As you know if you have been reading my blogs, I don’t typically write about myself. It’s that time of year for reflection I guess and I thought to share of my own personal background and experience. As we ponder our career choices in life, we usually are faced with making decisions about our life’s path as we graduate college and enter the work force or sometimes opportunities present themselves even earlier in life.  I faced my career choice at the age of 12.  I had been taking piano lessons since age 6 and my teacher, who was the first violinist for the Metropolitan Opera orchestra, noticed that I had a talent for song.  She suggested to my mother, a former opera singer herself, that I should audition for the children’s choir at The Met. My mother, somewhat cautiously asked me whether I would be interested in that, and I said, “Sure, why not?  What do I have to do again?”

Your job search is an adventure.  When you think of the infinite possibilities out there you will be less concerned about making a mistake. When you are willing to take risk in your quest for a new job, you can move forward without expectation and enjoy the journey. By focusing on the outcome of each and every interview, meeting or networking event you will likely drive yourself mad and miss out on the important opportunity right in front of you. When you treat your job search like you are on vacation or visiting a place you’ve never been, you start to explore the possibilities through a new, brightly colored lens. When you head out for your next interview, pretend you are taking a trip and are about to visit a wonderful new restaurant and eat something you’ve never tried before, you might even sneak in a bit of prayer but always be ready to take some risk when finding your next job.

As the song goes, “You can’t always get what you want,” but you will always get what you need.  When it comes to focusing on what it will take to make you happy in your career, you need to discover what truly drives your ambitions.  Is it money?  Is it title? Is it freedom?  Is it creativity?  Is it routine? Finding out what truly makes you wake up each morning and embrace the day with vigor, courage and yes, desire will help you towards reaching and succeeding in your career goals.  Knowing what truly drives you to move forward in life and mapping out the plan that will help you get there is as much as knowing what you want from what you truly need.