5 Ways to Find the Career of Your Dreams
As a business and executive coach, I am seeing that the current climate of uncertainty and change is causing many clients to reassess their lives. Staying home amid the COVID-19 pandemic has provided the opportunity for all of us to consider whether ‘normal’ (life before COVID-19) was actually working.
The Business Insider Australia published an article: “Why so many Australians get stuck in a job they don’t like”, which revealed findings from a major survey that an enormous number Australians are unhappy in their jobs. Of the Australians surveyed, 57% reported that work is the major contributor to their stress levels and 44% stated that not knowing what other career to pursue was the reason for staying in a job that made them unhappy.
With so many people reporting that their lifestyles are now actually better as a result of the forced lockdown, we are being compelled to ask: do I like the way I spend the 40-80 hours I work each week? Is my work and everything that comes with it – the commute, the environment, the people, the culture – fulfilling and purposeful?
Now is the time!
In my article published in LivingNow, ‘Covid Fever vs Cabin Fever’, I talked about being open to receiving the gifts bestowed upon us by COVID-19. This opportunity to reflect upon your career and the way you do business is one of the greatest gifts the pandemic is offering up. It’s the ability to see something you were previously blind to - that perhaps the things you were doing before weren’t working for you and what the impact of that was.
If your lockdown life is miles better than what was your ‘normal’, now is the chance to redesign your life and create the career or business of your dreams! It’s natural to feel like finding your dream job is an unreachable, elusive fantasy. But, I guarantee you, it’s possible. The career of your dreams or a business you are obsessively passionate about is absolutely possible - you just have to do the work to get there.
5 steps to finding your dream job
It all begins by asking yourself powerful questions and then taking considered action. Here are 5 pathways to help you get started on finding your dream job.
Reimagine your Career
If you don’t know what to do next when it comes to your work life, begin by looking at what’s working for you in your current job and what’s not working. Ask yourself: what are you really good at? What do people come to you for? What feels like a burden for you? What experience do you already have that could transfer to your future job or business? What would you do if you could do anything? What are you most passionate about?
Create a list with columns - circle the good and look at the bad. Get clear on what was working and what you want to spring clean and redesign for the future. It’s amazing what can sometimes be revealed when clients get to tease out these simple questions.
Sit with this reimagined version of your work life and see what comes up. What is it that you want to create more of and bring with you? Every single moment of uncertainty, as is the case with COVID-19, is an invitation for you to recreate that incredible version of your life that is possible.
Overcome the obstacles
A lot of us don’t take meaningful steps because we fear what might lie on the other side of the change or transition. These fears are often things that aren’t real or concrete, but they can be paralysing. It’s important to identify what these fears are so that we can work on getting rid of them.
But, here’s the catch. Many of us don’t know we hold these fears because they are so deeply embedded in our subconscious mind as a result of the environment we grew up in - such as our parents, schools, peers, and teachers that had an influence on our childhood perception of the world. Uncovering your fears is the first step to extinguishing them.
If you aren’t sure why you can’t bridge the gap from where you are to where you want to be, it’s highly likely there are limiting mindsets blocking the path. Try completing this: “I can’t do X because…” and write out all the reasons why. This will often bring up a host of fears that you didn’t know existed, which will help you better understand what is getting in the way of you and your dream job.
Put yourself out there
If you’re sitting in your living room watching Netflix on repeat, you’re never going to build pathways to your dream life, much less discover what that place is that will bring you fulfilment. Even through COVID-19, there are ways to network, build relationships and surround yourself with people who are going to help you get to where you want to go.
Change and transition requires action. It requires getting uncomfortable and putting yourself out on a limb. It’s always at the edge of your comfort zone that possibilities and new ways forward are created. So, get curious. Find some networking groups, attend events, join committees, volunteer for a cause that has meaning for you, and put yourself into situations with people who are doing the job or running the business you want to be a part of.
Visualise what your new job looks like
I get my clients to really articulate and visualise what success looks like for them. I have them play it out like a movie in their mind to ignite their imagination and see what’s possible. This helps them retrain and rewire their subconscious mind by overcoming any negative belief systems, attitudes or habits that are getting in the way of them realising their dreams.
By learning how to powerfully visualise the career or business of your dreams, you can bring your dreams into your reality. Through this process, you can begin to really create a resilient and opportunistic mindset that is going to get you where you want to be.
Get a Coach!!!
Finally, if you’re really serious about becoming the change you want to see and if you’re really ready to commit to finding your dream job, get a coach. Sometimes it’s difficult to hold the mirror up to yourself, but with a coach to hold the space for you, an opportunity to make even bigger leaps than you thought possible can emerge.
Coaches are trained to ask powerful questions so that you can see your blind spots. We engage in thoughtful conversation so that you can identify those things that are getting in the way of what you truly want. And, most importantly, a coach will hold you accountable for the action you say you want to take but haven’t yet been able to step into.
So, if you’re really ready to commit to making big changes in your life, let a coach guide you on your way.