Are You Already Working at Your Dream Job?
I am. I just realized it a few days ago though. Don’t get me wrong, I have always thought very highly of my job in a rotational leadership program and there are definitely further career achievements I wish to attain but, I am doing the things that I dreamed of doing in college. I just hadn’t realized it yet. Here is how I came to realize my dream role and how it has helped me to continue to develop my career.
Complete Task Orientation Can Be A Distraction
I have always wanted to help determine IT strategy and help push an organization to the next level, from centralized systems to cloud computing, thin client to mobile technologies, etc. I am in the middle of my last rotation and have considerable knowledge about how the sales and marketing groups I work with want to use the system I am deploying. I have worked with them closely so, I was pulled into a strategy session for our entire business’s approach to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems. Here is the crux, at first, I felt it was a burden, it was obvious our team needed the centralized solution I was providing, why did we have to have this strategy session? Regardless, I decided to just do it.
Realize Your Role
After some discussion, I realized, I was participating in exactly what I had hoped for! We were considering cloud computing (a Software as a Service variant) and many other solutions to long term business growth challenges! Once I saw things in this light, the task and the meeting became 100 times more exciting.
Appreciate (for your own sake) to Contribute More
After I came to the realization that I had an opportunity to participate in setting the strategy for our company, I not only contributed more, I worked harder on helping to compile repeatable processes on my current project that could be used to execute the strategy I helped to formulate. When I appreciated my role and realized it’s place in the big picture, I worked harder and contributed more, moving me even further towards my dream job.
How do you realize your dream job? Have you had an experience like this? Share it with us in the comments.
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Brandon, I’m glad to see that you’re pushing above and beyond what is quickly becoming the cliché list of how one might succeed at their jobs (e.g. Be a team player! Dress nice! Have a positive attitude!).
“Realizing your role,” in particular, is a huge issue that doesn’t quite get the attention that it deserves. Bountiful energy and willingness to tackle challenges is one thing, but unreasonable expectations (we are part of the instant gratification generation, after all) and stepping in over your head is quite another.
As you progress, I would love to see you continue to elaborate on these ideas and continue providing such a realistic examination of the newly corporate lifestyle.
It’s hard when you realize you’re in your dream—where do you go from there, yanno? It’s like you’ve achieved it all, but not really. There are always new paths to explore WITHIN a dream job!
Sounds like your dream job is to be the CIO or CTO … you’re not there yet. =)
Our buddy Grant always put this in very simple terms. For most of us, our goals it to be a “thinker, not a doer”. I think we are still doers, and I won’t be happy until I make the switch to thinker.
Dan-
I would agree, I have a long ways to go to achieve everything I want but, considering where I am at right now, I am contributing to decisions and strategizing in the way the way that I have wanted to throughout college. Given, I am working towards an expanded role and more of this type of responsibility but, I am on track towards the full realization of what I would consider my dream job.
Good point on the thinker not doer, I have alot of doing before I get there though.
As much as I’m proud of the writer of this post that he has found his dream job, I guess I was hoping for more insight into this post. Besides what you do in your job, why is this your dream? What has it done to help you be a better human, achieve your dreams, make you feel a better person, lover, coworker, employee?
These are the things I want to find for myself. I’ve been recruiting for 9 years and I finally got the balls to leave a really crappy company that I was a part of for 7 years.
I moved to a wonderful ad agency 2 years ago… and I’ve worked my ass off. I’ve learned so much…
But guess what I just found out today? More than likely, I will be getting laid off. Why? Several reasons, one of them NOT being because I’m not good at my job. More of the reasons are because this economy we’re in really sucks (no matter what Republicans tell you) AND there are a lot of nonsense idiots who run my company.
It’s sad. I take pride in what I do. I’m a damn good recruiter. I love the company I work for. I get to bring my dog to work every day for God’s sake! But there’s a great chance I’ll be laid off.
I wish I could be positive and say “maybe this is a door that’s closing so that God can open a new one and I can find my real passion.” But to be honest, that’s BS.
Anyways, good post man… seriously.