How to land your dream job – even when it’s completely new territory
It’s very easy to talk yourself out of going for that dream job. You might hear an insistent inner voice saying something like:
‘Why would they want someone like me, with no experience in that role?’
‘There are so many more qualified people who would fill that role better than I ever could.’
‘Those kind of position are way beyond people like me.’
‘I couldn’t do it – I don’t have the stature/gravitas/expertise.’
And there you have it – you’ve just talked yourself out of giving this amazing opportunity your serious consideration.
So the first thing I would say about landing your dream job is that you learn to take everything that undermining voice inside your head says about your capabilities and suitability with a massive (and I mean gargantuan) pinch of salt!
Instead, just pause a moment, hear the claim, and then challenge it.
Because it simply isn’t true - it’s fear talking.
When you stop and call that voice out, you will quickly see it isn’t based in reality at all. Only then do you have the space to recognise all the reasons why you may well be the very person for this exciting role.
Career Change Case Study: How did a careers professional become head of programming at an international literature festival?
I know this story well because it’s mine. On paper, it should never have happened; but in reality it did. Here’s how the impossible became the possible:
I’d been living in Dubai with my growing family for fifteen years when a very resourceful bookseller established the now internationally renowned annual literature festival. This was an exciting development in the rather limited cultural landscape of Dubai in 2008.
As a former English literature teacher in the city, I’d never lost touch with my passion for reading and the writer’s craft, and I was keen to be involved in the audience – and as a volunteer. But this wasn’t my day job. After teaching, I’d retrained as a career counselor and had been instrumental in establishing the first careers service at Middlesex University in Dubai. On paper, my most recent career expertise lay in the world of career development and not literary events at all.
When the opportunity came along to train as an event moderator for the festival, still on a voluntary basis, I jumped at it. I knew my teaching experience would stand me in good stead and that the trainer, flown in from the UK, would enable me to feel ready to interview famous authors. In actual fact it was a huge challenge, but lots of fun too. For a couple of years I was a volunteer moderator and had real pleasure in interviewing authors like Joanne Harris, David Mitchell and Lionel Shriver at the annual festival.
I was still beavering away at the university by day and had completed a Masters in English and Cultural Studies, which strengthened my literary credentials and allowed me to dive deeper into the writer’s world. I’d also suggested a festival reading group and ran this monthly so that the festival audience could have regular involvement throughout the year and enjoy the works of authors who would be appearing at the festival itself.
None of this, strictly speaking, was a planned career move. In effect I was following a passion, engaging in a field I loved and developing skills and expertise through this involvement. Because I was also a known professional with a successful track record in careers and education innovation and delivery, I had a certain credibility. Even so, I was completely floored when I found myself invited to interview for the role of Head of Programming for the festival.
Yes, all the doubts mentioned at the start of this article nearly swept me away. But I could also see why I might have something to bring to this opportunity, so I went along for an informal discussion, assuming I had nothing to lose. I was curious to find out exactly what was involved, and already loved the team who created the festival each year. When I was offered the role, I accepted almost immediately – and my new career was born.
There was definitely the steepest of learning curves ahead, but all my training and experience in teaching and the career services, along with my voluntary experience at the festival itself, had positioned me well. I learned so much from the festival team and expanded my own professional capabilities over the three years I was Head of Programming. It was indeed a dream job.
Leaving the role, and my colleagues, was a really tough decision. But part of the learning was that I knew I would be able to recreate a new career elsewhere, and when I returned to the UK for personal reasons, that’s exactly what I did.
So what did I learn from this career change?
There wasn’t a meticulous strategy to landing this amazing role, but there were some actions and beliefs that made it possible. I’ve extracted a few of these to share as tips if you’re looking to uncover new opportunities:
· Take opportunities to get involved in activities, causes or events that fascinate or mean something to you
· Grab chances to develop skills along the way – even when they’re not related to your day job
· Get outside your comfort zone every now and then – that’s where the magic, and the learning, often happen
· Feel the fear of trying something new – and do it anyway
· Trust that you will rise to the challenge – because you know you have done just that in the past
· Despite those inner doubts, trust what other people see in you
· Don’t believe the voices in your head that want to persuade you to stay safe, small and stuck
· Recognise the shared values and culture of an environment that will offer you the chance to thrive
· Be confident that skills developed in a different setting are still hugely relevant
· Claim your career and life successes, and appreciate that the attitudes that allowed you to achieve them can be harnessed
again
· Know that career reinvention can happen, and that it can happen over again when it needs to
This is far from a blueprint for all career changes, but it does suggest some of the ways a complete shift in direction can happen. When I work with my career change clients, we follow a more systematic approach to identifying what their dream job might look like – and then what the strategy to achieve it could involve. The very fact that I have changed career direction three times lends weight to the additional career coaching training and the programme I am licensed to deliver.
There are many ways to change career direction, but knowing WHY the new option is right for you means you have the fuel to drive your plans forward.
If you’re ready to start exploring a new field – even when it currently remains ill-defined – I’d love to hear from you. 2022 is just around the corner – could it be the year you land your dream job?
I wonder what your experience of changing career direction involved? Do you recognize some of the attitudes and actions I used to land my dream job, or did you use a different approach to open up new opportunities? I’d love to hear your experience in the comments..
