Five Pieces of Work Advice You Should Ignore

When it comes to our careers and working, there is no end to the amount of advice we will hear. Unfortunately some of that advice — while packaged in what may appear to be really good and helpful suggestions — is just plain bad.

We spoke to three workplace experts to get their input on work advice you should ignore — and what you should be doing instead.

Work Advice No. 1: When you’re asked in an interview what your biggest weakness is, you should always spin it into a positive.

Why It’s Bad: Interviewers are on to this game, so you’re really not fooling them.

What to Do Instead: Donald J. Strankowski, president of Ascend Career and Life Strategies LLC, suggests talking about what your biggest weakness is, but include what you’re doing to work on that particular area. For example, if public speaking terrifies you, sign up for Toastmasters to help overcome that fear (and to impress your would-be new boss!).

Work Advice No. 2: Do what you love and the money will follow.

Why It’s Bad: Sure it helps to have an interest in your career, but you also need to make a living.

What to Do Instead: Strankowski says passion for your job needs to be an ingredient in your decision to do something, but you also need to consider skill level, what your competition would be, whether or not there’s a need for your particular passion, etc. For example, quitting a 9-to-5 to become an artist full-time might not be the best thing right now, so try looking for a job that would incorporate your passion for art into your daily routine, like teaching an art class. “Following your passion is great advice,” says Lindsey Pollak, millennial workplace expert and author of Becoming the Boss, “as long as you combine it with hard work and real skills.”

Work Advice No. 3: You’re young, single and healthy; you don’t need benefits right now.

Why It’s Bad: These days Americans are getting married and starting a family at an older age than previous generations, says Pollak, which means their finances would be left unprotected for several years under this advice.

What to Do Instead: Pollack suggests considering your first job as the trigger for when you need to protect your paycheck with benefits like disability insurance. With that protection you can keep paying your bills — like student loans — even if you can’t work because you got sick or sprained your ankle running that marathon.

Work Advice No. 4: Your long-term career goal should be to climb the corporate ladder.

Why It’s Bad: Most career paths tend to resemble a zigzag more than a straight line … and that’s okay!

What to Do Instead: Think of your career as a winding journey, says Sara Sutton Fell, founder of FlexJobs. “Sometimes you’ll be taking steps forward, other times sideways, and sometimes backwards,” she said. “Take time to consider each phase of the journey as it relates to your wants and needs at the moment, and how it might support your professional growth and long-term goals.”

Work Advice No. 5: Include an objective to clearly present what job you’re applying for.

Why it’s bad: Including an objective at the top of the resume is very 80s/90s, and your cover letter should clearly represent what position you’re applying for, so it’s unnecessary.

What to do instead: Especially if you have a lot to include on a resume, including an objective at the top will only take up valuable space. In general, the most important things to do when it comes to a resume are to include your jobs in chronological order (as opposed to listing them in order of relevance to the job you’re applying for), stick to a decent size font (if everything doesn’t fit on one page, either edit your job descriptions or remove old or irrelevant positions, like your college paper editor position) and steer clear of including any gimmicks, like adding a photo or using colored paper.