Not all job search advice is good advice

One of the hardest things about job searching right now?

It’s not just the rejection. Or the waiting. Or the ghosting.
It’s the constant advice from everywhere and everyone.

Friends want to be helpful. Family chimes in with their two cents. LinkedIn flooded with hot takes from content creators (some of whom haven’t looked for a job in 15 years). Vendors sliding into inboxes with shiny solutions.

And career coaches (yes, even us) are part of that mix.

So clients come to us overwhelmed, second-guessing themselves, and whiplashed by conflicting advice.

You’ve probably seen it a hundred times.

A client hears something on a podcast or sees a viral post and suddenly asks,
“Should I be doing this instead?”

It’s tempting to get pulled into a debate.
Should we change the strategy? Should I defend what I already told them?

But I think that’s a trap.

Our job isn’t to referee every tactic.

It’s to teach our clients how to think critically about the guidance they’re getting, and to give them a framework to filter what’s worth acting on and what’s not.

Here are six questions you can walk them through:

1. Is this advice backed by experience or actual data?
   Not all content is created equal. Lived expertise and real-world results matter.

2. Has this person had a similar career path or industry experience to mine?
   What works for a marketer might not work for a civil engineer.

3. Does this make sense to me both logically and practically?
   Just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it’s effective.

4. Does this align with my career goals?
   Sometimes the advice works, but not for the direction someone actually wants to go.

5. Will this move the needle in my search, or just keep me busy?
   Activity doesn’t always equal progress. There’s a difference.

6. Have I given my current strategy enough time to see results?
   If you haven’t tested it long enough, how do you know it’s not working?

This kind of framework puts the power back in your client’s hands. It also takes the pressure off you to be the only voice they trust.

It shifts the dynamic.

Instead of reacting to every new piece of advice, clients start learning how to evaluate it themselves. They build confidence in their own judgment.

And you get to stop playing strategy tennis every week.

Because let’s be honest, that back and forth gets exhausting.

So next time a client says, “But I saw someone say…” just pause.

Don’t get defensive. Don’t toss out your whole plan.

Bring them back to the framework.
Help them sort the signal from the noise.

And keep them moving forward.

Heather

I’m building a highly vetted directory of career coaches — the kind I’d confidently refer clients to.

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