Ploymint

Your mentor, your old boss, even your grandma — everybody has career advice to give these days. Not all advice is created equal, however. So how do you shift out the dud advice from the solid gold tips that could land you your dream job? To start, be aware of totally overrated career advice, including these seven overrated pieces of guidance:

“Follow your passion.”

Sure, being passionate about your job is a major plus, but this is one piece of advice that’s easier said than done. For one, your passions may change over time, so you may start out in a position you really care about but then come to find that it just doesn’t light the same fire in you even just a few years later. Make sure your career lines up with your personal interests, but don’t stress too much about fulfilling your “passion.”

“Just take this job for now — you can find a better fit a little later.”

If you’ve been searching for a job for a while, or are anxious to score your first job after you graduate, it’ll be tempting to say yes to a less-than-stellar offer just to be done with the process. You may tell yourself you’ll only stay in the position for a little while, but rarely does that happen — life gets in the way, and a few months turns into a few years! Instead of taking an unattractive offer, double down on your job search efforts, and network, network, network.

“Just be patient, you’ll be rewarded.”

Patience is a virtue, but not always in the workplace. When it comes to promotions and raises, sometimes you’ll never get them if you don’t ask for them. Bone up on strategies for asking for a raise before you initiate the conversation with your manager.

“Suck up to the boss.”

Pro-tip: most people can sniff out brownnosers, including bosses. Focus on being sincere instead of sucking up — your boss will appreciate it, and so will your co-workers.

“You should start your own company.”

Hey, we’re not saying you shouldn’t start your own company, just that you should be aware of the trials involved. Start ups aren’t all cool catered lunches and ping-pong tables in the break room! According to Gallup, about 50 % of new businesses fail within the first five years, so it’s a chancy undertaking. If you’re serious about going the start up route, make sure you do your homework, including figuring out startup equity and employee stock options.

“Stay in your job for at least a year.”

Nobody wants to be labeled a job-hopper, but millennials move around career-wise more than ever, so leaving a position before you’ve made it to the one-year mark isn’t a career killer. If your job is really unbearable, then leaving may be the best move — just don’t make short stints at companies a habit. If you’re ready for a change sooner than you anticipated, consider looking for a job while you’re still employed, rather than after you’ve quit.

“Money doesn’t matter.”

This piece of advice, usually lobbed at us from well-meaning optimists, isn’t just overrated — it’s flat out wrong. Money does matter, and there’s nothing wrong with admitting that. The better piece of advice would be that money isn’t the only thing that matters; balancing pay with passion when it comes to a career is key.

And remember: overrated career advice isn’t necessarily wrong, it just isn’t the end-all-be-all advice that it often makes itself out to be. What overrated career advice have you received? Share in the comments below!