How to Get your Dream Job By Holly Allender

When I was fifteen years old and a sophomore in high school, my English teacher gave us a career quiz. It had about 100 questions probing for how I felt about various scenarios – did I enjoy planting fruit trees or building financial reports, and things along those lines. Based upon my responses, I got a glimpse into what I would possibly want to do for the rest of my life (or at least once I graduated from college). The results surprised me. The job I’d like the least was a desk job. The job I’d like the most – a religious leader!

In December 2009, I was laid off from a desk job that I had for over nine years. I had worked at many desk jobs for over fifteen years. It wasn’t until I was laid off that I had time to see I needed a change. A gentle voice suddenly roared within me and said I had the right to enjoy what I did with my life. I spent the next nine months figuring out what I wanted to do, and finding a job to fit the new me.

During this tumultuous time in my life, I discovered a wonderful book called The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. Using the tools and exercises in the book, I was able to reconnect with my true self. Like yoga helps to quiet and relax the body, The Artist’s Way helps to quiet and relax the mind. At those times, you can hear what it is you truly want. Further, the exercises helped me see what I was passionate about – writing and helping others through difficult times. I found a job in my new passion, and get to do what I love every day.

Here are a few steps to help get you started on figuring out what path to take.

1. What do you want?
Using resources like The Artist’s Way can help you get unstuck and sort through the murkiness figuring out what you want. It does take courage, but there is joy and freedom in learning about what makes you happy.

2. Take a Career Quiz.
There are many career quizzes available online for free. LiveCareer.com has a great free quiz with 100 questions and a detailed report to help you see where to go next. The information provided is a great place to start planning your next steps.

3. Ask for Help.There are many services that can counsel you on types of jobs, job markets, education, and so on. Search for “career counseling” and see what comes up in your area. Also, talk to someone like a professional, a mentor, a psychic, or a friend to see what they think you’d be good at doing.

4. Research the Career.
Using resources like Monster.com and Careerbuilder.com can help you find jobs in your chosen career. You can see where the jobs are located, if any are in your area, and, using salary calculators, see if the jobs pay what you want or need.

5. Get Training and Education.
In order to meet my dreams, I had to go back to school for a bit of extra training. There were community colleges that had the classes I was looking needed at a really cheap price! The classes met during the day and evenings, so this met my need of flexibility. Online at places like ed2go.com, you can find online classes at reasonable prices. These all look great on a resume!

6. Get Connected.
Networking was not my favorite thing. Connecting with others felt like I was pushing my needs onto them. How wrong I was! People love to lend their expertise to help you – especially if you are looking to work at their company. Using sites like LinkedIn.com, I was able to see where my friends and associates worked. When I applied to a job or found a job I was interested in, I would use LinkedIn to find someone I knew or was connected to who worked there or in a similar company. In some cases, people gave me great tips on who to talk to within the company or passed along my resume. Other times, they gave me insight on what it took to do the job and where I might need to get additional skills.