Ask HN: Have you ever got value carreer advice from you manager?

2 points by 4t8dds 3 years ago | 1 comment

I have been work in a big company for more than 8 years. But I am not sure what does career mean to me. I am pushed by the company. Each time it changes, I have to change too. From position to position, role to role, I have changed some roles. I am still at the edge of senior which sometimes suffers me. I surelly have worked with some nice managers and they under the lines of company gave advice. But here I am and found little their advice makes sense to me.

My latest manager last year talks to me every month. although his talk make little sense to me. We had not got a talk this year. Maybe he found his useless conversation. I heard that managers in company just tricks. To be honest, I trust part. What is your experience?

superchroma 3 years ago |

No, I've had several managers. All are largely well meaning. The best didn't give advice, we just kicked ass. The good ones give well meaning and ultimately useless advice that won't give you any more success in business, and the worst just regurgitates what his psychologist tells him and tries to offload his job on to me, which is irritating and a waste of time. My mistake was listening to a lot of them at all. My takeaway is that you very quickly get a measure of a person, and giving them more of your precious time to see of they have some hidden depth or knowledge is a waste; 99 times out of 100 they don't and your first instinct was right.

People are often failing and simultaneously trying their best and that's it. They don't know what best practices look like and are just doing what they know. Their primary focus is often themselves before their jobs and they often fail upwards, and when they do, they won't take you with them.