I’m going to dispel the myth that I personally, do not believe in the ‘dream job’.
When you are first entering the working world, you are encouraged to fuel a belief and ideal, of your perfect job and that it is something that you aspire to achieve. However, very quickly you learn that many factors need to line up for a dream job to become a reality.
You’ll have your dream role, or a dream industry but over time your wants, needs and aspirations change as you grow older, develop experience, and increase your exposure to different working environments and people.
My Dream Job
For me for example, I don’t have a dream job aspiration but I know when I am onto a good thing if (taking my career in marketing for example):
- Job title – must demonstrate my area of skill/experience/interest
- Salary – matches my level of experience
- Location – Convenient and sustainable long-term
- Benefits – Pension, health care… it all matters and the older you get and more experienced you become, a job is as much about what they can offer you as you them.
- It’s more than just a job – I love getting involved in the workplace beyond my day job. For example I love to get involved and encourage wellness initiatives, women in business groups, fundraising, and volunteering.
I see a fair few tweets from young people announcing their excitement at landing what they perceive to be their dream job (i.e. in social media).
While I am ecstatic for them because I am so pro people getting a foot onto the career ladder and understand first-hand how important that break is (read about my graduate experience), but I know that in 6-12 months they may already be looking for that next step.
Did you ever read my special Hey it’s okay: Career edition post? If you’re new to the working world and trying to run before you can walk and busily plotting out the next 5-10 years of your life (because that was me not so long ago), I share some valuable insight from my own experience.
My dream job scenario down the line, particularly when I have a family to manage, is to be able to work freelance with a view it’ll give me that perfect work-life balance many people spend their working life seeking.
However, with the freelance life comes insecurity, no colleagues, a fuck ton of constant networking and self promotion… so it really isn’t always quite the dream people think it is.
These photographs were taken a couple of years ago at the Peter Pan statue located in Kensington Gardens, London.
At the end of the day, when it comes to anything, there are always negatives with the positives and vice versa, and my summary point is really to say that a dream job soon adapts to being more about the dream work lifestyle.
What do you think, do you believe in the dream job?
Until next time x
