The Truth About Some Job Myths

Filed in archive Life/Work Balance , Operations on June 25, 2010

© Argonne National Laboratory

Your parents and teachers may have told them to you. So you believed them for a very long time. But not everything you hear about finding and keeping a job is true. Here are some career myths we all should learn to live without:

Myth #1: Only experienced people find jobs.

Definitely not true. The job you find right now may not be your ideal job given all your training and education. But all of us have had to start somewhere. The key is getting a start. After you land your first job, you will learn about even more opportunities that are right there for you to take. However, more often than not, you will have to land a job first. Just so you know, more than half of all job vacancies last year were filled up by employees working from within. So make sure you get your foot in the door now!

Myth #2: It's all about the pay check.

A good salary is nice to have but there are other important things aside from money. Things like job security and the opportunity to learn from your job are both significant aspects of being happy with what we do.

Myth #3: You're too old to try new jobs.

You need to have the energy and the attitude, but it's never too late to try something new. More than a quarter of all workers switch over to new careers every single year.

Myth #4: You need to be able to multitask.

Multitasking is always an ineffective way of doing things. It gets you out of focus on anything. You don't deliver with as much quality as doing one task at a time. All your output are half-baked.

Myth #5: All employees need to be supervised all the time.

Many employees actually enjoy being able to do their job independently and with some level of authority. There's no need for bosses to be breathing on their workers' backs all the time. In fact, constant supervision of employees often end in resentment because workers feel they are not being trusted enough by their superiors.