What is Your Dream Job?

Kitty Boitnott, Ph.D., NBCT, RScP

Career Transition & Job Search Coach | Certified Life Strategies & Stress Management Coach | Certified Sleep Science Coach

When I am talking with a new client, one of my favorite questions is this:  "If I gave you a magic wand and you could wave it and have whatever job or career you want, what would it be?"

I love the different answers I get.

My favorite answer is, "Wow, that is a really good question!"

The thing is I believe most people haven't allowed themselves to indulge in imagining their "dream job." They are focused on whatever "good job" they can get.

I am also of the opinion that we need jobs for different reasons at different points in our lives.

When we are starting out and establishing ourselves as young professionals in the workforce, money is an important factor. That's logical. We want to buy homes and cars and start saving for our kids' college fund and retirement. Money is good. We all need money, and the more the better as long as we are earning it honestly and ethically.

Money isn't the sole predictor of job satisfaction, however. Isn't that ironic? Because many of us are just living from paycheck to paycheck, we think if we were just making a lot more money, we would automatically be happy.

Just look at the unhappy celebrities and even multi-billionaires who have all the money they could ever want and more than they can spend in 10 lifetimes. It is not just an adage that "money cannot buy health or true happiness."

Assuming that it is true that money can't make you happy when it is only money alone that you are working for, what must be the real secret elixir of professional satisfaction?

I contend that it is doing what you were meant to do. We were each born with a mission. That is a core belief that I hold. Regardless of where you were born or under what circumstances you were raised, if you are alive at this point in time, you have a mission to engage in and complete.

You may not have identified what that mission is, though.

That's okay. You still have time!

I was speaking with a colleague recently, and she shared with me that she was offering clarity coaching to her clients, helping them identify and clarify their business goals and plans. She had previously shared that she wanted to work with "creatives" who were looking to start their own business enterprise, and now it has morphed into clarity coaching.

It struck me that I also provide clarity coaching, but instead of offering it around business ideas and helping entrepreneurs, I help my clients identify and clarify their life purpose.

It is not only a lot of fun for me, but I find it deeply satisfying when someone's eyes light up or their voice goes up a few octaves when the moment of clarity hits them.

That's my mission. I help individuals who feel stuck, lost, and alone in their job search clarify what they could be doing instead. For teachers, I want to help them find something that is just as fulfilling as teaching has been for them and more fun than it has been lately.

Back to my opinion that we need different things from our careers at different points in our lives. My mid-career professional clients who are generally those in their late 40's to early 50's are looking for something beyond just money as they consider a job or career change. They want to do something that has some meaning. They have started to consider what legacy they may be leaving, and their work is now as much about making an impact on the world in a positive way as it is about making a big salary.

I want to help them identify what it is they should be doing instead of what they have been doing that will be fulfilling and fun to boot.

That is part of the reason I have loved reading Jeff Goins' book so much.

In Real Artists Don't Starve:  Timeless Strategies for Thriving in the New Creative Age, Jeff offers numerous examples of how people have changed their lives by getting in touch with their creative natures and how they have discovered, invented, or just made ways to turn their talent into their sources of livelihood.

If you haven't grabbed Jeff's book yet, I urge you to. Between now and June 6th, if you pre-order, you can get $200 worth of bonus materials including a video course on the 12 principles of creativity that he shares in the book along with transcripts of the interviews he conducted while researching the book.

Back to my main point. If I were to give you a magic wand and you could pick the job of your dreams...any job in the world...what would it be? What would you do with your days? How would you contribute to the world? What benefit would your work provide for the world at large? Not sure? Then give yourself permission to consider the question for a while. Don't put any parameters or limitations on your imagination. You are only allowing yourself to dream, after all. But give it some serious thought. What is your dream job?

If you need help deciding what it would be or how to make your dream job a reality, contact me for a complimentary Discovery Session. Just sign up here:  http://kittyatcareermakeover.coachesconsole.com/calendar.html.

I would love to help you gain the clarity you need around what your dream job is and how to make it the job of your dreams in reality.

Until next time.