Nine out of ten American workers report not working in their dream job, and seven in ten say they’re not on track to land their dream job. JobSage, an employer review site, surveyed 1,200 Americans currently in the workforce, and the findings paint a pessimistic view, even into the future – only 47% of respondents considered their dreams realistic in the current economy.
Working hard but not at your dream job? 4 ways to pivot your career closer to the dream
Even though the odds seem long, with proper career planning, you can be in that 10% of people who are working in their dream job. You don’t even have to leave your current job to start working towards your dream:
1 - Keep your dreams top of mind
Working on your belief and confidence that your dream job is attainable isn’t just for warm and fuzzy, motivational reasons. Practically speaking, if you don’t think your dream job is out there or attainable by you, then you won’t get started and you won’t see the opportunities all around you to move along the path. Therefore, keeping your dreams top of mind is the very first step.
In the JobSage survey, the top dream industries included technology, entertainment and art & design. Top dream companies included Google, Apple and a university or school. Whatever your dream industry or company is, bookmark relevant articles for ongoing reading. These articles don’t all have to be about your dream targets – read about people who have made career pivots of all kinds, and they can serve as prototypes for what you’re trying to do. Talk to people who work or worked at your dream places or who have successfully made big changes. Put a Google Alert on dream industries, and follow dream companies on LinkedIn. All these small actions set up an environment where you surround yourself with information about your dream targets, which makes them more familiar to you and therefore more attainable.
2 - Start with activities outside the work day
You can change your career while still keeping your job. The reading, talking and research listed above can all be done outside the work day. As you get more excited about the possibility of landing your dream job, you can increase the activity – more in-depth research and more in-depth conversations, perhaps even attending meetups or conferences.
Update your resume and LinkedIn profile in advance of a more active job search. Volunteer to get more hands-on experience. For example, if your dream company is a university, volunteer with your alma mater or a local college where you live. If your dream industry is technology, take on a tech role (e.g., social media manager) for a non-profit. These more targeted steps still can be managed outside the work day and don’t have to impact your current job at all.
3 - Choose DIY learning and short courses over formal certificates and degrees
Respondents in the JobSage survey worried that the cost of grad school would keep the dream job at bay. However, graduate school is not necessarily a prerequisite to making a career change. You can opt for a certificate over a degree, a course over even a certificate or DIY learning options such as free online classes and lectures.
Hiring managers and recruiters care about what you know in terms of how it will enable you to be productive from day one. That knowledge could come from a variety of sources and be demonstrated in a variety of ways – a graduate degree is but one form of proof. As you learn more about your dream area of expertise, blog about it so you have a paper trail of your findings and insights. Or pull together a panel for an alumni event at your alma mater, and be the moderator.
4 - Negotiate the job you already have to better match your dreams
75% of survey respondents wanted more hybrid work, and 67% wanted to travel more for work. These are aspects of a job that you can negotiate right where you are. Put in a request for a change in schedule, location or both. If your role doesn’t lend itself to travel, look for lateral opportunities, where you can move within the same company to a different role that might involve more travel. If you work for a large enough company with offices in other locations, negotiating your responsibilities so that you work with those other places might enable you to build travel into your work.
Itemize what aspects of your environment, work arrangements or scope of responsibilities you would like to change. Prioritize and then negotiate for the ones that will make the most impact in improving how you feel about your job. You might find that your current job becomes a dream job. If not, you’ll at least get much-needed negotiation practice for when you actively look for the dream job elsewhere.
