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How to Tell Good Career Advice From Bad

Article originally posted on abc.net.au.

What’s the worst piece of career advice you’ve ever been given?

For two friends of mine, it was “don’t ever admit you were wrong” and “don’t ask for help — it shows weakness and an inability to do your job independently”.

Both are dubious suggestions, but they’re far from the worst examples of bad advice.

The Huffington Post recently reported women at an Ernst and Young leadership seminar in the US were told not to be too “shrill” and that they should look “healthy and fit”, with manicured nails. (The company says it’s no longer running the seminar, which was put together by an external provider.)

Curious for more examples of questionable guidance, I typed “worst career advice” into Twitter and found this doozy: “The secret to success in medicine is maximising the hours between 12am and 6am with productivity.”

Clearly, much of the above is terrible (or at least hugely misguided) advice. But when you’re young and new to the world of work, or deeply embedded in a particular work culture, it can be hard to tell.

We spoke to career coaches and management academics for tips on how to identify bad advice, and what to do when you get it.

How to identify bad work advice

Consider the advice-giver’s motivations, what motivates someone to give advice?

“It could be a genuine desire to help,” says Susan Ainsworth, a management professor at the University of Melbourne. “Or it could also be a desire to control others, and [be motivated by] self-interest.”

If someone is telling you what to do, or how to act, consider whether they have anything to gain if you follow their advice — and whether that gain equals your loss. “Really, the person should be impartial [because] they’re more likely to have your interests at heart,” Ms Ainsworth says.

Think about what you really need

When it comes to questions of career direction, Ms Ainsworth says “a lot of career advice assumes that people should want a position with more money or responsibility. [That] they should always go upwards”.

If someone is telling you what to do, or how to act, consider whether they have anything to gain if you follow their advice — and whether that gain equals your loss. “Really, the person should be impartial [because] they’re more likely to have your interests at heart,” Ms Ainsworth says.

Think about what you really need

When it comes to questions of career direction, Ms Ainsworth says “a lot of career advice assumes that people should want a position with more money or responsibility.

[That] they should always go upwards”.What if that’s not what you really want? Bad career advice is often too general and takes a cookie-cutter approach. “Or it’s just opinion,” says Helen Holan, a Perth-based career coach.

Good advice, she says, is usually:

  • Tailored to the individual

  • Unbiased and distanced from the giver’s own motives, beliefs, values or feelings

  • Takes into consideration your values and goals — rather than trying to convince or tell you what to do

  • Helps you challenge assumptions and see things from a range of perspectives.

Trust your gut instinct

“Often we do know what’s right [for us] and we just ignore that little voice, because we’re looking at other people’s advice as being the most sound,” says Melbourne-based career coach Kate James.

She uses meditation to help her clients tune into their core values and what their intuition is telling them. If you’re not up for meditating, perhaps make note of your reaction when you receive a piece of advice. Are you emotional? Angry? Confused? If so, it might be worth reflecting on why.

What to do when you receive bad career advice

If you’re up for it, ask questions

“I would ask — not in aggressive way — about how that person formed their advice,” says Ms Ainsworth.

“So questions like, ‘When did you realise that was a good thing to do?’ Ask about their own career, get them talking about themselves. Because that will tell you a lot about how to put their advice in context.”

Thank the person

“If we assume that people generally have good intentions, it would be dangerous to call them out [on the bad advice],” says Ms Holan. “Thank them for caring enough to want to give the advice, and say something to let them know that you’ll consider it.”

Consider getting impartial help

If you’re confused about what to do with the advice you’ve been given, have a think about your core values and goals. One option is to get a career coach. “[They] can be helpful because you’ve got someone impartial who’s working with you,” says Ms James.

If you go down that route, look for someone accredited with the Career Development Association of Australia (CDAA) or Career Industry Council of Australia (CICA).

Don’t beat yourself up

All of the experts we spoke to agreed no decision is perfect, and no decision is fully wrong. So if you follow what you later realise was bad advice, there’s still value in the experience. “You’ve learnt something about yourself, you’ve grown more confident in yourself, you’ve perhaps realised what you do want,” Ms Holan explains.

Take my friend who was told never to admit to a mistake, for example. He was just starting his career at the time, so he figured it was solid advice. “Later [I] realised that you can’t grow if you’re never wrong,” he tells me. “Your workplace has to let you make mistakes and if they don’t, go elsewhere.”

Better to learn a lesson late than never at all.

Author – Sana Qadar

ABC Life