Most of the career advice your parents and high school guidance counselor gave you was probably wrong. Certainly well intentioned but likely wrong.

“Don’t close any doors.”
“X career is really in demand.  You should try that.”
“Try X psych test.  It will tell you what your passions are.”

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

Is it any wonder that over 80% of Americans are unhappy with their jobs!

I know I received some of this career advice growing up. My dad advised me to take a Myers-Briggs test to help me ‘figure out what I wanted to do’. My dad is a smart guy and he meant well. Too bad it turns out that Myers-Briggs tests don’t actually work.

Luckily the test didn’t stop me from studying something that I enjoyed but I still had no clue what to do next. I figured the next 4 years of university would help me sort it out. It didn’t. I thought a year of backpacking and adventure would definitely help me find my passion. It didn’t. I thought career advice might help. It didn’t. I just found more clichés and platitudes. Only after multiple jobs and experiences did I finally find my calling. But I’m here to tell you there’s a better way.

Instead of thinking about what you should do and hoping the earth moves, lightning strikes and the oceans part when you land on your big idea, you need to take action now. Here’s what you should do instead:

1. Focus on your strengths

When in doubt, do what you’re good at. Don’t know what you’re good at? Ask your family and friends. Sounds simple. It is. But most people don’t do this. I know I didn’t. But a few simple questions might give you some guidance: what do people ask you for advice on? What subjects did you excel at in school? When working, what puts you in a flow (i.e., when you are so engrossed in your work that you tune out the world)?

1. Do try to find something you’re passionate about. But only if it aligns with your life goals, values and intersects with what you’re good at.

Many career experts will tell you to ‘forget about finding your passion’ and focus on skills, strengths, etc. This is only partly true. By starting with your strengths you can develop a passion but the intrinsic rewards offered by following a passion can motivate you to focus on dedicated practice. This is how you become an expert.

The key is to understand if your passion allows you to offer a marketable skill, service, etc., to the marketplace, helps you to develop a strength and is actually something you want to pursue (For example, my wife loves to plan events but has no desire to turn it into a business).

The problem is most people pursue either extreme. They either spend years ‘thinking’ about what their passion is without experimenting OR they just find the highest paying job without reflecting on if they will enjoy it.

If you can’t find a passion that can pay the bills, focus on tip #1. Why? Because doing something you’re good at has been proven to make people happier. The passion vs. money debate is a false dichotomy. The real question is: can you make money at your passion?

1. Explore all available careers that fit your strengths or passions. Narrow your list to a handful or fewer potential careers. Reach out to professionals in these fields now.

Once you’ve narrowed down your list, start talking to people in the careers you have an interest in. Like now. Don’t wait. Don’t be scared. Get over your fears. You need to take action today. Send out requests for informational interviews and find out what it’s like to work in the industries or for the companies you’re interested in.

Don’t know how to reach them? Start with family and friends. Get active on LinkedIn and join industry groups and contribute to them consistently. Attend conferences in your desired field. Find blogs and connect with commenters and writers. Contact wildly successful people in those fields directly. This is surprisingly less taboo now.

1. Find a mentor

This one is easier said than done but will get you ahead of your peers in the career ‘game’. Don’t believe me? Research suggests that people with mentors get more promotions and experience greater career satisfaction than those without mentors.

How to find a mentor? See if any friends or family can set you up with one. If this is not possible, leverage professionals who agree to do informational interviews with you (see tip #3). Don’t ask them to be your mentor directly. DO demonstrate that you are extremely knowledgeable about your field and ask compelling questions. Stuff you can’t google. Find common ground with them. Be likeable. Listen. Don’t ask for a job. Don’t waste their time.

More important is what you do after. Most people send a follow-up email and that’s that. Maintain a connection with your prospective mentor. One easy way: send a follow-up email a few days/weeks after your meeting explaining a) how you used the advice they gave you; b) what the outcome of that was; and c) the next steps you’d like to take to improve whatever skill, knowledge, etc., that you discussed. Ask them for their advice on what to do next. The goal is to make this a back and forth conversation.

1. ‘Test-drive’ your prospective career

Once you’ve established relationships with mentors in the fields you’re interested in, you need to find ways to experiment with your interests. Some people spend years working in jobs they don’t enjoy before trying the job they really want. Do this today and you won’t regret it.

Ask your information interviewees, mentors or companies to allow you to job shadow for 1 day to 1 week. Follow them around. Volunteer. Do whatever it takes to experience the environment. Maybe filmmaking is your passion but you're not sure if you can handle the hours? Good, ‘test-driving’ will help you figure this out. Like animals but don't know if you can handle seeing them in pain at the vet job you dreamed about? Good, now you will know. The more experiences you get now when you have the luxury of easily experimenting, the easier it will be to clearly identify your dream job.

By building connections with people in your fields of interest and testing out your options, you’ll be far ahead of your peers that choose to take the first job a family member recommends to them or work as a barista at Starbucks. So stop waiting for your dream job to land in your lap. Get out and take action today to learn more about the environments of the careers you’re interested in, and you’ll be rewarded with more knowledge, experience and fulfillment than the traditional route that your peers keep taking.

I’d like to learn more about YOUR experiences. In return for reading this, please take some time to answer the discussion question below and leave me a note to tell me if this advice helps. Good luck with the career hunt!

1. How have you ‘tested’ potential careers for fit before?
2. What is the worst career advice you’ve heard from ‘experts’?
3. Have you found your dream job? If so, what did you do to find it?