Ep. 031: Sell Your Ideas, Not Your Skills (Larry Smith)

To have a great career, you need passion. But you also need a solid plan. Specifically, you need to know how your passions and ideas will be marketable in an ever-evolving job market. This week on “Find Your Dream Job” we’re talking about career management and how to build a plan for a remarkable long-term career. Mac interviews professor and author Larry Smith, whose provocative TED talk, “ Why You Will Fail to Have a Great Career ,” has attracted more than six million views. Larry urges his students to explore their passions--but also to think about their ongoing relevance in the job market. In this 35-minute episode you will learn: Why passion is a prerequisite to a great career--but not enough in-and-of-itself. How to market yourself and your ideas How to discipline your passion as part of your overall career management plan Why everyone needs a 50 years career management plan Why even non-creative professionals need to be creative when managing their career This week’s guest: Larry SmithAdjunct Associate Professor, University of Waterloo Author, No Fears, No Excuses: What You Need to Do to Have a Great Career Waterloo, ON, Canada Listener question of the week: Everyone tells me to “do what I love” for a job. But how am I supposed to know if I like something before I do it? There are so many different jobs out there. I feel like I will be limiting myself if I pick a direction too early in life! If you have a question you’d like us to answer on a future episode, please contact Jenna Forstrom, Mac’s List Community Manager at jenna@macslist.org . Resources from this week’s show: "How to Find Your Passion" | Seanwes’ Podcast, Episode 101 "Why You Will Fail to Have a Great Career" | Larry Smith's TEDx Talk Larry Smith’s Facebook Page No Fears, No Excuses: What You Need to Do to Have a Great Career Land Your Dream Job in Portland (and Beyond) If you have a job-hunting or career development resource you’d like to share, please contact Ben Forstag, Mac’s List Managing Director at ben@macslist.org . — Thank you for listening to Find Your Dream Job. If you like this show, please help us by rating and reviewing our podcast on iTunes . We appreciate your support! Opening and closing music for Find Your Dream Job provided by Freddy Trujillo, www.freddytrujillo.com . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices