Monday, December 7, 2009

Job Search Experts - Whom Can You Trust?

Thousands and thousands of job search experts everywhere.

Search online and there is no shortage of job search wisdom.

But whom can you trust?

A job seeker forwarded an article to me entitled "Debunking 5 (Un)employment Myths" and asked for my thoughts.

Here are the five myths as presented by the writer:
Myth #1-The greater your qualifications, the better.
Myth #2-You should always "dress for success."
Myth #3-Most jobs are not advertised.
Myth #4-Send enough resumes and the phone will ring.
Myth #5-Once you have a job, it is best to "stay put."

The writer addresses each myth with a reality and a follow up strategy.

For a copy of the full article, please contact me at wtarrow@jvsdet.org.

As for my thoughts, I disagreed with most of his realities and questioned his strategies, BUT I appreciated how his advice provoked my thoughts and challenged my job search beliefs.

To decide if he was to be a trusted source, I looked for evidence of his credibility as an expert. An Internet search for the author resulted in finding copies of the article but nothing more about him.

And a website given for more information about the author, www.scatterseeds.com, remains "currently down for maintenance."

Soooo...the jury is still out.

As for job search advice, in general, ask questions of, and advice from, everyone. You never know who knows the right answer. And the right answer may not be the right answer for you, or the right answer at this time.

Take nothing as gospel, as the absolute truth. Try it out if you can, give it a chance, see if it works, and, if it does, or even if it doesn't, share your experiences with others.

So, whom do you trust?

Bottom line -- you start by trusting yourself.