Are You an Expert?

I remember the first time someone referred to me as an expert. I was  absolutely stunned! Actually, I thought they were talking about somebody else! I always thought that an expert was...well, you know, somebody that was the best of the best of the best in the entire Universe or something! And that the word expert was reserved for only a handful of people worthy of such distinction. So much for my thinking!

Right or wrong, today the world is full of experts. In fact, according to Google, there are 205,000,000 results for the word experts. Anyway, this particular post came to mind because of what my client said to me yesterday -- "who do you trust when everyone in the career business claims to be an expert?" Everyone? She said she had looked on the Internet and there were millions of experts in the career business. Millions? That many?

So I checked for myself. According to my unscientific research, (sitting at the computer on my lunch break today googling different word combinations) here are search results for each category listed below:

• Career Coaching Experts: 1,670,000
• Resume Experts: 4,270,000
• Career Counseling Experts: 1,090,000
• Career Transition Experts: 1,140,000
• Job Coach Experts: 1,390,000
• Cover Letter Experts: 4,620,000
• Interview Coaching Experts: 1,330,000
• Job Search Experts: 78,000,000
• Outplacement Experts: 493,000

No wonder my client asked me about who to trust and who's good! As a job seeker, if you are overwhelmed by search results when you're trying to find help, or beleaguered by the vast number of experts, ask around. Get referrals. Tap into your network. Ask tough questions. Do some digging. Just because a person claims to be an expert, it doesn't mean they are. Maybe it just means they've jumped on the bandwagon of dubbing themselves an expert! Buyer beware!

Comments

[John Lampard]

Of all the "experts" in the world, you wouldn't want to be a "job search expert"... imagine having to compete with 77,999,999 other experts in your field!!

[Norine Daglian]

It occured to me as I read John's post that employers may be struggling with the same question as his client- "who are the experts?" With millions of resumes floating around on the Internet and employers receiving 100s - even 1,000s of replies for a particular job posting, I would guess they are equally overwhelmed and trying to determine who the experts really are.

I think it is smart for our clients to look at job search from the employer's perspective as well as their own. What techniques are they using when marketing their talents to help prospective employers know if they are the "expert?"

Isn't this why employers "...ask around. Get referrals. Tap into your network. Ask tough questions. Do some digging..."?