Long before “fake news” mingled with real news in the daily headlines — in the form of misleading content as well as the deluge of content discussing the phenomenon — it still existed. Mark Twain even warned of its dangers. “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble,” said Twain. “It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” Insightful. And just as relevant today as it was in the 19th century.
In fact, that quote is even more applicable than it seems on the surface. It’s about the pitfalls of being confident in misinformation, and it’s often wrongly attributed to Mark Twain. But there’s no evidence he never uttered or wrote it. See? Fake news is everywhere — even in the past!
Having worked for more than half a decade at a global professional services firm that specializes in human resources and talent acquisition, I have found a glut of rote advice, clichés and misinformed job tips that are clogging social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook. This “fake news” could be plaguing job seekers’ thinking and potentially hurting their opportunities to develop skills and progress in their careers.
No, it’s (probably) not the Russians at play. And the “wrong” thinking is likely written by a well-intentioned human. However, based on industry experiences, reading and research, here are three examples of the types of career-based “fake news” that I often see, from the application process to the daily grind on the job, as well as the real scoop.
1. Writing Your Resume
Fake News: Don’t repeat yourself.
This one has been instilled in many of us since the earliest days of reading and writing. We’re told throughout our schooling to never repeat ourselves. Use different words to express the same idea. Redundancy is bad. The advice carries through to writing your first resume, where career advisors and professors likely teach that an overused word can make or break an application.
Real Scoop: Repetition is critical.
Repetition is critical in the era of search engine optimization (SEO) and passive online recruitment. Recruiters employ search strings and tools that search for keywords. If you’re looking for work in content marketing, for example, the more times you use the phrase “content marketing” on your resume or LinkedIn profile, the better it’s going to look.
“Wow, this person has ‘content marketing’ on their resume more than a dozen times. They must be really experienced with it.” Based on my experience, if you’re applying for a job, the more words you use from that job posting, and the more often you use them, the better.
2. Answering The Salary Question
Fake News: Don’t show your hand.
The general consensus you may get from chatting with your Facebook friends is that you should never, ever share your current salary. Especially not during the first interview. It will just be used against you, a trap catered toward those with power (the employers) to trick those without it (the job seekers). It’s in a company’s best interest to pay you as little as possible. They’re in the business of making money, after all.
Real Scoop: Share your current salary and the accurate range you’re targeting.
I’ve seen the behind-the-scenes machinations, or lack thereof, around this overthought question. In every case, there is a budgeted salary range for the role. Sure, there is a high end and a low end, but that range is in the thousands, not the tens of thousands.
If you currently make $120,000 and you’d like to make 20% more, but the role is budgeted for $100,000-$110,000, withholding your salary with the hopes that by the end of the interview process they’ll have fallen in love with you isn’t going to work. At the end of the day, you’ll be outside their budget. Nor will applying for the same role and revealing that you currently make $37,000 wrongly eliminate you. Truth is, if you’re that far outside the range of the role you’re applying for, odds are that it really isn’t a fit for where you’re at in your career. However, being cagey and playing games can hurt you.
3. Finding Fulfillment On The Job
Fake News: Do what you love.
If you love what you do, then every day of the week, even Tuesday, feels as good as 4 p.m. on a Friday before a long weekend.
Real Scoop: Do fulfilling work.
We’re not all going to be race car drivers or astronauts or doctors or actors or the president of the United States. Odds are, our job title and list of daily responsibilities won’t be enough, at least on the surface, to make any one of us happy.
In Great at Work, author Morten Hansen argues for seeking work with a purpose, instead of work you love. But more important than loving what you do is believing that what you do matters. This seems more likely than finding a job you unequivocally love. I mean, who loves work? Even glamorous movie stars complain about the grind of the movie-making process.
Famed broadcaster Paul Harvey, who was known for his in-depth, unbiased and accurate reporting, once said, “In times like these, it’s helpful to remember that there have always been times like these.”
While the buzzy term “fake news” is newer, it’s likely been influencing you your entire life, potentially hurting your career prospects. Just as you must do when your aunt posts a dubious article to social media, you must think consciously and critically about the information and sources that are influencing your thinking and actions in your career. Otherwise, misinformation could hold you back from your aspirations.
These are far from the only examples of fake news in the workplace. But hopefully, you’re a little more aware of its prevalence — or, to borrow from Harvey once again, maybe “now you know the rest of the story.”