Career Coaching : 6 Steps To Identify Your Dream Job

A national consumer employment survey conducted by Harris Interactive reveals 84% of U.S. workers are still searching for their dream jobs, announced by CareerBuilder, the well known recruitment and career-advancement website, on January 25, 2007.

"What defines a dream job is surprisingly reminiscent of childhood wishes for many workers. Workers said they want to enjoy their work experience, apply their talents and feel like they're making an impact. Having fun at work was the most important attribute of a dream job for 39% of workers, which heavily outweighed the 12% who said salary was most important." said Richard Castellini, Vice President of Consumer Marketing at CareerBuilder.

What is your dream job ?

We have all been born with unique gifts and talents, but most of us have not been encouraged to find, explore, develop or express those qualities. Consequently most of us have found ourselves in jobs which do not allow us express who we really are.

The first step to take in starting to find your dream job involves identifying your unique strengths, gifts and talents, what you are passionate about and where you can make a difference.

If you're tired all the time, you don't want to get out of bed in the morning, you are not interested in what you are doing, you can't concentrate at work anymore, you might need to consider a job or career change.

Start by answering the following "self-analysis" questions to provoke thinking and to begin your journey towards purpose, fulfillment and meaning.

Find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed. Relax your body and mind. Take as much time as you need to write down your answers. Remove all limits and allow yourself to dream about the career you were born to do.

1. What work would you love to do if you had all the money, time and resources you needed already, or if all jobs paid the same?

2. What inspires you ? What do you most enjoy about life ?

3. What are your values ? Which values do you want to express through your work ?

4. What comes natural and easy to you? What do you do without struggle ?

5. What are your strengths, talents and gifts? What are your natural abilities? Write them down and spend some time reflecting on your answer. Then ask your friends and family members to answer this question for you. What is their perception of your skills and abilities? What do they think you are good at? Ask them what they see is a gift that you bring to the world. Sometimes others can help us see what we may not see.

6. What is missing from your work now ? What was missing from your previous jobs ? Is there anything you wanted to do, but have held back for some reason?

Take as much time as you need to evaluate yourself using these questions until you are satisfied with your answers which will give you some valuable information about your career direction.

Confucius said, "Find a job you enjoy, and you'll never work a day in your life."

Don't wait until tomorrow to identify your dream job. Take action today !