more than one way to forge a career path whether you have the undergrad credentials or not.

I quit things.

Early in my career, I had an abusive and toxic boss. A couple of them, actually. I quit jobs before I had something new lined up (not what I’m endorsing, just saying that’s what I did to escape what was an untenable situation for me). I walked away from “opportunities” from people that felt more like exploitation. I shuttered a business partnership that had gone south even though it had cost me my life savings and then some before I got out. I turned down freelance clients and parted ways with others when it was clear the working relationship was not going to be a positive one.

Sometimes, walking away is the move. “Never quit” is for people who have always been on the top of the food chain and haven’t had to face the harm of damaging situations outside their own control. Quitting, in some circumstances, IS the strategy.

I turned down promotions….

I was offered a promotion once that coincided with the need to relocate, and I said no because I was the single mom of a young daughter and moving wasn’t in the cards for me. I said no to other promotions that were really non-promotions (more work, nominally increased pay, a LOT more responsibility and scrutiny) or new roles that were squarely outside the zone where I could be both effective AND engaged in what I was doing.

Upward isn’t always an improvement, and sometimes, investing in mastery of your current craft is something worth doing instead.

…And I took steps backwards and sideways.

When I came to LinkedIn, my destination was the company, not the role. Plus I was at a rather interesting career crossroads (read: burned out) and contemplating what I really wanted to do. So instead of chasing yet another leadership role with a ton of organizational oversight and P&L responsibility, I took an IC role with a team where I knew my skills and knowledge would be valued and have an impact. That role then opened up the opportunity for me to shift into a commercial role in sales—something I’d been wanting to do for a long while-- and back into people leadership (albeit at a level with a much less impressive title).

But not only was it more traditionally successful for me to do this (better pay, better benefits, more internal mobility, experience in a large company), it was much more in line with the goals I had for the next phase of my career, and while I still have moments that sting when I’m underestimated, I know I’m on the right path following my curiosity instead of the crowd. Careers are more twisty than linear.

I invested in my own voice. 

It can feel really risky to have thoughts and opinions that don’t conform tidily within your professional job and it can feel even more risky to put those thoughts into the vast digital universe. Many people will warn you off about doing it.

Whether you call it personal branding or being a creator or whatever it happens to be, I always believed intrinsically that my voice and knowledge are in fact the most valuable intellectual currency I have.

When I’m employed, my employer rents that from me for a cost. But they don’t own it. And the most important thing I can do for myself professionally is to continually invest in my own platform, knowledge, and presence. Doing that has opened so many doors professionally, from publishing my book to building a professional speaking career and even landing jobs or making professional connections that eventually became fruitful.

 Do you have to be thoughtful? Absolutely. And I am very intentional about it. But I also know it’s part of my portfolio of experience that will unlock the next doors for me, whether in my current company or outside of it.

It takes courage to zig when others zag.

And it’s more than easy to read your feed on LinkedIn or IG and compare yourself to all of the little highlight reels that people choose to show you about their successes or triumphs or their “tried and true” ways to get ahead.

But if you read the stories of post-professional humans or those toward the end of their careers, many of them will reflect that they wish they’d been braver, taken more chances, said no to the things that didn’t feel right, and stopped listening to what everyone else said so they could forge their own path.

So if you’re finding yourself uncomfortable and worried that you’re doing things that rub against the grain…you’re probably exactly where you need to be.

 What's your "career-limiting" move going to be this year?

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