Penelope Trunk, author of Brazen Careerist, recently blogged about the dangers of bad career advice.
Mostly I would be wary of anyone who offers unsolicited advice, especially current work colleagues, family and friends, for these 3 reasons.
They’re not exactly unbiased. They have a stake in the outcome.
They have agendas about keeping you in the same place (or moving you away).
They are probably not familiar with the way your particular career world operates.
For example, clients often begin a consultation with, “I’ve been searching for a new career for a whole month now. My significant other is getting impatient. He (or she, but it’s usually “he”) thinks I need to just make up my mind and choose something.”
A career change can take 2 or 3 years. But how would they know?
I share specific suggestions to chart your own course in my 21-Day Extreme Career Makeover.