How To Make Your Dream Job A Reality

Have you ever wanted a job for which you are COMPLETELY unqualified? I mean, you wanted it so bad that you could see yourself doing this job when you closed your eyes at night. You planned out, not even realizing you were doing so, what you would do in this fantastical position. You obsessed over this position, and daydreamed about it, always at inopportune times … like when you were supposed to be doing your ACTUAL job. Please tell me I’m not the only one who has done this. Thing is, I’m starting to get to live one of my dreams, and in doing so I’ve figured out you can make your dream job your reality.

How To Make Your Dream Job A Reality

This has happened to me several times throughout the span of my life. Gosh, how I wanted to be on the training team at Walt Disney World! I had training experience, but I didn’t yet have a degree, I hadn’t worked for Disney for 5+ years, and, perhaps most importantly, I lived nowhere near Florida. So, I let that dream float away.

I wanted to have a show on the Travel Channel (I didn’t have big dreams at all), going to small towns, and seeing what gems I could find in dining, shopping, and entertainment. I even had a name chosen for the show: Simply Small Town. I had NO CLUE, however, (and still don’t, quite honestly) how to go about making this job a reality. This didn’t stop me from dreaming about it. I still have a notebook somewhere that has a list of the small towns I wanted to feature on my show, but it remains just that: a notebook full of dreams.

I wanted to own my own film company (go big, or go home), making interesting training videos for companies, with an emphasis on the medical field. I was a film minor in college, and even made a few short films that were shown in a local film festival. Alas, I let that dream die too. Life got in the way, and that dream got pushed under the rug, along with my other dreams.

Who knows, maybe you want to be a writer. Or own a bakery. Or maybe you want to train service dogs whilst wearing colorful clothing. Who says you can’t?

So how does one turn their dream job into their real job? How do you go about doing what you love, instead of just living paycheck-to-paycheck to pay the bills?

1) Research the job. Find out everything you can about what the business is looking for. Find out what qualifications are needed to land the position you want. Follow them on all the social media outlets. This will keep you up-to-date and informed on the company and the position you desire. Keep a notebook about what you learn. You’ll want to reference this later.

2) Start checking off the desired qualifications one-by-one. If you need a degree to get the job, do what it takes to get that degree. If you have to have a prolific blog with a large following, start writing, and get your name and brand out there for people to see and recognize. If you have to have a great camera presence, for goodness sakes, practice going Live every day on some social media outlet, until being in front of the camera is second nature! I didn’t say it would be fast or easy, just do what you have to do to make it happen. Stay the course.

3) I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but act like you already have the job. Dress the part, talk as you would if you had the position, present yourself in person and on social media like you would if you already had the job (that means no drunk Spring Break pictures in bikinis posted on your wall).

4) Sometimes it’s who you know. This is going to be a hard one for you introverts (introverts unite … I’m talking to myself here)! Do you know how many times I’ve heard of someone landing a position, all because they knew someone on the inside? Start making friends. Talk to people. Strike up conversations wherever you go. You never know when you might have a conversation with the “right” person, who has an “in” with the company you want to work with.

5) Don’t give up. Don’t give up. Don’t give up. It may take a week, it may take 5 years to get your dream job. If you give up, you never will have the chance. Keep your eye on the prize, and go for it!

Let me be a lesson to you. Don’t get to be (my age…which I shall not divulge, though my cave drawing instructor did say I had great potential back in the day. Well, not as much say as grunt, but we’ve evolved since then), look back, and regret not going for your dreams! You can do it! It may not be a fast fix, but you can get there. I have faith in you! When you close your eyes, I want the job you see to be the dream job you landed.