Q: Everyone says ‘follow your passion’, but how do I do that and earn money?

The advice to “find work you love and the money will follow” refers to the belief that if you are truly passionate about your job, you’ll give it your all and work hard to become the best you can be at doing it. It would naturally follow that you’ll be compensated for being the best. Whether or not this is realistic advice depends on your passion and what you hope to do with it, and also how important it is for you to earn money.

If you can afford not to have an income for a period of time, you may want to take a step back (from traditional work and paychecks), learn all you can and set yourself up to do work that you’re truly passionate about.

However, a lot of people come to us wanting to change careers, but not wanting to take a cut in pay. In these situations we try to find opportunities in organizations that correlate and connect to their passions. There are a couple of ways to do this.

Find work that you enjoy within an organization.
Some people are passionate about event planning and would like to pursue that as a career. However, without prior experience and references it can be hard to find steady work as an event planner. It may be more realistic to find work in an administrative role that often has event planning duties so that you can build your experience in this area and leverage it down the line.

Look for organizations in an industry you’re passionate about.
If you are an avid runner and passionate about the sport, you may find fulfilling work in an office culture that supports your passion at a company like Reebok in Canton, MA. We also work with a client that manufactures and sells equipment to the music recording industry and prefers to hire employees with music backgrounds. Although the jobs in these organizations might utilize traditional business skills, the organization’s values and support for outside activities you admire, as well as the ability to work alongside like-minded co-workers, may provide the stimulation you seek to stoke your passion.

About the Recruiter
Frank Gentile is a 20+ year veteran of the staffing industry and an experienced recruiter. As a Director at Professional Staffing Group (PSG) Frank oversees the permanent placement division.