Why Your First Job Doesn’t Have to be Your Dream Job
Who wants to get a first job in a role you’ve been always dreaming about? That ONE DREAM JOB which when you get it, you will be “happily ever after”?
Let me be upfront: I don’t believe such a job exists on earth.
Because just like every desire we have in life, when we have achieved a goal, we would feel happy for a while. But that would not satisfy us for very long — we move on and reach for something more and better. As human beings, we are hard-wired to our biology instinct for seeking GROWTH and EVOLUTION continuously.
Even if you don’t agree with me, there are many reasons why you don’t have to get your dream job right after graduation:
1. Your dream job is not born yet!
New job fields are emerging at breakneck speed with technology advancement. The future is not too far away when you think how AI can replace most repetitive, boring jobs in the coming years. Jobs that need creativity and analytical power to “connect the dots” between human and robots will definitely be invented. What you want just doesn’t exist at this moment.
2. You are not ready to take the role … yet.
If you are aspiring to make a significant impact on the world through utilising your talents, your dream job can hardly be an entry-level position.
For example, you want to teach people how to travel the world with almost no money. But you have never taken a trip on your own yet! So to begin, you have to figure all out yourself first, track your learning, and put together a system so you can share with others later.
Until then, you’ll have the power and freedom to fully unleash your leadership, expertise, and genius.
3. Your passion will change!
When you were 6 years old, what were your answers for the “When I grow up” question? An astronaut, a singer, or a bus driver? And WHY?
It wouldn’t be much of a surprise then for your dream job at age 22 be radically different from the one at age 40. Passion is a fluid concept in relation to your self-understanding, personal growth, and different life stages.
It wouldn’t be much of a surprise then for your dream job at age 22 be radically different than the one at age 40. Passion is a fluid concept in relation to your self-understanding, personal growth, and different life stages.
What more important is, find out the common theme behind all your “dream jobs” — your WHY for choosing these jobs in the first place. It could be the feeling of competence, an immersive curiosity in something, or a channel for your creative expression.
Your First Job’s Key Focus
Being young and inexperienced, it would be very difficult to gain trust from others in your capabilities. Thus Skill Building jobs are essential for you to accumulate your Career Capitals: skill capital, network capital and financial capital.
Skill Capital: Includes everything from industry knowledge, execution expertise (hard skills building) to leadership, expectation management, resilience (soft skills building). The path to all mastery is through repetition so take your time in polishing your skills.
Network Capital: You’ve probably heard of the 6 degrees of separation concept. So yes, it’s a Small World:) Our world is getting more collaborative than ever and only with a team, you can leverage opportunities the world has to offer. Plus, you’ll need peers and mentors to take you further up in your next 40 years+ career journey.
Networking is like managing your garden: you need to plant seeds, groom them carefully, and take out the weeds regularly. It takes time and effort. Start early.
Financial Capital: One day when you are finally determined to change course, take a leap to move to a new arena, or start your own business, you’ll need enough cash to support that transition. Keep and save a buffer fund of 12 months to cover your necessary expenses would allow you to have less stress in sustaining your basic living expenses while building your dreams to make it a reality.
All in all, accumulating these Career Capitals allow you to have CHOICES, which brings you career freedom in future.
Your career is NOT a destination, but a long journey to personal development. Take all the stepping stones in between and enjoy the process!
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Originally Published at www.careerliberals.com 6 Jun 2017
