Our ProTip series is designed to help Professionals on CareerVillage.org create advice that will become the best answer for any student looking for the answer to a question.

Introducing ProTip Six:

“Tell us how you received your knowledge by sharing a credible and clear source — whether a personal experience, a scientific study, or simply a link.”

Show your credibility. Explain where you pull your advice from, and back up your opinions by citing your personal experiences. If you happen to share a link or reference a book, webpage or video, include the link with a description of what it is and why it is valuable.

Your source might look like any of these:

• “Source: I have been a doctor for 4 years so far and have experienced what you’re asking about first-hand.”
• “Source: I’ve hired for the job you’re asking about 3 times.”
• “Source: Here’s a link to where I found the salary data I cited: [link]”
• “Source: The framework I mentioned was written about in the book ‘The Pyramid Principle’.”

Why?

A source makes your answer credible and trustworthy. Just like making sure your answer is correct and factual in an objective case, citing a source allows students to believe in your ability to share personal advice.

How do you know it when you see it?

Most commonly found in two forms, usually near the bottom of an answer to support what advice was shared:

“Source: I can answer this question because I have direct experience with the subject you are asking about and have been in this field for x amount of years…”

Or

“Source: This research is where I found the facts and supporting information you may need…”

Examples from the Village

Daniela’s advice always has the source of the information:

“[From] In: https://targetcareers.co.uk/career-sectors/science/154-what-types-of-jobs-and-employers-are-there-in-science”

Jared gave a perfect example of his direct experience with investment firm interviews:

“Source: I worked in the financial services and financial consulting sector for several years at the end of college. I interviewed with asset management firms, although never by phone.”

What’s next?

1. To see the next ProTip, head over to ProTip #7: Strike the Right Tone or head back to ProTip#5: Recommend Next Steps.
2. Share your thoughts with us by emailing us (hello@careervillage.org) or in the comments below!