Happy
New Year! If one of your resolutions for the New Year was
to take a quantum leap forward in your career path, congratulations.
There has never been a better time to position yourself
for the next step up. The nature of our relationships with
employers has changed radically and forever, and so has
the number and types of opportunities available. Even as
companies struggle to compete in a fast-forward global economy,
the average job seeker's prospects for building skills and
earnings have never been better.
Wake
up! The first step to rapid career evolution is to focus
on your dream job, and chuck what you currently think of
as "reality." That's right. Many people don't
even know what their ultimate career goal is. Even when
people have an idea of their dearest career dreams, they
often don't pursue them.
Why
not? Usually, people tell me they cannot possibly attain
their dream jobs, with Eeyore-like litanies on "reality,"
saying things like "there aren't many jobs for someone
who does what I do," or "if I change careers now,
there'll be a learning curve and I won't be able to make
the same money I do now," or "I'm too old,"
or "I don't have the degree," and on, and on,
and on. Occasionally, they cite employment trends and statistics.
Of course, none of this alleged reality matters at all.
The reason people don't progress as far as they'd like in
their careers is that they don't nurture their dreams...
they rationalize them to death.
Get
Real. You are one person looking for one job, therefore
trends do not apply to you. Want to find that dream job?
Then you need to know exactly what it is that you want,
in excruciating detail. Get behind your dream, get enthusiastic,
and get support. Talk to people who are living your dream
already. Join professional organizations. Turn off the television
and surf the net. Research your next step and network your
fingers off! Ask for advice and you'll get it. Create a
strategy and begin to implement it. By focusing on your
dream job, you'll create a new reality for yourself, one
that impacts every facet of your life.
