A post I ran across at Money Sanity (Top 10 Ways to Get Fired) prompted some thoughts and observations on the different ways I’ve seen and heard of people sabotaging their own careers. In no particular order:
- Repeatedly telling your boss that you deserve to have a better title. Would that make your boss think you’re more concerned with appearance over substance.
- Calling a meeting with your boss and your bosses’ boss to complain how the department is run. Self-explanatory.
- Telling your company that it’s “either he goes or I go” (er, it’s going to be you).
- Stealing.
- Losing your mind and trying to throttle one of your subordinates in a dispute. Out you go, slim.
- Stealing.
- Losing your mind and sending out hateful curse-laced emails. You’ll never offend anyone by not cursing.
- Destroying/deleting relevant documents after receiving a Legal Hold notice from your company’s attorneys. Self-explanatory.
- Keep coming in 5, 10 or 15 minutes late, and leaving early. The image of a go-getter, this will not be.
- Making yourself indispensable. If you’ve made sure that no one else can do your job, congratulations…. You’ve just made yourself a nice pair of cement shoes, with an eye-bolt accessory chained to your desk. Foster an understudy, and develop a succession plan.
- Incessantly and loudly insisting on a pay raise after completing your MBA. Depending on your company’s views on advanced degrees, or the demands of your job, it may not matter a whit that you are now certified to do high finance and leveraged buyouts. Your worth to the company did not magically increase from one day to the next, just because you can hang a plaque on your wall. Make your performance speak for itself, or else move on to somewhere else.
- Keep on looking up internet porn on company time, even after you’ve been advised to stop.
- Knocking back a few drinks at lunchtime and coming back to work smelling like a bar dishtowel. It may not get you fired right away, but do it one too many times, and your name won’t go into the hat for that promotion.
- Along those lines, try whooping it up at the company Christmas party and see what that gets ya. If that’s not the company culture (and even if it is), know your limit for alcohol. Working up your alcohol-fueled courage to tell the company president’s wife what a smokin’ hot babe she is, probably not a good idea.
- Helping yourself to company stationery. Treating the supply closet like a personal “perk”, also probably not a good idea.
OK, looking over the list again, it’s 14 ways to commit career suicide, but the one about stealing bears repeating, and 15 sounds better than 14 in the title anyway. And I finally got to use the fingers-in-the-wall-socket image — I’ve had that in my photos-to-use folder forever. I’d give credit if I could, but I forgot how I got it.
Readers, got anything to add? What other ways have you seen idiots immolating their careers on the altar of stupidity?
Nice list and a great image 101C! I’ve met a few who committed some of the sins listed here and the outcome was always the same!
Moneycone recently posted..So Someone Tried To Use My Credit Card To Buy A Laptop…
And the outcome was….?
Got fired! The difference was how long it took for the company to do so! Writing tactless and nasty emails seems to be the quickest way to get fired!
Moneycone recently posted..So Someone Tried To Use My Credit Card To Buy A Laptop…
Yep, and so preventable!
Does “Not believing in your company’s product” count?
I hope not since I don’t hide my opinion at work…
BeatingTheIndex recently posted..Simple Moving Averages Are Our Oldest and Most Trusted Indicators
Well, it might could and it depends. If staying in place is the goal, then it’s a brilliant strategy.
[...] 15 Ways to Commit Career Suicide @101 Centavos [...]
Thanks fully I haven’t done things like this much.
I had a drink at one or two of the Friday lunch outing, but that’s about it.
- How about having office romance? That is sure to create problems.
retirebyforty recently posted..South Pacific Tropical Island Paradise on the Cheap – Rarotonga
Hi RB40 – You’re right, having an workplace romance has all kinds of hair on it. It rarely ends well, especially the extra-marital kind.
great list, career suicide is also financial suicide!!
Ken @Spruce Up Your Finances recently posted..7 Mistakes People Make Just To Get A Huge Tax Refund
Hi Ken – I originally thought about using that picture for financial suicide, but this is OK too.
The hardest thing about a job is when you are, fairly or not viewed in a certain way. I have seen some people who, not matter what they do, it is viewed through a negative lense because of that perception. There are few things in the world that are more difficult to manage than a career, in my opinion.
freelancepf recently posted..A Blog’s Success Should Never Be Assumed
Hi CT, perception is reality, isn’t it? Very difficult to change once it’s burned in someone’s mind.
I think those are some ways that I would love to watch. Having seen someone come in late before and watch them fired made my day. There are things you can’t help but you can offset it. For example I came in an hour early everday and after new years came in 3 hours late one day. Of course make a good reputation for yourself and you’ll have no issues.
-Ravi Gutpa
Ravi Gupta recently posted..Crossing limits and lines- how I almost killed myself
[...] Night is Like Bizarro Christmas @ Money Reasons. I don’t know if my city has a Bizarro trash day!15 Ways to commit career suicide @ 101 Centavos. Great list of things to “not” do. And it is not that difficult to not do them, [...]
[...] presents 15 Ways to Commit Career Suicide. A brief list of ways not to attain in a immature [...]