A lot of times great opportunities are missed because of fear. It can be the fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of lack of experience or many other kinds of fear. Sometimes you just keep putting off your job search for next month, for next week, for tomorrow, because you are afraid that something will go wrong – that you might not be able to find a job at all, or find one that will not be good enough. Sometimes you might even turn down interview invitations because you feel like you don’t have enough knowledge for the position. Well, let me tell you this – if you have been invited to an interview – the potential employers already are giving you a chance. The worst that can happen is your experience and the position won’t be a good match and you will move on in your job search. The best that can happen is you will get that job and love it. So really – you have nothing to lose, just have to go for it and give it your best. Even simply for the sake of polishing your interview skills.
Another kind of fear is when you are not even sending your resume to apply for your dream position, because they wrote this one skill in the list of the requirements that you don’t have. For instance, you are applying for a graphic design position and one of the required skills that you do not posses is Dreamweaver. Apply and start learning Dreamwever! Chances are if they see a great fit with your other skills, they will train you to use Dreamweaver or pay for a class.
A very important step in overcoming the fear is believing in yourself. If you don’t think you will get that job, it will be really hard to convince your potential employer of the opposite. The truth is, you have all the tools you need to get any job you want. It just might take some time to learn couple of new skills or technologies. It is also very useful to have an idea of which direction you want to move towards in your career. This way you can plan ahead and start getting your education aligned with your career goals. It also helps a lot to find people who already are doing similar things to what you want to be doing and talk to them.
Here are a few questions you might ask someone who is working your dream job:
- What education do you think is necessary to work in a position similar to yours?
- What do you like the most about your job?
- What about your job you do not enjoy so much?
- What professional networks or groups are you a part of that have helped you one way or another?
- How did you get started in this field?
- What would you do differently to get where you are sooner?
- What piece of advice would you give to someone who wants to be in an occupation like yours?
These questions should help you define the way to your dream job.
There is no reason to be afraid – take your chances, believe in yourself, know what you want and what you don’t want from your career and network. In no time you will find yourself doing what you love and getting paid for it.



