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Trust, reputation, and credibility carry a ton of weight in most professions. If you’re not dependable and don’t look like you have any integrity, you’ll have an awful time trying to get your job done. Especially if your work requires you to interact with other people throughout the day.

Industry insiders took to an enlightening AskReddit thread to share the biggest red flags that a ‘professional’ is untrustworthy. Scroll down to pick up some of the signs that you shouldn’t blindly trust just any ‘expert,’ no matter how wide their smile.

Meanwhile, Bored Panda reached out to the author of the intriguing thread, u/ShapingTormance, and they were kind enough to share their thoughts about building trust. Check out our full interview with them below!

#1

Woman working focused at a desk with laptop and papers, illustrating signs an industry professional isn’t trustworthy. Never trust a librarian who agrees to ban books.

sotiredwontquit , Tima Miroshnichenko Report

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    #2

    “Unvaccinated Healthcare Worker”: 43 Signs That Give Away Someone Is Bad At Their Job Don’t trust a man who bankrupts casinos with your economy.

    TuxPaper , Kaysha Report

    #3

    “Unvaccinated Healthcare Worker”: 43 Signs That Give Away Someone Is Bad At Their Job Don't trust a minister of God that preaches hate.

    fancylamas , Edwin Andrade Report

    It might sound surprisingly like common sense, but in order to do your job well, you need to know what the heck you’re doing. Then again, common sense isn’t all that common.

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    If you lack the experience, skills, and knowledge base needed to perform well, there’s no real reason for your clients to trust you. All you can do is put in the effort to upskill, improve, and grow as a professional.

    Well, either that or pretend that you’re better than you are… until your customers eventually catch on to the lie. Then, your profits and career take a hit. The smarter (not to mention the more ethical and, in the long term, more sustainable) strategy is to strive to be good at what you do and build trust in a genuine way.

    As Reader’s Digest points out, untrustworthy individuals often lack integrity. They’re often dishonest, prioritize their gain over honesty, and aren’t accountable.

    What’s more, they are manipulative. For instance, they might apologize to you for their bad behavior, but they won’t change their behavior to match.

    #4

    Healthcare professional in scrubs and mask, focused on writing notes, illustrating signs of an untrustworthy industry professional. Don't trust an unvaccinated health care worker.

    InfernalWedgie Report

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    #5

    Scientist wearing gloves and safety glasses using a pipette in a lab, illustrating industry professional trustworthiness. Don’t trust the scientist who can’t say “I don’t know”. A good scientist knows they don’t know everything.

    RomanoCheesed , ThisIsEngineering Report

    #6

    Group of people in business attire interacting in a professional setting, illustrating signs of an untrustworthy industry professional. Don't trust a pastor who wears expensive shoes and watches.

    EDIT: of course I'm not saying "don't trust all pastors because all pastors are awful!!!" The point in the original question is about YOUR OWN INDUSTRY.

    Since I'm an actual pastor, I thought you might want to know how I determine whether or not someone who claims to be clergy puts me on guard or not - and wearing flashy clothes, watches, shoes, or who drives a luxury car (that's obviously not an cold clunker that they've fixed up) - THOSE are reasons for me, a pastor, to be made wary of other people who claim to be a part of clergy.

    For those of you who just don't trust pastors of any kind because of the hurt you may have experienced at the hands of the unscrupulous or the awful representatives of the cloth - I deeply and sincerely apologize for that pain. I, too, wish that had never happened.

    Wonderful-Power9161 , Pavel Danilyuk Report

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    On top of that, untrustworthy individuals often don’t trust others, have a history of being unreliable and inconsistent, don’t care about rules, and lack empathy.

    “They are like slot machines. They know exactly how much they can get away with, and just when you are about to walk away, they do something wonderful so you will stay,” etiquette expert Jodi R.R. Smith told Reader’s Digest.

    Other signs of untrustworthiness include a person’s unwillingness to respect your boundaries, their tendency to dominate the conversation, trying to one-up you, hogging the spotlight, and blaming others instead of accepting responsibility for their actions.

    “Trusting your instincts and previous experiences is an important tool for spotting red flags and choosing whom to spend time with. Life is hard enough on its own. It’s important to seek out trustworthy folks who you can consistently rely on for emotional and practical support, who can be honest with you and help reduce your stress,” psychologist Jeff Temple, PhD, explained to Reader’s Digest.

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    #7

    “Unvaccinated Healthcare Worker”: 43 Signs That Give Away Someone Is Bad At Their Job Don’t trust any life coach/consultant who uses “we all have the same 24 hours in a day” as a comeback to the “I don’t have time” excuse.

    I absolutely do not have the “same” 24 hours in a day as child free Oprah Winfrey, with her paid staff and zero daily commute.

    AriesProductions , bruce mars Report

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    #8

    Teacher in a classroom with students raising hands, illustrating signs that an industry professional isn’t trustworthy. Don’t trust a principal who was never a teacher. .

    CantBuyMyLove , Max Fischer Report

    #9

    Two businesswomen in a professional setting having a serious discussion, illustrating signs of an untrustworthy industry professional. Famous psychologists that are tv personalities are not famous because they are “the best”. “The best” exists in research and or the clinic.

    tmotytmoty , cottonbro studio Report

    We were very curious to find out the inspiration behind the thread. The author opened up about their recent experiences. "I think a few things came together to form that question. I started a new job two weeks ago, and was sick both of those weeks. I didn't want to take any time off so early into a new job, so I took medicine, went into the office, and sat at my desk, even if I couldn't get anything done," u/ShapingTormance told Bored Panda.

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    "When I was talking to a couple of friends about how the new job is going, I said I did this rather than take time off to recover, because I wanted to start off the new job by building trust. So trust was on my mind anyway—specifically, how to build trust right away at a new job," they said.

    "Later, I was talking to my mom about her job, and she is very frustrated at work because those around do not often follow through on what they say they are going to do, which creates a low-trust environment. I'd heard the saying 'don't trust a skinny food critic' at some point in the past, so it occurred to me to ask the question in that way."

    According to the author, one of the most impactful books they've ever read is 'The Speed of Trust,' by Stephen M.R. Covey. "[It] helped me much better understand the importance of trust in any organization, how trust is lost, how it can be built, and what the cost of living or working in a low-trust environment is. So I'm inclined to apply the lens of trust to work situations anyway, and it just so happened that those life circumstances brought trust to the forefront of my thoughts again," u/ShapingTormance shared.

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    #10

    Man in a blazer holding a product bottle, illustrating subtle signs that an industry professional isn’t trustworthy. Don’t trust a wine sales rep that wears heavy cologne/perfume. It messes up your ability to taste samples in sales meetings.

    chrza , Ushindi Namegabe Report

    #11

    “Unvaccinated Healthcare Worker”: 43 Signs That Give Away Someone Is Bad At Their Job My job seems to get new ones every day recently, not sure why... The most recent is Don’t trust a doctor who recommends women of childbearing age refrain from using Tylenol.

    theoutsideinternist , Pixabay Report

    #12

    “Unvaccinated Healthcare Worker”: 43 Signs That Give Away Someone Is Bad At Their Job Don't trust a religious person who is loud about being religious.

    SeasonMarla , John Price Report

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    Bored Panda also wanted to get the author's perspective as to why their question resonated with some internet users so strongly. "First, I asked in a lighthearted way. Second, it was a different kind of question from what often gets asked on r/AskReddit. A lot of the questions about relationships and conspiracies get recycled every week in slightly different language, and this is an important question that differs from that. Third, people gave really good answers, which kept others coming back for more. It's a question that gives folks a platform to dispense some bit of wisdom they've learned. I might theorize that it is probably helpful for a principal to have been a teacher, but I wouldn't have known how essential it is."

    According to u/ShapingTormance, their favorite answer in the thread was written by user u/Appropriate_Sky_6571: "Don’t trust an agreeable QA."

    This really resonated with the author because they work in tech. "I appreciate the truth of that response, but I would not have thought of it myself, which also shows the wisdom of it."

    They added that this answer really fit the 'don't trust a skinny food critic' saying. "We usually think of being skinny as an asset, but for a food critic, it's a liability. In the same way, we usually think of being agreeable as an asset, but for someone in QA, it's a liability. That's interesting to me! The answer is also short and snappy, yet recognizably true for many who have worked in tech."

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    #13

    “Unvaccinated Healthcare Worker”: 43 Signs That Give Away Someone Is Bad At Their Job Always let the nurse give you the shot, never the doctor...

    Uncle_Bill , RF._.studio _ Report

    #14

    Smiling industry professional wearing an apron, holding a notepad and pen, in a colorful cafe setting. Don't trust a restaurant manager who's never waited a table. This includes brewers who open and run brewpubs.

    Fearless_Lab , Andrea Piacquadio Report

    #15

    “Unvaccinated Healthcare Worker”: 43 Signs That Give Away Someone Is Bad At Their Job Don’t trust a home care aide/special needs provider who claims to know what causes autism.

    More_Rise , Kampus Production Report

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    From the author's perspective, we live in an era of low trust. "Almost every institution across the board has lost trust at a societal level: churches, the government, universities, sports leagues, big companies, etc."

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    According to them, based on what they read in Covey's book 'The Speed of Trust,' trust can be broken down into issues of character and issues of competence. "Character itself has to do with integrity and intent, and competence has to do with skill and results. You need those four things in order to establish trust. If your intent is bad, I don't trust you, regardless of how skilled you are and the results you deliver," u/ShapingTormance explained.

    "If you're a great guy, with good integrity, and you really intend to help me, and you even have the skills to help, but I know you don't always do what you say you're going to do, then I don't trust you. The book outlines thirteen behaviors you can work on to build trust, that fall into these categories."

    Never miss a story that brings joy to the world. Follow on Google News

    #16

    “Unvaccinated Healthcare Worker”: 43 Signs That Give Away Someone Is Bad At Their Job Don’t trust a dentist who’s anti-fluoride.

    DiamondBurInTheRough , cottonbro studio Report

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    #17

    “Unvaccinated Healthcare Worker”: 43 Signs That Give Away Someone Is Bad At Their Job Don't trust a writer who doesn't have a strong opinion about Oxford commas. Preferably, they should have the *right* opinion about them (they are good and everyone should use them) but even if they're wrong you should still trust them to write better than someone who doesn't care either way.

    RhynoD , Lisa from Pexels Report

    #18

    “Unvaccinated Healthcare Worker”: 43 Signs That Give Away Someone Is Bad At Their Job Don’t trust a hiker who says they love nature but leaves trash behind.

    Broad-Try-8127 , Toomas Tartes Report

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    We’d like to hear about your work-related experiences, dear Pandas. What industry do you work in? What are the biggest, brightest red flags within your field of expertise that someone isn’t trustworthy at all?

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    On the flip side, what are some subtle or overt signs that a professional actually knows what they’re doing and talking about? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

    #19

    “Unvaccinated Healthcare Worker”: 43 Signs That Give Away Someone Is Bad At Their Job A teacher who isn't interested in learning new things.

    uninterestedteacher , fauxels Report

    #20

    Man working on laptop with code visible on screen in modern office, illustrating signs an industry professional isn’t trustworthy. Don’t trust an IT person who hasn’t caused an organization wide outage at least once, if more than 5, also don’t trust them.

    TheHarb81 , Djordje Petrovic Report

    #21

    Young man taking notes outdoors near a bridge, illustrating subtle signs an industry professional isn’t trustworthy. Don’t trust a writer who doesn’t read.

    nekosaigai , Ketut Subiyanto Report

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    #22

    “Unvaccinated Healthcare Worker”: 43 Signs That Give Away Someone Is Bad At Their Job Don’t trust a software engineer that thinks AI is good at programming.

    thelimeisgreen , luis gomes Report

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    #23

    “Unvaccinated Healthcare Worker”: 43 Signs That Give Away Someone Is Bad At Their Job As a perpetually single/never married divorce lawyer, I don't love this question...

    unrepentantfuncooker , August de Richelieu Report

    #24

    Young professional woman with henna on hands, sitting thoughtfully at marble desk with laptop and books in office. Don't trust a 22 year old management consultant.

    hx87 , Yan Krukau Report

    #25

    “Unvaccinated Healthcare Worker”: 43 Signs That Give Away Someone Is Bad At Their Job Don’t trust any “professional” artist who likes AI.

    Particular-Leg-8484 , George Milton Report

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    #26

    Don't trust a teacher who doesn't read books.

    principalman Report

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    #27

    Two industry professionals reviewing data on a laptop in an office, highlighting signs a professional isn’t trustworthy. A salesman who says his product does everything you're asking it to do exactly as you are asking for it is lying.

    wastedpixls , LinkedIn Sales Navigator Report

    #28

    A professional conducting a counseling session, focusing on signs that an industry professional isn’t trustworthy. Never trust a therapist who hasn't been to therapy... extensively. .

    Affectionate-Bad4890 , Polina Zimmerman Report

    #29

    A geologist without a rock collection.

    Prof_Explodius Report

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    #30

    Woman wearing glasses and a blue shirt, sitting thoughtfully while discussing signs an industry professional isn’t trustworthy Don’t trust a parenting support professional whose adult kids don’t speak to them.

    Royal_Tonight4033 , cottonbro studio Report

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    #31

    Don’t trust the stylist in the salon that has the best hair.
    (Another stylist did it.).

    chloemonet Report

    #32

    Don’t trust a mechanical engineer who ignores his technicians. 

    I tell all my junior engineers the same thing. 

    “The guy working on the line building the thing you designed will absolutely end up knowing more about it than you do”.

    Redditcadmonkey Report

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    #33

    “Unvaccinated Healthcare Worker”: 43 Signs That Give Away Someone Is Bad At Their Job Don't trust an education consultant or curriculum writer or admin that never had any classroom experience.

    sweadle , Judit Peter Report

    #34

    Woman in glasses holding a tablet looking serious in a home office, illustrating signs an industry professional isn’t trustworthy. If he's got an ipad and a white button down shirt, he's not there to fix your equipment, he's there to try to sell you new equipment.

    Abrandnewrapture , Antoni Shkraba Studio Report

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    #35

    Don’t trust some “dog trainer” guy who only works with Malinois and thinks flashy heeling makes him a good trainer.

    Show me what you can do with a beagle, a bloodhound, or a Saluki, and then we can talk.

    T3nacityDog Report

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    #36

    I know someone who got a job as a “career advisor” at the local university. Up until then, the only jobs she had ever had were a part-time retail gig at the mall for and some college internships.

    painterbitch Report

    #37

    Don’t trust anyone in education who stopped teaching before covid. Oh, you want to tell me what to do in this classroom when your last cohort of students was in 2018? No thank you, babe. You have no idea what we’re dealing with here in the trenches.

    eagle2001a Report

    #38

    Don't trust a cowboy with clean shoes.

    M1n1sn00py Report

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    #39

    Don't trust a physicist with a neat haircut and a suit .

    Lasagnaoflife Report

    #40

    If a paramedic shows up with their uniform ironed, pants cuffed, and a whole trauma kit on their belt, they are brand new and are still waiting to get their medic cert in the mail. If they're leaving out the window smoking a cigarette, then toss an empty can of white monster back into the truck as they're getting out, and look like they just rolled out of bed, you're getting the guy with 20 years of experience that can figure out what's wrong with the patient approximately 6 seconds after entering your home.

    Officer_Hotpants Report

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    #41

    A nurse with a perfect manicure.

    AMGRN Report

    #42

    Don’t buy wine with a large enough marketing budget to advertise on billboards or TV.

    ReginaGloriana Report

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    #43

    An IT person who doesn't have a special interest in something.

    Braith117 Report

    #44

    Don’t trust an accountant who prefers google sheets to excel.

    hop2thebus Report

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    #45

    I do not trust a software engineer that was not bullied in high school. Yes I can tell. .

    eyesonthefries609 Report

    #46

    Writing advice YouTube channels featuring authors who have self published one book and/or never had a screenplay produced.

    Nothing wrong with self publishing per se, but so many of the self described “writing gurus” create a fake publishing company complete with a website and logo and additional fake authors and fake books to give themselves credit.

    They then proceed to give either very basic advice, or actively bad advice, then pitch their special, extremely expensive one-on-one coaching sessions.

    Malmborgio Report

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    #47

    Don't trust or at least be careful of personal injury attorneys who excessively advertise. I personally know two PI attorneys who blast their ads everywhere but are less than competent.

    MaiqTheLawyer Report

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    #48

    Don’t trust an HR person who seems to know A LOT about the company and the people in it. If YOU know that they know a lot, it’s bc they’re telling you stuff you shouldn’t be told. They aren’t discreet. And won’t be discreet when they know something about you.

    lizzdurr Report

    #49

    Been working with a lot of acting, singing, and dance teachers in the last 3 years and this is a hard one I've learned that I don't think most theatre students recognize.

    **Don't trust a performing arts teacher who cares more about how your performance makes *you* feel than how it makes your *audience* feel.**

    This one is tough because you should feel good about your performance and how your teacher teaches you, but at the end of the day you have to actually be learning how to connect with an audience. But teaching that is hard and measuring it is ambiguous, but making a student feel good and powerful? That's relatively easy, and if they can keep selling *that* the student can keep coming indefinitely, blissfully ignorant of their lack of progress. And that's kinda optimal for making this "teacher" the most money.

    Stargazer__2893 Report

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    #50

    The more bands they’ve been in, the more likely they’re the problem

    Since this took off some I’ll explain:

    Most musicians have been in many projects, but with professionals…

    If their resume is all short stints or single tours, 🚩.

    plastictigers Report

    #51

    From a client perspective; don't trust a tattooer with no tattoos.

    From a tattooer/employee perspective; don't trust a shop owner who doesn't tattoo.

    Warnex9 Report

    #52

    Don't trust an accountant who's terrible with their own money.

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    #53

    Don't trust a monolingual linguist.

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    #54

    Don't trust a wedding photographer who uses a camera with only one SD card slot.

    Unnecessarybanter33 Report

    #55

    Priests. A person that has never been married, giving lectures and advice on how to make a marriage work

    Being married to God does not count, father!

    J0n__Doe Report

    #56

    Don’t trust a contractor who’s never swung a hammer.

    dave493333 Report

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    #57

    Don't trust a dog groomer who breeds doodles.

    Hour-Sweet2445 Report

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    #58

    Never trust an esthetician who has no strong opinions about sunscreen in any way.

    CheshireAsylum Report

    #59

    Don't trust a litigator who promises you literally anything. Every answer should be "it depends.".

    legalbeagle1989 Report

    #60

    Professional grade gear is never advertised as "pro".

    Team_Braniel Report

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    #61

    In the funeral industry it’s don’t hire the goths. There are times when you’re left with little choice and there are even some goths that turn out to be professional and good at their jobs but trust me, we see those Betty Page bangs coming a mile away.

    stevebobeeve Report

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    #62

    Don't trust anyone in fashion whose pants and/or bra doesn't fit. If they can't handle the basics of fit they won't make you or your clients look good. That's my old job.

    I work with intelligently disabled adults now. Don't trust anyone who is overly enthusiastic to spend time alone with a client and emotionally involved in an inappropriate way. Also anyone who lacks empathy or has a short temper.

    Jerkrollatex Report

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    #63

    Don't trust a restaurant boss who ever only worked in fast food.

    Dalostbear Report

    #64

    Not my industry, but don't trust a restaurant in a port city that says they don't have a rat problem.

    If they're denying its existence it means they aren't dealing with it, and it means they absolutely do have a rat problem.

    ebb_omega Report

    #65

    Don’t trust hospital administrator who never worked clinically.

    biggershark Report

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    #66

    Never trust a cook that holds their knife with their pointer finger out.

    NoInspector7746 Report

    #67

    Don’t trust a lawyer who has esquire in their signature block.

    ButtasaurusFlex Report

    #68

    Never trust an IT Security Analyst who doesn’t have prior Systems or Network Administrator experience.

    miauguau44 Report

    #69

    Don't trust a mechanic with a brand new car.

    renzok Report

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    #70

    Don't trust a dispatcher that didn't drive truck for a few years himself.

    Schiissdraeck Report

    #71

    Don't trust a nurse who has "never made a medication error". They are either lying or they haven't routinely administered medications.

    elphiekopi Report

    #72

    My late uncle was a freight conductor for 50 years. He said never trust a railroad engineer that doesn’t drink coffee.

    AnnualDragonfruit123 Report

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    #73

    Don't trust a teacher with a clear desktop.

    mustbethedragon Report

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    #74

    Don't trust a rich social worker!

    marthajanepundlekit Report

    #75

    A banker with debt. Most places will do a credit check and not hire someone with poor credit as they think they’re more likely to be tempted to steal funds.. however, I’ve worked with a handful that are absolutely terrible with their own money and really should not be giving financial advice to others.

    caughtwinehanded Report

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    #76

    Don't trust rock the Dwayne Johnson's hair products when he has no hair.

    Naroyto Report

    #77

    Don’t trust a security personnel who won’t stop talking.

    Capital-Zucchini-529 Report

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    #78

    I say this as someone you shouldn't have trusted early in my career: 
    Don't trust a software team member who isn't willing to pay for his own product.

    I used to work at a consumer software company and everyone loved the free swag but wouldn't pay for the product ourselves. Our product suffered because of it.

    cmaronchick Report

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    #79

    Dont trust a plumber who bites his nails.

    jgilbs Report

    #80

    Don’t trust a voice teacher who only has academic experience .

    Subtlety87 Report

    #81

    I have brown hair that I color frequently.

    I hate when I go to blonde hairdressers, because they always want me to lighten my hair. I now consistently go to brunette hair dressers.

    procrastinatorsuprem Report

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    #82

    I was a swim instructor. In my personal experience, divers are not good instructors. I don't mean that they can't teach, I mean that they don't teach things correctly when they're training people for swim team. I knew some great divers, but most of them could only get you the basics of swimming and not skills necessary for swim team.

    AhoBrotherDeer Report

    #83

    Don't trust someone in tech that can't administer their own machine.

    I understand there are different specialties but a complete lack of understanding of the thing they work in front of for 8 hours a day tells me that they have a fatal lack of intuition and curiosity that I feel the field requires.

    Whitewind617 Report

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    #84

    Don't trust a manager who has never done every other position in FOH. I've met so many managers who had never hosted and it shows.

    normanbeets Report

    #85

    Audio engineer - there's a lot of people that make YouTube videos about mixing and have strong opinions. If you don't like how their stuff sounds, disregard their advice.

    orphy Report

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    #86

    Don't trust a game reviewer with an active insta.

    Usually means they are an influencer not a reviewer and may not give objective reviews in the best case and demand active tribute in the worst.

    wizzard419 Report

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    #87

    Don’t trust a CIO that doesn’t have a computer in their office.

    shantm79 Report

    #88

    Don't trust a Door Dasher to know how long it takes to make orders.

    I'm so sick of hearing "it's just one sandwich" when we're making hundreds. I don't know or care that DD sent you to pick up a meal as soon as it was ordered. Orders go into a queue. We make them in that order. We don't work for you.

    All_HallowsEve Report

    #89

    Don’t trust an overweight doctor, or one who smokes.

    RowanRally Report

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