It’s Monday morning and you’re walking with a spring in your step while whistling your favourite tune. No, it’s not your day off. No, you’re not headed on holiday -- you’re actually headed to your dream job. It’s fulfilling and challenging and everything you ever wanted.
Can’t imagine this situation? You’re not alone.
In fact, most Brits, about half, don’t feel this way about their current job. Recent CIPD research shows that nearly 50% of UK workers are either under or over-skilled for their jobs and are essentially working in the wrong role.
Research on the Millennial workforce shows that 91% expect to stay in their job for less than three years. That means most Millennials will easily have at least 15 to 20 jobs during their working lives!
Sure, job hopping doesn’t only result from an unhappy workforce. But, it does show a worrying trend of Millennials, and UK workers in general, feeling dissatisfied enough to regularly look for new opportunities.
So, how exactly are you meant to find your dream job? Does such a thing even exist?
Well. . . probably not. But, it is possible to find a job that’s almost perfect. No role will be enjoyable 100% of the time and it’s likely that your dreams will evolve as your career goals do. Of course, you’ll have your bad days and every role involves unpleasant tasks. Rather than aiming for perfection, you should try to find a career with the least amount of unpleasantness as possible.
Even this might seem like a lofty goal, but with a little reflection and effort you’ll get there. And, our life hacks for finding your dream job will help you get started.
Life Hack #1: Find Your Strengths
What are you really good at? Do you thrive on creating strategic business plans? Are you a whizz with numbers? Begin by asking yourself some tough questions and writing down your top skills.
If you’re having a hard time identifying your strengths, there are many excellent online resources like the Myers-Briggs personality test. Once you have this information in hand, you can start searching for career paths that compliment and encourage the things that you’re naturally good at.
Life Hack #2: Reflect On Your Past Experiences & Aspirations
Start at the very beginning and go all the way back to childhood. What did you want to be as a child? You know, before the world told you that it wasn’t a good idea and before you doubted your own abilities.
Next, look at your past roles. What positions have you naturally gravitated towards? What aspects of your previous jobs did you enjoy? What ones did you avoid at all costs? What’s your most significant career achievement to date?
Reflecting on your career history can help identify recurring themes. Perhaps you realise that you’ve always enjoyed working as part of a team or mastering the written word. On the other hand, maybe you notice that you’ve always hated giving presentations. Not only will these insights help you get a bit closer to your dream job, but you’ll also be able to highlight any relevant experiences when it’s time to draft a new CV.
Life Hack #3: Enrol in Classes
Taking a class, whether at your local University or online, lets you try something new. Who knows maybe you’ll even discover a new career path?!
You can attend lectures and meet like-minded people on Meetup, sign up for LinkedIn and take courses on a wide range of subjects, or simply attend relevant events found on Eventbrite. These platforms offer an inexpensive way to test out career options and you may just discover that you’re passionate about coding, marketing or something else entirely.
Life Hack #4: Follow Your Passion
Following your passion may sound like clique advice, but it’s better than doing a job you hate. Defining your dream job essentially comes down to finding a career that you love so much that work doesn’t feel like work. The key is identifying this passion and then using it to shape your career path.
One way to go about finding your passion or dream job is to find a job you’d be willing to do for free. Imagine that you don’t get paid, or at least don’t get paid very well, would you still go to work?
Know the answer? Presto, you’ve found your dream job! Think about it -- if you’re so passionate about something that you’d do it for free, then getting paid to do it would be the ultimate definition of a dream job. It may not be the best paid or most prestigious job, but it’ll certainly be challenging and fulfilling.
Life Hack #5: Speak to One of Our Consultants
Let us change the way you think about your job. Our specialist recruitment professionals have over 45 years of experience within the accountancy and finance, investment management and asset servicing, IT, professional services, risk and compliance, and construction industries. We have access to some of the best jobs within these industries and are experts at helping talented candidates find new, life-changing positions.
Contact us today and get started on the path towards your dream job.
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