5 Bits of Career Expert Advice You Want To Ignore

5 Bits of Career Expert Advice You Want To Ignore

Whether you’re in the job search process or happily in a position that’s fulfilling to you, there’s a good chance that unsolicited advice will come your way. While we all heed advice from time to time to learn and grow, it is good to be reminded that not all "expert" advice is good. Some advice should be taken with a grain of salt, or completely ignored in some cases.

Here are 5 tips from career "experts" that you may actually want to ignore:

Your resume should never go longer than one page.”

While conciseness and clarity is key in any written document, words in and of themselves are not "bad." Master Resume Writer Dawn Bugni says, "It takes words to convey value!" Unchain yourself from the arbitrary resume-length rules and instead, focus on writing a value-rich story that sells your talent to a target audience. Think self-marketing.

“Don't participate on LinkedIn if you're employed.”

The visceral fear of being fired because you were caught looking for a job on LinkedIn is understandable. However, tame those fears by applying best practices for using LinkedIn, even while employed. For example, suddenly becoming hyperactive on LinkedIn may send up a big red flag to your employer. Instead, organically enhance your visibility to your network and to your current company through intentional, meaningful updates and interactions.

“Tell everyone you know you're looking for a job.”

While being too discreet about a job search may slow your goals, emailing everyone in your network to help you find a job may also dampen progress. Instead, offer your value to professional associations, participate in social media forums, advance your professional knowledge through training and education, strategically apply for right-fit opportunities, and deliberately perform one-on-one networking (versus spamming your entire network).

“Guerilla your way to success.”

Muscling your way to the top with unconventional marketing techniques is not always advisable. While the occasional news story sings praises to the needle-in-the-haystack occurrence of guerilla tactic success, for the most part, standing out in a job search is more about knowing how to convey your value through more professional behavior.

“No one hires during the holidays.”

Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's and other notable holidays are not reasons for hiring decision makers to shut down operations and stop recruiting new, contributing employees. While interviewing processes may be disrupted a bit by holiday parties and family gatherings, bosses, recruiters, and human resources professionals still have talent voids to fill, budgets to use, and profits to capture, even in November and December.

Invest your time in job-search by reading expert advice that is pragmatic and hopeful in tone, and let your common sense be your guide. If a tip seems too easy, then it probably is; if it sounds preposterous, then it just may be; if it reads as a dictatorial assertion, then you may want to run. As in most things in life, job-search rules are generally colored in shades of gray.

For 5 additional pieces of advice to avoid, read the full piece on US News.

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I've recently created a Starter Kit, designed for careerists wanting to taste test my services. Email me for more information at jacqui@careertrend.net.

I am one of only 50 master resume writers and have crafted more than 1,500 career stories that put "your value into words." My bachelor’s degree in writing/journalism allows me to apply a journalist’s eye to your career.



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