When is "absolutely" a problem? When should you question career advice given?

I was always told never to talk about cricket. They kept saying cricket has no relevance to consulting and it was a long time ago in life. - Archer Career client, future consultant with PwC, MBA student

My thinking on this career topic was motivated by a meeting I had last week with a student in one of our career programs at a partner university. The student shared with me that she “only spent her summer as a camp counselor” and her friends told her to take that experience off her resume and that she wasted her summer.

This is a sophomore in college. This means, the summer was after her freshman year. Very early in the college experience.

I was mad. First, I was a camp counselor before my freshman year of college. It is a damn hard job. It also builds incredible leadership skills, team work, conflict management, project management, creativity, and patience.

Second, what experience does this advice come from? I have reviewed thousands of resumes. I have seen camp counselor many times. I interpret it based on the skills presented.

This student was frantic.

The message being given was that you “absolutely should not include this in your resume.”

Oh boy.

Let me offer some ways of thinking about career advice.

I am often in the uncomfortable position of re-direction. Many students and working professionals tell me some piece of feedback or advice they have been given, which in my view, lacks a full and robust viewpoint.

It lacks multiple perspectives.

It lacks multiple data points.

It lacks research and benchmarking.

Is this harmless? Just something to consider and move on from?

I guess it depends on the impact of that advice. Do you act on it? What degree of “wrong” is it? In economics, we call this opportunity cost - the loss from doing or not doing something.

So, listen up! If you are an advice “GETTER” or “SEEKER” - I want to suggest a few things here to keep in mind during your receiving of advice. Maybe those of you who give advice can benefit too.

1 / Watch for Superlatives

What is a superlative?

An exaggerated or hyperbolical expression

In our communication, we often use superlatives to make a point, to influence, to show authority, and to create action. Ex: “Dana was the most prepared because she attended the mock interviews last week.”

Why is this a challenge?

We don’t really know if the advice is correct. The data point could be one individual, it could be an opinion, it could be a perception of the one giving the advice.

2 / Watch for limits

Your friends and classmates are well meaning. They, however, likely have limited experience.

Individual experience does not always extend to many situations, data points, or experiences outside their frame of reference.

In the example above, the individual who posed the challenge to his cricket playing may have talked to peers that have no experience with athletics. Or, maybe they don’t know the game of cricket and can’t create a frame of reference. Maybe it was not “what I did.” These circumstances all create myopia - or BLIND SPOTS.

Over the years, I individually have worked with more than 10,000 individuals - students and working professionals, at all levels of experience. They come from dozens of countries and have had a bounty of diverse experiences. Among this group are athletes. Football, American football, hockey, golf, rowing, swimming and diving, field hockey, rugby, baseball, lacrosse, and yes, cricket.

I also have been a consultant. It is a profession that requires intellect and physical stamina. I can draw the connections between sports and business roles (or other roles for that matter).

Why? Many data points and years of experience.

3 / Be active in advice

Seek to understand and verify.

As an experienced leader and coach, I have focused on the approaches for delivering advice and feedback. I am very clear about my messages. There are things I “know” as fact, based on evidence. There are things that I have experience with and applying the advice has pros/cons. Then, there is my opinion.

I think it is important to be clear in advice giving.

Those of you who are advice getters, you may not encounter someone who is trained or experienced. Then, it is up to you to do the work.

Ask questions! This helps you understand, get at the what, why, and how.

Ask things you can easily ask without “offending” or appearing you doubt the advice giver.

I’m curious, what do you think is the reason this part of my experience is not relevant?
Do you have other examples?
What other approach do you suggest?
Have you seen examples where this worked? Where this was included?

The key point is to ask questions.

Your second action is to seek another viewpoint or two. Even with the years of experience I and my team have, we ourselves do research (talk to employers in the market or other career experts) and you should to!

This is just smart. If you have a medical issue, you likely get a second opinion.

Summary

If you find yourself asking questions as we all do, go ahead and “get a little help from your friends!”

Also, dig into the advice you are given. Ask great questions. Verify. Seek out multiple perspectives.

Why?

It will help you make sure you are getting the best advice. That you are leveraging insights and experience.

And, this is a career skill for now and for the ages.

IF YOU HAVE ADVICE THAT MAYBE COMES INTO QUESTION, SHARE IT. WE WILL POST ON IT, AND WATCH FOR US SOON ON INSTAGRAM, TIK TOK, and YOUR OTHER FAVORITE PLATFORMS.

Good luck and go get great advice!

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When is "absolutely" a problem? When it is career advice.