Let’s face it: work is work. Even the best dream job turns into a daily grind eventually. And what if you’re in a job search? Looking for a job is work, too! What can make work less work? Hint: know the answer to the question “What’s your dream job?”
Wait. You may be asking: Is it even possible to lighten your soul, seek career success and succeed at work all at once?
As part of our recent soul-lightening series of posts it’s time to take a look at the motivating power of knowing your dream job. At InPower Coaching we call it your “perfect job” because the dream isn’t about the job, it’s about you. Knowing which job would be the perfect match for your skills, motivations and goals will lighten you up and give you the energy you need to find success.
Why is it important to lighten your soul when thinking about your career? Let me tell you about my client, Terry. Terry was really good at her job and enjoyed it, but when I met her she was coming off a bad boss experience that really sapped her confidence. Her position was being eliminated and she needed income—fast. She was pretty clear on what she wanted but struggled to believe she could have it. As a result, her job search wasn’t moving fast enough for her and she was beginning to experience the panic that sets in when you start to imagine your income drying up within the next 30 days.
Let’s take a look at how taking a “perfect job” approach helped Terry in two scenarios:
- Securing a new job
- Succeeding in her new, highly demanding role
Using a “Perfect Job” to Make Your Job Search More Successful
When I met Terry, she’d begun to apply for job and reached out to her network. She’d even gotten a few interviews. But somehow, nothing seemed to pan out, even with the jobs she wasn’t very excited about. She was tired of marketing and selling herself and was considering accepting any reasonable opportunity that would pay the bills. Terry was also struggling to maintain a positive attitude because her previous experience left her feeling bitter and discouraged.
When you’re in the spot Terry was in, it’s hard for you to come up with an answer when well-meaning people who want to connect you to their networks ask you “what’s your dream job?” And if you’ve been on the hunt for awhile, the idea of a dream job may start to seem laughable.
Before I let Terry give up and take “anything that pays the bills,” we worked on helping her overcome the myth of the dream job and I asked her to consider these questions: “Are you really, truly a good fit for the ‘jobs that pay the bills?’ If you’re being completely honest, will you be likely to succeed there? How soon will you find yourself back on the job market? Do you really want to be looking for a job again soon?”
I introduced Terry to another way to look at her job search, and why she didn’t need to settle for a “good enough” job. It required a shift in her mindset, and a willingness to let go of her disappointment and anger at her last job experience. However, once she committed to finding a better approach to her job search, she was able to detrigger her negative emotions and identify her “perfect job”. With this clarity about what she wanted, she quickly filtered out opportunities that weren’t a good fit and focused on the ones that were. In less than a month, she landed a contract position with a terrific company that offered great benefits. (See below for how Terry turned this contract position into her full time “perfect job” gig.)
What’s the secret to Terry’s success? When I’m coaching my clients on a career search, we always start by identifying the six key elements of their “perfect” job from this exact point in their career. Not where they were before or where they want to be in five years, but from today. Why? Because, knowing your perfect job:
- brings your energy up, which leads to more positive interviews and networking conversations naturally and authentically
- provides an easy way to target the job you’ll be most excited about right now
- is a great filter so you don’t waste so much time trolling through job listings
- increases the likelihood of you getting a job you won’t want to leave right away
- gives you something specific to optimize your LinkedIn profile, resume and networking strategy around.
Focusing first on the perfect job for you, right now at this point in your career, makes your job search much easier and more likely to succeed. You’re not “selling yourself,” you’re just going for what you want because it lights you up. This kind of career planning taps you into your positive energy, which is essential to your success, especially when networking and interviewing.
Using a “Perfect Job” to Position Yourself for Success and Take the Grind out of Your Day
So how did Terry turn a contract position into a “perfect job” full time job? The contract position she took met most of Terry’s “perfect” job requirements, but not all of them, including the fact that it wasn’t full time! But Terry kept her idea of her perfect dream job in front of her as she got to know people and understand the company better. She quickly saw that new roles, which would allow her to do most of what was in her perfect job, would be open for hiring soon. And here’s the key to her success: she acted as if she already had her perfect job to guide her in how to show up at work.
- She invited people who would give her a thumbs up for the permanent positions to her meetings to show them how she would lead others through difficult subjects if she had the full time job
- She got to know her would-be team members and boss through the work they were already doing together and showed them she was a team player
- She let her interest in their work shine through in conversation with them so they could see her level of engagement with the challenges they had and how she would approach solving them
- She told her boss and key influencers she had access to that she was interested in the new job and that she believed she was qualified for it
Before long she had the full time gig! Of course she had to walk a fine line of not assuming authority she didn’t have, but when people saw what she could do and how positive and enthusiastic she was, it didn’t take long for them to make her an offer she couldn’t refuse.
But then what? Terry had caught the tiger by the tail. She was walking into a difficult job, with a team that was downtrodden and tired. How did her perfect job help her build up the team and start seeing immediate success? This is always a really interesting place to be, when the job that was your perfect job has now become your job.
Terry fixed her sights forward again. She realized that this job was a perfect fit for her because it allowed her to bring many previous experiences together and lead at a higher level. And as she began to imagine what that next level could be, her “perfect job” morphed from what she’s doing now to what she will be capable of doing after she’s mastered this role. By framing out her idea of how to answer the inevitable question: What’s your dream job now that you have your perfect job? Terry is finding that bringing a future-focused perfect job lens to her day-to-day grind is making it easier to:
- enjoy and feel grateful for the aspects of her current work and accomplishments that are a perfect fit for her today and in the future
- find gratitude for the challenges and successes today that build skills, experiences and connections to help her become a great candidate for her next perfect job when the time comes
- keep her energy up and feel gratitude when she sees progress towards that fulfilling, positive future she’s working so hard to achieve.
The truth is, there are myriad strategies and mindsets to use when conducting a job search or managing your daily ToDos. At the heart of it all, however, is the question of whether you’re closer or farther from the work that makes you feel impactful and fulfilled. When you’re focused on what makes you feel accomplished and progressing towards a meaningful goal, it’s easier to find choices and goals that help you get there. Try it. Let your perfect job pull you forward into a brighter and lighter future.
Not sure where to start in identifying your perfect job and how to answer the “what’s your dream job” question? Check out InPower Coaching’s career planning resources.
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