Psychotherapists' offices are filled these days with men and women in their thirties who, after being shielded from reality all their lives, suddenly have to face it and are ill-equipped for the task.
For someone seeking a better job, the notion that a dream job awaits gets in the way of finding job fulfillment and, by extension, creates careers that are characterized by floundering, constant job changes, and, in the end, overall disappointment. Invariably these people end up blaming "the system" for their lack of success, and avoid turning inward in search of real causes for their disappointing careers.
The Me Generation's need for instant gratification hinders many who would otherwise build solid and successful long-term careers. Big success (loosely defined, perhaps, as ending up in a dream job) results from a series of smaller successes over time. We all read of those few who start at the top, and we're envious as we toil in the lower levels of our chosen professions and occupations. The problem with starting at the top is that it doesn't prepare you for staying there. It isn't a matter of having to pay those proverbial dues before achieving great success. That sounds too much like a mandatory rite of suffering, although there is substantial benefit to be derived from dues-paying. Rather, starting at a more traditional lower level in a profession or occupation and working our way up through the various levels and layers of responsibility gives us a solid and comprehensive understanding of those levels and layers.
The irony of today's workplace is manifest everywhere we look. Jobs go begging, even though there are people out of work. Fast-food operations are offering unprecedented hourly wages and still are understaffed, sometimes having to resort to busing in workers from other areas. The trucking industry has thousands of trucks sitting idle because there aren't enough drivers. Our health care delivery system is strained, in part because of an acute shortage of nurses, many of whom have forsaken the profession. The same situation holds true for teachers. In the case of nurses and teachers, the lack of fair pay and public appreciation for the important contributions they make has driven gifted professionals out of those careers and discouraged many young people from entering them.
It's important that we evaluate jobs and professions realistically. In the case of teachers and nurses, their perceptions are supported by too many unfortunate facts. Yet others-probably including some nurses and teachers- might view their job opportunities from a less than realistic perspective, perhaps seeing them through the dark, almost opaque glasses that those in search of a dream job prefer to wear throughout their careers. Whatever happened to rose-colored glasses, through which most things look pretty good? The glass is half empty for too many people in today's job market. It used to be half full for the majority of people who held decent jobs, were paid decent salaries, and were offered realistic and fair chances for advancement.
People who enter the job market expecting to find that elusive dream job are not only doomed to a lifetime of disappointment, they are practicing planned avoidance of the realities of this world, crazy or not. They're copping out, denying reality, and not experiencing the rewards of acknowledging reality and dealing with the problems it creates. For them, reality is just an excuse for failure and inadequate performance.
A job mirrors life. If we go through life expecting an absence of problems, we end up unhappy, because that's what life is-a series of problems to be solved. If we go through our careers expecting jobs that are problem-free, that demand little effort and pay a lot, we miss the point, and we fail.
The man or woman seeking a better job must first accept the world for what it is. I can hear people saying, "That's why I'm a failure. This world is crazy." That won't be true, but they'll take comfort in wrapping themselves in the warm blanket of placing blame. The fact is, many of the situations that contribute to this crazy world also provide new opportunities for success. Consider new industries that have blossomed in order to solve today's problems:
- Waste disposal: We are drowning in our own garbage. Today's bright and educated men and women will address this problem and, it is hoped, solve it, and a vast new recycling industry will prosper and preserve our environment.
- Crime: The need for security on all levels of life increases daily. Computer crime poses a huge threat not only to businesses but to national defense.
- Education: As we fall further behind the educational systems of competing nations, an assault on this problem, on every level, is inevitable. New ways of teaching, utilizing computer technology, will come out of this.
- Taxation: Despite claims that our system of taxation is being simplified, the reverse is blatantly true. Companies can no longer plan their future because they don't know what future tax changes will be enacted. Never before have those in the areas of finance, accounting, and tax law been so needed.
- Travel: Air travel is chaotic, at best, since deregulation. New and innovative approaches will have to be made.
What is a dream job?
Truly successful, happy people understand that the idea is to balance one's life with employment that is tolerable and profitable and matches our capabilities. Simultaneously, our personal lives must be brought into balance to offset some of the inevitable problems caused by our employment.
Successful, happy people are those who seek, and find, the positive aspects of their present jobs, people who overlook deficiencies. These people know that no job is perfect; no boss is an ideal human being and manager. They practice loyalty to their current employers by working hard, giving it their all, while looking to the future and preparing for their next move.
Abraham Maslow, the pioneering psychologist, studied people who were happy and well adjusted, rather than focusing on those who weren't. He found that happy people enjoy "peak experiences" in their everyday lives. They take pleasure in the task at hand, no matter how far removed it might be from the dream job they hope to get one day. When our working lives are viewed in this positive light, a more realistic evaluation of how successful we really are emerges. For well-adjusted, realistic people, our dream job is often the one we're doing right now. We just have to open ourselves to that possibility.
One survey asked management to come up with the most unusual job demands job candidates had made of them. Some were funny, some outlandish, but one sticks in my mind as symbolizing the attitude of many of today's job seekers. This individual asked to be paid extra for any time spent "thinking about work" at night or on weekends.
The person who will land a better job should be eager to learn, to grow, to contribute, and to succeed. And should be thinking, "If I get this job, I'll be more than happy to think about it when necessary on nights and weekends."
It's important that the seeker of a better job shed any myths about what is "better." One such myth that has increasingly been discredited is that every job change must represent a move up. More and more Americans, particularly in middle management, are finding success and satisfaction by moving laterally within their profession. I'm not suggesting that everyone aspire to nothing more than a series of lateral moves, but I would recommend that such opportunities not be dismissed. Good middle managers who have come to the point at which they're unlikely to find promotion opportunities in their present company should certainly look to offer their services in the same position to other firms. There are, of course, many other reasons to make a lateral move. If you're the marketing manager for a company whose culture and atmosphere make you unhappy, seek the same job in a competing company or in another industry, even if the move does not represent an increase in pay and title. If you aren't happy where you are, don't think that the only move you can make is an upward one. Up doesn't necessarily translate into better.
What then, is a dream job?
It is employment in a field we enjoy; one that allows us to use our education, skills, and knowledge. It is a job that gives us a reasonable level of security, a decent environment in which to work, a chance to grow as professionals and as human beings, a job that will give us a reasonable sense of self-esteem and self-fulfillment, and that pays a fair wage-enough to enable us to enjoy our long working hours, to dress nicely, drive a functional automobile, take a regular vacation, and raise our families in decent surroundings.
That is a dream job.You may be working at it already. If you think you're not, remind yourself to be realistic.
Reminders about Dream Jobs
- Big success results from a series of smaller successes over time.
- A job, like life, is a series of problems to be solved.
- People usually fail because of themselves, not because of the system in which they function.
- Don't discount lateral moves in your quest for a better job.
- You may be working in your dream job right now and not even know it. Wake up!
