Career consultant: The most popular career advice suggests emphasizing one' s strengths to employers and downplaying one' s weaknesses. Research shows this advice to be incorrect. A study of 314 managers shows that those who use self-deprecating humor in front of their employees are more likely to be seen by them as even-handed, thoughtful, and concerned than are those who do not. The career consultant's reasoning is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it ['bases a conclusion about certain popular career advice on a critique of only one part of that advice', 'bases a conclusion about how one group will respond to self-deprecation on information about how a different group responds to it', 'infers from the fact that self-deprecating humor was viewed positively that nonhumorous self-deprecation would not be viewed positively', 'ignores the possibility that non-self-deprecating humor might have been viewed even more positively than self-deprecating humor']