Career myths you shouldn't fall for

You've probably heard the same bits of career advice tossed around over and over from well-meaning friends, relatives, and even bosses. But plenty of the maxims that we hear repeated actually aren't true. Here are six of the most popular career myths that you shouldn't fall for.

1. A college degree will get you a job

    Generations of students have been told that if they get a college degree, they'll easily find a job afterward. Unfortunately, it's no longer so clear-cut. Degrees no longer open doors the way they used to, and too many new graduates are remaining unemployed or under-employed for months or even years, as employers opt for more experienced candidates. This is frustrating and confusing for graduates, who often feel that they did everything they were supposed to and they're not getting the pay-off they were promised would come.

2. Do what you're passionate about and the money will follow

    In reality, not all passions match up with the realities of the job market. If you're passionate about poetry or painting, you're going to find very limited job opportunities for those things. In fact, the people who get to do what they love for a job are the lucky ones; they're not the majority. A better goal is to find work that you can do reasonably happily; it doesn't need to be your passion. 

3. If you can't find a job, just start your own business

    Starting your own business is hard, and it's not for everyone. It's not as easy as just having a skill and selling it. You have to have something that people want to buy from you more than they want to buy it from your competitors. You also have to be able to market yourself, deal with financial uncertainty, have some savings as a launch pad, and overcome plenty of other challenges. It's not a cure-all for anyone who can't find a job or is unhappy in their career. 

4. Your major in college will lead to your career

    Students often come out of school thinking that their major will lead them to their life-long career path directly, but it's very often not the case--especially for majors in the liberal arts. You might have an English degree but end up in HR, or a sociology degree but end up selling ads, or a music degree but end up as a professional fund raiser. On the other hand, degrees in the sciences, technology, engineering, and math are more likely to end up pointing you toward a more defined career path. 

5. If you're not sure what you want to do, go to grad school

Grad school makes sense when you want to follow a career path that requires an advanced degree. But it's a bad use of time and money if you're hoping it will somehow point you down a career path, or if you're going because you're not sure what else to do. Many people who go to grad school for lack of a better option come out a few years later saddled with large student loans, and not any better positioned than they were before they enrolled. Which leads to? 

6. Grad school will always make you more marketable

Grad school generally will not make you more marketable unless you're going into a field that specifically requires a graduate degree. In fact, it can make you less competitive, by keeping you from getting work experience for that much longer and requiring you to find a higher-paying job than you might otherwise need because you need to pay back school loans--and even worse, if you apply for jobs that have nothing to do with your graduate degree, many employers will think you don't really want the job you're applying for, since it's not in "your field." 

Why Some Entrepreneurs Fail

Everyone that starts a business knows that there are going to be mistakes at some point in their venture. But there are some mistakes that can be avoided by learning about the problems and how you can provide a solution once you have encountered it. We shall take a look at the top 3 reasons why some entrepreneurs fail miserably in their businesses and how you can avoid these mistakes yourself.

Having No Business Plan

There are a lot of beginner entrepreneurs that forget or fail to write their own business plan before they jump into a venture. Some of them fool themselves that they have all the knowledge they need inside their head while others become overwhelmed about the idea of creating such a troublesome write up. Even though most of the information is stored in their heads, there are still market researches, advertising plans and expenditure/profit analyses that need to be written down.

The solution to this problem and how you can avoid facing a business that has no future is by making use of a basic business template or develop your own to start with. Business plans can be books with plenty of pages or just notes on a piece of paper. Certain software applications can also be used to aid you in creating your business plan and make the process much easier. The entire point of a business plan is to let you visualize how your business can achieve things realistically.

Unnecessary Purchases

Buying a lot of unnecessary supplies for your office is a common mistake why some entrepreneurs fail in running a business. This is also a common habit among entrepreneurs as they always feel the need to be prepared for the arrival of big clients. Although this mistake is smaller than the other 2, this can still turn into a big problem in the future when it comes to calculating the total amount of expenditures and find out that you have burned a lot of finances.

Before you start purchasing anything, make an inventory of the things that you have and the things that you need. Write down scenarios in which you can use the supplies that you are about to buy. There may also be some items that you are going to need, but you should make a research about them before purchasing just to make sure that you are doing the right choice.

Taking Time for Granted

A lot of entrepreneurs take time for granted as they think that they have plenty of it. Just because there is a set amount of time to work does not mean that you are going to dedicate your time on your billable hours. Businesses have invoicing, calls, quotes, marketing and research that still need to be done.

The solution to this is top set a schedule for your office work. You are going to do this yourself unless you already have a secretary that can do it. Many have taken this for granted that is why some entrepreneurs fail. Successful entrepreneurs schedule the first or the last hour of their work in a day returning calls, emails and billing. Figure out the best schedule that will work for you and stick to that.

Developing Trust As a Leader

Developing the trust of others generally involves your inner core and your actions. If you communicate your beliefs and if your actions match your words, associates will trust you.

Certain aspects of appearance and other forms of nonverbal behavior communicate the message that a person can be trusted. Some nonverbal indicators suggest a person of questionable trustworthiness. You can consciously control whether you show some of these indicators of trust and distrust.Smiling frequently suggests authenticity as opposed to smiling constantly, which suggests a cover-up for real feelings.

Flashing brief smiles and other facial expressions such as frowning suggest authenticity. In contrast, prolonged facial expressions suggest a lack of authenticity.

• Maintaining eye contact without staring sends a signal of trustworthiness.
• Being well dressed sends a signal of trustworthiness.
• Maintain a relaxed, easy manner in front of others.
• Make a point to ask team members more about themselves, not only about work related interests but also about their outside interests.
• Offer at least one sincere compliment a day.
• Go a full day listening without interrupting once.
• Be honest at all times. Honestly can some times cause feelings to be hurt but in the long run honesty is the best policy.
• Using a friendly, warm gaze helps you appear trustworthy.
• Share credit generously. When in doubt, share.
• Admit when you're wrong. No one is perfect. Take accountability for your actions and you will gain respect in the process.
• Don't forget the easiest strategy of all. Ask team members "How are things going?"

It takes a leader a long time to build trust, yet one brief incident of untrustworthy behavior can destroy trust. Always treat others as you would like to be treated and the rewards can be tremendous. Treat people with mutual respect and you will be recognized as one who they can trust and rely on.