Career path myths
Some people know from the day they were born what they want to do, and move straight through college into their chosen career. But as the TheSite.org discovers, not knowing what you want to do isn't a sign of failure.
Myth 1
You've got to get it sorted out by your 21st birthday or else you've failed.
Don't be intimidated by people who badger you to make a decision quickly. Some of the most successful people take time to make the right decision. Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein weren't exactly failures, but neither of them had achieved anything of note by 21. In fact, if you're thinking about entering one of the 'people' professions, such as nursing, teaching or social work, you'll find that late starters are positively welcomed for their life experience.
What's more, once you're on a career path, there's no reason why you have to stay on it for the rest of your life. According to HERO, a website for higher education information, a whopping 52% of first year undergraduates are aged 21 or over. That's an awful lot of people who have come to study after trying other things in life.
Myth 2
A career should be fascinating moment-by-moment, and if you experience an hour, or a few weeks of tedium, then you're in the wrong job.
Nothing is fascinating eight hours a day, five days a week. No, not even that. Being bored, frustrated or confused isn't a sign you're in the wrong job; it's a condition of being alive.
Myth 3
You need to talk to lots of careers advisors, life coaches and clairvoyants to have a great career.
There are a lot of excellent careers advisors and life coaches out there (we're not sure about the clairvoyants), but listening to experts or reading about other peoples' experiences can only help you part of the way. There's no substitute for getting out there and making your own mistakes, false starts and wrong decisions.
If I was going to succeed in life, then everything was down to me. I was master of my own destiny.
Duncan Bannatyne is a fantastic example. You might know him as the ultra-successful entrepreneur in BBC2's Dragons' Den. But at 20, he had no references, no qualifications and no money after a fight with a navy officer put him in a detention centre for nine months. This experience pushed him to achieve. As he told The Times, "I realised nobody else was going to stand up for me, or help me realise my potential. If I was going to succeed in life, then everything was down to me. I was master of my own destiny." Now his health and leisure empire is worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
Myth 4
No matter how bad the job, how evil the boss, you must stay at all costs to ensure you have a good CV.
Your CV doesn't own your life. You're the one in control. This means you can adjust it to meet your needs.
This isn't about outrageous adjustments, where you turn your bad A2 scores into three shining A*. Blatant lying could cause you serious problems if you get found out, and may affect your chances of getting a job in the future. It's all about presenting the situation in a positive light.
Claire Harbord is a HR consultant who has spent years interviewing people for jobs in large organisations. She says, "Show that you thought the decision through carefully and that there were clear reasons why you left. For example, perhaps the job didn't turn out the way that it was described to you at the interview, or the career progression you were promised didn't materialise."
It's not necessarily a disaster if you move quickly from job to job. In some professions, it's expected that you'll stay two or three years in each post, but in fast-moving sectors such as journalism or PR, 18 months might be considered perfectly acceptable.
Myth 5
The biggest myth of all: the career defines your life.
If you are dreaming of a career, go for it, by any means, and best of luck to you. But don't forget that what you do at work is just one part of who you are. Family, mates, falling in and out of love, getting into music, art or sport- these are the things that make life worth living.
By Sarah
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