What You Don’t Know Might Be Holding Back Your Career

Unconscious incompetence poses significant risks during a job search. It can also quietly stall your career growth. 

By Julie Norwell

You may feel confident in your skills and experience, but what if the key to your next career move is in your blind spot?

That’s the situation Farid faced. Farid re-entered the job market after spending three years as VP of operations and technology for a $2.4 billion insurance company. It was a limited engagement role and, when the mission was complete, he was ready for a permanent position. He wanted a role that would be both mentally challenging and offer a good work-life balance. 

Farid thought it would be an easy transition. Prior to consulting, he had enjoyed a long career as senior VP/Global CIO of a large, publicly traded insurance company. Hiring managers would value such experience highly – or so he thought.

Farid applied for an opportunity as CIO of an insurance company in the Midwest that seemed perfect to him. To his great surprise, he didn’t get the job.

“I thought it was a slam dunk. I had all the experience and qualifications, but I wasn’t even a finalist. I could have done that job with my eyes closed, yet I lost out. I wondered what was missing,” said Farid. 

Only then did Farid consider that he had never conducted a serious job search in his career. He knew everything he needed to know to excel in the role. But when it came to the nuances of securing a job offer, Farid was in the dark. What he didn’t know cost him the opportunity. 

It’s no surprise if executives who change jobs only a handful of times in their careers don’t know how to do it well. With such infrequent practice, why would they? What’s fascinating, though, is how many think they know. This lack of awareness can hold back careers.

Are You an Unconscious Incompetent?

There is a psychological term that refers to people who don’t know what they don’t know about something: Unconscious Incompetence. This lack of awareness is more common than you’d think – and the problem is growing. One training organization estimates that “employees are between 20-40% “unconsciously incompetent” in critical competencies that they are required to master in order to perform their jobs.” 

Moreover, many unconscious incompetents tend to overestimate their abilities in areas where they are unskilled – sometimes grossly. In one study, researchers gave participants a series of tests in which they had few skills. The participants tested in the 12th percentile. When asked how they would perform, however, the participants estimated they would land in the 62nd percentile. Interestingly, when participants spent time improving their skills, they also improved in recognizing the limitations of their abilities.

Unconscious incompetence can quietly stall career growth even when things seem to be going well.

The concept of unconscious incompetence first appeared in a 1960 textbook called Management of Training Programs. It represents the first of four stages of learning in a model that was further developed by management trainer Noel Burch in the 1970s. The four stages represent the steps that someone typically undergoes in acquiring a new skill.

1. 1. Unconscious Incompetence – You don’t know how to do something – and you don’t recognize that there is a deficit in your skill set.

   2. Conscious Incompetence – You become aware of the skill gap, appreciate the value of attaining the new skill, and you are motivated to work at doing so.  

   3. Conscious Competence – You have acquired the new skill but can perform it only with concentration and conscious effort.

   4. Unconscious Competence – You have mastered your newfound skill, and you can perform it easily without conscious thought. 

One example of the four stages of learning is the process of learning to drive a car. Many are the teenagers who think that driving will be a cinch. They’ve witnessed their parents drive their whole lives. Perhaps they’ve excelled at race car simulation video games. So, how hard could it be?

Put them behind the wheel of a real car, however, and their profound lack of knowledge about how to operate a vehicle expertly and safely begins to dawn on them. (Make it a car with manual transmission for an extra jolt of reality!) Stopping and starting smoothly, adapting to weather and road conditions, anticipating the actions of other drivers, parallel parking… The list goes on. 

Good driving skills are acquired through years of practice. With enough practice, they become second nature. But you must go through the process. If you don’t? Well, let’s be thankful that it is illegal to drive a car without formal training.

Risks of Unconscious Incompetence in a Job Search

The concept of unconscious incompetence is also applicable to job seeking. Job seeking without adequate experience certainly isn’t a hair-raising proposition as with driving, nevertheless, it poses significant career risks. Novices stumble repeatedly, costing themselves time and money as they remain underpaid or unemployed. They submit resumes that get rejected by automated applicant tracking systems. They miss out on plum roles by not leveraging optimal market access channels. They turn interviewers off by focusing on irrelevant aspects of their value proposition. And, if they obtain a job offer, they leave money on the table due to unsophisticated negotiation tactics.

 

Regardless of how competent you think you are at career management, it’s wise to acknowledge that there is always more to learn.

In addition to costing time and lost income, an ineffective job hunt also breeds low self-esteem, which can create an insidious cycle of poor job search performance when defeatism becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

 Dan Resendes, chief consulting officer emeritus at The Barrett Group and 20-year veteran of career management, is perpetually perplexed that people commonly hire physical trainers to stay fit or financial advisors to optimize their finances, but they don’t recognize the prudence of investing in professional help when transitioning their careers.

“I see executives lead important initiatives for their organizations, hiring the best talent, training people, buying new tools and software, and investing millions of dollars to make sure that they launch their initiatives perfectly. But then, when it comes to their careers, they wing it,” said Resendes. “They try to write their own resume and figure out the job market on their own. They don’t think of hiring a career expert. It amazes me! It’s like refusing to ask for directions when you’re lost. It is shortsighted not to handle a career with the same tenacity you do in leading projects at work. You are putting at risk your family, your financial security, your reputation, and your legacy of all you’ve accomplished.” 

Opportunity Costs of Poor Career Management

Unconscious incompetence can also quietly stall career growth even when things seem to be going well. There is an opportunity cost of staying put, for example, as it could lower your lifetime earning potential. Furthermore, job complacency can prevent you from recognizing and seizing new opportunities. It took a layoff after 20 years at the same company for Kwasi Asare, a former client of career management firm, The Barrett Group, to recognize this mistake.

“Looking back, I should have left my former job a while ago. This whole experience really helped me take inventory of things in my career,” said Kwasi. “For 20 years I never thought about leaving the company. I never tested the landscape. That’s horrible! If I had known years ago what I learned from The Barrett Group, it might have set my career path in a very different direction.”

Sometimes competent career management simply means knowing the value you bring to the table and using that information to advocate for yourself when career opportunities arise. Amee Ellsworth regrets losing out on a promotion earlier in her career because she didn’t position herself well. But she insists that will never happen again. 

“I have some major achievements in my career, but I never thought about the value of those achievements to an employer until I joined The Barrett Group – I just felt like I was doing my job. Now I realize how amazing those accomplishments are, and I’ve learned how to articulate them in an interview. I learned to look at myself like an employer would in assessing me for a job.”

What Does Competent Career Management Look Like?

Regardless of how competent you think you are at career management, it’s wise to acknowledge that there is always more to learn.

Competent career management goes beyond just updating your resume or maintaining your LinkedIn profile. It’s about being proactive in your career, understanding market trends, embracing new opportunities, and continuously sharpening skills that align with your goals. It means knowing your value and regularly assessing your progress. It involves nurturing relationships and knowing how to leverage them when it matters most. 

Effective career managers don’t just react to change—they anticipate it. They seek out guidance, invest in professional development, and strategically position themselves in the job market. Ultimately, taking control of your career is the key to navigating it successfully.

These skills often become habitual for executives who practice them long enough. But it’s never too late to start. Even seasoned executives can enhance their careers by refining their approach. Farid, for example, learned several tactics to improve his job search. He defined his goals, learned how to present himself better, cultivated his network, and kept an open mind. In the end, he landed a position that, he admits, would have eluded him otherwise.   

So, what does competent career management look like for you? Start applying these practices and see where they take you!

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Written by Julie Norwell, senior writer & content manager at The Barrett Group.

 

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