My Dream Job Essay

I am a retired, African-American male, who, by chance, saw the advertisement for the "My Dream Job " contest on the AARP website. Initially, I was hesitant about entering the contest, then realized the possibilities this contest provided. My "Dream Job" involves working a 32 hour per week, year-round job, in a part-time capacity, in a major media'communications organization involved in news/entertainment, TV/radio production or cable operations. Specifically, I will work in the offices dealing with community/customer relations, talent evaluation, or research, in an administrative support postion, research assistant or as a community/customer relations specialist. The job site will be in the Washington DC area (w/metro access), and the job position will offer benefits for parttime employment. There are several reasons that I want to win the contest. Primary, is to maintain my self esteem, which at this point is very important in my life. In addition, to address and overcome challenges on the job, to be involved in the creative process, to be part of a team effort, in working to help an organization reach its corporate goals, and to demonstrate that age is not an impediment to productivity or success. There is also the practicality of enhancing the economic security of my family. My work experience and skills are current. I am will read and confident in my abilities. My maturity and organization are an asset. Patience, good judgement, and the ability to work well with others, define my approach to the work place. Again, in my view, the above are factors that are absolutely necessary in going from "Retired and Restless to "My Dream Job". To obtain my "Dream Job" several things are necessary: (1) research information on the latest practices in effective resume and cover letter preparation, (2) search a number of on-line boards and secure infomation on available opportunities, with emphasis on my best "retiree" job boards, and part-time positions, (3) identify online organizations in the Washington, DC area, who hire retirees. Become acquainted with their hiring practices and available postions, (4) attend job fairs to research the availability of positions and identify and establish networking contacts. In this context, research local, profeswional organizations and make cold call to establish contacts. The journaling aspect of this process will, in effect, enable me to communicate with others, who, in many ways are experiencing the same issues that I am. Maintaining a daily journal of experiences will enable me to share my story, my thoughts as I navigate through this transformative process. In particular, as an African-American male, to carefully relate the positive and negative experiences I will encounter. I feel that journaling , as an information dissemination tool, is very effective. I am prepared to record my experiences in a daily journal and provide all the information I can concerning my experiences, for the "retiree".

ABOUT ME
I live in Washington, DC, with my wife and mini-Dachund, Gage. I have two adult daughters, one lives in Germany, where she teaches English and Spanish to military dependents on the secondary level, and my other daughter works at a law firm here in Washington. My wife works at a lobbying firm on K St., in Washington. My wife and I are very fond of traveling, and make a point of visiting Southern California, where I was born and raised, every year, during the late summer. We also enjoy taking a cruise every two years. Our next destination is a Med cruise next year.

Interests:
My main interest is music. Jazz that is, hence the moniker, Jazzman. I was a musician of sorts, many years ago, but circumstances prevented me from following my muse. I intend, however, when I am fully retired, to practice diligently on my trumpet and fluglehorn to the point that I can play to my capability. My second interest is sports. I am a big Washington Redskins football fan. I am looking forward to the coming season with our new coach and hopefully a return to our winning tradition. I am also a soccer fanatic. I am a big fan of the US domestic soccer league, the MLS, especially the Washington, DC team, DC United. I love the natilonal US team and definetely look

forward to them achieving stature as a international soccer power in the future. I did volunteer work for the AARP Washington, DC State Office for two and one-half years, ending in 2005. I enjoyed my volunteer work very much.

My Dream Job
September 12, 2002 There are a few dreams I have in life... one is to live in a log cabin with a big front porch and huge kitchen, on a lake in the woods somewhere in southern New England (in other words, the perfect 1980s slasher movie setting). My other dream is to own the kind of business that I would love to visit on a daily basis: a record shop/diner/tea room/movie theatre. Picture it... you walk in the front door and to your right there's a small, diner-type area set up. At the counter there are seven or eight stools, and in the remainder of the space there are three or four booths. The smells from the diner are overwhelming, but not from the odors of steak or chicken, but from the aromas of falafel, curried chickpeas, and veggie burgers. This diner serves up strictly vegetarian fare, and the menu specifies which dishes are vegan. All the ingredients are organic and purchased from local growers. There's a variety of ethnic fare, including ital Jamaican dishes and traditional Southeast Asian dishes. And yeah, that's me you see behind the counter, cooking. In addition, the drink menu offers a wide variety of loose teas for the connoisseurs, served in one of many authentic Yixing teapots. Gong fu brewing is available on request. There are green teas, white teas (all available varieties), Assams, oolongs, and Jasmines in addition to some of the more common black teas. The tea will be decaffienated by request.

An artist's rendering of my business. The diner's hopping with music, but it's not the typical rotation of country & western and oldies. A little further back in the shop is a live DJ, spinning classic jazz in the morning, downtempo breakbeats and electronica during the day, and hip-hop and reggae during the evenings. Think Fat Beats. Local DJs are given a chance to do their thing and monthly DJ competitions are held for turntablists that come up from New York City to battle in this unique environment. At the end of each workweek is "Old School Friday" where pre-1990 hip-hop is spun, exclusively. If someone in the group didn't have a high-top fade, an African pendant, a fat gold chain, or a fourfinger ring, chances are it won't be played. Beginning where the DJ is set up and stretching to the visible end of the shop are records and CDs, mainly of the underground, independent variety, but also offering up some of the more palatable mainstream selections. There is a large section for mixtapes by local DJs and DJs from around the country spinning music of regional interest.

Of course, there is a long table set up with three sets of turntables and mixers so vinyl shoppers can test out a pair of vinyl before buying it. There are also two CD and cassette listening stations available to preview anything in the store. There is no security system in place. We trust our customers. The counter of the record shop has fliers advertising local cultural events as well as activist meetings and rallies. The walls of this part of the shop are decorated by young grafitti artists. As you get to the further back of the store, where all the obscure, out-of-print spoken word records are (DJs come from far and wide to see what's in stock each week), is a door that says, "NOW SHOWING..." Behind the door is a small movie theatre. The screen's not huge, but it's more than big enough to project films on for the 15 seats. There is a quality Dolby 6.1 surround system installed, even though most of the movies shown will never make use of all the channels. The movies in rotation are all cult and horror films dating back to the silent era and running through the current times. Today there's a Alexander Jodorwosky festival, running Holy Mountain, El Topo, and Santa Sangre back-to-back-to-back. Fulci's Zombie runs every night at 10pm. And there's an automated hot-air popper providing free popcorn to anyone that sits down to watch a movie. The clientele varies wildly. Some nights, Rastas will come in while there's roots reggae is spinning. They'll order some ital food, burn a little incense, and reason. Other nights, hip-hop heads show up and impromptu freestyle ciphers break out at the counter. Families come in on the weekends for breakfast and horror movie freaks swing by occasionally to see the "coming soon" marquee outside the mini-theatre. Lots of DJs show up to pick up new vinyl before their Friday night gig and old Asian women stop by on their lunch hour to have the finest Silver Needle White Tea and an order of fresh spring rolls. Of course, the store has a strong web presence. In addition to streaming audio from the live DJs, the listening stations are also be connected to the Net, so web site visitors can listen to what the customers are previewing. A full menu is available (delivery is not, thoughcome to the store for the full experience) and real-time inventory (including all the mix tapes) makes online ordering easy and accurate. Store hours? 7am (for those early breakfasts) until midnight, every day. All night on New Year's. Jobs available? Diner waitresses (must call people "hon" yet be able to learn the ways of Yixing and Gong fu tea preparation), record shop attendants (can never have worked at Best Buy and must "know their shit," as deemed by me), projectionist (must actually like the movies being shown), and custodial staff (who will be paid more than any other custodial staff in town... No English? No problem.). And if you think you have a talent I could use, talk to me and we'll see what we can do. So... who's coming? And who'll fund me? Powered by Movable Type 2.661
Everyone has a dream job. Some people know exactly what their dream job is, while others are still trying to figure out what they should do with their lives. Unlocking your passion, personality, and aptitude is the biggest secret in helping you discover your dream job, as well as in getting it and keeping it. The first step is to figure out the "what" of your dream job. Throw practicality out the window at this point; think about what you like to do, not what would be practical for you to do. For example, does the thought of bookkeeping bore or excite you? If earning money were no object, what type of work activity would you do for free just because you love the work so much? What do you daydream about doing or do as a hobby in your spare time? The second step to your dream job is focusing on who you are and the working environment you prefer. Most people can be flexible and cope quite well in environments and situations that are not ideal to them, but your true dream job is one that fits with your personality. For example, if your passion from step one is writing, your dream job could be a reporter or a novelist depending on which environment and how much interaction with others you prefer. A reporter would most likely not be the best fit for an introvert who dreams of working at home, while a novelist would probably not end up being the true dream job of an extrovert who thrives on being on the go and talking to people. The third step is to really narrow your options down by honestly considering your skills. Everyone has a genius for something whether it is science, making fudge, selling products, building, designing, or teaching. Think back to what subjects you did well at in school and what awards or special recognition you have ever received for something you did. What do you do better than practically everyone you know? This is no time to be modest as everyone has special skills and talents.

Finally, put the information you have learned about yourself from the three steps together. You should at least have some viable dream job options to consider. Remember that you can, and often should, start small and dream big. A dream job can be kept part-time while you earn necessary pay from another job. Knowing what activities you love, the type of environment and amount of social interaction you thrive on, and your own genius skills is crucial to your future. This self knowledge can serve as a plan to keep you moving in the same direction as your true purpose, no matter what your regular paying job is.

How I got my dream job (and survived)

February 27, 2008 | By Rebecca Thorman

This post about going from bottom to top was inspired by this comment. Thanks, Milena! I walked in and almost everyone was sitting down, and the speakers were close, shoulder to shoulder. It was so hot and sticky outside, I went to the bathroom to freshen before sitting down near the door, lest the presentation be boring and I should want to leave in the middle. Big Brother was the moderator of the panel, and I had seen him in the press, but never in person. After the event, we somehow managed to walk out at the same time. He said hello to me, in that special way he has, gleaming with charisma. Much later we sat at a coffee shop, and I saw him repeat this behavior with other people who stared at him, as people often do. And I must have been staring too, because I remember the way that I felt was that my future was intrinsically and inexplicably linked to this man. I couldnt have known then that we would eventually sit in a car together as he expertly handled a disastrous situation. Or that we would have flurries of text conversations at nine oclock at night. Or that he would be the one of the few people who could simultaneously inject fear and ambition into my dreams, that he would be one of the few to infuriate and inspire me all at once. At the time, I was confused and unhappy. What I thought was supposed to be my dream job wasnt working out and I felt claustrophobic in an invisible box, like a mime putting on a bad show. I had a ridiculous time getting up in the morning, often rising out of bed just fifteen minutes before I was supposed to be sitting in my office chair. A three minute walk from where I lived. I didnt really tell anyone at the time, not my boyfriend, or even my mother. And little did I know things were only going to get worse, much worse, before they got better. Eventually, it was mutually agreed upon that it would be best if I left my job, which sounds better than being fired, and it was just two or three days before Thanksgiving. I felt a huge sense of relief, and full from a big plate of humble pie, I applied for and started my next job a short two weeks later. And then, a short two months after that, my body decided to send me to the emergency room. The day that I got out of the hospital, my boyfriend broke up with me. Its a strange feeling, hitting bottoms you never knew existed. But whats even stranger is the wherewithal you find in yourself to keep going. That night, I cried on the shoulders of two of my friends, but in part of my head the part that was growing an antidote to my flair for drama I also thought that it was no big deal. I needed to get healthy. I needed to get a paycheck to eat. I needed to figure things out. So, I did that. With no other choice, it was remarkably easy. I wont describe much more about my second job because, in short, I loved it, and its difficult to write about such happiness without sounding absurdly corny. Suffice to say, the job was like a retreat for my career, and the organization I worked for was tremendously good to me. So it was a surprise to everyone, most of all myself, when I started to feel restless later that year, and into the next. Seemingly losing it all made me remember I wanted much more.

Thats when I started this blog. Actually, I started a different one where I posted bad prose that I had written, and told around three people to go read it. Then I started this blog. And I told everyone in my address book to read it. See, heres the thing. When you put yourself out there for all to see, when you make yourself vulnerable, and youre taking a big risk, and youre doing all this because you cant think of doing anything else, people will rally behind you. They will support you. Because people like to see others succeed. The universe will conspire in your favor. The rush of this risk was so big, and the potential payoff so great, that I started to take more risks. I acted in a play where I learned the lines just eight hours earlier. I went skiing for the first time, fell on my butt, and got back up again. I learned sushi was the best food ever. Oh, and I applied for my dream job and got it. I dont want to make it seem that I went through this big transformation over a short period and I know everything now. I didnt and I dont. Let me be clear. It was really the years before this one, and those before that, which set me up to succeed. But eventually, you reach a tipping point and things begin to flow in your favor. The pace since thats happened has been like a water slide at a water park. The ride down is fast, scary, and exhilarating, and once youve reached the bottom, you cant wait to make the long, hot and sticky crowded climb back to the top and do it all over again. Because now I have an entirely new set of challenges and struggles that I face. I work hard, but also strategically and intelligently. And Big Brother, who seemed untouchable to me a couple years ago, is now one of my many mentors.

Dreams = Reality