Well, you've eaten your turkey and dressing, the
extended family has gone home, the tree has been put up, and you have
brought in the New Year in style. So, back to reality!
Many of
you, even those with jobs, are looking for work. They are either looking
for the next better paying dream job, or they are just eager to get back
to work. A friend of my husband has just found his dream job--or at
least what he hopes is his dream job. He has worked in IT sales for a
while, but his passion is golf. I hear he's pretty good at it, too.
Well, lo and behold, he just landed a job working in a major golf
retailing store as a salesperson. He might even get to putt a couple of
holes on the indoor green during work hours.
Now, if your reaction
to that is "Hold on--he's giving up on his IT career," then bear with
me. I just landed a gig of my own where I get to work as a career
consultant for spouses of relocated employees. What makes this my dream
job is not only that I get to help people who are in career transition
find employment, but also that I get to do it from home. This job also
lets me continue to grow my career coaching business, while keeping the
time I spend away from my family at a minimum.
Today, you hear
about a lot of people looking for their purpose. They're looking for
that job that seems like the right fit for them. In essence, they're
looking for that dream job. I once heard a speaker refer to it as an
"occupassion"--the occupation that brings out passion in them by
allowing them to do what they love to do.
This is not one of
those breathless "7 Steps to Your Dream Job!" pieces, because I think
articles like that do the process an injustice. The steps and goals for
each person are different, and they shift as our interests develop and
change. This is more about learning what you love to do, and going from
there.
What I'm doing now is my dream job because I have two sons,
eight and two years old. I love being flexible with my time and having
the option of keeping my youngest son home with me. I also enjoy being
able to give my oldest son the option of being picked up right after
school or going to an after-school program. The key for me is that the
job gives me and my family options. Am I getting rich? Hardly, but what
I get back in the form of time is worth a million bucks.
When
discovering your dream job, you have got to determine what your values
are. For some, the list of important things might include money,
freedom, risk-taking, affirmation/recognition, challenge, or making a
difference, authority, and so on. According to Howard Figler, Ph.D.,
author of "The Complete Job-Search Handbook," there are four value areas
that people look for when seeking gain career
satisfaction:
* material (your salary)
* social (a
desire to work with people as opposed things)
* emotional (a
genuine interest in what you do)
* spiritual (an interest in
finding deep fulfillment from your work)
A dream job is one
where your values are not compromised and your interests are met.
Understanding and aligning your work with your values and interest can
take your job from boring to exciting, which means your career growth
will flourish.
I encourage clients to understand that this
process takes time, because it involves quite a bit of self-reflection.
The process should be ongoing as we grow and develop. Not enough people
take the time to get to know what they really feel passionate about;
therefore, they don't experience fulfillment in their work.
One
of the simplest ways to begin the process is to begin to ask yourself,
"What's really important to me?" As you begin to find the answer to this
question, while doing more intensive work, you will begin to determine
what makes you tick.
Remember, aligning your career with your
values makes Monday morning something to look forward to, not something
to dread.
Felicia H. Vaughn, M.Ed.
(fhvaughn@hotmail.com), is a certified career management coach. She
works as a career consultant for REA Career Services Inc. and is COO of
VaughnElite Corp.
