We go to college, we graduate. We search for jobs, we work...but are we happy?
Starting a career is an exciting time. We think a lot about our future success; our goals. When we’re asked about our “dream job,” often the response includes a lot of talk about the future- the long-term, distant future of when we’re CEOs, Directors and owners. Our twenties end up being an after-thought.
It becomes ingrained in our heads that the beginning of our working lives should be somewhat of a struggle. Between wrestling with the new challenges of living on our own, and working from the bottom of the professional totem pole, most of us hardly ever think that when we’re a twenty-something that we could actually be working our dream job.
99.9% of us aren’t the next Mark Zuckerberg. If we haven’t founded a big tech startup or invented some revolutionary product, our “dream job” during these years has probably been just an idea in our heads.
But, it’s okay if we’re not an under-30 billionaire. What does need to happen, though, is there being less “just-getting-by” in our twenties. How? With a new perspective on what having our “dream job” means.
Did I have my dream job in my twenties? By traditional standards, heck no. But, by my own? Absolutely- and it was every step of the way. Here are five ways to get thinking about how to have your dream job right now:
1. HOPE IS NOT A PLAN.
While you may be given a certain path to follow, don’t assume that you’ll reach the end. You have the power to dictate how, when and if you get there.
Compare what you’re doing now to where you want to be. Do the two stack up?
If not, stop. Keep a watchful eye on your long-term future.
2. MAXIMIZE SHORT-TERM OPPORTUNITY.
To reach your ultimate goals, focus specifically on the steps you need to conquer in order to get there.
3. YOUR TRUE VALUE IS DETERMINED BY HOW MUCH YOU GIVE IN VALUE, RATHER THAN HOW MUCH YOU TAKE IN PAYMENT.
Create value for your boss, your partners and your customers to show that you are reliable. Ask yourself, “What else?” What are their expectations and how can you exceed them?
Don’t concern yourself with compensation. At least not right now. Showing people what you’re capable of is more important. Now is the time to lay the groundwork.
4. DON’T REGRET WHERE YOU’VE BEEN IF YOU LIKE WHERE YOU ARE.
Everyone is dealt a different hand in life. Despite having hardships, and trust me we all have them, the most difficult times in your life shape who you are. Embrace them.
5. FOLLOW YOUR BLISTERS.
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Go with what you know, but have a true understanding of what that is.
“If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of a track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living.”
- Joseph Campbell
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A variation of this post originally appeared on GovX: http://www.govx.com/blog/111/your-dream-job-is-now
This post also appeared on my LinkedIn page at: http://linkd.in/1uF1I7u
