How to answer "What is your Dream Job?" at an Interview

“Learn to balance a dream and a job, until your dream becomes your job.”

On several occasions, we are posed with questions somewhere along the lines of- ‘What is your dream job?’, which ultimately translates into an insight of what it is that you could be doing, possibly for the rest of your career.

Imagine a scenario where you’re asked to share the same in an interview for a company that might just be where you see yourself working and thriving. At the first glance, the answer to the question seems quite straightforward and obvious- “This is my dream job.”

That answer, even when it might just be the truth, comes across as conventionally spurious.

Not being an expert on how to respond to this question, here’s a generalized take on it:

· Understand what the interviewers are looking for:

Whether it’s a preliminary notion or the need to understand your point of view thoroughly, elaborate on why the role interested you in the first place, giving strong objectives to support your statement.

· Study the prerequisites of the job that you’re applying for and convince them why you’re the best fit for it:

Pre-requisites of the profile include skills, attributes and the experience you’ve gained through it. If you check all the boxes, so to say, there’s a fair chance of putting forth your point with a valid and certified base.

· Persuade them and make it happen:

This part involves a strong communication skill set, along with the clarity of why you’re so persistent on getting the job. The ability to convince the interviewer that you’re the right person shows that you’re a confident individual with the ability to speak up for yourself when required, which is definitely considered as an advantageous trait.

· Describe your aim for that job- not with reference to the designation, but with your competence and knowledge:

Elaborate on why you’re the right fit for it and how your expertise in that particular field aligns with the job.

Having researched a bit on how the answer to the question at hand is actually perceived, the only advice is to be persistent, and to make it clear that you’ve thought a lot about this, since contemplation of your career trajectories is indicative of true professionalism.

Acting surprised when asked that question in an interview might just give the impression that you would be responding on a whim.

So, plan for it, and have a clear vision of what it is that you’re chasing and working towards in your career.

Prior to applying for any job opportunity, it’s only natural to research about the organization and look deeper into what the role demands of you. Apart from that, there are certain other aspects to be considered as well, including the perks, the work environment and the additional benefits that would come with the role. Having given it a considerable thought and reviewing it, preferably with a pros and cons list, the next step would be applying for the role.

Dream Job vs Dream Company- An Insight:

If the situation comes to factoring between your dream job and your dream company, there’s always an individual and independent point of view.

Consider this scenario- the profile that you’ve applied for isn’t ideal for you but it’s your dream company- the one where you’ve always wanted to work. What would you do?

The decision isn’t very complex, knowing for a fact that even though the profile isn’t what you wanted, you can mould yourself according to it, knowing that working for that particular organization would give you an edge in numerous aspects including networking, which would ultimately help you branch out to an idealistic profile. Or knowing that it’s your dream company, you could delve deeper into that role, work for it and eventually be referred to as a specialist in that particular field.

The thing about a dream job is that the concept keeps evolving. The more experienced you are, the more you realize that even though it’s not just a naïve notion, there are far greater and better things you can build which are not necessarily based on that rudimentary decision.

In short, the best advice on how to actually make the right move is to focus on what feels right to you, in addition to having your facts straight and your research being concrete.

After mentioning a lot about the know-hows of how to answer-

” What is your dream job in an interview” and to actually decide that prior to applying for a post, we now arrive on the topic of what to do if you don’t get your desired dream job.

There’s no easy way to answer it. It’s apparent that it won’t be good for your morale, since you spent hours researching for it, preparing for the interview and were actually passionate about it. To digress for a bit and add something philosophical, Jimmy Dean said that- “I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”

Knowing that all the motivational things in the world won’t help you feel better, it’s best to come to terms with an inner realization that at the end of the day, even though you didn’t manage to get your dream job, you’ll get a second chance at it, with scope for even greater opportunities in the future.

Understanding that you learned a lot from that experience and constructively using it for the next opportunity is the most resourceful thing to do and be sure of. To focus on building yourself from there and not giving up at that moment is a must.

Henceforth, to conclude, start where you are, use what you have and do what you can. Because at the end of the day, you get as many dreams, big or small, as you desire. Remember, it won’t be easy, but it’ll definitely be worth it.