Dysfunctional Belief: My dream job is out there waiting.
Reframe: You design your dream job through a process of actively seeking and co-creating it.
As we continue extracting useful information from the book, “Designing Your Life,” by Burnett and Evans, I found myself intrigued by the chapter entitled, “Designing Your Dream Job.” Yet here’s what the authors stated at the beginning and end of this chapter:
“First of all, let’s clarify that there is no dream job. No unicorns. No free lunch. What you can find out there are lots of interesting jobs in worthwhile organizations populated by dedicated and hardworking people trying to do honest work.
It is more than possible to use design thinking to get your first job, transform your current job, design your next job, and create a career that integrates your Workview and your Lifeview. In fact, we recommend it, because there is no Job Charming coming to rescue you. The idea that your dream job already exists, fully formed, just waiting for you to find it, is a fairy tale.”
Focus on the Design
Hmmmm, ok, that sure may have taken the wind out of your sails! After all, you’ve probably been told multiple times in your life to pursue your passions, be all you can be, and don’t settle for anything other than a job that fits you the best! And wait a second! Since the title of the chapter is about designing your dream job, what did the authors have to say to back up that moniker? Hint: It’s the word, “design!”
So glad you saw that thread coming through! First, the authors point out that mining the internet for jobs is not the best approach for a productive job hunt, with only about 20% of all jobs available being posted there. They introduce the fact that four out of five jobs never actually get posted and are only available through the “hidden job market.” That is, the market “that’s only open to people who are already connected into the web of professional relationships in which that job resides.”
And guess what the only way to break into that hidden job market is? Yep, you guessed it! If you’ve been around Crossroads Career for any length of time, the answer is “NETWORKING!” We’ve written quite a bit about networking, so you can see a fair number of blogs that outline our thinking on this subject (Click the Search bar in the upper right-hand side of our Homepage HERE and enter ‘Networking’).
A Different Twist on Networking
The authors emphasize that having authentic “prototyping with Life Design Interviews” is the best way to crack into that hidden job market. And when you unwrap what that means, it is just networking with a different twist. Here are a few interesting nuggets I found when reading more about their approach:
- Go for the Story – – When implementing the “Life Design Interview,” you’re not after the job, you’re after the story. By being genuinely curious into how people acquired the job they’re in, they find it easy to talk with you, and you’ll glean quite a bit from their journey.
- A Key Question – – Many times the networker will end up asking the network whether he / she has ever thought of working at a place like this. But if not, you may say something like, “The more I learn about XYZ Systems and the more people I meet here, the more interesting it becomes. What steps would be involved in exploring how someone like me might become part of this organization?”
- What You Don’t Say – – “Do you have any openings?” Avoid that question – – instead use the open-ended question prescribed above.
- A Different Image – – “Dysfunctional belief: Networking is just hustling people – it’s slimy. Reframe: Networking is just asking for direction.”
- The Goal – – I thought this point was another interesting way to reframe networking. “’Network’ is more noun than verb. The point isn’t to ‘do’ network-ing; the goal is to participate in the network. Every domain of human endeavor is held together by a web of relationships between people. The network exists to sustain the community of people getting the work done….”
- Change the Goal – – Shift from “I’m looking for a job” to “I’m pursuing a number of offers.” “It shifts you from being a person deciding whether or not you’d take this job (which you know nothing about) to being a person who is curious to find out what kind of interesting offer you might be able to find in that organization. It flips you from judging to exploring, from negative to positive – and that’s a huge difference.”
- Be an Interesting Person – “When you reframe the job search into an offer search, you end up being more authentic, energetic, persistent, and playful while you pursue your next position or opportunity. And, ironically, this ends up making you more likely to get the offer. People don’t hire resumes; they hire people. People they like. People who are interesting. And you know what types of people each of us is most interested in – – the ones who are most interested in us.”
I found this chapter to be a great reinforcement of what we’ve been encouraging for years here at Crossroads Career. Yet they found some new and interesting ways to communicate their thinking, especially through capturing what they call “dysfunctional belief” and then presenting a way to “reframe” that belief, or thought habit, that many of us possess.
Allow Scripture to Reframe Your Thinking
The Scriptures are FULL of wisdom that reframes our human thinking. Most famous of these are found in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5-7). In this passage, Jesus consistently puts together a phrase, “You have heard that it was said….” coupled with, “But I say to you.” He reframes the Old Testament teachings that the Jews had tried to adhere to for thousands of years. He upped the ante from our physical compliance to the Law to issues of the heart. Matthew 5:27-28 is just one illustration of this: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
As you go through a job transition, whether unemployed or unfulfilled, reframing your perspective is critical to having a life-changing job hunt. And embedding God’s word in your heart and asking the Holy Spirit to further His transformational work in you will further your ability to discern and shift your thinking to new truths of a job transition.
As the authors of “Designing Your Life” tell us, you won’t “find” your dream job, but you can certainly work to “design” it! Blessings!
Dave Sparkman currently serves as the volunteer Crossroads Career board chair and local ministry leader. He is also the founder and managing director of Spark Your Culture, a corporate culture consulting firm. Prior to that he worked at UnitedHealth Group, a Fortune #5 public company, serving in the role of Chief Culture Officer. His unemployment experience came from the implosion of Arthur Andersen, where he served as the West Region Managing Partner, People.
Connect with a Crossroads Guide
We would love to help you by setting up a time to talk to someone who can provide personalized career assistance.
