10 Questions To Determine Your Dream Job
While there are a lot of resources when we want to determine our dream job, much of that decision-making will come from our own self-reflection. For those of us that are not ready to reach out to someone specifically for advice in this area, then internal reflection is a great place to start. And for those of us that aren't sure where to even begin with what we want, then this is the best place. These resources are often more helpful when we have an idea of at least the type of work that we want to go into and are ready to pursue the next steps of getting that job.
So today, I want to share some simple reflection questions that we can work through. Some of us may have known our dream career since we were seven years old. But for others of us, that has changed so many times we aren't sure exactly what we want. As I've said before, our goal should not be to simply get every military spouse that wants a job to have a job. We should be positioning ourselves to have the right job for our values, priorities, skills, availability, etc. So even if you have known your dream job for years, I hope these questions will help further solidify why that career is perfect for you. And for those of us that haven't been sure for a very long time, I hope these help us get on the right track to figure out exactly what we want.
1. What do you love to do?
Include anything and everything. A dream job might not check all those boxes that bring us joy, but we might be surprised at how many it does end up matching.
2. If we could do anything at all, what would we do?
Similar to the first question, but let's look at this more from an experience and skills focus. We all have ideas of what grand adventures we would like for our lives, and maybe our dream job can get us one step closer to achieving those.
3. If we had to work for no money, what would we do?
This is an excellent question for self-reflection, but I do want to address the reality that for many of us, finances will be a key determining factor in what job we accept. In this day and age, it is getting harder and harder to live on one income. When we factor in childcare costs, then a second income becomes essential. But it is a good starting point to figure out what the perfect job would look like, even if it never has a salary attached to it.
4. What are we doing when we feel most happy?
Especially if we are currently in a job, what aspects of our day bring us the most joy? Once we know that filling out paperwork or teaching lessons is the best part of our day, then we can explore a job that would offer more hours of that kind of work.
5. What are our natural talents?
These are the skills that come really easy to us. When we are put in an environment and have to execute something, what is it that we feel most confident in our ability to do?
6. Who do we want to be in community with?
Coworkers and bosses are a big part of any job. And by the same token, so are clients if we work in a service-focused industry. Knowing who we want to be interacting with on a daily basis can be very helpful in determining what jobs to pursue.
7. Where do we want to be in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?
Don't just think of this as a location question but a lifestyle one. This is especially important when looking at a life and career beyond our spouse's time in the military. It is also essential to know our end game because the perfect job for right now may merely get our foot in the door of an industry that we want to thrive in one day.
8. What are our values?
We need to know where we stand on things and how we prioritize things to ensure that any organization we commit to is a good fit for us. For example, someone that really values family time may not work well with a company that gives minimal time or no time off around the holidays.
9. What is our ideal schedule?
We should examine our perfect time commitment on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. We should also look at what time of day we would prefer to work. If we want to be there to pick the kids up from school, then we need a job that lets us off before then. If we want a job that allows us to swing shifts like some of our spouses, then we need something incredibly flexible.
10. What do we want to make a difference in?
I'm sure at one point or another, we all had grand ideas of changing the world. We may have let that go as we grew up, but we can still have an impact. There are communities we can impact. We can reach people at a local or global level. And I genuinely believe that the little victories in our lives have ripple effects that can affect the whole world, and with our perfect job, we shouldn't limit how big we dream.
Knowing our dream job may not mean that it falls into our laps tomorrow. It doesn't mean that we won't end up with a crappy job just trying to help pay the bills, at least for a little bit. But it does set us up for success in the long run. It helps us know ourselves better, which is always a good thing. And it helps us keep our eyes peeled for the perfect opportunity when it presents itself. We may miss those little moments if we haven't taken the time to analyze exactly what we want. I hope this is a good starting point for us, and I hope that we all end up in a position that we love, with a fabulous salary attached to it.