Achieving your dream career is a goal that may need to include time, a vision, planning, and motivation. Whether you’re starting fresh or looking to make a major adjustment in your career I want to provide you with a few actionable steps to turn your aspirations into a fulfilling reality.
1. Define Your Vision
You need to truly understand what you hope to achieve. You need to know why you are doing it too.
Ask yourself or visualize:
- What does my dream career look like?
- Why is this my dream career?
- What skills, environment, and goals do I see this dream career working on?
Take some time to write the answers down and post it somewhere. Use this as motivation to keep going.
2. Set SMART Goals
Break down your next career dream into steps by setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals. For example:
- Specific: What is your dream career? What industry is it in? What are you doing (not position, but actually doing in this dream career)?
- Measurable: Track Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) that make sense, like earning a certification, getting promoted to the next role as a stepping stone, or attending networking events.
- Achievable: Ensure your goals are realistic given your starting point.
- Relevant and Resourced: Align goals with your long-term vision. What resources do you need to achieve your dream career? Working with a Career Coach? Building interview skills? What else?
- Time-bound: Set deadlines for each milestone. This needs to be specific and achievable.
3. Develop the Necessary Skills
Research your desired career and determine if there are required skills and qualifications that perhaps you do not have. How can you close the gaps in this?
- Enroll in relevant courses or training programs.
- Gain practical experience through internships, freelancing, or volunteering.
- Seek certifications or advanced degrees if necessary.
4. Build Your Network
Networking is a powerful tool for career advancement. Why? Because not only can you talk to people in your dream industry or job, but you can also potentially land that job just by talking with others…or they may give you a few tips and tricks to get you there. Where can you network?
- Attending industry events, conferences, and webinars.
- Connecting with professionals on LinkedIn and engaging with their content.
- Joining professional organizations or local meetups in your field.
Remember these networking relationships can lead to mentorship opportunities, insider knowledge, and job referrals.
5. Gain Experience and Prove Your Value
Demonstrate your skills or gain new ones by:
- Taking on projects that can help close gaps in your skillset
- Volunteer for challenging tasks at your current job to showcase your initiative.
- Consider showcasing your skills or dreams on a blog, social media, etc.
These efforts show potential employers your dedication to growth and skills you currently have.
6. Stay Resilient and Adaptable
The path to your dream career may have twists and turns. Stay open to:
- Feedback: Constructive criticism can help you grow.
- Change: Adjust your approach if certain strategies aren’t yielding results. This may mean updating your vision or SMART goal.
- Continuous learning: We don’t know everything about our industry or dream career and may never know it all. But by learning through coaching, mentoring, courses, webinars, books, articles, etc. we can develop or understand some of the skills or gaps or challenges we need to overcome.
7. Leverage Mentors and Coaches
Seek guidance from those who have walked the path you aspire to follow:
- A mentor can offer insights, advice, and encouragement. They can be in your company or someone who has been there and done that.
- A career coach can help refine your strategy and hold you accountable. Coach Tara is a Certified Career Strategist with the Career Professionals of Canada and can assist you with all of these aspects.
8. Create a Personal Brand
Stand out by showcasing your unique value proposition:
- Optimize your LinkedIn profile to reflect your goals and achievements. Align it with your dream career. There are ways to do this effectively, so reach out to Coach Tara if you need help.
- Share your expertise by writing articles, creating videos, or speaking at events or on social media.
- Maintain a professional and consistent online presence across platforms. Being consistent is key.
A strong personal brand helps you attract the right opportunities. Remember people need to trust you can do your dream job. Make sure your brand speaks to that or what you are doing to grow.
9. Take Risks (only those that make sense)
Sometimes, achieving your dream requires stepping outside your comfort zone:
- Apply for roles that challenge you or where you don’t have all the skills and education required, but help you get closer to your dream career.
- Relocate if necessary to access better opportunities. This needs to make sense for you. If your family is near by, then perhaps this does not make sense. This requires research and is a decision to make carefully.
- Think about applying for roles that are more of a promotion to help you transition to get closer to the dream career you have.
Risks are exactly that. Be sure to take time to consider them and ensure they are right for you. Sometimes risks can be the thing you needed to do to get out of your comfort zone and take that next steps towards the dream career.
10. Celebrate Milestones
It is important that we celebrate the steps along the way. It is a way to keep us motivated and on track, we need to be on without giving up.
- Reflect on achievements, no matter how small. For example, perhaps you write your first post on social media stating your goal so the social media world can keep you accountable.
- Reward yourself for hitting key milestones. And remember rewards don’t have to cost anything either. Always reward yourself within or under your financial means.
Turning Dreams Into Action
Achieving that dream career takes time, patience and effort, but with a clear plan, support, and the right resources, it can bee achievable. Remember, every step you take brings you one step closer to your dream career. But you need to start. What is the step you need to take next?
Contact Tara for your free consult to get you started on your next career move. Book now. It’s a FREE conversation to get you started: Square Booking Flow
Picture from Microsoft Stock Images
