26 Costly Career Mistakes That Set You Back Years

Let's talk about something that sets people back. Career mistakes. Not obvious ones. Ones that look like progress. Work hard. Stay loyal. Do a good job. The kind of unnoticeable acts that don't cost you a bad day. They cost you years. Years of time. Income. Momentum you never get back. And it happens because people are pointed in the wrong direction. Not because they aren't capable. That's what we're fixing today. This week's Tuesday Tips is not just a list. It's a full-on hour of how careers actually work. I walk you through 26 of the costliest mistakes across five critical areas: ·       Career Design, where most people drift instead of choosing a lane. ·       Career Growth, why people build the wrong skills or don't build them at all. ·       On-the-Job, how doing "enough" keeps you stuck. ·       Job Search, where most people completely misplay the game. ·       Networking, the mistakes that keep opportunities out of reach. And more importantly that pointing out these mistakes, I'll teach you how to fix them so you can stop losing time and start making big-time progress. If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings:   1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to career development, interviewing, hiring, and goal setting. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

Let's talk about the thing that's sitting in the back of a lot of people's minds right now… "Is AI going to take my job?" I get it. You're seeing layoffs. You're hearing nonstop noise about automation. But here's the problem… Most people are asking the wrong question. They're thinking about AI like it's coming to take a fixed number of jobs. That's not how this works. Every major wave of technology does two things at the same time: It eliminates certain roles in the short term. And it expands the total number of opportunities over time. The real issue isn't "Will AI take my job?" It's… 👉 Is what you do easily replaceable at the source? Because if it is… yeah, you've got a problem. But if you understand where AI actually can't compete, you're not just safe… You're in a better position than ever. That's what I'm breaking down in today's Tuesday Tips lesson. I'll show you how to think about this the right way and, more importantly, where to focus so you stay valuable no matter what changes. If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings:   1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to career development, interviewing, hiring, and goal setting. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

There is no faster accelerator in your career than communication. And there is no bigger drag. Think about it. You have skills. Experience. Judgment. Ideas that could help your team, your company, and your customers. But between everything you know and the value you deliver sits one thing: Communication. It's the wrapper around everything you know. It either broadcasts your value or it traps it inside. Most professionals think their communication problem is clarity. It usually isn't. It's process. When someone asks for an update, a proposal, or a recommendation, most people open a blank page and start writing. While they're writing, they're also… figuring out what they want to say. organizing the information. editing the sentences. All at the same time! That's the mistake. Great communication isn't winged. It's constructed. In today's Tuesday Tips lesson, I'm going to show you the exact system I use to create every form of communication I produce. These steps helped me write this newsletter, the talk I'm giving you at Live Office Hours on Thursday, and even my books like Signal Strength. Once you see it, you'll never approach an email, presentation, proposal, or conversation the same way again. If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to career development, interviewing, hiring, and goal setting. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

One of the biggest mistakes job seekers make in interviews is trying to sell their skills. They walk through their résumé. They explain what they know. They talk about tools and responsibilities. They assume the employer will connect the dots. But employers are not hiring skills. They are hiring value. Skills are just the ingredients. Value is the outcome. Two candidates can have the same skills. Why does one get the offer and the other doesn't? 💥 Because one person explains what their skills do for the business, while the other only explains what they know how to do. And those are very different conversations. When you focus on skills, you sound like every other candidate. When you focus on value, you sound like the person who can solve the company's problems. (Another 💥 right here.) That shift changes everything. In today's Tuesday Tips lesson, I'll show you how to make that shift so your experience connects the way it should in interviews. If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to career development, interviewing, hiring, and goal setting. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

Happy St. Patrick's Day. ☘️ If you're counting on luck in your job search, we need to talk. Let me say something that might sting a little. Your skills aren't the reason you're not getting offers. And they're definitely not the reason you'll get one. Most job seekers think interviews are about listing what they know. "I'm certified in…" "I've done Agile…" "I've led teams…" "I implemented…" That's a menu. Employers don't buy menus. They buy outcomes. They buy transformation. They buy the feeling that when you walk in the door, their problem walks out. (Not to break up the speed at which you're reading this, but you can't imagine how long it took me to come up with the previous line you just read. 🤣) Where was I? Right… When you talk about your past like a list of features, they have to work too hard to connect the dots. When you tell a story about a real problem, what was at stake, what you drove, and what changed because of you… They do the connecting for you. Everything becomes a deduction. "If she pulled that off, she can handle this." That's how hiring decisions are made. Not by credentials. Not by platforms. Not by how many buzzwords you can stack into a sentence. In today's Tuesday Tips, I show you how to stop selling skills and start selling impact. Because skills don't win interviews. This does. If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to career development, interviewing, hiring, and goal setting. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

There is at least one moment in a job interview you can count on.  Whether it happens literally or figuratively, it's this: "Tell me about your accomplishments." What do many people do when they hear this? They panic. Not because they don't have wins.  But because they don't know how to talk about them without feeling awkward, arrogant, or self-promotional. And that's where offers disappear. Whether you're interviewing for a new role or discussing your impact with your current employer, one thing matters more than anything else:  Can you clearly explain what you've accomplished and why it mattered? If you can't, the interviewer fills in the blanks for you. And they usually get it wrong. That's why today's lesson is focused on how to share your wins without sounding like you're bragging. This lesson will help you talk about your achievements in a way that sounds confident and credible, not self-important. If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to career development, interviewing, hiring, and goal setting. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

If you've ever felt overlooked or misunderstood or plain ole underappreciated, this is my gift to you today. It doesn't matter if it's you job search or job. You're welcome. If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings:  1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to career development, interviewing, hiring, and goal setting. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

Most professionals don't struggle because they lack experience.  They struggle because they can't remember the details that give their accomplishments life. When resumes need updating or interview stories come up, people realize how much context and impact they've lost over time. And memory is a terrible career strategy. That's why today's lesson shows you how to capture your career wins so you can build a stronger résumé, tell better interview stories, and create more job opportunities.  Career wins aren't just promotions or big projects.  They're problems solved, improvements made, systems built, and results created along the way. If you don't document those wins as they happen, your experience gets watered down. What should sound impressive ends up sounding average. Today, I walk you through a simple system to capture your career wins so your experience leads to more vivid stories, stronger positioning, and better outcomes. If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to career development, interviewing, hiring, and goal setting. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

I hate that I even have to write this. But fake recruiters and fake job postings are everywhere right now. And job seekers are being targeted hard. That's not because you're careless. It's because scammers go after people who are motivated, hopeful, and actively searching. That's you. What makes this worse is how convincing these scams have become. In fact, a couple months ago, one of my clients showed me a recruiter message that fooled me! The company looked real. The LinkedIn profile looked legit. The email sounded professional. It wasn't. That's why this week's lesson is about how to protect yourself. Not with fear. With awareness. In today's video, I walk you through 10 clear warning signs that help you quickly answer one critical question: Is this real…or is it just a scam? You'll learn: What to check first when a recruiter emails or messages you. How fake job postings give themselves away. Why Gmail addresses, rushed language, and vague roles should always make you pause. What legitimate recruiters never ask you for. How to verify a job or recruiter in minutes, not hours. This isn't about becoming paranoid. It's about becoming informed. If you're job searching right now, please don't skip this one. Even smart, experienced professionals are getting caught off guard. And if this helps you, pass it along to someone else who's searching. A simple heads up can save them a lot of stress. Listen to STOP Falling for Fake Jobs and Recruiter Scams now! If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to career development, interviewing, hiring, and goal setting. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy

Few interview questions create more damage with fewer words. Not because it's hard. But because people answer it at the worst possible time, with the least possible leverage. Most candidates think this question is about money. It isn't. It's about timing, power, and whether you understand how hiring decisions actually get made. Say a number too early and you either leave money on the table you'll never get back or price yourself out before anyone truly understands your value. And here's the part nobody teaches. There isn't one "right" answer to this question. There's a sequence.  A progression of responses that protects your leverage, keeps the process moving, and positions you to negotiate when your stock is highest, not lowest. In this week's lesson, I break down: Why giving a number early almost always works against you. What recruiters are really trying to confirm when they ask. And the exact recruiter-proof responses I use to control this conversation without sounding evasive or combative. If you've ever felt pressure to answer this question quickly, or worried that one wrong sentence could cost you thousands, this lesson will change how you approach salary conversations forever. If you'd like to build a great career and lead a rewarding life, check out some of these other places where I share my teachings: 1. Check out the milewalk Academy, my coaching and training site, for freemiums and premiums. 2. I have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos on my YouTube Channel. 3. Grab any of my four books related to career development, interviewing, hiring, and goal setting. All can be found on my Amazon Author Page. 4. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X), TikTok, Threads, and Facebook. 5. Stay in touch with me in your email inbox by joining my newsletter here! --Andy