7 steps to finding your dream job 

“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy,” goes the old Gershwin tune.  Well, maybe not so easy in this economy, but one thing that’s still free is dreaming.  So, how about changing those lyrics to: “Summertime, and the dreamin’ is easy.”  Dreaming is the first step in finding your dream job.  What would you do even if no one paid you to do it? Don’t worry about how you will get that job, just start thinking about it.

In a 20-year period, 60% of those people who had changed to a different career reported greater well-being (Jepsen& Choudhuri, 2001) and happiness.

You will spend 1/3 of your life at work and you deserve to feel fulfilled by it.  Joel Garfinckle, author of Love Your Work, says no one should waste their days “working at a job that doesn’t match your deepest talents and gifts.”  Imagine waking up each day excited about your job instead of dreading it.  Halle Stanford, who developed the Bear in the Big Blue House children’s television series, says his work sometimes feels more like a hobby than a job.  If you are feeling more burnt out than energized by your work, then it’s probably time to start thinking about either a new career, or a way to grow the job you have into the dream job you actually want.

The next step, then, is getting in touch with your strengths.  What is it that you do best? What do you do effortlessly that others struggle to do?  Everyone has unique gifts, some ability that no one else can offer the world in quite the same way.  Look at whatever you are doing, and note the times and places when you know you are performing at your highest level.  We are happiest and most successful when we work at jobs that match our abilities yet are hard enough to provide some challenge.

Third, recognize what you really want. A dream job allows you to live your most deeply held values daily. Do you want to be part of preserving wild places? Or would you rather make equipment to ease a hospital patient’s pain? Is flex-time important because you are raising children? What is it that truly gives you the most satisfaction, fulfillment, or enjoyment? Follow your wants rather than your shoulds.

Learn to listen to that inner voice in order to be who you are meant to be and not who others think you should be.

Fourth, know how you want your job to fit with the rest of your life. If you want to be a real estate agent, do you realize a lot of work has to be done weekends and evenings? What about being a chef?  You may love to cook now, but will you still love it when you are working the holidays other folks have off?

Fifth, take some small actions. Browse the web and investigate the jobs that attract you.  Take note of the ones that repel you. Buy a book about a career path that has interested you.  Do actuaries really like to play with numbers as much as you do?  Sign up for a class on statistics if that relates to your dream job.  Maybe you are already a chef in a good restaurant.  Perhaps your dream job is becoming a restaurateur.  You have a good resource already available without putting a lot of energy into research if you know the owner. Ask what it takes to be successful.

Sixth, organize to prioritize. Once you have listed your own strengths, assessed your values, determined your life-style preferences, and have some information about the work that looks most interesting to you, it’s time to start rank ordering them.  You should have a list of what makes a job ideal for you personally, so decide which aspect is most important to you.  Do you need daily variety and challenge more than money?  Do you need your values and your work to connect in the world in a concrete way?  How much of your dream job will actually let you do what you most love, most of the time?  If the answer is only 10%, then it’s probably not your dream job.  Pick 2-3 elements that must be included for your dream job.  Toss out those dream jobs you have explored that do not meet these criteria.

Finally, recognize that it’s scary to think about change. No matter who you are, or what you are doing, the first thing that comes up is resistance. Reinventing yourself doesn’t happen overnight.  It may take a year or more. But if you let yourself relax into the dream of what is possible, instead of holding yourself to only those choices that make pragmatic sense, you may discover a path you did not expect has opened right in front of you.  And that the job you were once dreaming can become your very own.