Career myths stick in the college population like hand-clapping games stick in primary school. So when my college students drop by my office to talk about "the future" (cue ominous music), the same falsehoods spill out year after year. I certainly can't blame them; I believed these myths myself in my early twenties.
Here's the trick, though: the sooner we purge our minds of career misunderstandings, the less the ominous music is needed. So let's dispel these bad boys, shall we?
7 Common Career Myths
1. You're about to choose your "forever"
This is far and away the most common myth I encounter. It's usually phrased along the lines of, "But I don't know what I want to do for the rest of my life."
Neither do I! Neither does most anyone I know. How boring would our lives be if we did know what we'd be doing forever?
We don't have good data on just how much career and job change is normative, but it's safe to say that change is the rule rather than the exception.
Skeptical? Then dedicate the coming month to this activity: ask everyone you encounter how they got to their current career. The stories will likely fascinate and amaze you. Plus make you feel a lot less pressured to figure out "forever" and instead simply choose what's next!
2. Networking is about sharing your resume
When we focus networking efforts on resume sharing, we fail miserably.