i-Learning

According to insurance company AIA, an average Malaysian employee spends roughly 15 hours or more at work, more than their counterparts in Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia. Therefore, working at a job you like is very important. For some lucky enough, they could land a dream job right out of college. For others, they might have been in the same job for two years and have grown fond of it. But how would you know that the job you have is your dream job? Here are some hints that you have found your dream job:

You’re simply happy

There’s no such thing as Monday blues and you wake up feeling happy everyday looking forward to go to work. The commute to work is also not stressful (despite the long travel time) and you reach the office feeling motivated.

You consider your colleagues as your friends

Apart from feeling excited about your job, you consider you colleagues and superiors your friends. You will tend to regard your boss as a mentor rather than a manager that dispenses orders and keep tabs on your performance.

You excel at what you are doing

Once you like your job, you will naturally excel at it. This is part of going to work feeling motivated. You will also be more inclined to learn more and to continuously improve yourself to achieve more. Whenever you face a problem at work, you will take it as a personal challenge and not as a bane.

You are proud of what you do for a living

Whenever someone asks what you do for a living, you feel proud to tell them what you do and where you work. Not only that, you will continue the conversation further to explain details of your job and the contribution that give to the community.

You have work-life balance

Despite the debate of whether work-life balance truly exists, you have it! You consider work as a good part of your life and that it does not interfere with your after-work lifestyle. Also, you have sufficient time, energy and resources to do things you like outside work – this includes spending precious time with your family.

You have a strong support system at work

Whenever you run into work issues or if there is a challenge too great for you to handle, there is always someone or a system that is able to help. You do not feel alone and you do not feel incapable of overcoming a challenge. The support system that you have at work makes you feel that there is always someone watching out for you.

You have good career visibility

Your career direction seems to be well in place. You know what to do, how long it will take and where you will reach in your present career. The path seems well structured and you feel good knowing where your career is taking you.

You do not mind putting in the extra effort

You do not mind putting in additional effort including overtime to succeed at what you are doing. This includes increasing your skill sets by taking an MBA course or attending night classes – in fact, you will feel extremely motivated to do it, knowing very well what awaits you at the end of the journey.

Spend some time reflecting at your career and see if your current job is your dream job. If it is, then you are one of the very lucky people to be able to do what they like. Otherwise, analyse and take proactive steps to either achieve your dream job or to make your current job, your dream job.