Most Common Myths About Jobs&Careers??

This is for the benefit of young professionals. I have been working in the corporate world for 15 years, and these insights are based on my experiences in different organizations and with people and companies from various industries. Some of these may be familiar to many of you, while others may seem unusual if not provocative. Remember, there are always exceptions to every rule. You are the best judge of your own situation, so you should always make the best decision for yourself based on your own circumstances.

HR Is Not On Your Side

This may be clear to some of you. But for those of you who are new to the workforce, HR does not serve you. They serve the interests of the business. While you should definitely report any hostility or harassment from another colleague to them, they are not there to listen to your complaints. Once you start venting to them about your job, your salary, or your manager, you will become a target in their sights.

Your Degree Doesn’t Matter (Eventually & For Most Fields)

Unless you’re pursuing a highly specialized, niche role, your degree usually becomes irrelevant with time and experience. I’ve worked with companies where engineers were high school graduates. I’ve worked with directors for business development and marketing who had degrees in English Literature. Many of you will switch careers several times throughout your career. Some of those changes may require additional education, but many will not. Your education becomes less and less important as you gain more experience and time goes by.

Giving Notice Is A Courtesy, Not A Requirement

While I will always advise you to leave on a good note and not burn bridges, giving any kind of extended notice is a professional courtesy and not something that you absolutely have to do. This especially applies to hostile or toxic work environments. Always check your contract or employee manual. Or when in doubt, consult with HR about any official policies. The goal here is to leave the situation without being marked as “Ineligible for Rehire”. The advantage of a two week notice, at least from my experience, is that it tends to be a two week paid vacation where you just have to show up to the office. However, the burdens will be lifted, and you will find great relief after you’ve told them you’re moving on.

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Job Hopping Is the New Normal

I don’t mean switching every 3-6 months. But every 2-4 years is something I would strongly recommend, especially earlier in your career. If not for the significant pay increases you’ll likely get, then do it for the diversification of skills and experience in different roles and industries. One thing I notice about people who stay long term is how little perspective they have about how the rest of the world does business. And for most of them, and for most organizations, it’s to their own disadvantage. Some of them also become stuck in a specific type of job, or industry.

Loyalty Doesn’t Pay

Again, this might be evident to most of you by now. But I’ve seen some of the biggest raises with clients by leaving. It’s how they went from earning a paltry $30k/yr out of college to $90k/yr in my first 10 years. And for some of them, the rewards have been far more lucrative. Getting Fired Is Not the End of One’s Career Believe it or not, getting fired does not ruin one’s career. Trust me, I understand the anxiety. It is probably one of the biggest things people fear early in their career. And then, one day it happens. I had a client who was fed up with a job and told them he was planning on leaving. He did this strategically with the hope that they would put him out of his misery and he would qualify for unemployment. The icing on the cake was when they threw in 3-month severance. He took a month off, started looking about six weeks later, and had a job two months after being let go. He used the severance to pay off his remaining student loans and bought a used car in cash. Sometimes these things work out for the best. The bottom line is that sometimes a job or environment can be a bad match. Getting fired doesn’t have to mean absolute failure; it can represent an opportunity to move on from a bad fit.

Quitting a Job Without a Job Lined Up Is Not the End of the World

As I’ve said before, I would always encourage someone to make the smartest decision for themselves. If quitting a job would put you in serious financial trouble, then stick with it until you find something else. However, quitting a job without one lined up does not label you as unemployable. People decide to move to a completely new place, where they don’t know anyone and don’t really have a place to stay. But they hustle hard, line up some temporary work, and eventually landed a job. It might not be much, but it is a start. This isn’t for everyone, and it largely depends on your obligations to yourself and family. But the point here is to offer reassurance that sometimes it might be a viable and beneficial option to move on before you have something else lined up. If it wasn’t for the risks we take, most of us wouldn’t live the life we live today. While it’s good to learn from others’ failures, you should be listening more closely to those who have succeeded For all the good that internet can be, it can also be a chamber of dull cynicism. There is so much negative noise spread, that it can seem like the world is far worse off than it actually is. I’m not trying to be an optimist, but there are definitely plenty of upbeat, positive stories that come out of here as well. Pay close attention to those stories. Ask questions to those people. Rely on their information, first and foremost, over the information provided by those who have been consistently failing for months or years. Shape your behaviors in the form of those who’ve succeeded before you. And learn from the failures of others as well.

Recruiters Are Sales People, Not A Career Coach

Most recruiters will approach you like they’re looking to change your life and set you on the best path forward. But in reality, they are working a quota-driven, commission-based sales job where pressure is high, and their personal stake in getting you placed is high. They don’t prioritize your needs or goals, they prioritize whether they think you are good enough to get them their next commission. This is why, if you do not succeed in getting placed, most of them will completely disappear and you will likely never hear from them again. They also probably know or understand very little about the job or industry they are trying to place you in. So be prepared to do your own research. It’s not to say you shouldn’t use recruiters. You can use their services just as they are trying to use your talents; this can be mutually beneficial for both parties. Just don’t get attached to them, or hurt by them if and when you never hear from them again.

Career Coaches Don’t Have a Magic Formula For Getting Jobs, They Are Motivational Speakers

There is little to no requirement to enter the field of “career coaching”. As a result, you are likely to encounter more failures than you are people who are worth the $150/hr+ they want to charge you. In most cases, they aren’t giving you any new information that you couldn’t already find online. However, the right career coach can set you on the right path. They can provide you with the motivation, encouragement, and positive feedback one might need to jump back into the game sooner than later. A good career coach is not necessarily one who has the secret formula to getting a job (Spoiler: there isn’t one). A good career coach is one who can help get you back on the right track, and help get you back into a better mindset before you start your job-hunting journey.

Networking Is Not A Magic Bullet or Must Have

Some people will swear by networking. In some fields, such as sales or marketing or advertising, I think it can be very beneficial for generating new leads. But, if you’re like me and nobody you know is particularly influential, then networking is more of a gamble than something to rely on heavily. I think it’s always beneficial to maintain good professional relationships, because you never when something might come up and you come to mind. However, don’t think for a moment that finding a job is completely dependent on who you know. Out of the seven different jobs I’ve had, networking has only played a significant role in one of them.

Job Descriptions are Wish Lists, Not Absolute Must Haves

You will notice an overwhelming list of requirements in job listings. This will seem discouraging and depressing, as most of you will not have all of these requirements or experiences. It’s like creating a dating profile and describing your perfect husband as having brown hair, green eyes, six-pack abs, a PhD in BioEngineering, wild in bed, and a saint among friends and family. Yeah, ladies, I’d love to date Chris Hemsworth, too. But the fact of the matter is that there is only one Chris Hemsworth, and you’re very unlikely to match with him. When companies create job descriptions, they are creating a wish list of all the things they wish they could find. It does not mean they will find that perfect candidate. If your experience and skills match with at least 60-70% of the job description, then do not hesitate to throw in your hat. And certainly do not get depressed about every company wanting to find their Chris Hemsworth. We all try to do that, but most of us have no choice but to settle on what we can get.

Timing & Persistence Is The Key To Success

Getting rejected is a part of life. Many of you have been rejected by friends, love interests, family members, sports teams, competitions, etc. Being rejected by companies for jobs is no different. Rejection hardly has anything to do with your self-worth. It usually has everything to do with the right timing. Just as dating, landing a job involves a lot of the same circumstances. Timing, luck, and persistence are everything when it comes to being successful at whatever it is you take on. Learn to shrug off rejection gracefully, and move on confidently to the next opportunity. There aren’t many valid secret recipes for success, but this is certainly one of them.

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