This coaching question from Hanna Schwarzmüller was addressed in the career coaching section of the magazine MEINE WOCHE, while traveling on tram line number four in Graz. In the age of NEW WORK and Generation Z, more and more people are seeking their dream job. Never before has meaningful work been as sought after as it is today. While money and position were important in the past, today it’s about sustainability, self-realization, joy at work, having a say, and freedom. However, this jungle of meaning makes it difficult for people to find the right job and leads directly to impatience. In this article, I’ll show how it can work in new times.
When I think back to my early career attempts, I remember interesting jobs, good pay, and a steady rise. What did I want to be? I had zero idea. The path emerged through walking and recognizing and seizing opportunities. You have to try things out; we can never know beforehand if we’ll like something. That would be clairvoyance. We need to dive in, gain insights, and use them for the future. If you get to know a field and don’t like it, then you need to change it or move on, but please don’t continue suffering. No one benefits from that. While I prefer change and learning to turn things around for the better, running away should always be a last resort. A friend worked as a waitress during her studies and hated the job, complaining about it incessantly. Did she stop? No. She continued, kept complaining, and it became her downfall in the first job interview for a position in human resources, where she also criticized her old job. This did not go well at all. Persistent unhappiness has a lasting impact on other areas.
I never considered being unhappy. I worked as a receptionist in Hochsölden. I loved my environment—the hotel was situated right on the ski slope at 2000 meters above sea level—and I could ski almost daily. Dealing with guests was definitely my thing; they appreciated and praised me, and we had endless fun. And if there were problems, I was there and always came up with a good solution. However, reservations, dry correspondence, or boring bookkeeping never won my heart. Therefore, after the season, it was clear to me: I would keep the attractive environment and people, but minimize the boring parts. The result: tour guide in Greece. Summer, sun, sand, and sea; an agency that took care of annoying office work; guests who spoiled me with praise and gifts; and lots of money :-). That made work enjoyable! Oh, and I almost forgot: 7-day work weeks, 12-hour workdays, unbearable heat, stress. But that didn’t bother me; all the positive conditions and the job itself made the long hours negligible.
What I want to say is: There is no perfect job! Say goodbye to the illusion that everything must be 100%. It doesn’t exist any more than the perfect partner does. I’m old enough to comment on that. However, what we can definitely do is shape it to our satisfaction. The same goes for finding the right partner. 🙂
First Steps Toward Your Dream Job
1. Analyze Your Individual Motivation Strategy
Let’s now focus on the factors that will help you find the best possible job. Start by developing your individual motivation strategy. Reflect on a time in your career when you felt truly happy and fulfilled. This could have been a long-term role or something that lasted just a few hours. What’s important is that you were fully engaged in that work situation. This job could have been recent or from a long time ago. Whether it was with your last employer, during your studies, an internship, or a voluntary role—what matters is that you were happy. Once you remember a great job, start identifying the key elements that made it so irresistible. What factors influenced your happiness? For example: time flew by; great team; responsibility given; fun experienced; skills applied; allowed to lead; contributed ideas; introduced processes; solved problems; worked independently; achieved goals; wrote texts; listened to people; received praise; etc. Write down all the factors that come to mind and then summarize your top five to seven points on a well-designed piece of paper. These factors make up your individual happiness strategy. When all these factors are present in a job, it feels like a dream job. Therefore, make sure you internalize your motivation factors and stay constantly aware of them, as you alone are responsible for keeping these factors alive. For instance, if you need fun and everyone around you is gloomy, it’s your job to bring good cheer back, not theirs. If fun is one of your motivation factors, ensure that laughter is possible. Unfortunately, many people are too quick to blame others. Waiting for someone else to change is tiresome. I prefer a clean house. Hoping that my partner will take care of it is like hoping for world peace. He doesn’t care if crumbs are setting up a new home on the floor. This motivation factor doesn’t exist for him, so hoping for it would be pointless and nerve-wracking. No crumbs are a factor in my motivation strategy for my dream home, i.e., my business.
So once you have found your motivation strategy for your “dream job,” you need to keep these motivation factors alive. If a factor starts to falter, address it immediately. A bad job doesn’t develop overnight; it creeps up gradually, subtly, quietly, and very cunningly. Its strategy is to strike down one motivation factor after another. And once all have fallen, getting out of that mess becomes really tough. Restoring all seven motivation factors is indeed hard work, and the risk of resigning and letting unhappiness take over increases. However, if we recognize the dismantling of the first motivation factor in time and work to restore it, it’s relatively easy. Rebuilding seven factors simultaneously is hard labor. Therefore, always keep an eye on the factors of your motivation strategy, write them down prominently—preferably on the bathroom mirror, where we often look, or as a reminder/note on your phone. Once a week, check these factors for their presence and if you find one is faltering, get to work. For example: If you need praise but the last positive feedback was a long time ago, think about what you’ve recently accomplished and discuss it with someone you believe shares your views to confirm your work. You’ll see, you’ll feel better afterward.
You can also clarify the factors of your motivation strategy in job ads or during interviews to find out if the future job fits you. If three factors are not offered and cannot be changed because circumstances do not allow it, and you take the job anyway, the others are not to blame—you are. You would be choosing against your motivation strategy. Therefore, unhappiness is pre-programmed. It’s similar to consuming milk despite being allergic to it. If the restroom becomes the center of your life, don’t be surprised by the consequences.
Some motivation factors can, of course, change over the course of your career. Therefore, it’s important to update them regularly. I do this once a year. From my experience with clients, the happiness strategy usually only changes slightly.
So, rule number one: Find your motivation strategy. Ensure its factors are active. Check their validity and adjust them if necessary.
2. Find Your Desired Employers
Once you’ve identified what makes a job fulfilling for you, it’s time to figure out which companies you want to work for and be able to justify why. Most people take the seemingly easy path when applying for jobs. They wait for a job posting and then jump into action. Few can immediately answer questions like: Which company would you absolutely love to work for? Who is on your wish list? Many people look at me incredulously when I use the word “absolutely.” Often, their response seems to be “no one”—an expression that’s almost visible between the iris and the pupil. And in the game of hide-and-seek, it’s unfortunately pretty terrible. This answer is not only visible to me but also to the interviewer. Why should someone choose you if you don’t genuinely, I mean with full conviction, feel passionate about a company? It’s been proven that enthusiastic people perform better than those with an indifferent attitude. No amount of education can fix this. This “whatever” mindset seems to be increasingly common these days. However, companies want employees who are fully committed to them. A study from Germany shows that only 16% of employees are fully engaged and committed to their company’s goals. About 65% do their job as per the rules, and the remaining have already mentally quit. That’s sad. It means around 80% of people are unhappy at work, which might explain the high burnout rates.
Enthusiasm is contagious. You need to convey this enthusiasm during the interview, as well as in your cover letter. But where do you find enthusiasm if not steal it? You need to create it yourself. Yes, I know it sounds exhausting, but I promise it works. Here’s how to generate more enthusiasm. First, make a list with two columns. In one column, list all companies that match your training or skills. To find more than just those that come to mind due to their brand strength, here are a few tips for finding companies:
Search for the most successful and popular employers on Google. Alternatively, look for companies on various platforms:
https://news.kununu.com/beste-arbeitgeber-oesterreich/
http://www.trendtop500.at
https://www.greatplacetowork.at/beste-arbeitgeber/europa
http://www.karriere.at/firmen
Or apply at Startups:
https://www.greenrocket.com
https://www.conda.at/crowdinvesting/oesterreich/
https://www.startus.cc/companies
Fill your list with about 20 to 30 companies from your region, Austria, or globally, depending on how location-dependent you are. Once the list is ready, move to the second column. List the reasons why you would give your all for each company. Be specific—only include reasons that make you think, “Wow, this is amazing.” Apologies for the vulgar language, but only strong emotions drive us to achieve things or perform at our best. As Augustine said: “In yourself, you must burn with the fire that you wish to ignite in others.”
For each company, consider in the second column: What is the best reason for me to work there? How will it benefit me in the present and the future? We only develop motivation that truly drives us when we see a benefit. The right reasons aren’t always found in a few minutes; they require research and deep thought. Reasons might include: the products they make, sustainability issues they address, the dynamic team, the high salary, a position that offers a significant career boost, self-fulfillment through the job, people from whom you can benefit or learn, the company’s brand name on your resume, the company’s vision. There are countless reasons I can’t list here. Explore company websites, ask friends, and find compelling reasons to work there. Once your list is complete, mark the ones that seem most attractive. With these positive thoughts in mind, the quality of your application will improve. When we really want something, we don’t give up easily, but persist and achieve our goals.
Rule Number Two: Actively search for companies, create a list of potential employers, and find the best reasons to work for them.
3. Discover Your Interests
Once you know what you want, finding your dream job is actually not that difficult. But what if you’re not even sure about the direction you want to take? More and more people, despite having a solid education, don’t know what they want to do professionally. Some realize after their education that their previous path was the wrong one. Ouch, that can be painful. No matter what has happened in your past, it’s important to use that experience for the future. One conclusion from Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers is that if you’ve done something for 10,000 hours, you become good at it. Therefore, it’s advantageous to do more of what you’ve already done many times. Every time you embark on a completely new path, you start from scratch. The disadvantage is that you’re once again a beginner, and ahead of you lie 10,000 hours of training in a new field. By 1964, The Beatles had already performed 1,200 gigs, both paid and unpaid. Gladwell also notes that elite musicians at the age of 20 had accumulated 10,000 hours of practice, while amateurs had only about 2,000 hours. The more you do something, the better you get at it. Combined with passion, you become excellent. So, practice, practice, practice.
Now, identify what you have been truly good at and what you dream of doing professionally. Write the word CAN in large letters on a piece of paper and list all your strengths. Ask friends and acquaintances what they think you excel at. What strengths do they envy you for? For which tasks have you been praised by bosses and colleagues? What are you proud of in your professional life? What tasks come easily to you? What have you done thousands of times and are really good at? On the next sheet, write the word WANT and list the ideas and dreams that have come to mind or that you’ve thought of through conscious reflection. Also ask yourself: What topics fascinated you most during your education, even if the overall education no longer fits your current ideas? What do you want to do with your life? What interests you the most? What would you start professionally if you knew you would succeed? If you’re among those who can’t think of anything, and I speak from experience, this applies to about 10% of my seminar participants, imagine someone offers you the following: You receive 1 million euros as a gift—what would you do to make the gift meaningful? Some have responded that they would simply buy a great house. My follow-up question is: How will you maintain the house once the money is gone? This often motivates people to seek new ideas.
Whenever we make decisions, take new paths, continue old ones, or switch directions, such as changing jobs, choosing further education, or deciding to push through despite difficulties, it impacts our future. From now on, always question the meaningfulness of your steps. Don’t just follow your gut instinct or make decisions solely with your head. Combining both is the key.
The two sheets, WANT and CAN, facilitate this process. WANT represents your desires and passions, while CAN represents your strengths and competencies. If you pursue a heartfelt wish but lack the necessary skills, you can still pursue the path, but be aware that it may take time to be recognized as an expert and that you’ll need more patience and practice initially. And if you can do something but don’t find joy in it, realize that it will be hard for you to spread enthusiasm. Therefore, work with both sheets and identify where the overlaps between WANT and CAN occur and focus on those areas. For example, I’ve always wanted to share my knowledge about marketing and career coaching. Writing a book was a logical next step. However, one of my weaknesses was having absolutely flawless spelling and my lack of confidence due to negative comments from former teachers. My strength was, however, that I am good at communicating and inspiring people. It’s easy for me to generate knowledge and present it clearly with a bit of humor. So, I persisted, and editors have since enriched my life. In my blog, the motto is: If you find a mistake, you’re welcome to keep it.
Third rule for finding your dream job: Analyze your interests and professional desires, become aware of your abilities, and practice them. Whenever you make a directional change, use your past experience rather than resisting it. Your WANT needs your CAN.
4. Networking and Leveraging Connections
I promise not to overemphasize the topic, and I won’t suggest that you need to network at every event, join every online network, or that being “friends” with someone will automatically lead to a job. Instead, my focus is on considering who you know that could potentially support you. For example, if you know someone at Company XY, where you want to apply, you can gain important information about the dos and don’ts. It’s not about being pushed into a position by someone, but rather benefiting from tips and insider knowledge. This can help you avoid many pitfalls. You can research in advance: What is important to this manager? Are there any taboo topics within the company? Is it advantageous to know an employee at the company, or is it better to avoid using connections? Is this position already filled internally? What do I need to qualify for this role? Is the position being created, is someone going on parental leave, or was someone fired? If someone was fired, what went wrong that I should be aware of? etc. With these inputs, you can prepare much more specifically for a job interview.
I also hear that some candidates are reluctant to use their connections, preferring to do it on their own and not be seen as someone who got a job just because of “Dad” or “Auntie.” Why not, for heaven’s sake? You have a trump card and refuse to play it. It’s like winning the lottery and not claiming your prize. Do you know how many people would love to have that chance? They would think you’re crazy. They would give anything to benefit from that advantage and watch others squander such opportunities. I understand the desire to succeed on your own and avoid the “Dad stamp” in your job. If someone comes from a wealthy background, they will carry that label whether they like it or not. No matter what job you get, people will always say you are there because of your connections. The best cleaning products won’t help—no amount of scrubbing will erase that stamp. It only disappears over time and with many of your own success stories.
A better approach is illustrated by how a friend of mine handles such situations. He was born into a prominent business family. When someone criticizes his family background, he responds with, “Yes, I’m a lucky child, isn’t that nice?” Most people are silenced by this, simply because many expect a defense. By taking this approach, he takes the wind out of others’ sails, reducing the backlash. So, if you have valuable connections, please use this fantastic entry card to your dream job. And one more thing: if you are recommended by someone, it’s primarily because they believe in your abilities in addition to liking you. No one is foolish enough to recommend someone they know will eventually be held accountable for incompetence. We recommend people we believe in, which reflects well on us too. Of course, there are some genuinely incompetent people who get jobs only because someone owes a favor. But you probably wouldn’t want that job anyway, because your skills wouldn’t be needed there. Otherwise, the other person wouldn’t be in that position. 😉
From now on, if you want to leverage important relationships, don’t just ask for a status update; that’s too cheap. Instead, come up with an idea that could benefit a company, then approach your connection and ask them to support you in pushing this idea forward. People are much more inclined to help you with this than just securing a job for you. This way, you will earn more respect on all sides.
Rule number 4: With each new application, consider whether you know someone who can provide you with valuable information. And learn to use your connections skillfully for new ideas.
5. Moving Forward
Now that you know what makes you happy at work, have an idea of which professional dreams you can pursue with your skills, understand why and for whom you want to work there, and know how to win over the right people for your goals, it’s time to plan your next steps. Always keep the following thought process in mind: What do I need to do to take the next step?
A few examples:
I’m applying to Company XY. What do I need to do to apply? I should research the market to offer them a good idea.
I want a salary increase. What should I highlight in the discussion to convince my manager to approve the raise? List my recent achievements and positive feedback I’ve received and outline a plan for the next steps that have been discussed recently.
I know that some people don’t like to plan so meticulously. But it’s akin to trying to break through a wall with your head. If you end up on the other side and are not satisfied with what you find, all that hard work was for nothing. I’d like to spare you that frustration.
So, set out and find a job where you can fully engage and apply your skills. I wish you every success and enjoyment from the bottom of my heart.
Those who advance in the world go out and seek the circumstances they want, and if they cannot find them, they create them. (George Bernard Shaw)
