235Kviews
Someone Asks People To Share The Worst Career Advice They Ever Got And They Deliver (35 Pics)
Whether you're at the top of your career game or just starting out - somewhere along the way you have probably asked someone older, wiser or just with more experience for some advice. Sometimes we receive advice from a mentor that becomes gospel we will pass on to others we meet - or in the case of the people on this list - advice that could have or did hurt instead of help.
Adam Grant, a psychologist and New York Times bestselling author, asked Twitter: "What's the worst career advice you've ever received?" and shared his top three worst nuggets to start it off. Turns out he's not the only one, people hopped on the thread and shared some painfully bad career tips - even Monica Lewinsky responded and we all know how that went. Scroll down to check them out and don't forget to upvote your favs!
Image credits: AdamMGrant
This post may include affiliate links.
This one still resonates with me. I’ve seen Monica Lewinsky’s TED and her interview with John Oliver, and especially the former one has had a powerful effect on me. I see now that how she was treated by the press, politicians, even her friend was brutal. Especially that she was in her 20’s then. Whatever you say about her, maybe it was love, perhaps infatuation, vanity trip or plain ignorance - she just did not deserve the bullying.
This one always pissed me off. She shouldn't have received any of it. What happened with her and the Clintons was between the 3 of them. This is yet another example of people not minding their own damn business. The media made WAY too big of a deal out of this. Like he was the first person in a position of power to cheat on a spouse (eyeroll). She deserved none of the vitriol tossed at her.
Load More Replies...If this is in fact her account, good for her for the sense of humour. People saying it was her fault are completely wrong! He was the POTUS, a man in power and her interning there, he was who she clearly admired. There have been many other women who have said that he was a womanizer. It just so happens that this young girl was the one that got caught up in his indiscretions. Wave it off Wanda, continue to do you Monica!
Hoo-eee, there's a lot of judgmental sobs out there. It was poor judgment for both of them, but pales in comparison to our current POTUS who happily forces himself (just groping as far as i know) on any attractive female within reach. And yes, he's married, too.
Shes actually a very funny Lady. I too was very impressed with her after watching the John Oliver interview
I feel like without Linda tripp telling her she looked fat in the dress so she wouldn’t clean it none of this would of ever came out. Which idk is good or bad
Epitome of grace under fire. She was a star-struck impressionable young woman. He was the President of the United States. She was vilified and s**t-shamed while he was given a pass because “boys will be boys.” She is the worst victim of professional media bullying in modern history. So called journalists should be ashamed of themselves for what they put her through. The media treatment of @MonicaLewinsky is why I lost confidence in any news outlet in the USA.
she said she was in love and yes she dallied with a married man but she was very young and it was heady stuff to be with the President. However was never foreseen that they would be caught and it all dragged through the mud. She still maintains there was no sexual intercourse.
in all fairness, it wasn't her internship as much as her lack of character
She was an impressionable young woman, barely out of her teens. He was a married man, more than twice her age. He was a professional. He was a lawyer. He was the former governor of the State of Arkansas. He was the sitting President of the United States of America. Yet you state it was HER lack of character while saying absolutely nothing about his deplorable behavior and lack of character. There is nothing "fair" about your comment at all. Quite the contrary, you, like so many others, seem to place the blame squarely on the shoulders of a star-struck young woman.
Load More Replies...Lewinsky has attended the Oscars, Grammy and Tony Awards, countless top-end runway shows, and appeared on dozens of TV interviews and endless articles. If she truly wanted to put the situation behind her, she'd stop relying on it for celebrity status.
It wasn't the internship that was the problem. It was her slutty & unprofessional behavior.
It probably would have. . . .if you hadn't chosen to suck off the President.
The advice wasn't the problem. The choices made *after* taking that advice was the problem.
Actually, it's not having an internship, it is the decision she made to get it on with the president. That was the bad decision.
Pffft even though she knew he was married, it wasn't HER being unfaithful.
Load More Replies...True. They didn't. But that doesn't mean she deserves endless harassment. It takes two to tango
Load More Replies...Not everyone is blessed to have a mentor to give them sound career advice so below are some tips from the masters. From Forbes Agency Council members to CEOs of the biggest corporations, here are some words of wisdom they have shared over the years. The first comes from Karen Wickre, former editorial leader at Google and Twitter, who told Business Insider: "I didn't get this advice, but I learned it by doing, and now it's what I tell others: Always be building your brain trust. This is the web of contacts you can call on when you have questions or need expertise beyond yours."
As a person who works in the field where you can't drop everything when the clock hits 5 pm, I totally agree with what she says. Work reasonably, if one day you have to work until 8,take some time off the next day, that's how me and my co-worker do it and our boss understands it, it's so easy to burn out. No job is important enough to run yourself into the ground.
It's hard not to get disheartened when someone rejects your idea. Freelance writer and New York Times bestselling author, Sara Bliss, says she received invaluable advice from Tony Freund who was a staff writer for Town & Country magazine, that has helped her defeat this mindset. "If an editor rejects an idea, do not scrap it. Instead, he suggested refining and repitching it to the same editor or trying a new one.
How long will it take, till everyone get´s that girls and boys can do anything they want to?
depends on the boss, but never think that a boss is going to share their wealth with you for no other reason than hard work. at the end of each day, every boss can replace you for someone else who is a "hard worker"
You might think that showing off your mental prowess is the key to impressing everyone at your job - but sometimes acting like a know-it-all can hinder you. Said Jacob Hanson, PR with Panache! to Forbes: "Oftentimes, leaders feel that they need to be the "smartest guy or gal" in the room, and that couldn't be further from the truth. Good leaders are the smartest one in the room, great leaders surround themselves with smarter people that will challenge ideas, bring new perspectives to the table and drive innovation.
I see this a lot in the healthcare industry. People get pushed to their limits.
We've all had those days when we feel overwhelmed as if the work keeps stacking up - well Nicole Rodrigues, NRPR Group, LLC said to Forbes embrace it. "I was told by a mentor very early on that I should never complain when there’s a lot of work to do. I agree and tell my team the same thing. Be thankful there’s work to do. When something becomes easy or routine, it’s a clear sign you’re not growing."
It's great to get career advice from people you admire but in the end, you should make sure you're the one in control of your destiny. Said Gina Michnowicz, Union+Webster to Forbes: "One of my mentors always said don't let others manage your career because you will be unhappy with the results. What he meant by management is focusing on what skills and experiences you need to ultimately be in your dream job. I managed my moves carefully, making sure that I built the right skills to be a CEO. In the end, he was right and I am happy with the outcome."
Not counter-intuitive at all. I know tons of people who loved their hobbies so much they started a business. They were plenty successful, but unhappy and started to hate what they used to love. Not saying it will be that way for everyone. Maybe you will be different. Me? I learned the hard way.
This one really depends on the workplace. My first work environment was friendly on the outside, toxic on the inside (took me a while, to realise that, always thought the problem was me). My now workplace is really friendly and I made actual friends here, and, oh my, I can feel the difference.
Or worse, talk about children when you don't have any. Kudos for quitting!
That generally comes from the ones who fear new ideas, because they know they won’t be able to keep up, and will risk looking bad and losing their place as the “indispensable” person in the office who thinks the whole company will just fall apart if they’re not there. It never does, but you’ll come across a load of these people in your career.
Soooo, does long hair somehow affect ability? Is short hair a requirement for some obscure reason?
For this advice it's usually aimed at managers. A lot of people have general problems with authority so if you moved up and became a manager, it's difficult to maintain the same friendship you had as coworkers. If you give your friend any kind of break or a special project that could be seen as "fun" then you are showing favoritism.
Just because they're in the teaching profession doesn't mean they will be supportive of your dreams. You do you. To hell with anyone who says you can't be you.
Let me see... I recall quite a few facial hairs on more than a couple of very successful people. I absolutely loathe people who let their ignorance and racism shine.
Risky? What's risky? Oh wait... I get it now. Someone explain to them that "mentor" is not a sexual thing like slapping a backside. Geniuses. I'm surrounded by brain surgeons in search of a brain to call their own. LOL. Damn straight it's hogwash!
I hear it all the time. I also see it constantly. Good for you! Another victory for critical thinking! Critical thinkers don't get Darwin Awards.
Ahh. Good old critical thinking. I really miss the days when everyone possessed it. Did you know it's on the endangered species list? But hey, look at who we have as president!
I'd like to see the ratio of men to women who have heard this advice. I'd bet more women are told this c**p.
Ha! I've gotten the opposite career advice. I mean, "we", it was something a professor told the class. Something like "do not stay at the same workplace for 10 years / do not accept a 10 year contract - it's a waste of life, you have to gain various kinds of experience." I think, in the end, it all depends on the individual and the job(s) they do.
I was told my math skills were so poor I would never be able to work in computer industry. Wrong. Glad I never listened.
I read that as "don't waste your time educating... fellows, NPC's,..." which made me think "well of course not". Hm.
Great advice if you are in a fox hole. Bad advice for the workplace.
I think this was good advice at one point in time (60s, 70s, maybe even into the 80s), because that was all I heard from older generations when I was applying to colleges - "It doesn't matter what your degree is in. As long as you have a degree, you'll be able to get a job." But that hasn't been the case for a long time now.
I work in a call center. I’ve seen 3 people get transferred the entire 4 years I’ve been there. (It’s convenient with my school schedule otherwise I’d be looking for a new job myself.)
I put in for a promotion at work and my sister (who works at the same place) told me not to get my hopes up because I had not worked here long enough and much more experienced people applied. She also told this to my whole family and my parents told me not to be disappointed if I don't get it. I was going to withdraw from the interviews but my husband said "Screw them, you are good enough! Go for it!" I did and I got the job! My whole family was shocked that I got it and I decided then and there to follow my dreams no matter how much of a "long shot" they might be.
My dad was the opposite. He had his own business and encouraged us to do the same.
well i don't think you have to accept it, but i do think you have to recognize that sometimes the reason you're not promoted, not making what you should be, not ontime, etc isn't because you're not doing your best. you can work as hard and well as possible, and still be blocked by someone with more resources than you, whether those resources are money or power or seniority. you don't have to accept it, you should leave or fight back or something, but you do have to recognize it so you don't doubt your own worth/knowledge/experience
I have been told many times to change who I am that people see my passion for a projects as intimidating. Unfortunately I listened and now I am battling a severe round of anxiety and depression and have lost who I was. I was funny, outgoing, friendly and not afraid to take chances. I wish I had just walked away from those who gave me that advice.
Hope you find yourself again soon, keep looking, you're not far away x
Load More Replies...You have to go straight to college after you graduate. If you don't you'll be behind all your life. Told to me by everyone. I started college when I was 23, got my MBA at 30 and now make just as much if not more than most people my age. For those 5 years I lived on my own working in the kitchen. Found myself and found a women who complements me so well we could be twins. Been married for 10 years in December and we both still make each other ugly laugh daily.
"Don't work for peanuts" in my opinion the job should come first money second I'm not denying myself a great job opportunity because they pay low
As an artist, my worst advice I received was that I had to " pay my dues" and do the most demeaning and badly paid jobs in order to gain experience... Doing unskilled work while my skills and education were ignored only served to push my confidence down, leading me to believe that my work wasn't "good enough" ( I now realize that the artist I was working for was probably envious of my skills and threatened. He eliminated me by destroying my confidence)
Unfortunately, I was told I wasn’t good enough in math to be a veterinarian,. I’ve been an entrepreneur instead, but I always regretted not at least trying to become a veterinarian. My math was good enough to start three successful companies.
I remember the horrible days I worked at an A&W fast food chain. The supervisor was a bitter old man who was an absolute horror or an individual. One day he told me I would never be able to do anything better than that job there flipping burgers lol Now I work in an ER and love my job!
I just had a professor that told me that doing an internship is key to getting a job..that people with 4.0 gpas can sometimes not get a job snatched up by a 3.0 student that did an internship that looked better on their resume. Then..two days later...I'm reading a chapter out of the book he assigned for the class that says "Many companies aren't even looking at resumes anymore..but are putting forth quizzes and tests to see if the person will be a good fit for the culture of the company and their job." Uhm..excuse me?
I didn't even finish reading them, I'm sure Monica's can't be topped!! Hahahaha
I have been told many times to change who I am that people see my passion for a projects as intimidating. Unfortunately I listened and now I am battling a severe round of anxiety and depression and have lost who I was. I was funny, outgoing, friendly and not afraid to take chances. I wish I had just walked away from those who gave me that advice.
Hope you find yourself again soon, keep looking, you're not far away x
Load More Replies...You have to go straight to college after you graduate. If you don't you'll be behind all your life. Told to me by everyone. I started college when I was 23, got my MBA at 30 and now make just as much if not more than most people my age. For those 5 years I lived on my own working in the kitchen. Found myself and found a women who complements me so well we could be twins. Been married for 10 years in December and we both still make each other ugly laugh daily.
"Don't work for peanuts" in my opinion the job should come first money second I'm not denying myself a great job opportunity because they pay low
As an artist, my worst advice I received was that I had to " pay my dues" and do the most demeaning and badly paid jobs in order to gain experience... Doing unskilled work while my skills and education were ignored only served to push my confidence down, leading me to believe that my work wasn't "good enough" ( I now realize that the artist I was working for was probably envious of my skills and threatened. He eliminated me by destroying my confidence)
Unfortunately, I was told I wasn’t good enough in math to be a veterinarian,. I’ve been an entrepreneur instead, but I always regretted not at least trying to become a veterinarian. My math was good enough to start three successful companies.
I remember the horrible days I worked at an A&W fast food chain. The supervisor was a bitter old man who was an absolute horror or an individual. One day he told me I would never be able to do anything better than that job there flipping burgers lol Now I work in an ER and love my job!
I just had a professor that told me that doing an internship is key to getting a job..that people with 4.0 gpas can sometimes not get a job snatched up by a 3.0 student that did an internship that looked better on their resume. Then..two days later...I'm reading a chapter out of the book he assigned for the class that says "Many companies aren't even looking at resumes anymore..but are putting forth quizzes and tests to see if the person will be a good fit for the culture of the company and their job." Uhm..excuse me?
I didn't even finish reading them, I'm sure Monica's can't be topped!! Hahahaha