Worst Career Advice: People Shared The Worst Career Advice They Ever Got & We’re Shocked!
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If there’s anything in this world that you’ll have a lifetime free supply of, it has to be advice that’s never asked for. Your family, friends, and even your foes will come up with advice for you in everything that you do in life. But when is it that you hear them the most? When you’re starting your career!
In most of the societies in this world, children are never taught to find their niche and work towards it. Instead, they are shown one dummy model that is perfect in the eyes of the society and are asked to follow everything that will help them become that dummy person.
Especially the phase where you change from a student to a professional is during which you’ll find a tsunami of advice flowing in. None can deny that it’s a huge change. Most of us even feel directionless and hopeless in this phase. If you’re fortunate, you’ll be given the advice that will actually help you become better at your work and you feel thankful for that.
But, there are times when you’ll be bombarded with hours of advice that is simply weird and have no logic to it. We’ve all had them, haven’t we? We asked a couple of folks around us what’s the worst career advice they’d ever received and some of their answers are quite shocking. Read on.
1. “A Person Once Told Me You’re A Pretty Girl, You Don’t Need A Career. You Should Just Learn Housework So That You Can Keep Your Man Happy. And I Now Have A Career Which Is A Hundred Folds Better Than The Person Who Advised Me.”
We’re so proud of you lady for not having budged to such a baseless advice. And We’re so glad that you worked towards your dream and you have a successful career. Independent women are the most beautiful women, trust us!
2. “I Cannot Count The Number Of Times I Was Told — Be An Engineer, Your Life Will Be Set. All Those Uncles Out There Don’t Understand That When Recession Hits, It’s The Engineers Who Suffer The Most.”
Point to be noted! It’s true; whenever a recession hits the market, it’s the engineers whose jobs are at risk. And honestly, the entire world is overflowing with engineering graduates and the percentage of jobs for them is half of their number.
3. “I Was Asked To Choose A Mediocre Profession As It Lasts Longer. And Here I Am Who Manages A Creative Company.”
This is the common mistake everybody does while advising. You need to encourage a person to think out of the box. All careers are phenomenal, but one can be phenomenal in their job only when they stand out and not follow the herd blindly.
4. “So A Friend Of Mine Advised That You Need To Stick On Even When It Gets Tough At The Work Place. I’m Sorry But I Think That If You’re Not Being Valued And You Are Confident Of Finding A New Job, You Should Just Make The Move.”
Yep! We think that it’s important to maintain your standards. When you’re neither being valued nor being recognized, it’s better to move on even in your work life. One needs to understand that the company will value you if you show them your value. If the company turns a blind eye to it, just put your papers down and look for a job change.
5. “Your Interests Sound More Like A Joke. So, Become A Standup Comedian — This Is What My Uncle Told Me. God Bless His Soul!”
What was this? More than career advice, it sounds like an insult or a bullying act. And it’s shocking to know that this was told by no school going student or teenager! It’s unbelievable how unreasonable and evil elders can get with their words. Grow up, dear uncle!
6. “Why Don’t You Open Up A Startup? You Can Sit At Home And Work. You Need Not Go Overseas.”
When a person wants to go abroad and work to have a different type of professional experience, why would one discourage the person from doing so? And is opening a startup so easy? It takes so much effort and planning to do. Let’s not forget the risks involved in it too. Overseas and startup don’t even have a connection here. Stupid advice!
7. “Take That Marketing Job, It’s Super Easy!”
Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! We think marketing is one of the toughest jobs to do on this planet. Talking to strangers and convincing them to buy products or invest in a company can never be easy. In fact, according to us, marketing is the most dreaded job ever. There’s no peace of mind till you get a client or a customer for your company, isn’t it?
We need to spread the awareness of providing the right, positive, and practical advice to people in need of it, especially when it revolves around a career. We must never break a person’s self-confidence or dreams in the name of advice. What’s the worst career advice you’ve ever had? Let us know in the comments section below.
