Your Dream Job Description

When my LYJ (Love Your Job) Search class starts on Monday, I will be asking participants to draft a description of their ideal job. The clarity that results from this exercise can be extremely helpful. It allows people to better articulate what they are looking for and creates a level of focus for their searches.

If you would like to try this exercise, know that you can tear it up and re-write the whole thing at any moment. Understand that nothing you’re writing is set in stone and just allow yourself to freely imagine a variety of possibilities. Include a list of 10 possible dream companies after you have written your description. This is a key part of the exercise especially as you begin to share what you’re looking for with others. Here is the assignment with a sample from an LYJ alumna to get you started:

Write a one-page proposal of your ideal work setting. Title the document, YourName’s Dream Job, Inc. This should include location, lighting, space, hours, people, boss, leadership, types of projects you get to work on, subject matter, types of activities. At the bottom, list 10 potential companies/organizations that would be a dream to work at.

SAMPLE LYJ DREAM JOB DESCRIPTION:

MAIN ACTIVITIES

Write everyday. Research latest news topics and developments in my field, including news sources, medical and health journals, blogs. Analyze policy developments for their potential impact in my field. Speak about the mission and activities of my organization/company to potential investors or media.

PURPOSE

Responsible, progressive national and state policy. Social justice. Environmental justice. Promoting health. Evaluating areas for improvement in health programming. Advancing health technology and/or access.

SUPERVISION

Work closely with one main mentor/supervisor under minimal supervision. Weekly one-on-one meetings to discuss progress, suggestions, questions, next steps. Mentor/supervisor offers constructive criticism and praise freely and simply. Daily working environment does not include check-ins or micromanaging, but rather is a relationship of mutual trust to work simultaneously and separately in a coordinated fashion. Independence.

LOCATION

New York, NY. Beautiful section of the city with healthy, affordable lunch spots and nearby green space. Reasonably close to where I live / reasonable commute. Clean, open, modern building with plants, lots of natural light, and sustainable materials. Office with a door and big desk. Gym onsite!

SALARY

Although in a “dream” type situation, the sky is the limit, salary for this description would be enough for me to comfortably pay back my monthly student loan payments, have a nice one-bedroom apartment, maintain my current lifestyle (buying good food, traveling occasionally, updating wardrobe, not panicking at Christmas time), investing in my retirement fund, and salary for upward mobility in my field.

HOURS

About 9 to 5, give or take some flexibility. Option to work from home. Shorter summertime hours, longer winter hours. Hours may change to avoid monotony. Work days vary in intensity and tasks.

PEOPLE / COLLEAGUES

Motivated, educated colleagues with high drive and excellent interpersonal communication skills. Organized, timely people who also laugh and see the lighter side of things. People who are healthy and have active lives outside of work, but who also give their all for their positions which they believe in. Equal mix of men and women.

ENVIRONMENT

Team-oriented environment, with weekly team meetings but otherwise independent working environment. Culture of the organization: goal and social change oriented, forward thinking, streamlined efficiency.

WORK / LIFE BALANCE

Organization will place a high level of commitment to employees maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Generous vacation time and personal days, which can be taken without fear or feeling of reprimand.

REAL LIFE COMPANIES / ORGANIZATIONS
I WOULD WANT TO WORK FOR

Google
Planned Parenthood
World Health Organization
Lululemon Athletica (higher position or creative team)
Reproductive Health Technologies Project
President Obama
Global Health Strategies

Setting Intentions During Seasonal Transitions

Last weekend, I attended a special yoga workshop focused on the seasonal transition between winter and spring.  We reflected on the past couple of months while simultaneously preparing for spring. Interestingly enough, the special focus was on cleansing and activating kidney energy, the body part associated with winter. We set intentions for what we hope to accomplish this spring, planting the metaphorical seeds in our practice.

I often derive career inspiration from yoga in addition to much-needed relaxation and alignment necessary for a work-life balance (see “Career Lessons Learned in Yoga Class: The Concept of ‘No Ambition’”). In setting my intention for spring, I focused on my communication and listening skills. My goals are to listen even more actively, to cut the additional “clutter” that comes with multi-tasking during conversations, and to have more focused and efficient conversations.

What is one intention you might set for spring? How can you start putting it into practice right away?

How to Decide if a Job Offer Is Right for You

A friend of mine is close to a job offer that would increase not only her salary but also her management and leadership responsibilities. However, the job would require her to relocate across the country and is not fully aligned with her longer-term career goals. She’d be leaving behind her relationship and creative side projects but would be gaining new colleagues and an exciting city to explore. Many of us have faced a choice like this. It can feel agonizing, even if we’re happy to receive an offer.

Here are a few strategies for making these tough career choices with confidence:

Write a pros and cons list: When there are many factors involved, it can be helpful to lay them all out on paper rather than have them swirling around your head. Try breaking the lists up into categories such as content of the work, work environment, salary and benefits package, quality of life, and fit with long-term vision. The purpose of this exercise is not to tally the pros and cons and make your choice based on the higher score, but to get the decision out of your head and onto paper—where you can see what information you have and identify where there might be gaps.

Tune in to your inner voice: While the pros and cons list is useful, people don’t make decisions using reason alone. What is your internal voice or guide telling you? With so many outside voices weighing in (friends, family, society), it can be difficult to isolate the one that is truly yours. I’ve had success at finding my voice using self-care practices such as yoga, meditation, and journaling. For example, when faced with a difficult decision, I sometimes employ Julia Cameron’s “morning pages” and write three stream-of-consciousness pages in the morning (and often again in the evening) until my innermost feelings emerge.

Seek counsel of trusted advisors: When making a big decision, it’s helpful to talk it through with people you trust. Determine who will be best for you. Ideally, these people will be objective, insightful, caring, and without a vested interest in the outcome. They could include therapists, life coaches, spiritual advisors, career counselors or other trusted people in your life. A good advisor usually will ask you powerful questions and mirror to you what they are seeing and hearing in your answers.

Watch for red flags: By all means, if your instincts are telling you NO, listen to them! Was there a vibe in the office during your interview process? A sense that the position would cause your quality of life to suffer intolerably? Discuss these red flags with a trusted advisor to make sure they are real and not symptoms of fear of change.

Determine your options: If you were to turn down the offer, what are your alternatives? Can you stay in your current position? Go back to your job search? Cut expenses to provide a sense of security if you become unemployed? Getting clear about your options will put you in a better position to make a confident decision.

Understand you always have choices: If you have only one job offer on the table and no appealing alternatives, counter the victim-like voice in your head that says, “I have no choices. This is my only option.” Knowing we always have choices in life can go a long way toward creating more opportunities for ourselves. A powerful decision-making process involves accepting that you are making the best possible choice in the present moment, rather than believing that this opportunity is your only option.

Determine what the ideal offer would look like: By mapping out the ideal offer, you can see points for potential negotiation, or simply have clarity on what is holding you back from answering with a resounding YES. Does your ideal offer include a higher salary? Flex time to spend with your small child? Projects that involve more creativity? You may or may not be able to negotiate for these things, but you can start to weigh how important they are to you or come up with potential solutions moving forward.

Remember you can always change your mind: Sometimes we get trapped into feeling like a decision is so enormous and irrevocable that it paralyzes us from making it. Ask yourself, can I commit to this job for six months or one year and then reevaluate?

When you were faced with a tough career decision, what tools did you use?