These 5 Limiting Beliefs Are Holding You Back From Making Your Next Big Career Move

“We’ve decided not to move forward with your candidacy at this time. We decided to move to next steps with candidates that have had more experience with building programs from the ground up in-house.” 

This was a response I received from a recruiter back in early 2019. I was making my first-ever career move from Learning Project Manager to Learning Leader. Was I prepared for the interviews? Check. Did I list out my transferable skills and how I could use them? Check. Had I built a portfolio of my past projects? Check. I thought I had made a strong case for why I would be awesome at this particular job. Why else would I have made it to the last round of interviews? Seeing this response was nothing less than a complete shock to me.

Thoughts of failure swam around in my head. What if they were right? What if I never found the right role for me and had to stick to what I was doing now forever?!

If you’re in the midst of a career change, you may have experienced the same thoughts as I did. Over the last two years, millions of people have left their jobs to look for more fulfilling work. In 360Learning’s Great Resignation survey, 51% of respondents said work became more important to them during the pandemic. Our jobs can often feel like an extension of our self-identity. It’s becoming easier to take things personally when we don’t succeed at landing that coveted role. 

Those thoughts that then stop us from taking further action are limiting beliefs.

What are limiting beliefs?

Limiting beliefs are thoughts that stop you from doing what you want. They are the little voices in your head that tell you you’re not smart enough, not talented enough, and will fail, so why bother? They can keep you from following through on the choices you want to make. They sneak up on you and hinder your progress right when you’ve finally decided to make that big change. Limiting beliefs are also unique in that they are born from internal feelings rather than grounded in external evidence.

Limiting beliefs are most harmful when they stop you from taking action. Yet, you can also use them to your advantage to align your priorities with opportunities that will enable you to put your best strengths forward. Limiting beliefs can be overcome by first identifying them, then reframing them. Once you recognize the root of where the belief comes from, you can choose to replace it with a more helpful belief.

5 types of limiting beliefs that show up during career transitions

Limiting beliefs often manifest themselves as a fear of something. Those fears can vary from person to person based on their experience and the type of transition they are looking to make. Some limiting beliefs stem from childhood experiences. Others are not formed until adulthood. 

Let’s take a look at what five common limiting beliefs can look, feel, and sound like. We will also explore how they show up during career transitions. Then we will cover strategies to change your mindset so you can achieve your most ambitious career goals yet. 

Fear of rejection

Fear of rejection often shows up when you are exploring job descriptions. You may have a list of jobs saved that seem like a great match for your transferable skills. When you find you don’t meet 100% of the qualifications for some of them, you don’t apply to any of them.

It might sound like:

“There’s no way they will hire someone with my background and experience.”

“I have a lot of experience but I could never make this big of a jump in title.”

“I can’t apply unless I meet all the qualifications, even though I think I would be awesome at it.”

How to work through it:

While it would be great to find a role that’s a 100% match for your skills, that’s not always possible or realistic. Women in particular experience this phenomenon more often than men. You may have heard the statistic that men apply for jobs when they meet 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them. 

Take stock of the skills and accomplishments you are most proud of in your career. Then use those to align your experience with job descriptions that interest you. They don’t have to be the same type of role you’re in now, or even the same industry! 

For each element, write down a story that you can speak to as evidence that you could handle a similar challenge. If you think you can do at least 60% of the job, apply! The worst that will happen is you don’t get a response and can pivot your focus to other opportunities.

Fear of failure

While this may seem like fear of rejection, fear of failure surfaces more in the types of roles you apply for. Have you ever applied for a role that’s eerily similar to what you do now, but at a different company? You may consider yourself an expert in those tasks, but something about your current environment or role is prompting you to make a change.

It might sound like:

“I will look for something like my current role at another company, since I’m already good at it.”

“If I make this move and it doesn’t go well, it will be because I tried to do something new.”

“I’ve excelled at this before so I have to be perfect from Day 1 or they will fire me.”

How to work through it:

Avoid applying to positions you are overqualified for because they feel like the safe choice. Roles that are almost identical to your current role will rob you of a more fulfilling opportunity, even if it has an initial learning curve. If you do enjoy aspects of your current role, aim for a level higher than you currently are. Or, look for a similar role in a completely different industry. That way, you can make use of your specialized skill set and focus on building new skills.

Fear of success

Being an expert in our field can make us feel like we need to know everything about a topic and how to leverage that knowledge at any given point. If we don't immediately have the answer, we fear our credibility will suffer and no one will ever work with us again. This fear of success is also known as imposter syndrome. Taken to its extreme, it can lead you to discount your accomplishments and sabotage your career change efforts.

It might sound like:

“Our success on that project was a team effort, I could never have done it alone.”

“People expect me to know everything about this area of expertise, so I have to lean into it.”

“It wasn’t anything that I did, I was just lucky that it worked out that way.”

How to work through it:

Take ownership of your successes and capture how you contributed to the solution. What you execute seamlessly with hard work is often a mystery to those around us. It increases our tendency to write them off as lucky breaks or group efforts. Consider writing a case study to help others learn how you came up with a winning solution to a problem. Then use it to showcase your approach as you look for roles with more responsibility. Advocate for your future potential beyond the projects you’ve proven you can handle.

Fear of going against social expectations

When we stay in a role for a long time, we develop a well-known reputation for being in that line of work. This can make the idea of risking a significant career change seem almost impossible. You may be limiting your choices based on perceived social expectations of what “someone like you” should be doing. This has even more of an impact when changing roles via internal mobility. This fear multiples if you will be working with colleagues who are skeptical of your choice.

It might sound like:

“I can’t throw away everything I’ve learned by making this drastic change.”

“No one will take someone like me in this role seriously.”

“I’m too old to try something different from what everyone knows me for and expects me to do.”

How to work through it:

It may have taken you years to get to the point of being an expert in your current role. Don’t let the opinions of others who knew you then stop you from being more fulfilled now. Starting a new role does not mean throwing away all your previous knowledge and experience. In fact, it can be a big advantage to have experience in an adjacent discipline to draw from.

If you’re considering a non-linear career move, embrace it as a unique part of your career story. Work flexibility and having many mini-careers is becoming more mainstream. You won’t be the only one connecting the dots between roles! Look for examples of people who have done it before to gain inspiration for your move. 

Explore free education options for your desired role to see if you like it. If your career transition is a result of burnout, take a sabbatical to recharge. If you’ve been leading a team and want to try something different, move from a people management role to an individual contributor role.

Fear of change/uncertainty

Sometimes feeling unfulfilled isn’t enough of a push to make a career change. Comfort can win out, and we justify staying right where we are by conjuring up ‘what ifs’. Are you concerned about advocating for remote work? Are you uncertain if you will get along with your new teammates? Are you burning bridges at your current job? Any of these unknowns can stop you from committing fully to a new path.

It might sound like:

“I know what to expect here, so I will just tough it out a little longer to see if things change.”

“I get along well with my team. Who knows who I will have to work with at another company?”

“There’s no way I can justify asking for what I want in my hiring package as a new employee.”

How to work through it:

There’s no doubt about it, change is scary. What’s even scarier is staying in a role that no longer aligns with your goals and needs. If you’re unable to make an internal move that satisfies your priorities, resist the urge to rationalize the reasons why you should stay. 

Make a list of the factors that are influencing your decision. Then reframe your ‘what if’ questions to the best case scenario you can think of to uncover what is important to you. What if you successfully negotiate hybrid work? What if you meet someone that becomes your next mentor? What if you help the company reach goals they never could before you joined them? Then decide what actions you can take to make your ‘what ifs’ become ‘what is’.

Finding the right fit takes time

During my career transition, I experienced all these limiting beliefs. When I found myself staring at an empty application page, I took the plunge to apply to roles with bigger scope. When I doubted my abilities, I realized roles like mine wouldn’t help me learn new skills. I created a portfolio of projects I was proud of so interviewers could see my approach and learn more about me. I considered internal mobility but decided I needed a fresh start in a new environment. Once I accepted the offer for my current role, I started a list of key questions whose answers I didn’t know to ask my new teammates.

If this sounds like a lot of internal, reflective work, it can be. But, the result is finding a role that makes use of your unique strengths and experiences. Recognizing where limiting beliefs are holding you back is the first step toward making progress. Then it’s up to you to take action and go after your next dream role!