How to Identify and Eliminate Your Career Barriers

How to Identify and Eliminate Your Career Barriers

by Karin Singh 12/01/2018

Ask yourself the following 5 questions and see what you can do about it.

# 1 – Do I lack a specific qualification?

Let’s assume you want to be a teacher. The country you are living in requires a nationally recognized teaching qualification which you don’t have.

Solution: If that is the case, even though you have several years of teaching experience (from abroad) find out what steps you can take to gain that specific qualification. Find out if there are options to get the qualification online while working, or whether you would have to commit to a full-time course.

# 2 – Do I lack mobility?

Are you limited in your career choices due to family commitments and your remote location (e.g. in the countryside)? Is the location of your dream companies in the city?

Solution: Consider the option of relocation with your family or find out if there are any options to work remotely. If you would be working as a translator, this would be easily possible.

# 3 – Do I lack the required experience and skills? 

Often companies prefer employees with several years of work experience in a specific field. You are fully aware that your lack of experience is seriously holding you back in your career ambitions.

Solution: A career guidance counselor would tell you to find opportunities to gain those skills outside your work. For example, by secondment or by volunteering. Look out for as many opportunities as possible to gain the required experience. For example, if you need more leadership skills, take on leadership roles in team sports, in a charity by managing a team at the weekend, etc.

# 4 – Do I lack specific knowledge?

Imagine you want to work as a Recruitment Consultant in Germany. Even though you gained some recruitment experience in the UK, you are not familiar with the German local employment market and the legal aspects regarding employment law.

Solution: Try to acquire this knowledge by reading up as much as you can from the internet or approach the respective authorities that provide the relevant information. It shouldn’t take you too long to familiarize yourself with the required knowledge.

# 5 – Do I lack confidence?

There might be many reasons for this. It’s important to identify what makes you feel less confident. Is it your interpersonal skills, your appearance, your personal circumstances, your poor language/communication skills, or something else?

Solution: Think of your strengths! Start collecting all the positive feedbacks you get from others and remind yourself regularly about it. Create a “success diary” and re-read it every time you feel down or unconfident! Do also some positive auto-suggestive talk. Tell yourself every day how good you are. Compare yourself with those who are underperforming and realize how much better YOU are!

No matter what your career barriers are, there is always a way to overcome them. A career guidance counselor can help you to come a step closer in achieving your career ambitions. Look for someone who can offer you some career counselling for experienced professionals. Be aware that it’s in your hands to decide how successful you can become in your career. Don’t allow your current circumstances to stop you. Ever!