Discover Your Dream Job

A Human-Centered Model to Understand How Early Jobs Shape a Purposeful Career

When I graduated college in 2012, the conversation everyone was having was about “dream jobs.” We were young, hopeful, and convinced that fulfillment would arrive neatly packaged in that first offer letter.

A year later, it was clear that reality had a different rhythm. Some friends landed incredible opportunities; others stepped into roles that felt more transitional than transformative. I noticed how easily our expectations, especially as college students, can become misaligned with the real-world job market—particularly when the economy is recovering from a downturn.

What helped me navigate that moment was a simple, practical model I first learned over coffee with a mentor, Marcelo Montero, in 2011. It didn’t promise shortcuts. It didn’t romanticize passion. Instead, it gave me a grounded way to understand where a job fits within the broader journey of building a resilient, purpose-driven career.

Today, I still use this model when guiding students, young professionals, or anyone feeling the pressure of finding “the perfect job” on day one. Here’s the model—reframed through the lens of resilience, growth, and self-awareness.

Start With Your Values: The Non-Negotiable Frame

No career can sustainably thrive outside the boundaries of your core values. You may temporarily push them aside, but over time, misalignment erodes your energy, your confidence, and your sense of self. If honesty is a value, working in an environment that treats truth casually will slowly drain you. If connection is a value, isolation-heavy roles will feel suffocating. Values are the frame—your career has to fit inside it. They don’t limit your journey; they protect it.

The Seven Zones of Career Alignment

Every role in your career falls into one or more of these three primary zones—and often in the spaces between them.

Image: Scanned Image of Marcelo’s Framework

1. Capabilities Zone — “Life is good.”

This is work you’re skilled at—whether through education, experience, or innate talent.

You feel comfortable and competent. The job fits your toolkit.

Example: Someone gifted with numbers working as an analyst or accountant.

2. Desired Experiences Zone — “I want to try that.”

These are roles that give you experiences you want to have, even if you’re not yet good at them.

Think: working abroad, joining a startup, shifting industries.

It’s curiosity meeting opportunity.

3. Passion Zone — “I can’t not do this.”

Passion is energizing. It pulls you forward.

It’s the work that gives you emotional fuel rather than taking it away.

Musicians, teachers, athletes—all live in spaces where the work itself is a source of meaning.

Where These Zones Overlap: The Mixed Zones

This is where careers become exciting—and real. Very few early roles fall into a perfect passion zone. Most are combinations that build toward something bigger.

4. Capabilities + Desired Experiences — “Bring it on.”

You have the skills, and you’re pursuing something new.

Example: A newly certified CPA taking a position aligned with both training and career aspirations.

5. Capabilities + Passion — “I love what I do.”

You’re good at the work and deeply energized by it.

Great teachers often live here.

This is where excellence feels natural.

6. Desired Experiences + Passion — “Pure adrenaline.”

You’re leaping into something you love—even if you’re not skilled yet.

Think: someone passionate about the arts switching careers to pursue painting or music.

It’s uncomfortable, exhilarating, and growth-rich.

7. Capabilities + Desired Experiences + Passion — “The Quoin.”

Marcelo called this the sweet spot.

You’re competent, learning, energized, aligned.

This is your “dream job,” but not because it fell from the sky—

because everything in your journey helped move you toward it.

What This Model Is Really For

Marcelo described it as “A Practical Way to Find Purpose.” For me, it became a practical way to understand how each job fits within a life-long career path. It helped me see my first job not as a final destination, but as a meaningful step toward my long-term vision. It gave me language to map my growth. It helped me make decisions anchored in resilience instead of fear or comparison.

This is what I share today with students, recent grads, and anyone in transition: Your dream job is rarely your first job. But your first job can absolutely be a stepping stone toward it—if you understand where it fits in your story. This model gives you a way to zoom out, breathe, and design your path with intention.

Because a resilient career isn’t built through a single perfect choice. It’s built connection by connection, experience by experience—one intentional step at a time.

Image: Full Framework by Marcelo Montero