While there are a plethora of things that people should do in order to ensure that they can lead profoundly productive and positive lives, developing dynamic careers is particularly important.

This is so for several reasons, including the fact that career development can promote self-fulfillment, professional mobility, and economic security. Unfortunately, however, people often make career mistakes that can preclude them from attaining some or all of the aforementioned benefits. Here are seven career mistakes that could be holding you back right now:

1. Taking A Job For Financial Reasons Only

Oftentimes, people think that career development is solely about finding a job that will promote wealth acquisition. Adopting this modality can be problematic for many reasons, including the fact that the financial stability and growth that one anticipates is always subject to extinction. Additionally, people who take jobs for financial reasons only often find that their indifference to or loathing for the position entails a sense of intellectual stagnation, depression, and/or apathy. Once this happens, job performance can decline and thereby preclude a person from attaining promotions.

2. Taking A Job Without Fully Understanding The Role/Responsibilities

Yet another career mistake that can hold an individual back is taking a job offer without gaining a holistic understanding of what the primary tasks will be. In many cases, people find that they are responsible for completing duties that bore them or which they cannot complete in the type of excellent, expedient fashion that would make them great candidates for promotions.

3. Getting Comfortable

This is one of the worst career mistakes that an individual can make. In many cases, people take a job and find that the pay is excellent and the work is easy to complete. For this reason, they "get comfortable" by failing to apply for promotions or take on more challenging tasks. This type of attitude can engender intellectual mediocrity and professional stagnation.

4. Taking On Specialized Positions

Like many other career decisions that an individual could make, taking on a specialized position can be a double-edged sword. On the up side, possessing a specific skill set will oftentimes make job candidates extremely hire-able. On the downside, however, these types of specialized positions are problematic when the skill set they require becomes extinct. To avoid the challenges that can result from possessing a skill set that is no longer valuable, consider the value of investing in on-going education.

5. Avoiding Interaction With Other Employees

This may be the most problematic career mistake an individual can make. Even introverted individuals should take the time to interact with their employees, and doing so is important for several reasons. First, it can preclude the type of hostile work environment that often is born when individuals feel alienated from one another. It also makes it more difficult for you to ask for help with job-related tasks that you are having challenges completing. Finally, failing to interact with your fellow employees can cause you to miss out on some amazing friendships and networking partners!

6. Not Asking For A Raise

One of the challenges with this career mistake is that many people recognize their value to a company yet refuse to ask for a raise out of fear that they will be fired for being so aggressive. And truthfully, asking for a raise can lead you to be fired. However, this reality isn't particularly common, especially if you are truly an asset to your employer. When you prepare to ask for a raise, think of creating a detailed report indicating the unique and indispensable value you bring to the table.

7. Staying in A Dead-end Job

This can be a very tricky career mistake. In some cases, people opt to stay in a specific job because the pay is excellent, they like their co-workers, and their boss doesn't micromanage. Yet if the job doesn't offer opportunities for elevation and growth, remaining there is disadvantageous and will likely not entail the sense of self-actualization and personal growth that gives meaning and vitality to life. And that's why staying in a dead-end job is a bad career mistake to make.

Conclusion

If you are interested in leading a profoundly healthy, happy existence, you should know that your career can play a large role in contributing to or detracting from the accomplishment of this objective. Since this is the case, it's a good idea for you to review the aforementioned career mistakes and avoid them at all costs. Good luck!