Lifestyle

Dream Job Believin’

When you’re locked in to the doldrums of drudge work day in and day out, the energy and focus to take the first step toward realizing your dream job can seem particularly daunting. It’s time to start thinking about getting the job you’ve always wanted — and getting paid for it.
Text by Ryan Jarrell | May 16, 2018 | Lifestyle

A Great Leap Forward
“Give me 6 hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first 4 sharpening the axe.” So says one of our most solemn and wise Presidents, Abraham Lincoln. Take a page from Honest Abe’s book and set yourself up for success. Creating a long-term plan allows you to identify the first steps necessary to make your dreams reality. Blogs and occupation-themed sites can help you assess the initial steps you’ll need to take to achieve your goals. Try hanging a physical copy of your plan somewhere important in your house and marking off sections as you accomplish them.

Stay Connected & Savvy
Who was Steve Jobs before he was Steve Jobs? A foppish, Left Coast flower child? A wandering, maladjusted dweeb with a malodorous aura a mile wide? A man who found calligraphy fascinating? Could anyone ever truly be all of these things? They say a prophet is never recognized in his homeland, and this was doubtlessly trice as true for early associates of the software magnate. Maintaining familial and social contacts from your childhood on could give you an unexpected edge in attaining your vocational fantasy, as well as giving you practice in the social skills needed to maintain any occupation for as long as you want.

I (Maybe) Want To Hold Your Hand
Remember, people, at heart, we’re just a bunch of less hairy, more undersexed primates. Not all your dream occupation strategies need to involve scanning tomes of literature and accruing fantastical degrees. Basic nonverbal communication can also aid the cause. Want a tip you can work on right now to achieve your dream job? Tighten the screws on that flabby, clammy handshake. That’s right, your parents were right. A firm handshake can help foster and fortify any business dealing from the interview on, and has even been proven to improve hireability between similarly experienced candidates. Worried your greetings aren’t up to par? The rules are simple. Maintain eye contact, keep a firm grip and focus on the person instead of the handshake itself.

Extra, Extra: Read Literally Everything About It!
Keeping up with news related to the industry of your choice is a must for attaining your dream job. Subscribing to periodicals, Google alerts, newsletters and e-blasts related to your chosen profession will not only gauge your true and lasting interest in a topic (if you can’t keep your eyes open through the latest edition of Orthodontics Today, you might want to reconsider occupations). It also might allow you to spot current trends that could give you a leg up in the future. Additionally, contributing to said forums puts you in the public eye and looks great on your resume.

Don’t Dance Like No One’s Watching
Screenwriter. World-renowned author. The guy who gets paid 6 figures to watch and subsequently guffaw at clumsy people falling down. I’m just like anyone else; I have a number of reasonable vocations that I feel would complete me as a person. But if I can’t even flip a burger or stock a shelf of soup, what do I imagine I’ll bring to my dream job? Remember, the gig of the century may change your life but not necessarily your work habits. Treat every job like it’s your passion. You may find your dream job is a bit closer than you think.