5 Career Mistakes You Might Not Know Youre Making

5 Career Mistakes You Might Not Know Yure Making5 Career Mistakes You Might Not Know Youre MakingThis article is from our friends at LearnVest, a leading site for personal finance.Whatever your chosen profession, we all have something in common Were trying to do the best we can in our careers.Of course we arent going to gossip about our boss, fail to meet our deadlines, or do anything else to jeopardize our jobs or careers- knowingly.Its that knowingly thats the problem. We can easily avoid the professional pitfalls we know, but what about the ones we dont? And even more important, could we be making major mistakes when we think were making the right move?To keep from falling into that trap, we asked career experts to shed light on the missteps we make without even realizing, whether at the office or in the trenches of a job hunt. Are you making these mistakes?1. Keeping Yourself OfflineKnowing that social media channels such as Twitter, facebook inc, and even LinkedIn are rife with opportunity for career-damaging blunders, its understandable that you might want to lay low, leave your profiles dormant, or even take yourself offline entirely.But thats the wrong move, according to Cheryl Palmer, certified career coach and owner of Call to Career. According to recent data, the majority of recruiters now scour online sources for additional information on candidates, says Palmer. Positive online information about you will improve your job prospects, since that is what recruiters will be looking for to determine who they call for an interview. She points out that since social media sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook are some of the first results that show up on search engines, youll want to be represented- and represented well.Palmer says that just having the profiles isnt enough- you must have a dynamic presence. That means using these channels to promote yourself in a positive, professional way. Worked on a new ad campaign? Tweet it. Added to your photog raphy portfolio? Facebook it. Come across a fascinating industry article? Share it on LinkedIn. When recruiters or interviewers look you up, theyll find an engaging, productive individual.(And if managing multiple networks seems like too much, you can always automatically link your Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, so every post broadcasts to all three networks. Dont worry, we wont tell the recruiters.)2. Bonding With Co-WorkersYoure right Its always a good idea to attend work happy hours, volunteer days, and other forms of group bonding, because while these people are your colleagues, theyre also the people with whom you spend 40-plus hours a week.But bonding becomes problematic when you become very close to some co-workers- and not others. Its a mistake to align yourself with one person or one camp, cautions Marian Their, founder and CEO of coaching, training, and consulting firm Expanding Thought. While its tempting to align yourself with a strong person or group, in doing so, you separate yourself from everyone else. Then what happens when personnel changes occur, someone falls out of favor, or you need support from someone not in the chosen group?To keep from getting in too deep with some colleagues over others, Their advises people to take some simple steps to keep things friendly across the motherboard Go to lunch with a group of people, or different people each day sit next to people who arent your deskmates already at meetings mix up your routine a bit- stop by the kitchen or water cooler for a brief chat at different times of day, to run into different people.The higher up in the organization you go, reminds Their, the more important it is to be observant and prudent. Remember that while having allies is extremely important, so is having people who will challenge you.3. Championing Make-Ends-Meet JobsWe dont need to tell you that theres no shame in taking a gig unrelated to your ultimate career path (think waiting tables) to make ends meet while hunti ng for other opportunities, or to make a little extra money on the side. Plus, your scrappiness will show future employers that youre hardworking and ready to hustle, right? Not always.As a job hunter, you should be looking at yourself as a candidate through your potential employers eyes, advises Robert Meier, president of Job Market Experts. And to an employer, a side job is a distraction from your primary ort. A Fortune 500 company simply isnt going to appreciate your time as a night manager at 7-11.Instead of trying to bulk up temporary jobs by explaining how they taught you tenacity and reliability, Meier recommends minimizing such positions down to only a line on your resume- or eliminating them altogether while bulking up your more relevant past positions. The only time you should include a job like this on your resume is if it furthers your career objective, he says. For instance, a job on the sales floor in a clothing chain may be valuable if youre applying to be a buyer for J.Crew your time as a fitness instructor may be relevant if youre applying for an operations position at Under Armour.But if you spent six months scooping ice cream and are now applying for a completely unrelated corporate job in ad sales, Meier recommends eliminating your make-ends-meet job from your resume altogether. If your employment gap should come up in an interview, he says, explain that you were devoting your full attention to finding the right job in a difficult economy- an understandable excuse if its been 12 months or less.4. Relying on a Pros and Cons ListRaise your hand if youve ever made a pros and cons list about a potential job or project. Its the sensible move- youre laying out all the reasons you should and shouldnt take on a new venture in order to make an informed, rational decision.But informed and rational isnt all its cracked up to be. If you are getting a bad gut feeling about working for a certain boss or a pit in the stomach sensation about a dicey work e nvironment, or you are self-rationalizing over taking a major pay cut, you should never ignore the little voice in your ear warning you that something is wrong, explains Cheryl Rich Heisler, founder and president of career-consulting site Lawternatives.If youre getting a bad feeling about an opportunity that seems promising on the surface, says Heisler, its time to get more information. Dig deeper, and either reassure yourself that your impressions are wrong, or back away from the offer. This is true even for choosing your first career track- trust yourself. Thats not to say that a few nerves means you should bail on a second-round interview, but if you cant shake your anxiety and cant alleviate it with more information, it might be time to take a step back.If, says Heisler, after doing your research and networking, the career, industry, or job youre exploring doesnt feel right to you, reconsider. The happiest employees are working in areas they enjoy within industries they love.5. Being Perpetually AvailableChances are, your current employer values face time- that is, how much time youre in the office, working away at your desk. And when you arent face-to-face, youre accessible by phone, email, text, or carrier pigeon, whether its midnight, midnight on Saturday, or midnight on Saturday during your trip to Ibiza.When youre refusing to delegate responsibilities it shows that you arent a teacher or mentor, and certainly not a supervisor, which is criteria for promotion, says Bruce Hurwitz, executive recruiter and author of Success As Employee or Entrepreneur. And when you dont take vacation, he says, it can create an air of superiority- like you feel nothing can get done without you.People make the mistake of being too available because they dont know how to say no, says Hurwitz. They think the person they are rejecting will be mad at them, and it will affect their relationship. But, he adds, this isnt necessarily the case. If youre perpetually available and loo king to break the cycle, Hurwitz recommends starting with a conditional yes, where, upon hearing about a new assignment, you reply, Id be happy to. Just let me get this job done, and if you totenstill need my help, Im there for you.Of course, no one is recommending you skip out on your work, and its likely that there will be occasions youll have to be available outside the office. But delegating tasks to be completed without your direct oversight, or even in your absence, is a skill every manager- or would-be manager- should have.More From LearnVest10 Signs Youre Suffering From Job Burnout8 Signs You Might Not Want to Take the Job6 Co-Workers Who Could Sabotage Your CareerPhoto of keyboard courtesy of Shutterstock.