Top 10 ways in which career top 10 lists are like [REDACTED]

After inadvertently spawning some uncomfortable—though in most cases, admittedly funny—conversations in various offices, I’ve decided to edit this post.

I’ve been asked 3 times today to write separate career top 10 lists. Three times! Seriously, people, do you know the energy it takes to perform at that level?

And for what? Temporary “answers” to a problem that will keep coming back until addressed at a more fundamental level?

As part of the career development industry, I feel compelled to tell you, the careerist/job seeker, our dirty little secret: we model ourselves after the [REDACTED] industry. You probably sense this already. I’m not saying you won’t enjoy what we’ve got to sell, I just want everyone to be clear on what it is, and what it isn’t. If we were food, we’d be candy: yummy in the moment, but empty calories in the end. But we’re not candy. We’re [REDACTED]. Here’s proof:

Top 10 ways in which top 10 career lists are like [REDACTED]:

1. They are tantalizing, for some to the point of being addicting.
2. They offer a false answer to a problem best solved through live human interaction.
3. In cutting to the chase, they leave out much of the build up that makes the desired ending possible.
4. They outsell everything else, and especially the good stuff, by a wide margin.
5. The people involved seem to exist in a world that has no relation to your own.
6. You can spot the ones done by amateurs from a mile away.
7. Most people who make their own don’t share them.
8. When done from an interesting perspective, they can reveal quite a bit more than expected.
9. A good one gets forwarded to everyone you know.
10. You can learn a thing or two from them, though you probably wouldn’t admit the source.

Bonus #11: It’s hard to do one that doesn’t appear to pander to the lowest common denominator.

Ah, that feels better, I can sleep with a clear conscience now. Bye for now, I’ll see you later this week… with a non-top 10 career post!

Jason Seiden is Co-founder and CEO of Ajax Social Media, a training company that shows professionals how use social media to work more effectively.