What are employees’ top career regrets?

With only two per cent of workers stating that they have no career regrets, this list reveals what the biggest career regrets are for the majority of employees.

Research by Zety, an online résumé builder, has revealed the most common career regrets amongst workers. The following includes regrets linked to salary, networking and learning. The top 10 regrets are:

1. Not taking more initiative
2. Not having enough mentorship or guidance
3. Playing it safe/not taking more chances
4. Not maintaining my network
5. Not quitting a job I disliked sooner
6. Not negotiating hard enough for raises
7. Not focusing enough on advancing my career
8. Not networking enough
9. Not negotiating a higher starting salary
10. Not working harder at school

Zety also analysed the different genders’ regrets. Not speaking up about a problem at work left 34 per cent of women more regretful than men, 32 per cent more women than men regretted not negotiating a higher starting salary whilst 30 per cent more women than men regretted working in a field where they do not make enough money.

However, 28 per cent more men than women regretted not working harder, 20 per cent more men regretted not maintaining their network whilst 15 per cent more men than women regretted not taking more initiative.

Zety also found that 28 per cent of people wished that they had pursued a passion followed by 26 per cent of workers wishing they had negotiated a higher starting salary and 24 per cent of people wished that they had negotiated a raise.

Of those who did decide to take a risk, 56 per cent of people quit a job they did not like with 73 per cent not regretting taking the risk. As well as 41 per cent deciding to change fields or industries and 78 per cent not regretting this. Finally, 39 per cent decided to speak up about a problem at work and 78 per cent did not regret taking the risk.

These results were obtained by surveying 1,011 people.

Monica Sharma

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Monica Sharma is an English Literature graduate from the University of Warwick. As Editor for HRreview, her particular interests in HR include issues concerning diversity, employment law and wellbeing in the workplace. Alongside this, she has written for student publications in both England and Canada. Monica has also presented her academic work concerning the relationship between legal systems, sexual harassment and racism at a university conference at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.

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