At the start of your career, you might be so focused on getting a job that you put off thinking about your dream job. Yes, getting your dream job will take time, persistence, luck and possibly a lot of patience. But it’s never too early to put yourself on the path to achieving your dream.
Two key ingredients will help you: starting early and following an effective plan. Here’s how you can leverage your first decade of professional work to find a job you’ll love.
Ask Yourself: What Job Do You Want?
You might already know the answer, but if you don’t, embrace experimentation. Your personal expenses are likely as low as they’ll ever be, so you’re free to try different jobs in different types of organizations to find the occupation you’re good at and enjoy. You’ll gain insight that you can’t get from a classroom, and you might discover a career you didn’t even know existed, like an ethical hacker or a logistician.
You can use that information to identify where you want to go. In fact, changing jobs frequently in your 20s could lead you to make more money later in your career, according to one study.
Don’t want to constantly change jobs? Consider other ways to try out occupations, like taking a part-time job on weekends or spending a few vacation days shadowing someone in the field.
Along the way, practice patience. You won’t go from entry-level to CEO in six months, but don’t let today’s reality stop you from pursuing your future dream. No matter what, save what you can in an emergency fund to get you through any lean times.
What Jobs and Training Come Before Your Dream Job?
Once you know where you want to go, you need to figure out how to get there. Set aside time to research how others have achieved your goal. Find out:
● What education do people in your dream job have?
● What job titles did they have before getting their current position?
● How quickly did they advance?
You can find a lot of this information online, in the form of interviews, company employee biographies and LinkedIn profiles. Try reading job postings for your dream job to get a sense of how many years of experience, and in what positions, are usually required. Remember that some of the job requirements may be flexible, but there will be some that are essential.
Next, assess where you are compared to where you need to be and make a plan to close the gap.
Make and Maintain Connections
Feel like you don’t have a network? You do: your classmates and friends. Stay in touch with them so you know what people do and where they work. You might be surprised that a friend of a friend is exactly the connection you need to advance your career.
Leverage this network not only to learn about job opportunities but also to find a mentor—someone you look up to who has the expertise or experience you want. This person doesn’t have to have your dream job but should be several steps closer to it than you are.
Mentor-mentee relationships are usually informal, but be sure to have specific goals in mind for what you’d like to learn from your mentor—and don’t use a meeting with a mentor to vent about your current job. Use it to learn about how you can progress toward your goal.
You could have the world’s greatest network and mentor but still struggle to advance if you lack strong interviewing skills. Go beyond the basics of arriving on time and dressing appropriately. Research the company beforehand; prepare specific, relevant questions; and practice. Do a mock interview with a friend via video chat and record the conversation. You’ll get not only your friend’s feedback but also an easy way to check your body language and tone of voice.
Curate Your Presence
Like it or not, hiring managers will Google you. Why not take charge of what they’ll find? Start with a LinkedIn profile that highlights your skills and experience and helps you keep track of your network. Then build a digital version of your resume and a portfolio of your work that you can easily share. Depending on the career you want, you may also need a web page or other professional social media accounts.
When you post to your personal social media accounts, be sure to avoid politics, complaints about your current job or employer or anything that could raise uncomfortable questions in the hiring manager’s mind. If you want to share personal views online, be sure your privacy settings will protect you.
Chart Your Progress Long-Term
Every scientist knows the value of a lab notebook: It becomes a storehouse of your experiments and insights. Think of yourself as a career scientist and create a similar record so you can note important observations and revise your plan. If you get discouraged, browse through your old journal entries to realize how far you’ve actually come.
Keep track of what you learn about the field you want to work in and the companies you’d like to work for. Knowing their products, services and histories will help you stand out when you land an interview.
Remember, your career will span multiple decades, so if one job in your journey isn’t ideal, don’t fret, because it won’t last forever. Focus on what is good about the present and try to learn as much as you can so your next job takes you closer to where you want to go.
Build Your Value Over Time
Salaries can seem mysterious—raises and promotions even more so. Believe it or not, there is a clear way to earning more: producing more value for your employer. Find ways to reduce costs, save time or increase sales, and your efforts will have specific, measurable benefits.
Before embarking on a value-building project, be sure you consistently meet expectations. Then, discuss your project ideas with your manager to ensure you’re focusing on work that will help the business. Keep track of results so when you ask for a raise you can point to the value you’ve helped create. Following this strategy is far more persuasive than relying on the number of years you’ve been in your job or leading with details about a large, upcoming personal expense such as a wedding.
You can, and should, also make yourself more valuable by finding your niche and excelling at it. Some of the most valuable niches in today’s information economy require deep work—that is, high-value work that demands your full attention for long stretches. Think developing software, researching new medical treatments or writing scripts for a binge-worthy show. Your capacity to do deep work depends on your ability to free yourself from distraction and concentrate, an ability you can improve with practice.
All of this may seem like a lot of work, but remember: You’re just starting your career. You don’t need to do everything on this list today. Work through these steps over the course of a year or more, and you just might be surprised at your progress.
Elizabeth Whalen is a freelance writer based in Seattle. She loves writing about business, financial services and sustainability.