Learning From Career Mistakes

Learning from another’s mistakes is surely less painful than learning from one’s own. Alanna Shaikh, a global-health expert, tries to save readers of her blog from some regrettable on-the-job missteps by describing five mistakes says she made in pursuit of her dream job.

What decisions does she rue?

For starters, not paying adequate attention “to who I worked for.” She says: “I once took a job solely on the basis of the big title, without paying enough attention to the corporate culture or the quality of the project we were implementing.”

She also says she set her career sights too low. “It was once my career goal to be a country director, and once I got that job, at 27, I had no idea what to aim for next,” recalls Ms. Shaikh. “Now my career goals are based on ideas, not titles,” she says. “I want work that has meaning for me, at an organization that values innovation. Beyond that, I take life as it comes.”

Ms. Shaikh says she wishes she’d negotiated for higher salaries. “No one will withdraw a job offer because you asked for a 5-percent higher salary,” she writes.

What else?

“I had a baby,” she says. “That isn’t exactly a mistake, because my husband and I decided to reproduce, and knew it would impact our careers. But there are now choices neither of us can make, because of our son. I’m pretty sure we’d be in Afghanistan right now if we were not parents.”

What missteps have you made in your career? What career advice would you share with others?