4 career advice you should ignore away

There is a lot of career advice out there. It is impossible to surf the net without coming across hundreds of articles promising ways to improve your career and workplace experience. As if the unlimited articles on blogs and websites weren’t enough, there is no escaping career advice even out in the physical world. Let’s check out 4 career advice you should ignore away.

We are constantly assaulted with information about jobs that we didn’t ask for by colleagues, friends and acquaintances, and there is simply no escaping it.

So much information can be challenging to absorb and would cause more confusion than anything else. Also, if at least all the advice was actually good, this wouldn’t be such a problem.

But unfortunately, there is a lot of bad advice out there as well. If you are actually looking for useful tips on improving your career, you will have to sift through a lot of garbage. Many people don’t know what they are talking about, and following the wrong advice can be detrimental to your career. It is important to filter all the information that you are constantly being bombarded with. 

Here are 4 Career Advice You Should Ignore Away:

Having a 5 Year Plan

Most blogs will try to convince you that it is absolutely essential to have a five-year plan, which is not good advice. Having a five-year plan presupposes that things will follow a predictable pattern. But in reality, life is very unpredictable and unexpected things happen all the time.

If you make up a five-year plan and things end up not going your way, you will feel discouraged and depressed. Even if things are going according to plan, there will be constant stress because you will keep obsessing about where you need to be after the five-year period is over. 

Forget about having a specific plan and embrace the chaotic nature of the universe. Who knows whether you will even want the job that at the moment is all you desire? People’s goals and ambitions change over time. You might want to change your career at some point or apply abroad for further education. Go with the flow. Don’t bother trying to make concrete plans.

Networking is Only for Finding a Job

Every article on ways to improve your career will have a point on networking. And they are partially right- networking is definitely beneficial while climbing up the career ladder. The part which they get wrong is when they emphasise networking solely for helping your career. If you make connections with people while only thinking about career prospects, the connections won’t last the test of time. You should form genuine bonds with people at your workplace instead of simply a favour for a favoured sort of deal. 

If you make real connections, not only will these people be there to help you when you go through some work difficulty, they will be there for you during a personal crisis as well. This will form a loyal and helpful network. 

Leave Personal Life at Home

There’s an old school belief that you must leave everything personal at home when you come to the workplace. This includes your emotions, problems and various anxieties. But these days, the workplace is evolving as far as such matters are concerned.

Companies are working towards providing an inclusive and supportive environment for their employees. There is more awareness about mental health, and many companies have counsellors you can approach if you are having some trouble at home or simply feeling too stressed or anxious because of something. 

Never Burn Bridges

Another piece of advice to take with a grain of salt is never to burn bridges. Articles stress on being nice to everyone as you might have to work with them at some point in the future. Because of this, people feel pressure to stay at an office where they are feeling unfulfilled or unhappy. They don’t voice their concerns out of fear of rocking the boat. 

Instead, it is essential to address the problems you are facing at work. If it costs you the friendship of a colleague or the goodwill of a boss, that’s still a small price to pay for mental peace.

They say you should never burn a bridge, but some bridges need to be burned. There is no need to stay on good terms with people who are toxic or harmful to you. You can always make new connections in the future with good people who will support you through difficult times. 

So, next time while browsing through endless articles on career advice, make sure you ignore these particular suggestions. They will do you more harm than good. What career advice did you receive that you later found out wasn’t good at all? Let us know by writing in the comment section below.