Six Mistakes To Avoid After Leaving Your Corporate Career (So You Can Find More Purpose At Work)
Common mistakes people make after leaving their corporate career are ignoring their professional network, going public with plans at the wrong time, saying yes to the first job they’re offered, and not changing their lifestyle to suit their new circumstances.
In this article we're going to look at the common mistakes that people make after leaving their corporate career. In fact, six mistakes that people often make even before they’ve handed in their resignation.
What About Life After A Corporate Career?
It's really important to think about life after a corporate career for one simple reason: people are so focused on simply plucking up the courage to hand in their notice, that they forget about what might happen next.
This means they can end up in a negative pattern that cycles through quitting and taking on new roles without ever thinking about what they actually want. They hop from job to job, randomly accepting any job offer that comes along because they're panicking about what to do next. The result is that they often feel dissatisfied or distracted rather than focused on a bigger vision of finding purpose and meaning in their work.
By understanding the six common mistakes people make before, during and after leaving their corporate career, you'll be able to avoid falling into this pattern - and exit your corporate career gracefully and well-prepared.
Mistake Number One: Quitting Before You Try to Make It Better
A common mistake people make when leaving their corporate career is being too quick to hand in their notice and give up on their current job.
Sometimes you can be in a professional situation where it's necessary for you to exit as quickly as possible: for example, if you are in a toxic work environment or are experiencing bullying. However, if you’re someone who gets bored easily or has gone through that job hopping cycle, sometimes you can be quick to give up on an existing role and resign without trying to make what you are already doing better.
Attempting to improve the role you already have is important not only to get the most out of your work but also to change your mindset from one of feeling frustrated and disappointed to one of pride or contentment. One of my favourite books is It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be by Paul Arden. In this book, Arden suggests that the job you have on your desk is the one you want to focus on; in fact, it's the one you want to make as good as possible. Rather than fantasising about the next job or even the perfect job, if you focus on the job at hand and make it the best it can be, it will stand you in good stead for whatever comes next.
Why quitting too early stops you finding purpose at work
If you quit too early, you’re less likely to find purpose at work because your mindset is all about the shiny new object on the horizon - rather than how to improve what you already have and gather momentum from that positive feeling.
You don't have to pretend that everything's great at work, nor do you have to put loads of effort into completely changing everything about your workplace – particularly if there are aspects like a toxic boss or appalling clients that are outside of your control. However, you can focus more closely on what you enjoy and where you can make incremental improvements to have a better time at work. This could be as simple as taking a proper lunch break, making sure your desk space is clean and tidy, or connecting with colleagues regularly if you work from home.
These actions might seem small and insignificant, but if you can make the best of a bad situation then you're more likely to be in a positive mindset when you do actually resign – rather than handing in your notice in a fit of rage 😡
If you’d like help with avoiding this mistake, then I have some more advice about how to improve your current work situation in my article How to Get Out of a Career Rut.
Mistake Number Two: Forgetting to Collect Evidence of Your Work
The second common mistake that people make when leaving their corporate career is that they forget to collect any evidence of the work or results they have achieved.
When you’re an employee whose salary arrives in your bank account every month without fail, you don't really need to be thinking about the positive impact your work has or the results you’re creating. You may have some targets or KPIs as part of your job role, but these aren't necessarily something you’re thinking about constantly – compared to a business owner or self-employed person who is always thinking about how they can demonstrate the results of what they do! That's because if a business owner doesn't demonstrate how effective their work is, they are much less likely to make sales or increase their income. Or, y’know, eat 😜
But unless you have evidence of the work you’ve done and the results you’ve achieved, it's very hard to prove to a future employer or client base that you can do what you say you can do. Cold hard evidence shows people you can walk the walk, not just talk the talk, and in an age where people are much more likely to indulge in hyperbole or puff up their achievements, actual evidence sets you apart from the crowd.
Why forgetting to collect evidence stops you finding purpose at work
If you forget to collect evidence, you’ll struggle to find purpose at work - in this or any job - because you’ll be totally disconnected from the positive impact you’re having in the world.
Our current economic system and the prevalence of ‘information work’ means we tend to only be involved with a very tiny proportion of a project. We’re not like master craftspeople, carving a chair from blocks of wood and doing everything right up to the final upholstery; we don’t get to see or be involved with the entirety of a process.
Instead we are focused on a very small part, which makes it harder to see how we are contributing to the world, which in turn can leave us feeling a bit purposeless. Without evidence, we basically think we’re not doing anything! I call this Invisible Effort Syndrome and I have a podcast episode all about it 👇🏽
When it comes to your career, I recommend collecting both quantitative and qualitative evidence, including feedback from colleagues and clients, numeric data about how you have improved outcomes or processes, and even visual evidence – for example, photographs or videos of you conducting work where appropriate.
Make it a regular habit to collect evidence of what you’ve done, either every month or every quarter, and start to build a portfolio. This portfolio can then be used in job interviews or for future professional opportunities (like updating your LinkedIn). If you're thinking of developing a side hustle or starting a business, that portfolio – particularly any visual evidence and screenshots – can also be used on your website or social media.
Mistake Number Three: Ignoring Your Professional Network and Presence
The third common mistake that people make when leaving their corporate career is ignoring their professional presence and their network, particularly when they’re not seeking a new role.
Just like collecting evidence, when you’re a business owner or self-employed, you’re frequently thinking about your network because your connections are what help you grow your business and introduce you to new clients. When you’re an employee, you tend to think about your professional network and presence less because it has less impact on your day-to-day job. Your success at work is not necessarily dependent on your professional presence, therefore there's no real impetus to improve it.
But what you might come to find is that when you are looking for a new role or opportunity, if you don’t have a professional presence that adequately reflects what you're doing and your capabilities - or if your professional network doesn't even know what you do because your LinkedIn profile has been sat on the shelf for five years - then it’s much harder to make the connections and receive the invitations that you might be looking for.
Why ignoring your professional presence stops you finding purpose at work
It’s pretty simple: if you ignore your professional presence - like your LinkedIn profile - and your network, then you will have fewer new and interesting opportunities come your way; opportunities which could help you explore new avenues to find purpose at work.
Your professional network is a bit of a numbers game; the more interesting people you know, who know you, and know how great you are (see mistake number two), the more interesting things might come your way.
As a real life example: a colleague from my old marketing days recently posted on LinkedIn saying that (a) she never checks the platform any more and (b) had made 600 new connections in a little more than six months! That’s a steady stream of hundreds of people who could be offering her work right now … but have had no idea whether she’s available or what she’s doing.
This doesn't mean you suddenly have to start networking every week or posting on LinkedIn every day. Just like collecting your evidence, if you can make it a habit to regularly update your LinkedIn with recent work projects and responsibilities, and try to go to relevant work events every so often, you will be able to build a network and professional presence that is sustainable and will be very useful when you are looking at new roles. Don't wait until you've already left to build this up! Start now so that when you transition out of your corporate career it doesn't feel like a huge change to start leaning on your network or becoming more professionally visible.
Mistake Number Four: Going Public With Your Professional Plans at the Wrong Time
Another common problem that people make when leaving their corporate career is that they go public with their professional plans at the wrong time.
We've been taught that accountability is really important when it comes to having ambitions and setting goals. The assumption is that by telling people we are doing something, we're much more likely to follow through on this.
However, often our subconscious interpretation of accountability is one connected with fear and shame: that if we do not follow through on our ambition or goal, we will feel embarrassed or awkward that we told other people about it and then did not do it. The accountability inspires us to act from fear and an extrinsically motivated goal. And while that can be useful to get you started and take the leap, fundamentally it is unsustainable.
(I have much more information about this and the four different types of motivation that go into setting career goals in my article Why Hitting Your Career Goals Still Feels Empty.)
Why sharing your career goals at the wrong time can stop you finding purpose at work
Sharing your career goals and professional plans at the wrong time might prevent you from finding purpose at work if you’re not clear on why you’re doing what you’re doing, or if you’re looking for approval from an external source.
That’s because true purpose is intrinsically-motivated from a place of love, not determined by living up to someone else’s expectations - even if you’re the one who set those expectations with your public proclamations! I really advise you to keep your professional plans close to your chest until they feel strong and secure in your heart. Otherwise, it could mean that you end up sharing a half-baked idea with your professional network, or asking for support when you don't actually know what you need help with.
In the worst instances, it could even mean that you share a dream with someone in your professional sphere who shoots down the idea before it even has a chance to grow.
In my article What To Do After Leaving A Corporate Career: Your Step By Step Exit Strategy For Before, During and After You Quit, I actually give you a timeline of what you should be sharing with other people and when, so that you feel totally confident in publicising your plans at the right time.
Mistake Number Five: Saying Yes to the First Job You're Offered
A common mistake people make when leaving their corporate career is saying yes to the first job they’re offered without thinking carefully about whether or not it's something they truly desire.
I mentioned this in the introduction but it's worth reiterating: many people make the regular error of hopping from job to job, going through a cycle of:
Taking on a new role
Only to find they are bored and frustrated
Quitting
Panicking about what to do next
… so they take the next job that comes along without thinking, etc.
This is unsustainable and ends up feeling like an emotional rollercoaster, with highs when you think you’ve found a job that's ‘the one’, and lows when you realise you're going to have to leave again because actually it's not what you really want.
It makes sense that when you have left your corporate career, there can be some feelings of nervousness if you're unsure what the next step is. This is also why so many people tend to line up their next job even before they have finished working their notice on the old one! It’s really standard career advice - I know that's what my dad told me to do when I was considering leaving full-time teaching to work on my business.
Why saying yes to the first job you’re offered can stop you finding purpose at work
Saying yes to the first job you’re offered after you’ve left corporate life stops you finding your purpose because you’re not choosing something you love; you’re just jumping into something because you’re afraid. It’s the same problem as you saw in mistake number four: rather than think about what you truly love, what you really want to contribute, it becomes about mitigating a risk or avoiding something that you’re afraid of.
And living like that will never, ever feel fulfilling.
There will be times when it is imperative to take a job to keep the lights on or food on the table. But if you spend your entire professional life taking on roles simply to stave off the fear of what might happen if you do not have a job, it's unlikely that you'll ever find purpose at work. Instead, you’ll be constantly rushing from disappointing role to disappointing role, unable to break out of the job hopping cycle and feeling exhausted in the process.
The way to avoid this common mistake is to dedicate time and energy to think about what you truly want from your career. What does meaningful work look like to you? What would a purposeful career feel like?
I have a set of free prompts that can get you started with this reflective process – get them here: Journaling Prompts for Career Goals
Mistake Number Six: Making Zero Changes to Your Lifestyle
The final mistake that people often make when leaving their corporate career is to make zero changes to their lifestyle.
It can be difficult to hear, but the reality is that when you leave corporate and step into the unknown, there are certain aspects of your lifestyle that will need to change. And interestingly, I'm not just talking about your financial life.
If you’re earning less money for any reason – even if it’s only for a short amount of time, between jobs or before your business gets off the ground – of course it's important to make appropriate lifestyle changes so that you don't feel worried about getting into unmanageable debt. But the biggest changes that you’ll need to make to your lifestyle after leaving corporate are actually more fundamental changes to do with how you use your time and energy.
When I first went freelance, I’d been working full-time in quite a toxic environment in a marketing agency. One of the things we had to do in the agency was keep timesheets; we had to record what work we were doing and for which client in increments of 15 minutes. When I went freelance and started working for myself, I retained this habit. I would write down what I was doing every 15 minutes to keep a track of it.
Every. Fifteen. Minutes. What the … ?
It might be a sensible way for keeping tabs on client work, but it’s no way to live your life. Most importantly, it wasn’t the way I wanted to live my life, or the way I wanted to work. I was simply so used to that 'time equals money' thinking I didn’t even believe there was an alternative.
Why making zero lifestyle changes after leaving corporate can stop you finding purpose at work
Not making any changes to your lifestyle after leaving your corporate career will stop you finding purpose at work because purpose at work is not the point of a corporate career. The mentality of corporate life is not about purposeful work or positive contribution; it is entirely rooted in climbing the ladder, exchanging time for money, and seeing material possessions as the only ‘real’ measure of success.
If you quit your corporate job and keep thinking like a corporate worker, you’ll be just like me; filling out a timesheet every 15 minutes for the boss you see in the mirror. And it will be miserable!
In a corporate environment, being seen to be busy and productive is often what nets you a promotion or kudos in the workplace. But if you choose to leave corporate and set up your own business, or work part-time, or pursue any non-traditional career goal, then being busy and productive is no longer necessarily a badge of honour. In fact, you can end up being busy and productive just for the sake of it – just because you're so used to thinking that that's what you need to do to be effective.
But what actually makes us effective when we are doing work that contributes to our life purpose is making sure we are well rested, well fed, healthy, and see our work as one factor among many that contributes to a happy life. Working till late in the night may have garnered you the appreciation of your boss when you were in a corporate career, but doing it now, once you've left, doesn't benefit anyone – least of all you.
The mindset shift of life after corporate is the biggest adaptation that the people I work with find themselves facing. It can be a big (and scary) jump to change your mind after so many years. But if you’re ready to do it - and I believe you are! - then you’ll find my article on alternative ways of living and working really helpful to get you started: Time For A Break: 5 Hustle Culture Alternatives To Stop The Grind.
What Are The Mistakes People Make After Leaving Their Corporate Career?
The six most common mistakes that people often make before, during and after they leave their corporate career are:
Quitting before you try to make it better
Forgetting to collect evidence of your work
Ignoring your professional network and presence until the last minute
Going public with your professional plans at the wrong time
Saying yes to the first job that you are offered, rather than thinking about what you truly want
Making zero changes to your lifestyle and relationship to work itself
All of these mistakes are frustrating in themselves, but their most negative impact is in how they block you from finding purpose at work.
I've given you some tips in this article about how to avoid these common mistakes, but you’ll also find the following resources useful:
For a step by step guide on setting career goals now as you think about quitting your job, watch my YouTube tutorial: How to Set Career Goals That Won't Make You Feel Empty.
For a seriously in-depth look at how to find purpose at work, make yourself a cup of tea, grab a notebook and read my article: Finding Purpose At Work: Your Guide To A Meaningful Career.
For when you're ready to make real progress on creating a career that feels truly meaningful to you, then take a look at our career development workshops and 1:1 career coaching options. Both of these are a great way to take time out of your regular schedule and focus entirely on what you want: a life (and job) that is full of purpose - outside the corporate grind.
About The Author
Astra is an inspirational speaker, career coach and writer leading experienced professionals to wild, untamed success.
Astra's unique insight is based on 10,000+ hours studying purpose, meaning and the human condition. Their study has led to over 2,000 hours teaching, coaching and facilitating, plus published writing, keynotes and conferences, peer-reviewed research, digital content and working with 60+ brands as a communication professional - as well as living on a commune, in a warehouse, and with the Hare Krishna monks.
Through their Wild Success methodology, Astra teaches talented professionals how to find their purpose, take consistent action, and finally start experiencing the wild success they are destined for: not 'next year', not 'some day', but now.
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