When it comes to managing a career, there are no strict rules. Many people get sucked into believing advice that may not be true. What do you need to know to avoid falling into the career myth trap?

It's a tough market out there, but FOXBusiness.com is here to help. Careers is our "On Topic" subject for May, so check often for tips on everything from landing that dream job to how to recession-proof your job. 

MYTH No. 1: Job Hopping Will Prevent You From Getting a Job

There are no rules that state you must stay at a particular job or career, despite what people may think.

 “Corporate America has shrunk tremendously, people used to have one job their whole careers, but now the world has changed people will have five or six careers in their lifetime,” said Eileen Sharago, a career counselor. “If you don’t change your career more than once then you are in more trouble.”

According to a survey conducted by the Labor Department in 2006, 54 million or 40% of American people left their jobs to pursue other careers and only 28% expected lifelong careers. 

Years ago, people would change jobs after a few years and they would be considered a job hopper. Today that perception has changed. 

More and more people are leaving jobs for better compensation like benefits and retirement plans, which has resulted in an increase in job hopping, said Steven Kane, a human resources expert.  What’s more, Kane said switching jobs for more experience is necessary to get ahead and shouldn’t hurt you in the eyes of a potential employer.

 “No one says job progression has to be linear,” said Kane.

Sue Campbell a career management specialist and professional resume writer, said expect to hold a job for at least two to three years to avoid the perception of job hopping. 

MYTH No. 2: Getting Fired Means Your Career is Over

There are many ways being fired can impact your career, but it doesn’t always mean you won’t get another job.

 “If you lose your edge and confidence it will impact your ability to move on, if you have credentials and credibility it doesn’t impact your career,” said Sharago. 

The best way to handle the situation, added Kane is to put as much of a positive spin on the firing situation as possible without resorting to fabrications. “Employers will forgive you for mistakes, but they will never forgive you if you lie,” he said. 

A determining factor if you will be hired again will be your references.

“When you are hiring a potential employee who has been fired you want to drill down and find references as to why they were fired,” said Debbie McGrath, Chief Executive of HR.com the human resources Web site. 

 Kane noted that employers will commonly use “off-list” referencing to find information that your references wouldn’t necessarily give. (“off-list” referencing is the practice of asking a reference provided by the prospective employee for additional references.)  According to Kane often times the furbished reference will put a positive spin on your firing while others may not.

But how much can the potential employer actually find out?

 “The law does not generally prohibit employers from revealing the fact that they terminated an employee for cause, but employers expose themselves to litigation over claims for defamation and the like if they are not careful about the information they reveal, and therefore most employers limit what they say to avoid litigation,” said Christine Webber, partner at Cohen Milstein Hausfeld Toll, a law firm in Washington DC. There are no laws that prohibit giving out information, however, there are laws that prohibit employers from revealing information concerning health or medical problems. Most companies will adopt a practice that prevents information from being revealed about an employee. 

MYTH No. 3 You Have to Take Every Job Offer

Often times the first instinct is to accept a job as soon as you get an offer. But it may pay to do a little homework before jumping on board. After all you don’t want to take a job and then discover you don’t mesh with the employees or culture.

If you are going on an interview it pays to do your research in advance to see if you would like working at that particular company, said McGrath, CEO of HR.com. “Call people who know about the company,” she said. Once you have been offered a position ask for references to gain extra information on the company.

When McGrath hires employees, she said it’s based on their “aptitude to learn to the job and the cultural fit to work at an organization,” so you should consider that as well.