Career Concerns: Will I Ever Land My Dream Job?

If there’s one career concern that plagues a lot of people, it’s whether it’s possible to land that dream job. We spend our lives hoping and praying that one day we will do the job of our dreams, the job that we’ve been lusting over since we began our careers. However, what a lot of us come to realise is that when it comes to getting the job of your dreams, there are no guarantees.

That being said, that doesn’t mean it’s not possible to get that perfect position, it’s just that you need to be more proactive about it, rather than sitting back and waiting for it to happen, like so many of us do. The good news is that if you’re willing to be proactive about moving forward in your career, landing that dream job is easier than you would think. Sure, it will take time to get to where you want to be, but it is possible to progress, it’s just a case of having the right mindset.

Determine what your dream job is

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The first step to landing your dream job is determining what it is. This might sound a little odd as most people know what their dream job is, but we mean exactly what it is. So instead of saying that you dream of working in fashion, you need to work out exactly what part of fashion it is that you want to work in, is it fashion design or is it fashion buying. If you know exactly what part of an industry you want to work in, landing that dream role will be easier for you. If you’re not sure what role it is that you want, speaking to a careers advisor could be the answer. It’s amazing how much help it can be to talk to a careers advisor about your hopes and dreams for the future, as they can help to make them a reality by telling you the steps that you need to take to reach them.

Create a career plan

When it comes to achieving their targets, a lot of people find that creating a career plan can be helpful. You see, if you have a plan in place that you can follow, including the steps that you will need to take to get to where you want to be, it becomes easier to make your dreams a reality. Let’s say, for instance, you are currently a marketing assistant but you dream of becoming a project leader. You need to move up a couple of roles before you can get there, so being promoted to junior project leader would be a step in the right direction, so this should be the first thing that you should focus on. A career plan will give you a clear guide to moving up the career ladder and will allow you to see what you need to do to achieve your career goals.

Work with a life coach or mentor

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A lot of people report finding it easier to get to where they want to go, in terms of their career, when they work with a life coach or mentor. You see, when you have someone else on hand to cheer you on and ensure that you meet your goals, you are more likely to stay on track. When you have a meeting with your life coach or mentor each week to discuss whether you’re meeting your goals and are happy with what you are achieving, you should find that you are more motivated. It’s amazing the difference having someone to cheer you on can make to your mindset. If you’re not sure about hiring a life coach, a mentor could be a good idea. A mentor should be someone in the same field as you who is more senior, ideally not your boss – you want a mentor who isn’t connected to your current role.

Assess your skills

If you are going to reach your goals, you need to ensure that you have the correct skills for the role. The best way to do that is to have a browse online at job adverts for your dream role, to see what tends to be required from candidates. Say you are currently a healthcare assistant but want to become a qualified nurse or doctor, then you can register for HCA jobs here, and use the adverts to get an idea of what is required for this positions, in terms of skills and experience. Perhaps you already have the key skills, or maybe you need to do some training, either way, it doesn’t matter, it’s just a case of taking the time to get the skills required, so that you’re more likely to be successful when you apply for your dream role.

Boost your experience

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To up your chances of success when it comes to landing that dream role, whatever it may be, increasing the experience that you have could be the answer. This could mean working for free as an intern or taking part in an internship project; it could mean shadowing a more experienced team member, it could mean going abroad to boost the experience that you have. There are various ways that you can increase the experience that you have, but how you choose to go about it is up to you. One way that a lot of people have started to give their experience a boost is by blogging or vlogging and sharing tips and advice for the industry that they are working in, learning as they go. When it comes to career advancement, the more experience that you can get, the better, so put in the time and build up your resume.

Be creative

With over 200 applicants for every role, there is a lot of competition. So if you want to beat your competitors and land that dream role, you need to be more creative and unique. Employers are always on the lookout for creative thinkers – the more innovative the thinker, the better. So if you are serious about moving up the career ladder, you need to become a little more creative. Look at things from a different angle and find unique solutions, then when you’re invited to an interview and are asked what is special about you, you can give examples of your innovative and unique thinking and approach to work. If you’ve got examples of previous projects you’ve worked on, that’s even better. The more creative and unique you can be, the better.

Be positive

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A lot of people don’t realise it, but a positive, can-do attitude goes a long way. If you are someone who is always negative and is always thinking in a negative way, such as that you will never move up the career ladder, you are less likely to. Studies have shown that people that are positive about their life goals tend to be more successful, this is because they are constantly doing things to improve their chances of career success. A negative attitude means a negative mindset which when it comes to progressing in your career isn’t a useful thing to have. Sure, you might not land that role, but that doesn’t mean you have no chance at all. Be more positive about life, and you will find that you start to feel better about your career and your chances of success. Being positive means seeing the glass as half full rather than half empty. It means not always thinking the worst of a situation; it means looking for the good in the bad. Life is a lot more enjoyable when you make an effort to be a more positive person.

Become an amazing networker

If you don’t already attend networking events, now is the time to start. When it comes to your career and how successful you are, often it’s not what you know but who you know. This might sound unfair that it’s the people who have good connections that are successful, but that’s the way that the world works. So if you want to be successful, now is the time to start networking. If you want to up your chances of further career progression, you need to start building industry connections. By attending marketing events, you will get to know lots of other people in your chosen industry, which when it comes to moving up the ladder, can be highly beneficial. You never know the man you start chatting to at a breakfast networking event could just be the guy who does your next job interview. You would be surprised by how important it is to have lots of strong connections in place when it comes to career success.

A lot of us worry that we will never land our dream jobs, especially when there is so much competition. However, the fact is that if we are willing to work hard and take the steps mentioned above, such as creating a career plan, it is possible to achieve our career goals. Sure, it might take time, but with perseverance and hard work, it is possible.