Think Big. Go After your Dream Job!
Photo By Chris Metcalf
I had the pleasure of speaking to some great college students last week to share some insight and guidance on the job search and networking. The professor emailed me and noted "they (students) described your advice as both inspiring and frightening, so I guess it worked..."
I couldn't have asked for a nicer compliment.
The great thing about speaking to college students is they still have "sky is the limit" mindsets.
Who do you admire? Donald Trump? Bill Gates? Richard Branson? Steve Jobs?
Do some research on the people you admire. Read feature stories about them. Read their biographies. I bet you will find a common synergy: they followed their passions and believed in themselves.
The good news? You can too.
As Donald Trump's last book stated, you need to "Think Big." If you don't "Think Big" you will always settle for average.
OK, so what can you do to follow your passion instead of settling for an average job?
1- Identify your passion. What do you love? Wine? Gadgets? Music? Art?
2- Make a list of the people you admire in this field.
3- Do a lot of research on these people. I bet you will find that they came from equally humble starts.
4- Develop a well-crafted letter or email to these people seeking something they can give you: advice. Flatter them. Tell them how much you admire them. Ask for 20 minutes of their time.
5- Ask these people for referrals of other people you should speak with.
6- Rinse, wash and repeat.
What are your dream jobs?
I had the pleasure of speaking to some great college students last week to share some insight and guidance on the job search and networking. The professor emailed me and noted "they (students) described your advice as both inspiring and frightening, so I guess it worked..."
I couldn't have asked for a nicer compliment.
The great thing about speaking to college students is they still have "sky is the limit" mindsets.
Who do you admire? Donald Trump? Bill Gates? Richard Branson? Steve Jobs?
Do some research on the people you admire. Read feature stories about them. Read their biographies. I bet you will find a common synergy: they followed their passions and believed in themselves.
The good news? You can too.
As Donald Trump's last book stated, you need to "Think Big." If you don't "Think Big" you will always settle for average.
OK, so what can you do to follow your passion instead of settling for an average job?
1- Identify your passion. What do you love? Wine? Gadgets? Music? Art?
2- Make a list of the people you admire in this field.
3- Do a lot of research on these people. I bet you will find that they came from equally humble starts.
4- Develop a well-crafted letter or email to these people seeking something they can give you: advice. Flatter them. Tell them how much you admire them. Ask for 20 minutes of their time.
5- Ask these people for referrals of other people you should speak with.
6- Rinse, wash and repeat.
What are your dream jobs?
This is great advice, Brian. However, how do people separate vocation from avocation? If you love photography, does that mean you should be a photographer? Or, is there some way to analyze a potential "dream" job or career a little more dispassionately?
Thanks again for coming to JMU. I really enjoyed hearing everything that you had to say. I also liked this blog entry. I think it's good advice to go talk to someone that you admire and strive to be like. I just think that many of us don't think that they will necessarily have the time to talk to us. But it's all worth a try.
Kate, thanks for reading. I would recommend starting with fellow alumni in the field you want to pursue. Once you master the art of networking with alumni, you can set your sights on people outside your network! - Brian
Will, great comment. I agree, just because I love football, doesn't mean that I should be a football player. However, I did pursue my passion for football by working for an NFL team in a PR role. My advice would be to think about the skill sets you have developed (writing, research, quant skills, etc.) and try applying them to a field where you would enjoy coming to work.
You have to love the "sky is the limit" attitude college students have. We have become the patient generation as we know that it's estimated that some 64 millions skilled workers, if they haven't lost their jobs already, will be to retire by end of this decade (Hira).
At the same time, we have become the most ambitious generation to date, thinking about our future in everything we do, or don't do. ahah.
I will not settle for a job that is at least in the right direction to getting my dream job. Time and energy is valued considerably in our generation. The idea of tine is beautiful because it can not be reproduce. I'm waiting and doing almost everything I can do land my dream job. Patient, but not lazy.
See my blog, www.runyoncm.wordpress.com on the paper I wrote on Milennals: The Patient Generation
Source:
Hira, Nadire. Fortune Magazine. Attracting the Twentysomething Worker. 2008 Cable News Network.
Chris, a couple great posts, thanks for commenting. Thanks for the link to the blog, will definitely have to check out your paper. Keep thinking outside the box. The job search is all about sales and the best salesperson usually gets the dream job because they can articulate their value proposition and convey their passion for the field or company. BB