How to live the dream

“How are you doing today?”

“Oh you know, just living the dream.”

How many conversations with your coworkers go exactly like this? If I had a nickel for every time I heard this exchange, I actually would be living my dream in a beach house on the central coast of California with my neighbor, Kenny Chesney and we would play guitar until the sun goes down and then watch my Penn State Nittany Lions beat Ohio State so badly that Urban Meyer would start crying on national television at his postgame press conference. But I digress…

I understand that this phrase is thrown around loosely and sarcastically. You probably hear it around your place of work or classroom. However, instead of shoving this expression off as a cop-out response to communicate your blasé attitude about your job, let’s own it and say it proudly!

When I talk to PT and OT students, I always ask what their dream job looks like. There’s a chance that we won’t have an opportunity like that available, so why would I set them up for what would seem like a disappointment? I ask not because I want to promise them everything they’ve ever dreamed of but to offer a faster and more rewarding journey to a path that they might not have thought in the first place. Here are just a few pieces of advice to keep in mind as you approach the time to seize your dream job:

1. Keep learning – It’s an undeniable fact that school can only prepare you for so much. You might find yourself in situations you never thought you’d be in. For example, you might receive conflicting advice from seasoned professionals you work on how to treat one of your patients. The important part is how you respond to these new situations. Be ready to continuously learn and adapt. This mindset will serve you well as you navigate the professional world to your dream job.
2. Be patient – You’ve been in school for what seems like forever and all you want to is to enjoy the job you’ve labored so hard to do. You feel that you should be rewarded with the setting and location of your choice as soon as you graduate. Unless you have good connections that can make that happen for you, you may have to take a job that isn’t in the setting or location you saw yourself in. That is okay. Just be sure that the positions you accept keep you on track to meet your goals.
3. Research employment options – You can interpret this to be a shameless plug, but there are recruiters who help PT and OT students with the employment process. Very often employment opportunities through these companies will be a springboard to your dream job. If you do call a recruiter, be sure to tell them what your goals are and they tell you what they can do to help make that possible.

These are three general, but very crucial, pieces of advice you should keep in mind. If you use these as a reminder as you prepare for life after school, your dream job will soon become a reality. What are you doing right now to prepare for your dream job after school?

Joseph Bastian is a Recruiter for the Aureus Medical Social Media Recruitment Team.