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PayScale’s VIP Blog Roundup: Stop Believing These 5 Myths About Work

Topics: Career Advice

When it comes to building a career, what we “know” can be as dangerous as what we don’t know. That’s because a lot of what we assume about succeeding the workplace isn’t true. In this week’s roundup, we look at what you need to unlearn in order to build the career you deserve, plus how to tame your to-do list, and what you should never, ever say in a job interview.

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(Photo Credit: R.Halfpaap/Flickr)

Penelope Trunk at Cafe Quill: 5 Things to Unlearn if You Want a Successful Career

Do You Know What You're Worth?

“After spending the better parts of our childhood in school, it’s disconcerting to find out that we only retain a small portion of that knowledge,” writes Trunk. “They say that people forget 40 percent of what they learned in 20 minutes and 77 percent of what they learned in six days. But I’m here to tell you that it’s not so bad after all. In fact, I encourage you to unlearn many of the lessons of your childhood in order to increase your chances of success in your career.”

What lessons do you need to unlearn? Start with “well-educated people are well-rounded.” Trunk points out that there’s no such thing as a person who’s good at everything. Find out what else you don’t know, here.

Frank Sonnenberg at his blog: Is Your To-Do List Overwhelming You?

“It’s so easy for a to-do list to snowball out of control,” Sonnenberg writes. “In some cases, it takes no time at all to go from ‘I can do this,’ to outright panic. In fact, it can become so overwhelming that it makes you freeze in your tracks — preventing you from getting anything done. ‘How can it get this bad?’ you ask. One word … procrastination.”

In short, we put things off until our to-do list becomes unmanageable. There is a way out, however: in his post, Sonnenberg lists eight strategies to tame the time management beast and get your priorities back under control.

Miriam Salpeter at Keppie Careers: Never Say These Things in Interviews

“Interviews are probably the most challenging part of the job search process,” Salpeter writes. “You need to be ready for anything, including weird interview questions. You don’t want to blurt out something inappropriate and send all of your hard work down the toilet.”

What should you never, ever say during a job interview? “I’m so nervous,” tops the list. Find eight more statements to avoid, in her post.

Tell Us What You Think

What’s the best career advice you’ve read this week? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter.

Jen Hubley Luckwaldt
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