8/1/2017 Career advice you hear all the time that's actually bunk - Aug. 1, 2017

http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/01/pf/career-advice-bunk/index.html 1/5

Reinventing Work

Career advice you hear all the time that'sactually bunkby Anna Bahney   @annabahney

August 1, 2017: 10:54 AM ET

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People love to give advice. And you're especially likely to get an earful when you're just startingout in your working life.

But getting pro tips from everyone from your roommates or parents to your coworkers orbartender can be overwhelming.

It turns out that a lot of what you hear, you should just ignore. Research, evidence and thecurrent job market suggests there's better advice to take.

"Follow your passion"This go-to advice for inspirational posters and graduationspeeches often leaves people spinning their wheels.

The suggestion to "follow your passion" depends on twoassumptions, says Cal Newport, author of "So GoodThey Can't Ignore You," a book that challenges the beliefthat "follow your passion" is good advice.

This trope assumes, he says, that you have a pre-existingpassion to follow, and that matching your work to a topic

you really like will lead you to really like your work.

  

 

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8/1/2017 Career advice you hear all the time that's actually bunk - Aug. 1, 2017

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you really like will lead you to really like your work.

"Neither are good assumptions."

"Passion is not something you follow. It's something thatwill follow you as you put in the hard work to becomevaluable to the world," Newport wrote in the New YorkTimes.

What makes great jobs, Newport says, are rare andvaluable things. "If you want them in your life, you needto first develop rare and valuable skills."

His suggestion? Pick a career that seems interestingenough and leave passion out of it. It should also besomething that rewards increased skill with increasedoptions.

"Then put your head down and focus on becoming sogood you can't be ignored. It's typically at this point thatyou've gained the leverage needed to shape yourworking life into a true source of passion."

Take this advice instead: "Be valuable."

"Stand out from the crowd"If you applied to a listing on a job board, chances are thousands of other people have as well.That's sti� competition even if you are perfectly qualified.

Better odds, and better advice, says Sharmeen Akbani Gangat, founder of TheHiddenJob.com,is to bypass the crowd altogether and look for unadvertised jobs.

"You should get the job competition down until it is just you," says Akbani Gangat.

You're never hired for your skills or experience alone, she says. Managers hire you to make theirlives easier and to make them look good in front of their bosses and clients.

"You discover hidden jobs by digging around and understanding the needs and challenges oforganizations," then present yourself as the answer to their problems. No competitors in sight.

Take this advice instead: "Eliminate the competition"

"Under-promise and over-deliver"This work-flow advice suggests that your superiors or clients will be blown-away by how you'veprovided more widgets or work than expected. And, naturally, a parade to celebrate you willfollow.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but it turns out the people you're trying to impress don't care much.

Studies show going above and beyond isn't valued that much. You get no significant bonuspoints when you deliver more than you promised. But you will get dinged for not delivering ontime.

"Breaking one's promise is costly, but exceeding it does not appear worth the e�ort," concludedthe authors of a 2014 paper published in Social Psychological and Personality Science onpromises kept, broken and exceeded.

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8/1/2017 Career advice you hear all the time that's actually bunk - Aug. 1, 2017

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Take this advice instead: "Meet your deadlines."

"Stay at a new job for a year"Job-hopping has gotten a bad rap. Float an idea that another job has caught your eye and manypeople will tell you to stay put, for at least a year, lest you seem flighty or irresponsible.

But not anymore. Now the advice is: "Loyalty in the job market is for losers," says Akbani Gangat.

With pensions fading and restructuring a regular occurrence in many workplaces, few new hiresexpect the company to be the stalwart in their lives that it has been for previous generations.

It is always a good idea to know what's happening around you, says Akbani Gangat. "You needto know what your company's competitors are doing, then you know that you will always have ajob in hand, right out of school or if you're a senior executive."

Take this advice instead: "Leap when opportunity knocks."

"Build your brand"The World Wide Web is older than the youngest people in the job market. These workers havebeen told since they got an email address that it is vital to "Build your brand." And today nearlyeveryone is expected to have a LinkedIn presence and make regular witty and on-point remarkson Twitter as part of their package. Bonus points for loads of followers.

But Newport says, branding yourself is overrated.

"I think we overvalue the importance to your career of being highly visible on social media," saysNewport. "Millennials, in particular, often believe that their online brand plays a key role in theirprofessional success."

The reality, he says, is less interesting: "if you're good at something valuable, you will have goodoptions; if you're not, you won't -- regardless of the clever timeliness of your tweets."

Take this advice instead: "Build your value"

CNNMoney (New York)First published August 1, 2017: 10:54 AM ET

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