There are a lot of people out there who dream, but only a few are willing to work on their dreams and make them come true. If you want to land your dream job then you may have to make short-term sacrifices. And boy, will it be worth it!

What To Dream

For example, maybe you are a janitor and you dream of becoming the president of the bank. It’s going to be a step-by-step process, moving towards your goal. So,if you want to land your dream job then you must use your money wisely and get the education and training you will need to achieve this prestigious goal.

You work to save the money that you earn from being a janitor and invest it in your business education – you are on the first step of your dream – so, celebrate, many people don’t even start!

Be In The Right Place

Whilst you are getting that business education, you can apply for a lesser position in the company where your dream job exists. When you are in that lesser position in the right company doing a great job will then provide you with opportunities to make your moves over time.

And at some point in time, you will become the vice president of the company and then eventually you will become the president. What you just did is land your dream job. This is your dream and you wanted it to happen and you planned your course of action and you worked on it. Focused action towards a real and possible goal.

You have to make sure that you will put in the necessary effort to make things happen in a deliberate and focused way with all your attention and effort. Then, anything is possible, because everyone started at the bottom once.

Dreams Come True – Only If You Work At Them!

You can not simply sit and expect to land your dream job out of nowhere. If you want your dream to happen then you have to work hard at it. You have to make sure that you are covering all the necessary requirements to make your dream a reality.

If you are a teaching assistant in the university, who wants more, then you must seek a level higher education that helps you on your way to becoming the Dean. You also have to deliver the teaching hours requirement if you want to go up the university ladder.

Studying hard, putting the hours in all along a planned path will get you there. Many people don’t do this and fall by the wayside with complaints of unfairness and other excuses. Good luck and fortune often comes to those who put the effort in, so that at the end of the day, you will be able to be successful enough to land your dream job once and for all.

Put In The Dream Job Effort

It’s about working hard and making sacrifices – yet you don’t have to kill yourself. Work smart too. By focusing your actions and leveraging your time and resourcefulness, you can take shortcuts.

A dream job is accessible to everyone. A job where you love getting up each morning to face the great challenges of your working day. A day where you will feel fulfilled and you will truly be a round peg in a round hole and not the other way round.

The time is yours, the time is now. What are you waiting for?

By: Martin Haworth

About the Author:

Rob Palmer is the Editor of Freelance Work Exchange, the leading jobs site for contract professionals worldwide. Looking for a legitimate home business opportunity? Join Freelance Work Exchange for just $2.95 and get access to thousands of
freelance jobs and
work-at-home jobs for writers, designers, programmers and freelancers.
http://www.freelanceworkexchange.com

Life coaching isn’t about looking into the past. Sure, it’s great to know why you ended up where you are, but a life coach is focused on where you are now and where you want to go. Many people feel dissatisfied with their life, but in reality, it could just be your job or your career dragging you down.

A life coach can help you get out of that tiring and boring job into one that leaves you feeling great about going to work. Check out these important life coaching strategies for finding your dream job – and getting it!

1) Know What It Is You Want

An important part of life coaching, when it comes to figuring out your dream job, is knowing exactly what career you would like.

Life coaching strategies include things like sitting down with a pen and paper to jot down all the things that make up your dream job.

Lots of things mean fulfillment to people – what are your key points of being happy in your career? What would be your perfect working day?

To help you out, here are some hints about what your dream job might involve.

Money? Maybe. But a dream job doesn’t have to be one that makes you rich. Some people working at minimum wage love their job and feel happy every day!

Do you have a favorite hobby or a passion for something? There may be jobs in that area that you could get into. Think about how you could apply your interests and turn them into a dream job you love.

Want excitement? Challenge? Like to be appreciated? Sure. A dream job is one where you have challenge, feel valued, and that you have room to grow. A dream job makes you feel ready to face the day and uses your best strengths.

2) Know What You Need To Get There

Life coaching strategies involve getting from point A, where you’re feeling stuck, to point B, where you’ll be in a better position for happiness, personal satisfaction, and fulfillment. Now that you know ‘WHAT’ it is you want (your point B), you need to look at the steps that will take you to your goals.

This is the ‘HOW’ of getting there.

Do you need some education? Should you spread the word about your intentions? Are there people you need to start networking with that can help you? Will you need a certificate or skills you don’t have?

Planning the steps to take to achieve your goal is an important part of landing your dream job. Having an outline is a good way for you to stay on track and move forward. Plus, breaking down your journey into smaller chunks makes it more manageable and easier to handle.

When you feel like you’ve lost your focus, you can also take a look at your goals and the steps you need to take to boost your hope and get you going again.

3) Lights, Camera, Action!

The only thing that is holding you back from a dream job is yourself. Nothing can stand in your way if you have a solid, realistic plan and goals that are attainable.

So with the steps in mind, here’s the question. What are you going to do, and by when. Setting yourself tough time-based challenges that will move you forward quickly will build a head of momentum that will help you on tough days.

It’s about getting there, one step at a time, by making those steps happen, each week, by using a discipline pulling you towards your dream job goal and how amazing that will be.

You certainly can have a dream job that fits you much better than the one you have now – all you have to do is start moving ahead!

Over to you!

By: Martin Haworth

About the Author:

It’s time to make a dramatic career change to your dream job! If you don’t jump out of bed every work day when the alarm goes off eager to do some work, you are likely not all that enthusiastic about your job.

Perhaps you complain, roll over, and contemplate whether you can get away with calling in sick for the third time this month. In this case, it is quite clear that you need to find something more challenging and satisfying. A dream job will do the trick.

Here’s the bottom line: The best time to pursue your dream career is twenty years ago and today!

You don’t necessarily have to move on today. Indeed, it is wise not to jump straight into something immediately. But today is the day that you should start taking steps to discover your dream job.

Business Week magazine recently surveyed 500 American business executives about their job satisfaction. Surprisingly, almost three-quarters (72 percent) were not in their dream jobs.

The first question is: What would executives rather be doing? Many, in fact, named creative professions when asked about their fantasy careers.

Top Ten Dream Career Choices of Business Executives

1. Entertainment manager or events producer

2. Winemaker or brewmaster

3, Chef

4. Restaurateur

5, Pilot

6. Golf pro

7. Professional athlete

8. Rock star

9. Neurosurgeon

10. Bed-and-breakfast-inn owner/operator

The second question is: Why don’t more executives move on to something better if they are not in their dream careers? Clearly, most executives are trapped in the corporate system and don’t have the guts to do something different.

Yet many ordinary people with fewer skills and financial resources than corporate executives have managed to leave corporate life to pursue dream careers. These ordinary people have become happier, wealthier, freer, and more satisfied in their lives.

One reason why so many individuals end up in distasteful work is that too many get caught up on the money side of careers. They see it as a choice between “love the work you do in poverty” or “hate the work you do in abundance.”

Sadly, most people believe that you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Some of us know otherwise we have gotten ourselves two cakes. This way, we get to keep our cake and eat it, too.

Put another way, we have discovered work that we love. Better still, we manage to earn a decent living. Indeed, many of us earn a better living than 90 percent of corporate workers who **** their jobs.

Above all, ensure that you end up working at something that you love instead of working just for the money. Working at something just for the money is something fearful people do. It is a sign of their lack of self-confidence in their ability, talent, and creativity to earn money doing something they enjoy.

Truth be known, a typical corporate job is a goal much too small for millions of creative individuals in this world. Indeed, if you are not just a dreamer but also a doer a dream career does not have to be an unattainable fantasy.

Chicago advertising executive Robert Cochrane warned Carl Laemmle with these words: “Don’t be a salary slave! If you are going to do anything in this world, you must start before you are forty, before your period of initiative has ended. Do it now!”

In short, it’s seldom too late to discover and pursue a dream job or unique vocation. But it is better to make that career change to your dream job sooner than later.

NOTE: This article is adapted from the book Real Success Without a Real Job (Ten Speed Press) by Ernie J. Zelinski.

Download the free E-book (in PDF format) with the first chapter of Real Success Without a Real Job at:

Free Ebooks and Career Change Resources

By: Ernie Zelinski

About the Author:

Finding your dream job in today’s competitive job arena and up-and-down economy is no easy business. One thing is certain if you’re a career seeker, the best opportunities for your dream job are on the Internet.

Is there such a thing as a dream job? Yes, All you need to do is rearch, ultilize, keep up to date with current training and trends the job entails to grasp.

Whether you’re looking at a particular company’s job listings posted directly on their website or using an all-in-one job resource service, you’re on the right track. Here are some pointers to get you on your way to finding and landing that dream job soon!

- Carefully consider your career goals. The career you choose and your dream job should match your personality, talents, skills, and resources.

- If possible, don’t limit yourself to one location. The more flexible you are as to where you will go to work, the more marketable you are. Many opportunities are in other neighborhoods, cities, states or countries.

- Keep in mind that in this competitive job market, finding a dream job may take a little longer than it did the last time you were in the job market. It’s common for numerous candidates to apply for a single job. Don’t stress it if you keep trying and don’t give up, then your positive attitude will pay off.

- Update your resume. These days, a professionally written and formatted resume that presents you in your best possible light is a basic prerequisite to finding a job. The biggest mistake job seekers make is being too exhaustive and including everything about themselves. Don’t forget that the purpose of a resume isn’t to get a job right then and there it’s to get a call from a prospective employer! Make sure you stand out by being concise, using keyword phrasing that’s easy to read, and keeping your resume error-free.

- Get out there and start hunting! Try an all-in-one job search site, you can post your resume and portfolio for prospective employers to find, as well as search for work opportunities among international job listings. There’s also a whole section devoted to career resources, including links to leads for increasing your skills and credentials through educational opportunities, finding your personality type, and lots more. My favorites are the RSS feeds and job alerts to my email box.

One the best ways to submit a resume is on Sunday evening so that when the employer arrives into the work place it is the first fresh fax piece to review. I have received 20 interviews with this technique.

Now it is your turn.

Remember you deserve the job of your dreams. Apply well and apply often, and good luck!

By: Michael E Luby Jr

About the Author:

To get clear on the kind of job that fits the bill, you need to get really clear about your expectations. If you don’t, you run the risk of making yet another mistake.

So, it’s time to get very, very descriptive about it. It’s time to ‘live the dream’, literally in your mind and in writing.

What does matter when you try this little exercise, is to make sure that you are very open and honest with yourself. That you ‘let go’ and run rampant in your imagination. Forget about guilt and shouldn’t and that you are being all selfish and ungrateful.

It’s OK!

Remember, you only get one go on this planet and you really do want to make the the most of it. And for most of us, we spend that at work. So getting your job right is a big leverage on the rest of your life too.

So, this is your space to dream and thoughtfully consider what your life will be like, when you really are living your dream job.

Using the couple of sheets of paper, write on them what the perfect work day in your dream job would be like, in an ideal world. Do it quickly, use a real pen and write!

Be descriptive – using as many of your senses as you can. For example, what you hear, what you see, what your feelings are. Be as descriptive as you like from your waking up, to the very end of your day, step-by-step, hour-by-hour.

What work is like; what happens in your mind’s eye; what you have for lunch; who you meet; who you loved working with. Even the sorts of things that are said too!

And please be honest with yourself – as honest as you’ve ever been in your life so far. Because if you aren’t, then you are fooling no-one else, except yourself.

Using this sort of informal visualization activity, helps you really get into ‘living’ your dream job. By doing this you will get a sense of whether you are right or wring. It will help you sift out the impostors that may haunt your search.

Outing these dream job gremlins will make you appreciate the things in a job that you really do value – as well as helping you recognize those things that are of less importance to you.

Try the exercise a couple or three times and start to cull out those things that you thought that you wanted, but now start to recognize for interlopers that weren’t that valuable at all.

Paring down to the bare bones will really help you get clear what the deepest and most important components of your dream job are. Which will help you in other phases of your decision making.

By: Martin Haworth

About the Author:

Before you go about choosing a different career, here are some questions you might want to ask yourself, taking care to answer them as honestly as you can.

First, you need to ask yourself whether you are happy with your current job or not. If you are unhappy, this does not mean you have to do a job change right away. Ask first the reasons why you are not satisfied with your job right now?

Is it because of some other people around you that you do not get along with? If so, the job may just be right for you but it is just the environment that is not.

Go For Fulfilment in Your Dream Job Quest

And then, if you feel dissatisfied because you do not feel fulfilled in your current job, then it really is time to start that job search. It’s vital to assess your career at the start. And then you might find that you are comfortable with your current job, but it is just not paying you enough.

If pay is the issue, maybe it’s time to get radical! You might want to start thinking about venturing away from your comfort zone and take some challenges. Of course, you have to make sure you are going to be prepared to succeed with those challenges.

Because a career change is definitely the right thing to do if you are feeling stuck or even bogged down by your current situation.

The next step is for you to equip yourself to land your dream job.

Your Dream Job Preparations

The first thing you should do is your own, personal job assessment.

- Take a look at different job openings and see if your qualities fit them.

- Make inquiries and see if you would like to do that job.

- You should not only take a job because it has a high pay because eventually you would not be fulfilled by it.

- You should take a job that you can enjoy, a job that can make you grow as a person.

And once you determine the position you want to apply for, it is time to brush up on your skills.

Landing a dream job may take more effort from you than apparent at the start. Remember that the job you are after may also be the dream job of others, which means competition!

So in order to triumph over the competition, the first thing you should do is improve your resume writing skills. As it is your resume that is the first thing to introduce you to your future employers, you had better make an excellent first impression.

Of course it would help if what you can put into your resume weighty evidence showing off your capabilities. But if that is not the case, make sure to write your resume in as focused a way as can be.

Once your resume passes, it is time to hone your interview skills. The interview could make or break it so make sure you do well. There a lot of ways you can improve your interview techniques so make sure to use them.

Once you are accepted for the job, you should harness your networking skills. This way, you would stay in that job – or even better, you can start preparing for your next dream job!

By: Martin Haworth

About the Author:

For most of you out there who are either fairly new to freelancing jobs or who are seriously considering jumping in, a big question may still remain of whether you will be able to make it or not. The answer is that EVERYONE can succeed in freelancing, however, many do not.

Unfortunately for those who do not succeed, they do not realize that many factors that cause them to fail are within their own control. The key is to recognize what these factors are and take the right steps to control them. In this article, I’m going to focus on the factors that will cause the bloody death of your freelance career (and has caused for many other). The next week’s article will focus on the Freelance Life Lines for your career.

The following are the five death traps you want to avoid when starting out in freelance. If you are already in your freelance career, then pay attention. This just may save you.

Death Trap #1: Not having a backup plan or backup source of income

Speaking from experience, most freelancers will not have an idea of what freelancing is really like until they complete their first year… and that is a big IF they complete their first year. Therefore, you would be taking a huge risk if you decide to suddenly decide to tell your boss to go to #!@% off and think you can continue to earn your income by freelancing.

As a newcomer to the freelance world, you will need a period of adjustment to get used to the demands of it. I won’t go into depth of these demands here, but to name a few, there are high/low workloads, customer/client service (yes, you have to keep them happy) and invoicing/collections.

What often happens for a new freelancer, too, is that initially they will notice their income decreases from what they made in a paid position. This is overwhelming enough to cause many to panic and quit freelancing and resume working in their careers for a fixed salary.

To overcome the “freelance panic” and freelancing demands, the best route to go is to not quit your job and to freelance part-time in addition to it. Sure, this may bring about a very heavy workload, however, it is the best way to learn freelancing in your field without losing income.

Once you are established as a freelancer, you may want to decrease the hours in the salaried position and increase the freelance workload if at all possible. This method can all but guarantee that you will have a smooth transition into a freelance career.

Now, there are those who may jump into freelancing right away without having been in a salaried position in their career field. The same demands of freelancing still apply, in addition to the demands of their chosen field. That is why in this case, a fallback job or other source of income, even if not related to their career field, is ideal.

A backup source of income can be vital to giving you peace of mind and keeping you from quitting when times get difficult in freelancing. Believe me, too, they can get difficult.

Death Trap #2: Not being service minded

It is safe to say that most of us have had some kind of job position where we’ve had to deal with customers in a friendly and helpful manner. For those of you who haven’t, then for sure you have had to deal with some kind of customer service whether it was returning a purchased item, complaining of service, or receiving help.

In either case, do you remember being yelled at by the “nasty” customer or getting poor service, yourself? Can you remember what their voice sounded like when they got on your bad side?

Well the same will apply to your freelance job. Argue with your clients and treat them poorly and you can kiss your freelance career goodbye. The opposite is true, too. Treat them like you really appreciate their business and they will keep coming back AND bring their friends with them.

All of this boils down to one simple concept: service-mindedness.

If you honestly appreciate your clients, you will do the little things such as, getting work done on time, delivering high quality and even responding promptly to emails. Such things make a client feel appreciated and keeps work coming which is especially important to a new freelancer.

One thing that must be noted, though, is where the line should be drawn where it may appear that a client is taking advantage of your kind treatment. It is actually pretty simple. In this case, you have to be firm, but polite with them. Not surprisingly, most clients will try to see where their dollar will take them. If you keep giving in to complaints/requests for changes, they will keep coming back with more.

A rule of thumb is to always fix mistakes made on your part, but charge if a change/fix requested was not due to your error. Inform the client in a polite but stern manner and they will they won’t take advantage of you.

Death Trap #3: Not making a working schedule

Part of the reason that the majority of us switch to freelancing is to get out of the 9 – 5 grind Monday through Friday. We want the ability to sleep in on a Monday morning and the freedom to take a three hour lunch break if we want to. What is generally not taken into account, however, is that despite our perceived freedoms in freelancing, we still have to work those eight or more hours a day during the week. Sometimes more.

If you freelance at home, too, you also open yourself to distractions that can inhibit your workday. After all, there is a bed, refrigerator, TV and a sofa all within arm’s reach from your working desk. What has to be done is to get into the habit of eliminating these distractions and getting yourself used to good working habits.

One of the most important things you can do to gain a good working habit is to create a working schedule. This may sound like the dreaded work schedule at your old job, but here you have the freedom to schedule anything.

The schedule should be started by first determining the hours you want (or need) to work in an entire week. Divide these hours up by the number of days you will work in the week then schedule in the daily hours in a weekly planner. Remember, you have the freedom to work at 3 AM as you do 3 PM. The important thing is to stick to those scheduled hours like you would at a job.

As you are working, be sure to keep track of the time and make sure you complete scheduled times. Try not to “cut-off” from working five minutes early nor starting five minutes later than your starting time. The goal is to develop a productive working habit and not be a clock-watcher like most were at their old job.

Once in a while, you will have an emergency or you may have had a little too much fun the night before to keep you from sticking to your schedule. Do your best to reschedule those working hours for another day in the week or divide them among the rest of the week.

Keep the habit of working your desired weekly hours and you won’t have to worry about the distractions that often dooms freelancers to low productivity… and low income.

Death Trap #4: Charging too little for your work

Freelance newbies are often so eager to find work they will accept any price for a job. Then they quickly find they do not earn the income they thought they would and quit.

This is by far one of the biggest mistakes made as a freelancer since this leaves you open to being taken advantage of by employers. Even if you are new in your field, there is a market price for the work you do and you are entitled to it.

The key is to know what prices are being offered for the type of work you do. More specifically, you need to determine a price range paid for a project where you know exactly the requirements to complete it. Then you bid a price on a project within that range.

Note that you may have to take a longer time than a more experienced freelancer to complete a project, but as long as you note the time for completion to the employer when you bid, this will not make a difference.

Do not sell yourself short if you are looking for work and/or if you are new to your career field. Remember that there are plenty of people looking for freelancers to provide a service at a price ideal for you. Your focus should be on looking for one of these instead of taking anything that just happens to come your way. Be patient because they will come.

Death Trap #5: Not tracking your production

As a freelancer, you are officially a business. As a business you need to track your working income to see where you can be more efficient and grow your business to earn even more.

Let me give you an example. Personally, I found that as long as I was able to pay the rent every month, eat and go out on the weekends, then I was doing more than enough to make ends meet. Why should I have to worry about what I make if it appeared to be enough?

Well, the answer is that as a business, you want to run efficiently. You could actually come to find that you are leaving money on the table like I did.

What did I do?

I first kept track of my hours (see Death Trap #3 above), but then kept track of what I did in those hours. For instance, I would spend a typical day responding to business emails and client questions and then doing the work of my field. What I came to find was that I would spend a disproportionate amount of time emailing (which doesn’t pay!) rather than doing productive work earning myself an income.

Just from this finding, I was able to limit non-income business activities and increase my income. This is also without increasing the number of hours I work.

* * *

Fortunately for you, if you are new to freelancing or are even considering it, you don’t have to go through the same growing pains as I did in order to succeed. I don’t want to tell you that everything is roses, because it is not. You will come across obstacles not mentioned here that you will have to get through, but in truth, will be necessary for you to grow in freelancing.

Heed my five Death Traps of Freelancing though. These will help you pass through the worst of what could come.

By: Johnny Spence

About the Author:

If you’re in the market to find your dream job then here are some tips to help you on your way.

Know your passion

Many people make the mistake of not knowing what they want when they are job searching. Here’s what you need to do to find your passion. List all the work you’re excited about doing on a sheet of paper. You can make headings on your paper by writing work I like to do, My skills, and hobbies. Most people find their passion through their hobbies whether it is biking, playing tennis, sewing, modeling, writing and so forth.

Write Your passion statement

Obviously from your list there must be one skill that gets you excited. Write your passion statement based on the skills (s) that make (s) you excited. Your passion is the driving force in your life that will help you to get your dream job.

Know your skills

You’ve listed your skills previously during the exercise to finding your passion. This information is important when you’re in search of your dream job. When you’re able to show your skills to your potential employer you’re on your way in getting your dream job.

Create Your Portfolio

Your portfolio is your marketing tool in presenting your skills to your potential employer. Your portofolio includes an updated resume, certificates, diplomas, degrees, work samples, publicity, photos and video clips. Use this opportunity to show your skills in landing your dream job. By presenting your portfolio professionally you’re showing how valuable you’re to anyone who needs a professional for hire.

Networking Your Way To Your Dream Job

When you’re in the market for a new job don’t forget people you meet at the bank, supermarket, conferences, workshops, library. Your next door neighbors, old schoolmates and co-workers are all part of your network. Call on them for help by letting them know you’re once again in the job search market.

Your Network Your Pot Of Gold

Peole you identified as your network are the people who will aid you in getting your dream job. Don’t ever under estimate anyone because you never know who they know. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you’re seeking a job. The people in your network are happy to help you in whatever way they can. Use your network as your pot of gold in getting your dream job.

Rule of Thumb

Always keep in touch with people you meet because you never know when you need to call a favor. Always put people first by getting to know them. “You can make more friends in a month by being interested in them than in ten years trying to get them interested in you” –Charles L. Allen, Roads to Radiant Living.

In sum, your dream job is just around the corner if you follow the tips above. Remember know your skills, have your portfolio handy, have passion in whatever you do, and network. By following these tips you’re on your way in getting your dream job.

By: Annmarie Edwards

About the Author:

I am a F.ILEX (Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives) specialising in property law, civil litigation and company law.I hold an LL.B with first class honours as well as qualifications in criminology and philosophy. I acquired over six years of experience working in private practice in the Midlands, dealing with both English and American law. Prior to qualifying as a Fellow, I worked in various positions and gained a variety of experience in different business sectors. I have also provided support as an Associate Lecturer on the Open University LL.B course. I now work for a private company in Nottinghamshire, although I still have a current practicing certificate. I have written over 130 research papers in various areas of law over the past three years.