I spent at least 10 years in jobs that I hated before I realized that I wasn’t as stuck and helpless as I thought I was. Pressure from societal expectations greatly contributed to my decision of accepting a retail job that I dreaded. I had a strong impression that once I turned 18, I needed to “grow up” and get a “big girl job.”

Staying at home wasn’t an option for me — just the thought had me squirm in shame. Upon moving out on my own, the need to pay bills was the prime justification I used when I questioned the job choice, which was often. There was also the fear of not finding another opportunity and that fear alone could motivate me to accept a job I didn’t like.

Don’t get me wrong, everyone has a first job they disliked to some degree — and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A first time job can be considered a necessary step to gaining first hand experience in the working world. It’s when you become complaisant long-term in a job you're unhappy with that you begin to build excessive stress — not to mention an overall dissatisfied view towards your profession.

You might have had an idea of what you wanted to do “when you grew up,” but ended up giving up on it because you weren’t sure where to start or thought it was too much trouble with what you were already dealing with in life. It’s understandable for one to become unmotivated and hesitant when working a job that doesn’t interest them, but it takes less effort than you’d think to fulfil those long-held, sweet aspirations.

1. Research the field/job you want

Start to research the job you want or the industry you imagine yourself in. When considering a career change it’s important to know what to expect in the new role. That way you’ll have an idea of the job responsibilities and demands that go along with it. It’s a good way to match your expectations with the reality of working in that field.

Of course, you might only know if the job is a good match after you start working in it, but it’s still worth your time to research the position. You could find that the job included responsibilities or skills that didn’t match your personality or work style.

For instance, you might dream of becoming a teacher, but feel uncomfortable speaking in front of crowds, especially on a daily basis. You could work on your public speaking skills but ultimately, you’ll have to ask yourself if you’ll be content doing that for years. The idea is to find out if it really is the job you dreamt of and learning more about it.

This step includes googling "A Day in the Life of a…" posts online and reacting accordingly. Who knew the duties of a Zoologist involved spending weeks or months away from home in the middle of the wilderness furiously fighting off fleas, instead of petting cute animals at the local zoo?

2. Look at job postings in that field

Once you’ve decided you (mostly) like your dream job and the hypothetical list of responsibilities that go along with it, the next step is obviously to apply to job postings and start working right away right? Right.

I know what your thinking: "It’s not that easy. If it were, I already would have been out stocking up on those motivational, but tactfully droll classroom posters for that teaching job and crates of bug spray for my lengthy excursions to the safari as a Zoologist."

I’ll let you in on a trick: to breeze past the well-known hurdle of what employers are looking for is to simply read what they already have out there, often in a sleek, bulleted list for minimum qualifications.

Pairing your previous knowledge of a job’s daily expectations with the actual posted requirements results leads to a clearer awareness of how you need to change to become exactly, if not close to, what they want.

You then (oh so innocently) acquire those skills and include them on your resume, cover letter and other items presented to hiring managers. It’s a strategy that aims towards bulking your credibility enough in their eyes to be considered a real, qualified applicant. Often, job candidates never get past their initial application because they apply without understanding what qualifies them for the specific job posting.

This is a deadly mistake.

Consider a scenario when you need to hire someone to fix your leaky roof. The most basic question you have is whether they’re capable of not only doing it, but doing it well. Your future employer wants the same assurance: do you fit the basic competencies required for the job? Can they count on you to keep things dry two months down the line during the rainy season? If you’ve never used a hammer, they’re not going to have much faith.

3. Get a side job or internship related to the job

It’s remarkably more effective to actually have experience in the skills you’re boasting on your resume when applying for your dream job. Hence, the suggestion of dedicating some of your time to a part-time job or internship that will pay off (both monetarily and otherwise) in your future job. This decision is possibly more critical to increasing your chance of a callback on your application than your newly-acquired finesse in web-hunting. If you walk into an interview and expect to nail it after saying, “I worked as a [unrelated job title] for [however] many years,” then you’re going to get a prompt, “Thanks for coming in” sooner than a glimpse of a job offer.

You want to show that you have reliable experience and exposure in what the job is related to. Along with that, is the invaluable connections your likely to establish when completing those activities. Consider it a home run if you are able to use a reference from those opportunities, you’d be surprised how quick a fellow colleague would agree to lend a helping hand, especially if you’ve done a good job in your role there. You are essentially telling the future employer that, not only will you do the job well and have drive to do so, but someone else is willing to testify to it.

Consider them sold.