A back story to why the advice was given or dished out would be great as well! Feel free to make up advice you would like to give, given the situation!
First day i started working on mainframes after leaving school before being allowed even near a keyboard i was told "you always back it up before you attempt to f--- it up", you can't get much more solid advice than that when working in the IT world
First day i started working on mainframes after leaving school before being allowed even near a keyboard i was told "you always back it up before you attempt to f--- it up", you can't get much more solid advice than that when working in the IT world
Spot on! Not only that, my IT work said - always have an onsite backup and an offsite back up. Lesson learned after I overwrote the input tapes............... I still run my backups regularly and keep a backup at my son's house!
Some of the best advice I have received has come from the DS community, especially when it comes to matters of the heart.
The wonderful people of DS have stopped me acting like a pratt in regards to relationships, have helped me walk away from possible dodgy homes, and have generally been a friend who's shoulder I can cry on when needed.
The worst advice however have pretty much come from my parents, whom I no longer listen to!
I was in 6th form way back when and I was really miserable. I wasn't doing the courses I wanted to do and I had met the man of my dreams and wanted to work / get a house. My Dad though was insistent that I should keep going with school. However my Mum turned around to me one day whilst we were preparing dinner and out of the blue told me that life was too short to be miserable and I should do what I wanted to do.
I just wanted to hug her. I thought both my parents would be against me leaving school before sitting A Levels and to know I had someone in my corner was a wondrous thing.
I packed in school there and then pretty much (although Dad was furious) and got a job. I have been working non stop since the age of 17 (I'm 40 now) and I have never regretted my decision.
I was in 6th form way back when and I was really miserable. I wasn't doing the courses I wanted to do and I had met the man of my dreams and wanted to work / get a house. My Dad though was insistent that I should keep going with school. However my Mum turned around to me one day whilst we were preparing dinner and out of the blue told me that life was too short to be miserable and I should do what I wanted to do.
I just wanted to hug her. I thought both my parents would be against me leaving school before sitting A Levels and to know I had someone in my corner was a wondrous thing.
I packed in school there and then pretty much (although Dad was furious) and got a job. I have been working non stop since the age of 17 (I'm 40 now) and I have never regretted my decision.
Yeah good point really... how about also adding in the WORST advice as well to spice up the thread?
There was a memorable incident on this very forum where someone posted that they were having some sort of bad attack....(think it may have been an asthma attack but I wouldn't swear to it).
One particular poster who was always incredibly sanctimonious and holier-than-thou and who really fancied herself as a fountain of sound knowledge and advice posted back (in all seriousness) that the OP should have a cup of tea. She rightly received quite a lot of stick for that and de-registered herself as she couldn't handle the fallout. But I daresay she still frequents these forums under a different username now.
A while back someone posted asking for marriage advice. If I remember rightly, this was quite a bad situation - there was some form of emotional or physical abuse and the OP was afraid to leave. Someone advised her, in all seriousness, to find some poor sod to have an affair with, in the hope that he would then be obliged to help her. I might be imagining this bit, but I think the advice given specifically mentioned that it would be best to have this affair with a doctor. Not sure why. Totally bizarre.
It was funny, but also scary. Awful advice to give to someone who is in quite a serious situation.
Nobody ever listened, but i always thought the best thing for anyone to do at school, was as many languages as possible. Everything else they can teach you, but having language skills opens up so many possibilites.
In my second week in the civil service as a young executive officer, my boss was away on holiday, the colleague I shared a room with was as well, and my boss's boss was off sick. I received a letter from a city council.
It said that an urgent reply was needed because the authority had received notice of a large scale development that was proceeding without planning permission and the authority wished to give a retrospective permission but only if the Department agreed that this was allowable because the developer was proceeding illegally.
I had not the slightest clue what to do, had absolutely no training yet, and was very concerned.
So I put it up to the division head and explained the situation and asked him for advice.
About an hour after I put it in the out tray, I had a phone call from his PA. I was called up to see him. I thought that was fine, and looked forward to hearing what to do.
When I went in, he did not ask me to sit down. He said 'Mr Johnbee, I am not here to advise you and tell you what to do. You are here to advise me what to do. Never ever again ask your boss for advice. Make up your own mind what to do, and if you think someone should know, put it up and tell them what you are going to do.'
He gave me back the file. I was terrified, and took a few hours to think up a course of action. When I did, I wrote the LA a reply, had it typed and put it up to him with a short minute saying that I would send the reply attached. He sent it back with nothing except a tick.
From that day to this, I always make up my own mind about matters, however difficult. I regard that as probably the best work advice I ever had.
If you don't like it, that is fine. Just remember that if you ask for advice about tricky things, you will never be the one who gets asked for advice about tricky things.
@Johnbee: Scary, isn't it?? I got similar advice early in my admin 'career', but from a swine of a boss. He'd blame me in public for mistakes that I hadn't made, and apologise in private when he finally believed my side of things. I used to drag him into the main office and tell him to say it again in public.
Anyway, I hadn't been there for very long when I got a really tricky logistics problem to sort out. We worked in commercial refrigeration repairs, so we had to have a fast turn-around of problem-solving. I went to him to ask what the hell to do about having no engineers to send to a supermarket where the fridges had broken down (on a really hot day), and he just said to me, "Don't come to me with problems, unless you've got a solution as well and want to clear it with me".
So, even though he was an utter arse, he made me start to think for myself in future jobs I did. Invaluable lesson, really.
Another bit of advice was someone telling me "Don't say Yes until you can learn to say No". I stopped being a doormat when I got the hang of that.
Comments
Spot on! Not only that, my IT work said - always have an onsite backup and an offsite back up. Lesson learned after I overwrote the input tapes............... I still run my backups regularly and keep a backup at my son's house!
Yeah good point really... how about also adding in the WORST advice as well to spice up the thread?
The wonderful people of DS have stopped me acting like a pratt in regards to relationships, have helped me walk away from possible dodgy homes, and have generally been a friend who's shoulder I can cry on when needed.
The worst advice however have pretty much come from my parents, whom I no longer listen to!
I just wanted to hug her. I thought both my parents would be against me leaving school before sitting A Levels and to know I had someone in my corner was a wondrous thing.
I packed in school there and then pretty much (although Dad was furious) and got a job. I have been working non stop since the age of 17 (I'm 40 now) and I have never regretted my decision.
Are you still with the man of your dreams?
I am indeed - we have been married 22yrs this year
The worst type of advice asked for and given on this forum is always medical related.
"Help! My chest is tight and I can't breathe! What's happening to me???"
You're having an attack of Attentionitis you idiot, either that or a heart attack so get to the frikkin doctor.
There was a memorable incident on this very forum where someone posted that they were having some sort of bad attack....(think it may have been an asthma attack but I wouldn't swear to it).
One particular poster who was always incredibly sanctimonious and holier-than-thou and who really fancied herself as a fountain of sound knowledge and advice posted back (in all seriousness) that the OP should have a cup of tea. She rightly received quite a lot of stick for that and de-registered herself as she couldn't handle the fallout. But I daresay she still frequents these forums under a different username now.
It was funny, but also scary. Awful advice to give to someone who is in quite a serious situation.
Which user was the Hugh?
How has your marriage lasted so long Porcupine!? Congratulations! Why did you hate being in education so much?
Is that really true about the domestic abuse post, if so how horrendous to post that as a reply!
Because I am a truly wonderful person and he appreciates that
Always know your own worth and never sell yourself short.
You are always in the $hit, it's just the depth that varies.
That advice smells a bit fishy
Me, i dont know any well enough.
It said that an urgent reply was needed because the authority had received notice of a large scale development that was proceeding without planning permission and the authority wished to give a retrospective permission but only if the Department agreed that this was allowable because the developer was proceeding illegally.
I had not the slightest clue what to do, had absolutely no training yet, and was very concerned.
So I put it up to the division head and explained the situation and asked him for advice.
About an hour after I put it in the out tray, I had a phone call from his PA. I was called up to see him. I thought that was fine, and looked forward to hearing what to do.
When I went in, he did not ask me to sit down. He said 'Mr Johnbee, I am not here to advise you and tell you what to do. You are here to advise me what to do. Never ever again ask your boss for advice. Make up your own mind what to do, and if you think someone should know, put it up and tell them what you are going to do.'
He gave me back the file. I was terrified, and took a few hours to think up a course of action. When I did, I wrote the LA a reply, had it typed and put it up to him with a short minute saying that I would send the reply attached. He sent it back with nothing except a tick.
From that day to this, I always make up my own mind about matters, however difficult. I regard that as probably the best work advice I ever had.
If you don't like it, that is fine. Just remember that if you ask for advice about tricky things, you will never be the one who gets asked for advice about tricky things.
Anyway, I hadn't been there for very long when I got a really tricky logistics problem to sort out. We worked in commercial refrigeration repairs, so we had to have a fast turn-around of problem-solving. I went to him to ask what the hell to do about having no engineers to send to a supermarket where the fridges had broken down (on a really hot day), and he just said to me, "Don't come to me with problems, unless you've got a solution as well and want to clear it with me".
So, even though he was an utter arse, he made me start to think for myself in future jobs I did. Invaluable lesson, really.
Another bit of advice was someone telling me "Don't say Yes until you can learn to say No". I stopped being a doormat when I got the hang of that.