Reese Witherspoon has some career advice you might not want to hear.
The “Legally Blonde” and “Big Little lies” actress posted an Instagram video on Feb. 17 offering a tip in response to a young woman she’d spoken with who was unhappy in her job and looking to switch roles.
“Okay, well what are your talents?” Witherspoon said she asked the woman, who struggled to name her specific talents.
“Everybody has dreams. Doesn’t mean you’re going to be that thing. You are supposed to do what you’re talented at,” Witherspoon said. “It’s your job in life to figure out what your specific, unique talents are and go chase them. That’s what you’re going to do,” she added. “You don’t chase your dreams, you chase your talents.”
Witherspoon’s advice might sound unconventional — and she didn’t explain her reasoning. But leadership coach and “The Ambition Trap” author Amina AlTai likewise says it’s bad advice to follow your passion. “Passion by nature is fickle” and building your career around it “positions us to fizzle out fast,” she told CNBC Make It in December.
