Career decisions are among the most important of life choices. When the stakes are high, we all seek advice from different sources. Whether it’s a trusted friend or colleague, an influential figure, or online content, the information we rely on shapes our path.
But in an age of information overload, what advice do people depend on? To answer this question, Enhancv surveyed 1000 respondents for their views on the most trustworthy sources of career advice.
Key Findings
- 64% are confident they know where to find career advice when needed.
- College career counselors are the most trusted source of career advice, and the least trusted is TikTok.
- However, 1 in 4 Gen Zers trust TikTok for career advice, twice as much as millennials.
- LinkedIn is most trusted by millennials, with a 60% positive trust score.
- 1 in 3 Gen Zers trust ChatGPT for career advice, almost twice as much as Gen X.
- Gen Z trusts their boss for career advice more than any other generation.
- HR professionals are trusted by more than 50% of every generation.
64% are confident they know where to find career advice
One of the hardest parts about getting career advice is knowing where to find it. Do you use professional connections, ask friends and family, or go online?
The following findings show the combined percentage of survey takers who are “moderately confident” or “very confident” they know where to find career advice when needed.
Confidence in finding career advice
- 64% overall are confident they can find career advice when needed.
- Men are more confident than women—70% vs. 60%
- Confidence declines with higher levels of education—67% of high school graduates vs. 58% with post-graduate degrees.
- All generations have similar confidence levels about knowing where to find career advice.
Top 5 most trusted sources of career advice
We asked respondents how much they trust 17 different sources of career advice. The options presented included people and platforms.
These results show the percentage of respondents with a positive view of the source, combining those who trust it “somewhat” or “very much.”
- College career counselors—77%
- Family—70%
- Your boss—63%
- Friends—60%
- Career websites (e.g. Monster, Indeed)—55%
Top 5 least trusted sources of career advice
On the other end of the spectrum, we discovered which sources of career advice are considered least reliable.
These results show the percentage of respondents with a negative view of the source, combining those who trust it “a little bit” or “not at all.”
- TikTok—9%
- Instagram—11%
- Facebook—12%
- Social media influencers—17%
- ChatGPT—20%
Apart from an overall view of the most and least trusted, we took a deeper dive into each source of advice. The varying opinions between different generations are where the data gets even more interesting.
Measuring trust: how different generations view career advice
The biggest difference in trust levels for career advice sources came from generational differences among respondents.
These findings show the percentage of respondents with a positive view of the source, combining those who said they trust it “somewhat” or “very much.”
College career counselors are the most trusted source of career advice for every generation
We’ve already established that college career counselors are the most trusted source of career advice overall. For those with higher learning, professional guidance received as they embark on their careers is the gold standard.
Notably, college career counselors are the top scorers across all generations surveyed. However, trust in them declines with age. Here’s the generational breakdown:
- Gen Z—88%
- Millennials—78%
- Gen X—75%
- Baby boomers—75%
Gen Z are twice as likely to trust TikTok for career advice than millennials
It’s a viral video platform with massive popularity, but is it a place where you can get trustworthy career advice? For 25% of Gen Z the answer is yes. But it’s viewed with increasing skepticism by older generations.
For Millennials, it’s trustworthiness halves to 12%. And for Gen X and baby boomers, the trust score is 5% and 4% respectively.
25% of Gen Z trust Instagram for career advice
Like TikTok, Instagram might not be an obvious choice for seeking career advice. But again, 1 in 4 Gen Z workers regard it as trustworthy. As with TikTok, trust drops with older cohorts.
13% of millennials trust Instagram, with Gen X and baby boomers coming in at 6% .
LinkedIn is most trusted by millennials
Although it’s a dedicated career platform, LinkedIn didn’t appear in the top 5 most trusted sources. However millennials accord it the highest level of trust, at 60% with Gen Z at 50%, Gen X at 48%, and baby boomers 45%.
54% of Gen Z trust Google for career advice
Recent reports of Gen Z shunning Google in favor of social searching on Instagram and TikTok may be inaccurate, at least for career advice. Over half of the youngest survey respondents gave it a positive trust score.
Trust in Google decreased with succeeding generations. Here’s how the progression looks:
- Millennials—42%
- Generation X—31%
- Baby boomers—28%
1 in 3 Gen Z workers trust ChatGPT for career advice
Although controversial, ChatGPT is rapidly becoming a go-to tool for all types of queries. Its trustworthiness for career advice is 20% overall but there’s a large variance across generations, with Gen Z more than twice as likely to trust it than baby boomers.
Here’s how much different generations trust ChatGPT:
- Gen Z—30%
- Millennials—25%
- Gen X—17%
- Baby boomers—12%
Career websites are most trusted by Gen Z and Millennials
Websites like Monster and Indeed make career advice an integral part of their business model. As one of our survey’s top most trusted sources of information, they’re apparently doing this well. However, it’s younger generations that trust them the most.
Both Gen Z and Millennials have a 61% positive trust score for career websites. For both Gen X and baby boomers they achieved a 51% trust rating.
Gen Z are twice as likely to trust news websites for career advice than baby boomers
Major news outlets produce career advice content as part of their broader offering. But again, it’s younger generations who trust this advice more.
36% of younger generations trust career advice from news websites followed by 35% of millennials. Gen X ranked their trustworthiness at 27% and for baby boomers, it dropped to 18%.
1 in 5 Gen Zers and millennials trust career advice from social media influencers
Social media influencers play a significant role in driving trends and opinions. They’re not the most well-regarded source of career advice, but they’re trusted by 21% of Gen Z respondents and 22% of millennials. For Gen X their trust level falls to 15%, and sits at 10% for baby boomers.
Gen Z places the most trust in inspirational figures
Inspirational figures serve as role models, helping people to achieve their goals and overcome challenges. This makes them an important source of career advice. The examples we gave respondents were entertainers, media personalities, business people, and sports people.
Here’s how much each age group trusts inspirational figures for career advice:
- Gen Z—46%
- Millennials—33%
- Gen X—22%
- Baby boomers—16%
71% of Gen Z trust their boss for career advice vs. 53% of baby boomers
Gen Z is often criticized as being difficult to manage. But it turns out that they trust career advice from their boss more than any other age group. Millennials trust their bosses almost as much at 70%, and for Gen X the positive trust score is 60%.
Trust in HR professionals is above 50% for every generation
HR as a source of career advice just missed out on the top five most trusted. But their trustworthiness was above 50% for all generations. They were also the third most trusted source for baby boomers. Their trust in HR equals Gen Z and is less than millennials, but their overall trust in all sources is lower, hence the apparent discrepancy.
Here’s how much each generation trusts HR for career advice:
- Gen Z—54%
- Millennials—58%
- Gen X—51%
- Baby boomers—54%
Career advice trustworthiness for all sources
We’ve covered the most noteworthy generational differences for different channels of career advice. To complete our analysis, here’s the complete ranking of all the sources covered in the survey. These results are the findings for all respondents combined.
Trust ranking for sources of career advice
- College career counselors—77%
- Family—70%
- Boss—63%
- Friends—60%
- Career websites—55%
- HR—54%
- LinkedIn—51%
- Coworkers—49%
- Google—37%
- Resume builder websites—34%
- News websites—29%
- Inspirational figures—27%
- ChatGPT—20%
- Social media influencers—17%
- Facebook—12%
- Instagram—11%
- TikTok—9%
Key Takeaways
Our survey results show that the trustworthiness of career advice varies greatly depending on the source. These are the patterns that emerged:
Key takeaways
- A personal connection is key to building trust. College career counselors, family, friends, and bosses all offer a direct human element when giving career advice. Family and friends may not have career guidance expertise but personal ties seem to be the deciding factor.
- Bosses offer a direct connection with a workplace figure of authority. And for the most trusted source, college career counselors, there’s institutional trust and a lasting influence of being many people’s first experience with specialist career advice.
- In contrast, online platforms are less trusted. There’s less of a personal connection, but also a general lack of trust in information found online. A 2023 survey found that only 8% of people fully trust information they find with search engines, and 6% said the same about social media.
- Some sources specializing in career advice, like resume builder websites, have a low trust score. The commercial element reduces trust, but some resume builder blogs offer bad advice, such as repeating ATS myths. That example is due to a lack of technical skill. Applicant tracking systems are a piece of computer software, and content writers don’t always know how they work. And often the same writers don’t have the expertise to give good career advice.
- Trust in online sources is strongest for younger generations due to familiarity. As digital natives, Gen Z and millennials have grown up under the pervasive influence of technology.
- Gen Z uses sources of advice that older generations see as unconventional, like Instagram and TikTok. They’re the biggest users of both platforms, so familiarity is a factor again.
- Likewise, LinkedIn is most trusted by millennials, who are the largest portion of its user base.
- Trust in all sources is lower for baby boomers, a cohort mostly at the late stage of their careers. Research has found that overall, trust increases with age but this isn’t apparent for career advice. With more career experience, they’ve likely had more time to think about advice that didn’t turn out well.
However, regardless of generational differences, sorting through the information overload of career advice can be challenging. Enhancv Executive Coach, Silvia Angeloro, offers some advice on how to cut through the noise:
To assess whether someone, like your boss, is offering reliable career advice, it’s important to consider both their professional background and personal qualities. Take a close look at their track record, professional network, and career trajectory. However, it’s equally critical to evaluate them as a person. Do they come across as trustworthy, accountable, and consistent? A boss who demonstrates integrity and reliability is more likely to offer sound advice.
LinkedIn is a great resource for career progression tips. To ensure the advice is credible, follow top players in the field—career coaches or experts with proven success. Vet their backgrounds, monitor their engagement, and consider their experience before trusting their guidance. I’d trust an expert I’ve followed for years over a paid webinar from someone I don’t know much about.
Consistent updates, real-life examples, and relevant insights shared by experts helps to solidify their authority. You can also use this approach for recruiters from top companies like Google and Microsoft, whose insights I follow for similar reasons.
Silvia Angeloro, Executive Coach, Enhancv
Methodology
Survey data was obtained from a survey created by Enhancv and conducted using the online survey platform, Pollfish. It was completed on October 2, 2024. 1000 people aged 18–65 completed the survey.
Demographic data for gender and age was post-stratified to equal known population totals. Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number for ease of use. Because of this, the totals for some questions might not add up to 100%.
For all media inquiries, contact jacques@enhancv.com.
Sources
- Anaya, T., “Search in 2023: Do people trust the information they find online?”
- Poulin, M., and Haase, C., “Growing to Trust: Evidence That Trust Increases and Sustains Well-Being Across the Life Span”
- Rogelberg, S., “Gen Z moves on from ‘Googling’—TikTok emerges as the new search engine”
- Selwyn, N., “The digital native – myth and reality”
- Statista, “Distribution of Instagram users worldwide as of April 2024, by age group”
- Statista, “Distribution of LinkedIn users worldwide as of April 2024, by age group”
- Statista, “Distribution of TikTok users worldwide as of July 2024, by age and gender”
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views of Enhancv.
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