I spent some time in 2009 debunking job search and employment myths. There is no perfect job. Wellness programs are a waste of money. You can work a corporate job and still be an anti-establishment troublemaker. Companies do hire during the holidays.
On this final day of 2009, are there any big employment myths that you want to bust? Any misconceptions that you want to erase? You’re as good a career advisor as I am. Have at it!
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
Here’s a potential myth:
Once you’re let go from a company, you’ll never work there again.
Here’s a myth or two that probably needs to die: “There are no good candidates out there!” AND (this is true, someone said this to me in 2009) “Social media will be nothing but a fad!”
Ha, glad to see this decade go. Whew. Cheers Laurie!
Hard work will pay off……my arse.
Clever work maybe, hard work just means someone else isn’t pulling their weight.
Myth – “companies aren’t hiring during the holidays”
It was a tough year; more dumb networking events than I care to think about (HR events excluded from that comment), more applications ignored than I want to admit – but I kept at it, and I am happy to report that I start my new job on Monday. Yippee!! Happy New Year to me (and to you too Laurie)!
Here’s my myth: The most qualified candidate gets hired.
Hard working and dedicated employees do not get fired….I’ve seen some really good people be let go for no good reason.
Longivity in a company is a gaurantee that the company will provide you with a job forever….NOT!
Sexual harrasment is a thing of the past…
There is no such thing as “the boys club”
Congrats to @Deborah on the new gig!
Myth: It’s not what you know but who you know.
Regardless of who you know, if you don’t know what you’re doing you will not be hired!
Happy New Year!
Myth: It will be a jobless recovery. Bullshit, and Happy New Year!
Myth: It’s not personal, it’s business.
Myth: HR makes more money than you because we have our own office. (Which is, in fact, only given to us due to people behaving badly…but I’m keeping my office due to the fact that I’m paid way less than you and because it’s bad form for HR to be seen saying “fuck this noise!” or other, creative profanities.)
Myth: Just submit your intention to the universe, and the universe will respond. (This is employment-related because I hear people talking this bullshit.)
Truth: Treat people with respect and equity, even when you have to lay them off or turn them down; find humor in everything (but know when to shut it); always wear a crash helmet because the glass ceiling is still firmly in place; and never give up Beer Fridays, even if only 3 people show up.
Those are all good ones. How about Gen Y does work for money? I like to do good, but I like to get paid too
Along the lines of Latina HR….
Myth – Ageism does not exist.
I really wish job seekers would STOP putting employment history past 10-15 years and their 1970 graduation from college on their resumes.
Here’s one:
Myth: a great resume will get you a job.
Truth: a bad resume will get you dropped from consideration. A great resume might get you an interview. You get you the job by being you and by being prepared for the opportunity.
A qualified candidate should at least get an interview.
not necessarily a myth, but something that might be useful to know. in my experience, for myself and the hiring managers i’ve worked with, we want to LOVE every single candidate we meet/talk to. we really do. you come into the interview with an “A” grade. be personable, answer the questions adequately, show interest, and it really isn’t that hard to keep your “A”. being an “A” doesn’t guarantee you a job, we are seeing more “A” candidates than in previous times, but the point is the equation to at least be considered for a position isn’t as complicated as some make it seem.
The myth: I am not sure if you can work a corporate job and be a trouble maker (in the blogasphere)…As you know I have walked the fine line myself and at the end of the day, your income and family come first…if your going to comprimise don’t jeopardize your job…live to fight another day…and yes that day will come…going stealth or under a fictitious name may not be a worthy comprimise…better to be true to who you are and what you have to say??? Not sure…(no I still can’t spell)…
Happy new year to you and all your friends on the blog!
M
@Sherry You’re proof. So happy for you.
@Pete Ha! Good ones!
@TheHRD I’d rather be lucky than good.
@Frank Bingo
@Latina I live in the south. We invented the boys club down here.
@Deborah/Robin WHOO HOO! Awesome news. Happy to hear it!
@Friday Ooooh. Good one.
@Michael You are an optimist.
@HAria OMG, it’s always personal. ALWAYS.
@Rebecca What — you don’t work for praise and hugs?
@kim Sad but true.
@China excellent one.
@mattymat Ha!
@shawn I do hate love in the workplace.
@Mark F You are a wise, wise man.
Myth: There are no bullies in the work place. Only people who are better, smarter and toot their own horn.
Truth: Bullies do exist in the work place and are usually inferior to their targets.
Myth: HR will not tolerate bullies.
Truth: HR supports bullies by proxy. HR doesn’t have the skills to deal with a bully and therefore does nothing.
oh yes they do hire during the holidays! it happened to me last month!
“You’re lucky to have a job, you have to put up with being treated like crap.” Not so.
@Jackie Let’s talk about these bullies. What’s up?
@mari Hooray!
@Jane good one. perfect.
What about “no one is irreplaceable”. True or not?
Thanks!
@Kim:
The highest profile job I had in the work I do know was for the vendor more than 15 years ago. Other times I have written basically the same program 20 years later. People like you are the reason managers bypass HR departments to find people like me. I should add, I’ve outlasted all the HR people at my current job, which was a “temp” job for a number of years.
In fact, most of the best jobs I’ve had over the past 30 years have come from bypassing the HR department. Ironically, in several cases I’ve wound up sitting right next to HR people, and often had to support them.
@Gabriel: not true. However, if allowed to happen, things _will_ go bad. I’ve been the replacement.
That the more often you call a recruiter the more likely you are to be hired. Stalking is not usually a good quality in a candidate.
Hi Laurie,
Ok, I’ll talk about my recent experience at work with a bully. I have 10 years with my company and excellent yearly reviews. I had 2 bosses and was on my 3rd with no problems. My co-worker of 10 years of whom I share the exact same position, retires and her replacement, I discover shortly after she starts, is not behaving as most co-workers behave. First day she tells me she hates this work. I am taken back with her comment but say nothing. After I trained her in all aspects of the job, she began not having any eye contact with me when we speak. She stares at the desk or her computer. Her communication moves from verbal to hand written notes and then all e-mails, no conversation. We share an office and are two feet from one another. She falsely accuses me of errors via e-mails that the boss is copied on – and my time is spent explaining processes where errors did not occur, over and over. Boss says nothing about these e-mails. I will add here, this 3rd boss has no knowledge of our job. The other bosses were very knowledgeable; 3rd boss never wanted to learn what our department did… In meetings, if I expressed an opposing opinion on a policy I am told what I thought didn’t apply to the situation by coworker. Boss sits in these meetings with no comment. My mail is opened or goes missing, even when it was marked personal and confidential. I have to make repeated requests for the mail I didn’t get from the people who sent it. Usually by the third time I will get my mail. The co-worker becomes a gatekeeper on all matters, joint e-mail shared for our program we oversee is now for her eyes only, boss approves this..My boss is told a big account is angry with me by coworker. I have a relationship with this account, so I call to apologize and find out they don’t know what I am referring to, everything is fine with their account, they are happy. When I bring this to the boss’s attention, she gets angry with me for finding out the truth. The boss tells me to have no contact with this account anymore. Calls from the company programmer affecting our database are not shared with me. The programmer will no longer even talk to me. When I ask my coworker why our database had changes, I am told I asked too many questions. Policy changes are made without my input while coworker does not even follow her own made up rules. I met with my boss to address my concerns who said, “I give her what she wants because I don’t like conflict. I am told to talk to coworker and ask why she doesn’t give me the info I need to do my job. Nothing changes. I go to my boss’s boss. She acts appalled and states, this behavior will not be tolerated but does nothing. I go to the Union about 6 weeks later. A grievance is filled by me for bullying and hostile work environment against my boss and coworker. At that time, I find my coworker has filed a grievance against me for threatening and harassing behavior. I am stunned. The investigation of my coworker’s claims and my claim are both found to be unfounded by HR but HR does find inappropriate behavior did occur. For me I was told I expressed my frustration in inappropriate ways by asking questions repeatedly. I don’t know what HR said about my coworker. I got mandatory EAP and then, after 6 months, HR stopped it, unexpectedly. HR never inquired about my EAP to me or the EAP counselor. I was promised team building by HR but it never happen. My 3rd boss was fired for assaulting another coworker. The new boss continues to do nothing, a bully by proxy. My boss, the boss’s boss, HR, the Union and EAP are all useless. In my opinion, no one wants to deal will a bully because no one knows how, therefore, nothing is done. What do you think?