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Career Advice: Find The Action

I’ve been writing about this Wall Street Journal article, written by Dilbert, creator Scott Adams, How to Get a Real Education, for the past few weeks because it’s rich with good career advice. The last excerpt that I really liked is “Find the action.”

In my senior year of college I asked my adviser how I should pursue my goal of being a banker. He told me to figure out where the most innovation in banking was happening and to move there. And so I did. Banking didn’t work out for me, but the advice still holds: Move to where the action is. Distance is your enemy.

Once you’ve found your dream industry or field that you want to be in, it is best to go where the action is. Look for the innovation in an industry so you can understand where it’s going and where the most growth potential is. For example, in construction or architecture right now, it’s green building and design. Finding the action always holds true, except if for some reason it will go against your passion.

If you aren’t passionate about where the action is, you may want to think twice. You can at least consider it though. At the end of the day, you may be able to find a way to tap into that passion in that area if you at least investigate it. You’ll kick yourself if you don’t, and be frustrated if the industry takes off in that direction without you. At least consider it.

Hallie Crawford
Job Search Coach