Unpacking Career Myths: Exploring and embracing reality

Posted in: Career Choice

Throughout your life, you’ve probably picked up countless career myths that have shaped how you see yourself, the risks you’re willing to take, the career decisions you make, and the limits you place on your horizons. Here are some classic career myths we often hear from students:

  • "I need to know exactly what I want to do before I make a career decision…"
  • "If I make the wrong choice, there is no way of going back…"
  • "I need to find my passion first…"
  • "My degree subject has to perfectly align with my future career…”

The process of unlearning

I recently came across a fascinating thread on LinkedIn about this topic, and one of the major themes was unlearning. Part of our role as your careers service is to help you explore these myths, unlearn them, and let them go. There are a few key ways we do this: providing good careers information that is reliable, up-to-date, and accurate, and having meaningful career conversations with a careers consultant to unearth your own myths and lean into realistic career exploration.

One of the first questions to ask yourself in the unlearning process is about the validity and origin of these myths. Were these myths once true but are now outdated due to changes in the labour market, society, and the economy? Are you holding onto old career ideas influenced by parents or school? As careers consultants, we can act as a mirror, reflecting these myths back to you, and supporting you in starting to unpick their validity and challenge their limiting hold on you.

Start busting these myths

We’re a really friendly team and would love for you to drop by for a chat (open 10am – 4pm Mon to Fri in term time) to unpick some myths and find up-to-date careers information.

We’ve got great careers resources to help your reflection and exploration, I’d suggest our Start thinking about your career guide and Discover your career options guides.

You can also read our job hunting myth-busting blog post and find useful resources on MyFuture.

Posted in: Career Choice

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