How To Find Your Dream Job

How To Find Your Dream Job? – A Comprehensive Guide

Are you looking for your dream job? Or, more importantly, do you know what your dream job actually is?

Most people have some idea of the type of work they want to do. Unfortunately, many people end up in jobs where the working week becomes a drudge and they feel they only live for the weekends.

Even in your dream job, you can expect to be working until retirement age, perhaps even beyond. You are going to be working approximately 40 hours per week and, in most cases, a minimum of 11 months per year.

That is a great deal of time and a large chunk of your life. In order to get the most out of your life, your job is going to have to satisfy more than your bank manager.

How Can I Discover My Dream Job?

A dream job means different things to different people. Deciding on a job, most people ask themselves the following questions:

  1. Do I have what it takes to get that job?
  2. Will it give me the income I want?
  3. Will I enjoy doing that job?

Do I Have What It Takes To Get That Job?

The first question is probably the easier of the three to answer. You will have gained skills and training along the way and probably have had a career guidance counselor to answer your questions.

However, job requirements change, or you may not be in a position to access career guidance.

That is easily solved if you get in contact with a pre-employment preparation agency. They will provide you with resources detailing the skills required for jobs and a means of testing your skills.

For this, we recommend using Job Test Prep. They have over thirty years of experience in the field, and getting your dream job is not something you want to leave to chance.

Also, before you set out to find the ideal job for you, you could consider taking tests for your own personal information. Test results will confirm both the skills you have and the areas you need to work on before applying for that job.

Will It Give Me The Income I Want?

Girl Counting Money

Only you can answer the second question!

You need to clarify for yourself what income you need for the lifestyle you want to have. A trawl through job advertisements will give you an idea of what the earning potential is in various jobs.

When looking at this aspect, ensure you take taxation and saving for retirement into account.

Will I Enjoy Doing the Job?

A dream job should satisfy you personally as well. Otherwise, you are committing yourself to a life of drudgery.

Look at any job you are applying for as carefully as you looked at your training program and ask yourself the following questions:

  1. What aspect of the work most appeals to me?
  2. What aspect of the workplace appeals to me?
  3. What aspects of the job and the workplace do not appeal to me?

Questions 1 and 2 should be easy to answer. Question 3, asking “What does not appeal to you,” may be more difficult.

You have to be brutally honest when answering this one. It is very easy to jump at the first opportunity that comes along, but when looking for your dream job, you need to consider factors that make it less than ideal.

If the job meets what you are looking for in terms of earning potential but not in terms of personal satisfaction, then it may be a big no-no. If you can afford it, it might be best to walk away.

Once again, jot down your answers to the questions and compile a list of pros and cons. Then take a break and come back clearheaded before sitting down to make your decision.

When looking for your dream job, it is a good idea to answer those two questions before you begin your search. Put pen to paper and jot down your answers. It is surprising how much clearer everything looks when seen in black and white in front of us. And it will also save you from having to carry around a jumble of ideas in your head.

What If I Don’t Have The Qualifications For My Dream Job?

If in the course of answering the above questions, you discover you are not qualified for your dream job, you still have options. In today’s world, there are more ways than one of becoming involved in a particular type of work.

Take Further Training

It’s never too late to learn new skills. Whatever your age, you could still join a degree program as a mature student, taking it over an extended period of time alongside your current job. There are also thousands of cheaper online courses out there to learn skills that cost a fraction of the price, from $100 to a few thousand dollars.

These vary in quality, but there are courses for everything, including:

Explore Alternative Options Based On Your Skills

Doctor typing information on Laptop in Hospital office focus on Stethoscope

Let’s imagine that you wanted to get involved in medicine, and your passion is helping people get well. However, you failed to get a place in medical school and opted to do a degree in science because you were good at those subjects. With your science degree, you can still be involved in healing people.

Why not consider going down the route of research and working with companies developing vaccines or cures for various illnesses?

Or you could use your degree to work in a hospital laboratory doing the testing that doctors depend on to deliver care to their patients.

In both of those examples, you are still working in the field of healthcare and playing your part in delivering patient care.

Taking another example, let’s imagine you enjoy interacting with people. Your dream job is one where you are involved in helping people. If that is the case, then you are spoilt for choice.

Consider a job in customer service. Good customer service is essential in all of the following industries:

  • Retail
  • Banking
  • The travel industry
  • Healthcare
  • Education

And the list goes on.

Are You Equipped To Work In Any Of The Listed Industries?

If not, it’s back to your list again. This time, compile a list of all the industries where the ability to engage with people is a must. Then look at the list. You will probably find one or more industries where you could happily work.

And remember, qualifications aside, the ability to engage with people when they are in difficult or stressful situations is a talent that a great many people do not have!

Start a Business

And one more example!

Animals are your thing, but you didn’t get into a veterinary college. And anyhow, you don’t like blood. Yet you spend your weekends taking care of your neighbor’s dog.

Why not turn that into your ideal job?

You could opt for a casual part-time job giving locals dog walking services. However, that might not give you the financial rewards that would fund your lifestyle.

But what about opening a business that would service pet owners’ needs? Suddenly you are fulfilling your passion for working with animals and a business owner to boot.

This option would, of course, involve coming up with funds and maybe doing a crash course in marketing. But if it is the perfect job for you… it is worth it.

The Time Is Right

Consider yourself lucky that you are searching for your ideal job in the current climate.

Terrible as the pandemic and the resulting lockdowns were, they brought about a major change in the world of work. Remote working is now a thing and with it comes the flexibility the bricks and mortar workplace could not offer.

And we have learned that to survive, we have to be creative and think outside of the box. Using your creativity will help you play around with the possible options and win your dream job.

Written by Elizabeth O Mahony

With 25+ years’ experience as a teacher and state examinations corrector, Elizabeth now writes for the education and careers industry. Her experience preparing students for examinations and running an academy for supplementary education give her invaluable insights into what it takes for job seekers and graduates to succeed in assessments.