How to get the worst advice on the planet: listen to someone with an agenda

Good career advice won’t come cheap — and especially won’t be free.

Photo by Startae-Team on Unsplash.

Using social media should be an important part of business growth or career change. But when using social (or any other service), I recommend following one my the Goodwin Career-Saving Maxims: Good information is free but you pay for advice.

For instance, I once saw someone tweeting ten resume tips.

Most of the tips were good. For instance, the writer advised us to tailor resumes to specific jobs and career fields. Too many people spend a lot of time and money creating a one-size-fits-all resume. If it fits all, it probably fits none.

But then I saw a couple of red flags. The writer advised applicants to discuss their salary history on their resumes. No career consultant would make that suggestion. Discuss salary after you get an offer. If HR presses you for a salary give a range — a huge range, skewed high.

There’s one exception. Suppose you are happily employed or self-employed and you see an ad for something that sounds interesting. You might need to establish upfront that they can afford you, before wasting anybody’s time.

So I looked more closely at the writer’s credentials. If she’s a career coach, I said to myself…