Bad advice is everywhere at work. Here’s how to spot it

Nothing dies harder than a bad idea, wrote Julia Cameron in her 1992 book The Artist’s Way. Unfortunately, in the world of careers advice and human resources, bad ideas persist in the face of all evidence and reason to a degree that astrologers can only envy.

Four of the most obvious sources of bad advice are: the well-meaning but misguided and misleading; the stupid “keep it simple stupid” brigade; the one-trick pony consultants who flog that pony to any sucker they can; and people like me who reduce complexity to four categories and thus join the keep-it-simple brigade.

The well-meaning have insufficiently weighed up the risks of their advice, generally because their advice seems so commonsensical as to be obvious. Alternatively, and worse, they do not consider there to be any downside because “it worked for them”. In either case, they have long departed the rocky and tricky shores of evidence-based advice for the Paradise Isles of the Anecdotes.

We are attuned to mimicking the behaviour of those around us that we deem to be successful. Due to this powerful instinct, we are vulnerable to anecdotes and tales of success.

We disregard, at our peril, the circumstances that led to the success, preferring to distil the essence of success into a simple formula that others, including ourselves, can follow. Unfortunately, like off-the-peg clothing, the solution rarely fits perfectly and often requires additional tailoring to make it work; frequently, it never looks quite as good on us.

Just because somebody embedded background music and an animation into their résumé and got the job does not mean gimmicks will work for you, nor does it mean the gimmick got our friend over the line. They may have been hired despite their cheesy ways.

Let’s keep simple things simple, but do not make the error of trying to shoehorn complexity into simple vessels.

Over the past quarter of a century, an increasing number of systematic studies have investigated the content of applications and behaviour in interviews and workplaces that positively influence recruiters.

But people prefer their own experience over the collective experience these studies represent. This perpetuates bad advice.

The impulse to keep things simple is another trap. Sure, let’s keep simple things simple, but do not err by trying to shoehorn complex issues into simple vessels.

For a start, this can lead to the false expectation that everything should be crystal clear, leaving only a few simple, clear steps to make a desired change. Reality will have a few things to say if you try it on with simple solutions.

What worked then does not work now. What worked for them will not work for you. Why? Because you and your circumstances are different, and frequently unique.

One-trick pony consultants will grab hold of one plausible idea, then try to sell it as the solution to any problem you may have. A classic example is the bogus notion of generational differences.

All the high-quality evidence that shows generations (e.g. Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials) do not differ in terms of aspiration, digital nativity etc is repeatedly ignored.

Such consultants encourage us to stereotype people by age while most likely also claiming they are totally against other forms of stereotyping.

As the French philosopher Alain observed: “there is nothing more dangerous than an idea, when you have only one idea”.

Do not be tempted to go along with well-meaning advice before first giving it a thorough critical going over. Ask why this advice was given, and what advice you are not hearing.

Demand to see the evidence that what you are being sold is accurate, true and helpful. Join the campaign to weed out bad ideas – and be ever vigilant because they have a habit of re-seeding regularly.

Dr Jim Bright, FAPS, is a director at IWCA Pty Ltd and director of Evidence & Impact at BECOME Education. Email to opinion@jimbright.com. Follow him on Blue Sky @DrJimBright.bsky.social

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