Break These Rules in Your Job Search

Marcianne Kuethen

September 24, 2013

Do you remember the first time you heard, “Don’t ask about salary in your first interview? Let the company initiate that conversation.” I remember thinking, How dumb. Why would I want to waste my time going on another interview if I don’t know whether it pays what I’m hoping to get?

There seem to be a lot of rules, written and unspoken, about how to conduct a job search properly, and many of them are backed by good reasons and sound thinking. However, as with any rule, job search rules are only good if they help you get what you want–and if they don’t, you should break them! At least, that’s what Liz Ryan of HumanWorkplace.com thinks!

With her quirky cartoons and rule-breaking lists, Ryan is challenging what we’ve come to accept as acceptable job search practices. For instance, she debunks the rule, “Use your networking time and energy letting people know about your job search, your specific skills and how each friend can help you.”

Your friends are awesome because they support you, not because they know hiring managers or might have an inside track on a certain opportunity. Use your networking to counsel your friends (nothing grows mojo better than coaching someone else) and to get their moral support in return. Networking is for building glue, not trying to turn your friends into means to your job-search end. When people get jobs through networking – and they do, every day – it’s because they focused on the relationship, not the transaction.

Her list of rules to break addresses not asking about salary, spending all your time applying online for every possible job, using a traditional resume, and much more. While these daring rule-breaking suggestions may seem a little outside the box, you may want to consider acting on some of them.

Read Ryan’s full list of 10 job search rules to break and decide for yourself–is her advice dangerous or practical?

Do you hate wondering what your interviewer thought of you? Here’s how to get good feedback in your next interview!

By Marcianne Kuethen