One of the few difficulties of being abroad is staying in contact with potential employers and scheduling interviews with them for the summer. Luckily enough, Skype has come to the rescue and has allowed me to conduct interview via the internet. Last week, I had one of my first skype interviews and felt pretty confident going in – I had done my research on the interviewer, reviewed my resume, and knew the “ins and outs” of the company. I felt very prepared, however in the middle of asking me about myself, one question threw me for a complete loop and had me thinking for the rest of the day:
“What’s your dream job?”
It’s a question that has been repeatedly asked since we were practically able to talk; we’ve always been expected to have an answer. In elementary school, my response was usually along the lines of professional athlete or President of the United States. Typical, right? In middle school I thought I would make a remarkable lawyer and studied extra hard in my history classes. By the time high school rolled around, I once again changed my mind and applied to most colleges as Pre-Med. Since coming to NYU, I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I contemplated switching majors even after an inter-school transfer – there is just so much that interests me!
“What’s your dream job?”
My first response to the interviewer’s question was, “Quite honestly, any paying job after graduation.” Though my answer elicited some laughter and was wholeheartedly true, I followed up with a more practical response, ” …working in sports, especially media because it is something I am extremely passionate about, so I definitely want to focus in that field.” A nod of the interviewer’s head indicated my response would suffice and we proceeded with some more questions. I, however, was not satisfied with my own answer. I thought to myself, I should have more of a plan. I should know my dreams, but can I be honest with myself? At one point during the interview, the five-year old Meg lingering in the back of my mind wanted to belt out, “I want to be a professional soccer player.” That’s when it became obvious that I needed to get a grip on my dreams – to find out what I truly wanted in life.
At what part in your life is it acceptable to say that you should give up on your dream? Do you reach a certain age when it become too ridiculous to say that you still want to climb Mt. Everest? Or that you want to change professions in the middle of your career? This question regarding the death of our dreams has been bothering me as of late, and although I feel there are some points in our lives where we may not be capable of some of our original objectives, I do feel it is necessary to acknowledge our BIG-HAIRY-AUDACIOUS-GOALS and try to set out to accomplish them.
If anything, I’ve learned that by setting unattainable and unrealistic goals for myself, I’ll never be successful or happy. All I can do is strive to be better, try to find work that makes me want to get out of bed every morning. I need a dream job where I do something great, produce something new, or even kindle new relationships on a daily basis. For me a dream job is no longer one that makes me tons of money or famous, but is one that makes me happy and fulfilled – like my five year old self would want.
In an attempt to try to “find” my dream job, I wrote out a list of professions that I am interested in pursuing as to help focus my thoughts. From this brainstorm, I can tell you that I want to work in sports (duh) and need a somewhat active job. If anybody is hiring (starting May of 2015), let this girl know!
– Professional Soccer Player (a girl can dream right?), College Soccer Coach/Athletic Director, Sports Broadcaster, Sports Agent, USOC/IOC Representative, College Professor (though this may have to wait until I’m actually a professional), International Sports Businesswoman (I’m not entirely sure what this encompasses), NFL Director of Operations/Communications, espnW President
“What’s your dream job?”
That question still is swirling around in my head. Next time should I say something that relates to the company I am interviewing for? How do I convey to potential employers that even though my dream may not be with them, I would still work hard and value the experience I would get working with them if I was hired? From what I’ve experienced, I’m just going to stick with “one that pays the bills”.