5 Characteristics Of Great Career Advice
Great careers are built on great career advice. Unfortunately, with all the career advice available online and in the media, it can be difficult to sort the good from the bad.
To help you differentiate, here are five characteristics of great career advice:
1. The advice comes from a great source
Have you ever heard the saying, “experience is the best teacher”? Well, it’s true and it applies to all aspects of life, including jobs. There are many things that you can’t know about a job until you’ve actually done it day in and day out. The best insight and advice about a job will come from someone who has had it – or at least been directly involved with it, such as a manager, colleague, etc.
2. The advice is honest
Many companies and recruiters are happy to provide pointers in an effort to ‘sell’ you on taking a job. However, as with any sales pitch, they often focus on the highlights and leave out the less glamorous details. Great career advice will give you all of the facts so that you can make your own well-informed decisions.
3. The advice is job (and sometimes company) specific
There are thousands of different jobs out there and each one is unique. What it takes to get or succeed at one job may be completely different than what it takes to get and succeed at another. Your goal should be to get advice about the specific job you’re looking for and to get pointers and tips that will help you stand out from the crowd.
4. The advice is actionable
Do you know the difference between career advice and career motivation? It would seem that most blogs and newspapers don’t. Motivation makes you feel good, but doesn’t set out a clear course of action. The best career advice is actionable – it will get you one step closer to getting the interview/job/promotion that you’re after. We all need motivation and great career advice, but it’s important not to confuse the two.
5. The advice is timely
Jobs are always evolving. Technology and market demands are constantly changing job responsibilities and the required skills to be successful. Try to make sure that the advice you choose to follow isn’t out of date. A good rule of thumb is to make sure the advice isn’t more than two years old.