Enter our Dream Job Contest

Win an opportunity to work with some of the nation's most prominent business leaders and receive the support and resources to transition from your ordinary job to a dream job.

From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, December 2005

Have you entered the Kiplinger/Dream In You Dream Job Contest yet? If not, this is your last chance -- the deadline to post a new entry is tonight. If you've already started your entry, you'll have seven more days to edit and submit your essay.

More than 3,000 people have already entered the contest for a chance to create the dream job -- or dream business -- they always wanted.

Three winners will each receive a prize package that includes $5,000 in cash, a state-of-the-art Sharp computer system and expert career counseling from Dream In You, a consulting firm that advises individuals and businesses on career transitions and corporate transformations. Winners will also get advice from celebrity mentors, such as TV chef Paula Deen, host of Paula's Home Cooking on the Food Network, astronaut-turned-businesswoman Sally Ride and Mark Victor Hansen, best-selling author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

To enter, simply describe your dream job in 500 words or less by January 6, 2006. Kiplinger's and Dream In You will pick 25 semifinalists, who will be asked to send in a short video about their dream job. (View complete contest rules.) For example, if you've got an idea for a new product or service, or you have special talents you'd like to demonstrate, this is your chance to shine. "Everyone is a genius at something," says Elizabeth Kanna, co-founder of Dream In You.

In April, we will bring the three winners to Kiplinger's Washington, D.C., headquarters to consult with Kanna's Dream In You career experts. Two of our supporting sponsors, JetBlue and Hilton Garden Inn, will provide transportation and accommodations for the winners. Other contest sponsors include the Grammy Foundation, Kolbe Corp., LogoWorks, Sharp Electronics and Yahoo! Hot Jobs.

And the prizes are ... The winners will receive a three-month program of skills analysis and job coaching from Dream In You, plus advice on financial and tax strategies to help them make the transition to a new career or to start their own business. They'll also have an opportunity to consult with celebrity mentors appropriate to their chosen field. All three winners will receive a Sharp notebook computer, a flat-screen monitor and a multifunction printer/scanner/fax, worth a total of $4,700.

If your dream is to start your own business, you'll also get legal advice and a corporate-identity package that includes brochures, Web-site design and business cards. Winners are subject to income taxes on the full value of their prize, which ranges from $16,500 to $21,500, depending on the optional services selected. All three winners will receive $5,000 in cash to help defray their tax liability. (In the 25% federal bracket, for example, a prize of $16,500 would cost $4,125 in taxes. State income taxes also apply.)

Next summer, Kiplinger's will profile all three winners, and we'll report on their progress later in the year. So don't put your dream on hold. Pursue your passion. Tell us about your dream job, and you could be well on your way to making it come true.

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