Brutal Honesty

Does this post make my butt look fat? No really, you can tell me. I won't get mad.

Have you ever tried to get a straight, honest opinion from friends and family members? Sure, people who really care about you might be able to caution you about a potentially embarrassing hairstyle or a pair of too tight jeans, but touchy subjects like work ethics or overall competence in a certain subject can be too taboo to address face to face.

If you've been searching for months for your dream job and coming up with the same results over and over again, it might be time for some brutal honesty. How else are you going to know what you need to change? Then again, how are you going to coax your pals into being straight up with you?

One of the sources interviewed for a recent Wall Street Journal article about ramping up networking strategies had a great idea. Diane Darling turned to SurveyMonkey.com, an anonymous online survey service for help. Darling polled her friends and family and realized that she should switch from outlandish purple suits to more businesslike attire.

Do you think you could benefit from a dose of anonymous constructive criticism from friends and family?