Everyone around you is going to have their two cents on what career path you should take, how you should tackle job searching or even techniques on becoming the best student out there to then achieve your wildest dreams.
More likely than not, these people are regurgitating information that was once sprawled onto them, thinking that these were the tactics that made them “successful.”
In the end, it is up to you to decide whether or not the advice given to you is actually applicable and valid to you.
Here are a few ways to detect that the advice you’re given is tainted, biased or just plain trash.
Who’s giving you the advice?
If your mom is telling you that the best job for you is the one that’ll make you the wealthiest, or the job that keeps you close to home, you should know something’s fishy. Although she probably means well, of course she does, she’s your mother, she’s most likely trying to ensure that you choose the safest options presented to you. She’s just worried about her baby. It might be more effective to take advice from someone who can neither gain nor lose anything from the outcome of your career choices.
The advice is surface level; about appearances and stereotypes
If the person giving you advice is hung up on the type of resume you’ve managed to create, or whether or not you have the right “personality for a certain career”, then this person is either really old or really boring. The way you lay out your resume and the type of person you are might have an affect on whether you’re going to land a certain job, but they’re not definite answers to anything. The point is, its 2018, and as long as your resume reflects the person you are and your accomplishments, any job that you desire or qualified is within your reach.
Consider if you admire this person and their accomplishments
Are they qualified to be giving you advice? The person you seek advice from should be someone who you deem successful and who possibly prevailed through adversity of some sort. You have to seek guidance from someone you trust and admire.
Just because it worked for them, doesn’t mean it’ll work for you
Everyone is different, similarly, everyone’s path to success in their occupation is different. Just because someone thinks that this is the best way to do this or that, doesn’t mean it is. Don’t take everything at face value. If one way fails, try another. Realize that your grades and even your degree does not have to define you or the career you could possibly have.
Just remember, there are a lot of places and people you can get help from. Make sure to use your better judgement to decide whether the advice you’re faced with is useful or not. Most importantly, realize that it’ll all work out in the end, and your career should reflect your personal interests and passions but also provide you comfort and safety.
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