by Tara Michaels

Created on: February 08, 2007   Last Updated: November 08, 2011

There is a woman with an online blog who claims to offer "cutting edge" advice to job seekers. Based on what little I've read, I presume she is targeting younger people who are new to the job market. Her "advice" includes changing jobs every 18 months, not being totally honest about your job history, and not worrying about typos on your resume. This woman is insane.

Anyone over the age of 35 has been given the same advice regarding searching for a job and developing a career. Most of it has been rendered useless due to ever-changing markets and the simple passing of time. For example, now not only is it unadvisable to stay at the same company for 20 years, it's career suicide. However, there are some universal truths to getting and keeping a job which will never change.

1) Your resume does not have to be only one page. If you have been working for 10 years (not a long time in the work world, considering most people will work for more than 40 years), as long as it consists of concrete accomplishments in each position, and not a litany of ever-changing, unrelated jobs, it's fine for your resume to be more than one page. What it shouldn't be is 10 pages.

2) There absolutely may not, under any circumstances, be any typos on your resume. Why would any prospective employer trust you to care about the work you do on their behalf if you can't be bothered to proof your most important marketing tool ever? Especially if it's only one page? Remember, these people are going to be paying you real money so don't you think you could try to impress them? Just this once?

3) Moving from job to job can be interesting and provide you with information which is always current. However, consider the prospective employer's viewpoint for a moment. How much time, money and effort should they be willing to spend in support of someone who's going to be history in less than two years? Even if you do get hired, if your employer knows in advance that you're just "passing through" you will likely get passed over for interesting assignments, important meetings, and any real chance to participate and develop in-depth knowledge of any job or any industry anywhere. After all your job hopping, 15 years into your "career," you'll have a ton of stories, but what knowledge will you have? There will always be more to learn in most jobs, even two years in.

4) Don't lie on your resume. If you're caught, you look like an idiot. And a liar. If you owned your own company, would you be anxious to people it with idiots and liars?

5) Do not stay in a job in which you are truly unhappy. We work for the better part of our days, weeks, months, lives. You owe it to yourself to seek out the job, industry and lifestyle which make you happy. Be flexible. Be willing to sacrifice a fat paycheck for a fun job. It may take 20 years to get both the big paycheck and the big smile.

You have a right to job satisfaction, so don't stop looking until you find it. When you do, your life will be great, you will be a great employee, and mostly likely will become a great employer. Then maybe you can start your own online blog and pass on all that happiness-inducing knowledge you've gained throughout your fabulous, typo-free career.

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