If you’re like 70% of America’s workers, you spend your days feeling disengaged from that job you’re pouring your hours into. Have you looked at people who seem to really love going to work and wondered what their secret is? It’s actually not a secret at all: the key lies in simply daring to take the first steps toward what you want. Here are five inspirational questions to ask yourself to help you find your dream job and start doing what you love:
1) What do you love?
Sit down with a good friend, a glass of wine, and something to take notes on. This type of self-exploration is easier when you have someone who’s listening to you, and who may be able to re-frame what you’re thinking from a new perspective. During your conversation, make notes of arts, activities, foods – everything you really love. If you feel stuck, Forbes recommends asking yourself the following: “If I had a free Saturday that had to be spent “working” on something, I’d choose ____________, because ____________.”
2) What are the best and worst aspects of your work life?
For most of us, no job we’ve done has offered everything we want, and (with a few exceptions!) no job is purely negative, either. Are there particular aspects of your current or past employment that did work well for you: a great experience of teamwork, for example, or the chance to write your own curriculum for that low-paid class you got talked into teaching? Looking back over real-world examples of what worked well for you can help you set up guideposts for where you need to go.
3) What kind of compliments do you receive?
When friends, clients and co-workers have nice things to say about you, what are they? Do they praise your creativity, determination, flexibility, humor? It’s not always easy to evaluate our own strengths, but relying on the accumulated wisdom of compliments may enable you to set modesty aside and recognize your own unique talents. Write them down as you think of them, because there are jobs out there that need your exact set of virtues!
4) Who do you know in a field which excites you?
This is the age of networking, so you may not even have to start face-to-face (although it’s great if you do have a personal connection with someone who’s currently doing work that you’d love.) Moving beyond your current circle of friends and relatives, join interest groups online through LinkedIn, and start engaging in conversations with the people already doing your dream job.
5) Where would you love to volunteer?
Volunteering is one of the most reliable bridges on which to cross over from your current job to what you dream of doing. While it takes some time to actually earn your living in a new field, few organizations will turn down a chance for conscientious free help. You can even volunteer in a different role within your current company, in order to gain experience and perspective on the position you hope to move into.
Finding the line of work you’ll be happiest in is within your reach, today. Just by asking yourself these five questions, and paying attention to the answers, you are taking the most important steps in a job hunt for the work you really want to do.