Reese Witherspoon's career advice offers some hope in the bleak 2026 job market. What she says to do instead of chasing your dreams

That’s exactly the career advice actor Reese Witherspoon offered in a recent Instagram video about the advice she offered to a young woman she is mentoring. “Everybody has dreams. Doesn’t mean you’re going to be that thing,” she said (1).

Instead, the Legally Blonde and Big Little Lies actor suggested that you’re better off figuring out your “specific, unique talents” and pursue those instead. “Chase your talents, not your dreams.”

Her advice lines up with what other career and life coaches recommend. So, if you’re undecided on a career, or considering a career move, here’s what you might want to ponder.

Don’t chase your dreams

Young professionals and job seekers often feel pressure to identify their dream job. And nearly seven in 10 (69%) U.S. workers changed or were considering changing career fields over the previous year, according to FlexJobs’ 2025 State of the Workplace Report (2).

But if a dream job consumes all your time and energy, or doesn’t pay enough to cover the bills, then that dream can lead to frustration, burnout or underemployment.

Amina AlTai, a leadership coach who works with Fortune 100 executives, told CNBC’s Make It that some of her clients were “willing to forego having their needs met” to follow their passions. And that, she says, can lead to burnout.

Following your passion also requires a “level of privilege” that many people don’t have — such as a supportive spouse who’s paying all the bills, AlTai said (3).

Scott Galloway, NYU professor and author of The Algebra of Wealth, has a similar view. “If someone tells you to follow your passion, it means they’re already rich. And typically, they made their fortune in some unglamorous industry like iron ore smelting,” he wrote on Medium.

For example, Galloway, referring to a Nature study from 2019, points to the fact that only 2% of professional actors make a living from acting.

“Unlike passion, talent is observable and testable; it can be more readily converted into a high‑earning career, and it gets better the more you exploit it,” he wrote (4).

Also, being passionate about something doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be good at it, no matter how much you may want to be.

Author John W. Mitchell also told Fast Company that “follow your passion” is bad career advice.

“Let’s say that I’m passionate about gymnastics,” he said. “Well, I’m 6-foot-3; doing gymnastics probably isn’t a good idea, even if I’m passionate about it” (5).

There’s another issue, too. Passions can serve as a break from work. But when they become work, they can start to feel like work, which can drain the joy from something you normally love doing.

Chase your talents

Instead of trying to turn a passion into a career, you might instead benefit from asking yourself what you’re uniquely good at. Mitchell suggests that you follow your competence instead of your passion.

“Employees with a strong sense of purpose at work are 5.6 times as likely to be engaged in their jobs as those with a low sense of purpose,” according to a 2025 Gallup and Stand Together survey of U.S. working adults (6).

If you’re not sure what you’re uniquely good at, think about courses in school or tasks at your job that came naturally, without much stress. You could even consider a formal approach, such as an aptitude assessment like the Holland Code Test.

If you’re still unsure, you can learn about your competencies and aptitudes through trial and error — you don’t have to stick with the same career path for the rest of your life.