In our past few blog posts, we’ve addressed the top work habits of valuable employees and the work habits of non-valuable employees. These habits could determine whether or not you get hired . . . or whether or not you get fired.

But what about your career overall? Which patterns of behavior could ultimately hurt your career? These are important questions to ask, since poor habits in the short term can have a detrimental effect in the long term. The key is to identify these patterns and then end them before they wreak lasting havoc.

Below are five things that can cause damage to your career:

#1—Being complacent.

Unfortunately, some people like to be comfortable. Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with being comfortable or wanting to be so. However, being comfortable is just a “stone’s throw away” from being complacent. And that’s when problems can start. Which brings us to . . .

#2—Clinging to the status quo.

When you want to be comfortable, you’re more likely to cling to the status quo. Or in other words, keep things the way they are. When you want to keep things the way they are, you’re basically trying to avoid change. It’s nearly impossible to avoid change, especially in the workplace and the employment marketplace. That’s why clinging to the status quo can sink your career.

#3—Over-promising and under-delivering.

Obviously, you should do the exact opposite of this, which would be under-promising and over-delivering. You always want to deliver more than what you promise. That’s the best-case scenario in terms of personal branding. You want to brand yourself as a person who consistently delivers results. On the other hand, branding yourself as somebody who does not deliver results can, once again, sink your career.

#4—Trying to feed your ego.

When you have a big or inflated ego, you spend more time trying to feed your ego than you do trying to provide value. An employer is not going to hire you for your ego. (Although they’re more likely to hire you if you appear confident. However, there’s a fine line between being confident and being cocky.) The more you remove your ego from the equation, the better off you’ll be.

#5—Allowing fear to dictate your actions.

Fear is a powerful force and a powerful motivator. Unfortunately, it often motivates us to do the wrong thing. That’s why it’s important to remove fear from all situations, even if those situations make you feel uncomfortable. There’s nothing with feeling uncomfortable. Usually, those are situations that typically represent opportunities for growth.

The Doepker Group has experience placing professionals in the Information Technology and Engineering fields, and we can place you, as well.

We invite you to search through our open positions. You can start the process by creating a profile and submitting your resume.