Terrible Career Advice Being Shared on Social Media – Work In Sports Podcast - a podcast by Brian Clapp - Work in Sports

Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning at WorkinSports.com and this is the Work In Sports Podcast…I think I’m in the anger phase of quarantine. Just to be clear, I am not some whack-job thinking I should protest the quarantine, or claim it’s all some conspiracy to bring me down, or scream that I need a haircut so open up the stores again. Quite the opposite, I’m a pretty firm believer that there are people dying out there from a highly transmissible virus and we all have to do our part to stop the spread, this is about all of US, not me. No, my anger is just a phase of this process… like I’ve hit the moment that I’m a little edgy and don’t necessarily have the patience for my child asking for me to stop typing so much and focus on them. Or to make them a sandwich, or to pick up their toys all over the floor. Alas, my anger isn’t just reserved for the kids - in fact, I do a pretty good job of holding that down -  my anger has migrated to other areas I don’t usually let it. Like people saying stupid stuff on twitter.Now, I don’t do the twitter beef thing. If people have their opinions, that is their right, and no amount of me arguing with them in 200 and whatever characters is going to resolve their deep-seeded issues. BUT - sometimes I see reckless things being shared...and it just pisses me off. Today, I have to let that anger shine.  Normally, I hold it in. Like how presidents aren’t supposed to talk shit about other presidents, even if they despise them, or you aren’t supposed to bunt during a no-hitter… I have professional respect for others in this realm of career development in the sports industry. I won’t name names, that’s not my style, But I read something on Friday that just really pissed me the hell off. A question was asked by a young person -- “what advice would you give someone during job searching during this pandemic” And the advice given back was “Apply for everything that interests you whether you are qualified or not”I wanted to explode. This is quite possibly the worst advice I have ever read. So, I’m sorry but I have to go off on this, for many many reasons.Let me tell you why this is terrible advice. 1: This statement is rooted in hope, not fact. When you say, apply for anything whether you are qualified or not, you are basically saying “magic may happen”… the employer may magically decide “hey, you can’t do this job, but we’re going to hire you anyway because you are awesome”This is laziness. When you think to yourself, rather than put in the work to make myself qualified for the jobs I love, rather than understanding the marketplace knowing what skills are in demand and developing myself, rather than doing internships, volunteering, informational interviews, networking … I’ll just apply for jobs and hope something wonderful happens. You know what that does - it disrespects all of you who have worked for something - you’ve focused your strategy, you’ve put in the effort -- and some other fool is going to come in, not be qualified, apply for the job and get it? How dare you insult me this way?This is like reading that Aston Kucher was discovered by modeling agents walking around the mall in Iowa, and thinking I need to walk around the mall in Iowa looking fabulous each day because magic may happen to me. Someone at some time may have been hired despite not having qualifications, but it’s magical thinking, hanging on to one story, and projecting it into a pattern that will help you. We tell ourselves things we want to believe can be true - because they are easier. It is easier to be discovered or to get a job we aren’t qualified for just by applying. That path is easy, doing the actual work is hard. Saying coronavirus will disappear “like a miracle” at some point is easier than putting in the work to get testing done. But easy, the path of least resistance, is not a strategy,

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