The elusive dream job…
In Peter Pan,
there is a dreamy little known song named “The Second Star to the Right.” I
stumbled upon this song rather randomly while jamming out to some Disney tunes.
The lyrics immediately struck a chord with me. I lost my mom a couple of years
ago and was in a job that was filled with people I loved but was seriously
draining my soul. I wanted to move forward and pursue my dreams but I was so
very, very scared. With my mom I had lost my home, my foundation, my roots. And
while I felt my job was a dead end, it was familiar and stable. I had recently
inherited enough money to loosen some of the grips of fear that were holding me
down so I applied for graduate school. I knew that I couldn’t get my “dream
job” without my Masters, and without a job with purpose I didn’t think I could
really enjoy my life. As an INFP it is very important that I feel my work has
deep meaning and I feel I am working towards the common good and the job I held
just wasn’t doing it for me.
So I was driving
along and this song pops on and the lyrics instantly welcomed a surge of hope
into my life:
The second star to
the right
Shines in the
night for you
To tell you that
the dreams you plan
Really can come
true
The second star to
the right
Shines with a
light that's rare
And if it's Never
Land you need
It's light will
lead you there
Tears immediately
streamed down my face. A year later, here I am, five short months from the end
of this experience and the beginning of everything I hoped for. As I begin my
job search I keep reminding myself of how much I needed to love my job and it
needed to help me contribute to a greater good. I started to wonder not only if
my dream job was out there but if I even had a dream job. Yesterday, I found
it. Tears literally streamed down my face as I read over the description. It
was right there in front of me and I can tell you that I have never felt so
elated and so small. Was I prepared? Was I right fit? Did I have the right
experience?
In many ways I
think that a dream job can be the job that is the perfect intersection of your
experience and the need of the organization. But this job is simply just
something I am incredibly passionate about and I don’t have a ton of direct
experience that would necessarily make me competitive. I have to apply though,
I wouldn’t live with myself if I didn’t. I didn’t come this far to stare my
dream in the face and run the other way. I think it’s common to feel inadequate
during the job search. I think it’s healthy to have a realistic assessment of
your strengths as well as awareness that you shouldn’t waste peeps time if you
are not the right fit. But you also have
to have to dream a little and put your best foot forward. Let the search
committee tell you you are not the right fit, but don’t sell yourself short.
This is what was going through my head, my inner cheerleader spurring me on to
not give up.
Not everyone has a
dream job. Some people have a right fit job, a convenient job, a safe job, or
whatever and I think that’s fine. But I refuse to give up the hope that I
should both passionately love my job and fulfill a meaningful role within an
organization.
In light of
sharing resources, here are some that have been helpful in my search.
Books:
What Color is your Parachute?
This is a
phenomenal book with a lot of helpful activities that can help you figure out
your skills, what you want, and how to get it. Can’t recommend enough.
Strengths Quest: Discover and Develop
Your Strengths in Academics, Career, and Beyond
I love SQ! If you
have never found your top 5 strengths, please check this resource out. It can
give you a really great guide to who you are which helps when describing
yourself during interviews and networking events. Plus, it can give you some
insight into what jobs will allow you to thrive.
Job Search Sites:
Idealist.org
This is a great
search site for nonprofit, government, and K-12 college access jobs. If you got
a little do-gooder in you, you might find this very useful.
Until next time!
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