Wanderlust: Discover Your Career Path

By Rob Poindexter

Wanderlust, a loan word from German that came to English sometime between 1875 and 1902, depending on whom you ask. In German, the term has become somewhat obsolete. A more contemporary equivalent for the English wanderlust in the sense of “love of travel” would be Fernweh (literally “an ache for distance”).

Since the term is a noun, its initial letter is always capitalized in German (“Wanderlust”).

For me, the whole word is always capitalized (“WANDERLUST”).

It is, for me, and for those like me, a disease for which there is no cure other than the dirt nap we all have an appointment with, and even then I can’t be sure that I will be healed. It can however, like many diseases, be controlled to some degree. I can usually “scratch” the “itch” by reading a few lines in a well written adventure book, or travel magazine. But it is a temporary fix at best, and soon enough my feet will start to itch again.

It is also, at times, an evil taskmaster demanding my entire being and existence. At other times, it is a gentle friend bidding me to come sit for awhile in a foreign land.

Of course the biggest benefit for those of us afflicted by this malady is the great opportunity for discovery. The long list of noted adventurers can and do attest to this absolute fact.

Lewis and Clark, Christopher Columbus, Alexander the Great, Attila the Hun, Juan Ponce de Leon, Ferdinand Magellan, Galileo, just to name a few. These great discoverers changed the face of this world. They have changed history by introducing new ideas, and they have influenced the world order by claiming land for their respective countries.

In essence, discoverers continue to change the world even today.

One thing all discoverers, old and new, have in common, besides incurable wanderlust, is the need to record these discoveries and have on staff someone to do the writing.

I mean, think about it. If Juan Ponce de Leon had checked into the Hilton in Miami, and he and his crew just laid around on the beach for a few days before sailing back to Spain, and no one wrote any of it down, retirees and snowbirds might have had to settle on wintering in Atlanta instead.

Get the point?

And so it is for the job-seeker. Your career so far is wrought with discovery, albeit on a much more personal level. With each new challenge you have discovered your unique ability to rise to the occasion, and each of those occasions should duly and professionally be noted.

Is your own wanderlust forcing you to look to the horizon as far as your career path is concerned? Are you getting the proper credit for discoveries you’ve made so far? Is your current resume a map drawn on the back of a napkin or is it a professionally drawn chart with all the detail necessary for you to be become the next great discovery for your new company ?