I know way too many people who hate Sundays.
Why? Because in a few hours, they have to march back to their office, working on things they don’t like. I wrote this piece to help you avoid those Sunday nights. After reading this, I hope you’ll learn a thing or two about choosing a rewarding career.
Last year, I interviewed JT O’Donnell, CEO of Careerealism Media and career expert. We lamented about the discontent and frustrations of the working population and examined how some people find meaningful and rewarding work.
Ultimate Guide to Finding Work You Love
Start by addressing the following questions:
- What Do You Often Read About? What kind of books do you usually read? What kind of articles do you enjoy? What magazines and blogs are you reading? List all of them and try to look for common topics or genres. The things you read are not just hobbies; in many cases, it says a lot about your personality and preferred line of work.
- What Excites You? All day long, we come into contact with different things. “Some things we don’t have an opinion of (or any reaction to), some things we have a negative reaction to, while some make us happy and excited in some way,” says O’Donnell. The possibilities are endless, so don’t dismiss anything just because it’s too weird. Write it all down in a notebook. You don’t have to explain why something excites you. For now, just try to record as many “excitement triggers” as you can. Continue writing until you have three days of notes.
- What Do You Secretly Fantasize About? We’re still talking careers and life ambitions here. You might want to travel to some exotic destination, feed pandas or be a mystery novelist. I know there are so many reasons for you not to pursue these dreams. Maybe your parents held you back, or maybe you’re afraid of not having a stable salary. Add these fantasies to the list. It doesn’t matter if it’s realistic or not.
Next, compile everything you listed in these questions. Is there anything that comes up often? Highlight the three items that stand out. Trace these interests back into an industry, service, job, or company. “Don’t worry about their location, you’re not looking for an employer yet,” says O’Donnell. Right now we’re just trying to see if your passion leads to a profitable job or business.
Finally, try the job for yourself. This part will take the longest to complete, but it’s also the easiest way to find your dream job, so don’t skip it. After tracing your top three interests back to a company or a specific job, see if you can visit their location and observe people at work.
You don’t need to intern or work there to see if you’ll like the work; just a few hours to observe should be enough. Pay attention to the day-to-day tasks of the employees. Would you enjoy doing what they do? Ask the office manager if they can let you help, even for a few hours. In many cases, I’m sure the manager will be happy to get an extra helping hand.
There you go, that’s the process for finding your dream job. As you can see, it’s not some airy fairy theoretical advice, because you’ll need to test your findings at the end. Granted, the last step could take a few weeks. But it’s a minor inconvenience compared to working in a job you hate for 20 years.
