Raise your hand if you have never stopped to question whether your current job or career path is the right one for you. Ok, if you raised your hand, you’re one lucky gal, but are definitely outnumbered by us, ordinary mortals. For us, daydreaming about leaving our current job and start our dream career is (or was at some point) an everyday exercise. A lot of people feel stuck and stressed about their career situation.
Honestly, I don’t even know anyone around me who hasn’t gone through some sort of career crisis or hasn’t made subtle or even radical changes to their careers. Well, except my parents. They literally retired from the same job they had started at 40 some years before. Let me assure you they aren’t the norm, but the exception to the rule.
I have already gone through two major career shifts. I had several jobs over the course of my short, 40-year old, life. 16 years ago, back in Hungary, I started in the workforce as a lawyer. Then I transitioned into a public servant position in Canada, and now I’m serving clients from across the world as a Personal Transformation and Success Coach.
Why finding your dream career is so important
Career Success is one of my specialization, for two reasons:
- Firstly, because I’m the living example that career change doesn’t kill, so I believe that my clients can take advantage of my experiences and wisdom.
- Secondly, because our career is such a center piece of our lives, and, for the sake of our well being, we cannot afford to waste our precious time and energy on something we hate or not feel fulfilled by.
As the old adage says, “Only a fool never changes his mind”.
If you’re thinking about going back to school or changing your career, you’re not alone.
You’re like the nearly one in four university graduates who did the same, according to the Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey (2014). Research suggests that the number of all people who have considered a career change at least once in their lifetime is even higher, about 75%.
Switching jobs is relatively common throughout Canada. Some say that an average person may hold about 15 jobs in a lifetime (Source: https://www.columbia.ab.ca/often-people-change-careers-canada/)
Changing careers, however, is a whole new ball game. It is often very painful to recognize that our current career, which we studied so long for and worked so hard towards, is not satisfying anymore. It’s not uncommon to be a little hesitant when considering changing careers, especially if we’re looking to choose a job that we have not had prior experience in.
Finding the perfect career is not always easy and it definitely takes some time and soul-searching. But it’s soooo rewarding.
To make this process a little bit easier for you, I wrote a list of 7 key things that helped me to find my dream career. I hope they’ll offer you help in figuring out what direction you should be moving in.
1. Find your Passion and imagine what your dream job would look like
Think about what it is that you’re truly, deeply passionate about. What fires you up so much that you don’t notice how quickly time flies? This is something you just love to do, even for free. For example, I have a friend who is a teacher but in her spare time she loves decorating houses. One of my clients, an engineer, bakes gluten-free cookies for the Farmer’s Market every Saturday. Another friend of mine, who happens to be a forensic pathologist, is an avid runner. She just loves creating these beautifully designed posters and schedules on her computer for the club members.
What is your passion?
2. Figure out your Motivation
While passion is the love for what you do, motivation is the reason behind doing it. Think about what motivates you in general to do things. Is it money? Is it power? Maybe admiration? You may love to be part of a team. Or, you may be an avid environmentalist, so your motivation is to work with an organization that protects the earth’s ecosystem. The sense of fulfillment and opportunities can be great motivators too.
Think about what you feel to be motivated by. Are these external or internal things?
3. List your Strengths with your dream career in mind
This step is really going to take some thinking about and creating a list of your genuine skills and aptitudes. Starting from your childhood up until these days, make a list of the things you think you do better than others. For example, you may have the ability of easily convincing people, or you’re a great listener, or the best multitasker in your family. You may have incredible fine motor skills, or an unfailing memory for names. Maybe your communication skills are excellent, or you love build things (from cards, sand or toothpicks).
Think about what it is that you often get compliments on. Ask your family and friends what they think your greatest strengths are.
4. Think about your accumulated life experiences
This is a fun exercise. Think about your life from high school on and list each and every milestone experience (negative or positive) you’ve learned something important from. This may include: any previous jobs, volunteer positions, divorce, moving to a foreign country, recovering from an illness or a trauma. It may have been starting your own business, failing royally at something, overcoming your fear from spiders, finishing grad school or learning a new language. List everything important for you.
What are the life experiences that made you who you are today?
5. Take a personality test
Your personality has a greater-than-what-you-think impact on what kind of career you should choose. If you’re an introvert, you probably don’t want to become a stand-up comedian. If you, on the other hand, are an extrovert, pursuing a career where you’d never talk to people for months would be a real punishment. So, think about what kind of personality traits you have. Are you agreeable or dominant; planner or improviser; cooperative or competitive; intellectual or practical. Are you a people-person, chatty, bubbly who is all about getting to know strangers on the subway, or rather someone who is loyal to the people he/she loves but happy when the party you were invited to gets cancelled on Saturday night.
You can take the Myers-Briggs Personality Test here.
6. Talk to a coach about your Limiting Beliefs
I’m not going to talk too much about limiting beliefs here, because this is a huge topic on its own. In my coaching practice this is something we usually spend months working on. I’m convinced that until you don’t become aware of the existence of such beliefs in your head, you cannot find your true calling when it comes to making any changes to your career or to any aspect of your life for that matter.
Our limiting beliefs are our alternate reality that exists in our head and is true only for us.
They are something like, “I’m not good at finances, so I shouldn’t start my own business”. “I don’t have enough work experience to apply for that promotion”. “I will never be able to make enough money of my hobby, so it’s better to stay in my current (hateful) job”.
Listen carefully to your thoughts and words. What are your limiting beliefs that hold you back from pursuing your dream job or career?
7. Identify your Core Values
Values are the guiding principles of our lives, the things we deep down consider the most important, such as authenticity, honesty, kindness, freedom, authority, or helping others. Think of 2 or 3 of your highest values that guides your everyday life: maybe you’re a mom of four and your core value is caring for your loved ones, rather than becoming financially independent. Or, you’re a venture capitalist and you value growth, money and power, rather than kindness or altruism. It’s important that the values you identify make complete sense to you personally.
Now, you’re equipped with all the knowledge you need to start exploring your dream career path.
I hope that after reading this blog you’re beginning to have some clear ideas about who you are, what you do well, and the career direction that you ought to take at this stage of your life.
