Worst Career Advice

Sometimes we receive advice when we don’t ask for it, or maybe we don’t even realize it’s advice in the moment. But certain things stick with you.

While we hope you all have experienced more good than bad of these types of instances, we’ve been reflecting on how to recognize guidance that may not be applicable or the best fit when imparted, and what to do about it.

Communicators in our industry, whether in-house or at an agency, may not have clearly defined roles, at least to start and ESPECIALLY when supporting smaller companies, or we can be underappreciated for the strategic value we bring.

One of the ways these issues can manifest is by being held back. What do we mean by this? A couple of examples:

Legal’s redlining of materials veers into content editing, but you feel like you can’t push back because they’re the lawyers.

Some of your C-suite are first-time leaders and haven’t worked with comms before, but may not organically provide an opening for a two-way conversation, potentially resulting in the perennial favorite, beautifying slides.

Sometimes bad advice isn’t career guidance at all. Sometimes it’s even what goes unsaid! But that can be just as, if not more, detrimental. So, be on the lookout!

We want to know- what was the worst biopharma comms career advice–said or unsaid, intentional or inadvertent–you’ve ever received?