3 Things Everyone Should Know to Get Their Dream Job!

So many of us are reimagining what the future holds for us and our work right now. How can we make shifts toward future opportunities while the world is vastly changing? This question and many like it have been on my mind of late. As a coach and educator supporting people in living out their particular calling, we are navigating so many unanticipated challenges. But it’s in times like these we can utilize some introspection to discern more clearly our pathway forward. Fredrick Buechner said, “Vocation is the place where our deep gladness meets the world's deep need.” Knowing what we value and in what direction those values take us sets the stage for finding the work that fulfills our dreams. 

In this post I want to share with you 3 simple strategies to support you in clarifying your vocation and accessing fulfilling career opportunities. 

Clarify Your Vocation 

What does calling or vocation actually mean? Often it seems like these terms are a spiritual or religious idea about a mysterious voice that speaks to people about what to do in their life. While I believe “the voice of God” is valid, our compulsion toward a particular pathway gets grounded through our life experience and the values that emerge. Our personal experiences of pain and the ways we want to see those difficulties redeemed in the world become foundational to the narrative arc of our story. 

For example, in my own story, I experienced the pain of rejection in a significant relationship early on, which created the need to find and support belonging for others. My pain informed my values and my sense of healing for myself and others. And, because I see through the lens of Christianity, the ideas of welcome and belonging resonated deeply with my perspective of who God is and how we are designed to treat one another. 

So, our vocation is the meaning that emanates from within us toward healing ourselves and others which is also experienced as a calling from a mysterious other to join a greater story of healing the world through our own healing. It is essentially a micro-salvation story that gets grounded first in who we are and second, in what we do. The significance of the salvation rests in who is doing the saving. 

Know Who You Are 

Identity formation is a never ending process. From the enneagram to strengths finder to online quizzes and astrological signs, there is a mountain of ways to learn about who we are. Don’t get me wrong, these can be helpful tools and I have used a handful of them myself. Often, there are things you know about yourself and it takes not looking outside but rather slowing down to look within to see. These character qualities, desires, values, and dreams shape your sense of call in incredibly significant ways. 

Who we are shows up in knowing that we are nurturing, detail oriented, or deliberative. We may love to work with our hands or with numbers, or maybe we thrive in environments that work primarily in design or within social sectors. Having a need for significant time outdoors or within an urban context reveals our values and shapes our dreams for how we want to live. 

Just as significantly, recognizing who we are not clarifies what we do and do not want for our life and our future. I encourage people to list their limiting beliefs to understand where they came from, the untruth that rests within them, and the release of other’s expectations of them. Knowing who we are not frees us from being a victim to our current circumstance and helps us laser in on the truth of who we really are. 

Activate Your Call! 

Finding a fulfilling vocation and career path requires initiative. When stepping into a new pathway, I invite my clients to find low risk ways to volunteer, interview people who are already in the field, and begin to build a network. Using social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, will open doors to tangible possibilities within your area of calling. I also work with people to create a strategic plan with active steps where they can be held accountable for pursuing further education, connection, skills, and many times, entrepreneurial endeavors. 

The key to taking action is being accountable to execute on our internal motivation. Knowing exactly who we are and our calling is not enough. Without a plan and other people, such as a coach, colleague or mentor, to support us in implementing our steps to achieve our calling, we will likely remain where we are until the current option is no longer viable. 

Now you know my 3 go-to ways to activate your career!

Knowing your sense of calling, getting clear on who you are and are not, and getting the people and plan in place will begin to move your dreams to reality. You were designed for this! Are you thinking about the next steps in activating your vocational journey? Join my email list to get my latest guide on creating your own calling statement.