By J.T. O'Donnell,

I received this from a LinkedIn member:

J.T.,

I'm 33 years old and have made a series of career mistakes. I graduated with a degree in marketing, but couldn't get a job. So, I took a temp position as a clerical admin in the accounting department of a big corporation. They eventually hired me full-time and I stuck it out there for 3 years. Then, I decided it was time to find a better job, but still couldn't get in to marketing, so I went in to sales. After 4 years at the same company, I wanted to relocate. So, I took another sales job in a different industry. Fast forward to today and I hate what I'm doing, have a job jumping past, and have no experience in field I went to school for. Is there any chance I'll ever be able to get on track to a career path that is satisfying, or have I made too many career mistakes?

 

The question shouldn't be, "Have I made too many career mistakes?" Instead, he should be asking, "Will I ever get to the point where I feel in control of my career?"

They Aren't Mistakes, Just Experiments That Didn't Go As Planned

This member's career story is similar to millions of others: a series of jobs taken with the hope of one outcome, but ending up with another. They're experiments that didn't go as planned. But, as my dear colleague, Dale Dauten says, "Experiments never fail." However, they can create some serious crisis of confidence that can paralyze you with the fear you'll never find career success.

The Problem? You Still Don't Know What You Want

When we go through a series of jobs that don't work out as intended, we learn exactly what we don't want in our next position. However, it doesn't necessarily make us any clearer on what we do want.- and that's the real problem. Once you can get clear on what a "good career" looks like to you, I guarantee setting yourself on a path to achieve that career goal gets easier. Here are three tips I give people in this situation to help them gain clarity:

1) Confirm that your career goals are realistic. I've seen many people expect to be CEOs and making six-figure salaries by age 30. This just isn't always possible. Thanks to the media's obsession with the high-profile success of Mark Zuckerberg and other young entrepreneurs, many people have an unrealistic view regarding where they should be in their career by a certain age.

2) Get a mentor, or two. Find people whose career paths you admire and ask them to mentor you. Not sure where to find them? Start by creating a bucket list of companies you respect and research people who work at their firms. You will find some impressive profiles here on LinkedIn of people in your local area doing extraordinary work within your chosen profession or industry. Read up on how to get to know them via networking and eventually you can see if they would be willing to meet with you to conduct an informational interview. If that goes well, you may be able to keep the professional relationship going and eventually see if the would mentor you. Mentors are one of the best resources for helping you connect the dots in new ways. Plus, hearing their own stories of how they found career success will reassure you and inspire you. Finding mentors takes work, but the reward is huge. As it's pointed out in this article, mentors often get as much benefit out of it as you do.

3) Keep taking calculated risks. You aren't going to get any new results if you don't do something different. Take what you've learned from your past experiences and then make an informed decision (i.e. do your homework), to try something new. With trial-and-error, you are getting smarter in your career - you just may not see the results yet. Use the pain you are feeling to push you forward. Don't let it consume you so that you stop trying! If necessary, seek the help of a peer as a Career Buddy to inspire you to take action. You can't afford not to.

They're Only Mistakes If You Don't Learn From Them

In my experience, it's the people who don't commit to learning and growing from career setbacks that end up stalling their careers. I know, getting knocked down repeatedly can take the wind out of your career mojo. But, I also know nobody is going to pick you up and take care of you. You want some wind beneath your career wings? See your career mistakes for what they are: opportunities to close the gap in your knowledge. Then, get out there and seek the relationships and resources you'll need to try again. What's that saying? "You can either get busy living, or get busy dying." I think this applies to your career. Doing nothing kills it. Doing something keeps it alive. And eventually, if you continue to learn from your efforts, you'll thrive.