Neal Stewart | My Amplog

I’ve been extremely lucky in my career. For the most part, I’ve been able to work at jobs that I love. I attribute a lot of this “luck” to the fact that I learned how to find jobs on my own early on.

When I was in college, I thought a job at an advertising agency would just fall in my lap. Maybe if I had gone to a better school or if was at a different time (it was 1995) it would have. It didn’t and I spend the summer looking for a gig while working at a department store.

Later on, I thought I would move to Austin, TX and a job would fall in my lap. Maybe at a different time it would have, but this was 2000 and the internet bubble had just popped in the Silicon Hills in Texas. Again, I spent that Summer looking for a gig before finding some nice people at Pabst Brewing Company who were willing to take a chance on me.

Through all of that, I learned the obvious. Unless you just got your MBA from Kellogg or Wharton, a job is not going to just fall in your lap. Finding a job that you love and pays well is hard and will most likely require some sort of sacrifice.

I found this article on CNN.com this morning and I think it summed it up quite nicely - you gotta move to where the jobs are. If you want to be in marketing and live in Peoria, you options are limited. I’m not sure why people from other countries around the world get this and Americans don’t. Have we had it too easy? Were we not taught to be entrepreneurial and resourceful in school?

If you’re in the job market right now, I encourage you to consider all of the options, even if it means moving or being away from your family. It’s not the best option and may not be what you want, but flexibility and resourcefulness are what wins in a tough economy.