“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."
— Confucius
Everyone has been in a place where they are either looking for a job or have ended up working in a place out of necessity. Most people don’t have job satisfaction nor are they satisfied by their pay.
The difference between working at a job and at your dream job can be the difference between eating food that fills your stomach and eating food that soothes your taste buds.
It can be difficult to land your dream job but taking a step back and understanding what it takes to land your dream job can massively simplify this hectic process.
So let us divide this entire process in three phases, to help you land your dream job!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTjwlGpdGxg
Steps to Land your Dream Job
Phase One : Understand What You Want
You never just embark on a treasure hunt, without having a clear picture of what is it that you are looking for. Similarly, for you to be able to land your dream job, the most basic thing to start with is to understand what you actually want to do.
For instance, you start by asking yourself the following questions:
- Which job role makes you or will make you feel happy?
- What is the one thing you love doing and won't get tired of?
- What do you think you can achieve despite of different challenges or obstacles that may come along the way?
To give yourself a head start, you can think about the things that you liked as a kid. You can include all your hobbies in it as well.
Additionally, if you currently have a job, analyse how much do you like your position, and if you could see yourself in a different position what would it be?
1. Narrow Down Your List
You need to start with narrowing down your choices, so that you can be sure that you are headed in the correct direction.
Here are a couple of things that can help you out :
a. Make a list of everything you are interested. Make sure to add all the positions and job roles that you can imagine yourself working towards.
b. Once you have the list ready with you, it is time to take a look at the pros and cons of each of these positions. This is also the right time to do a quick Google search to understand the positions and their requirements better.
c. When you are making the lists, you will notice that there would be a couple of positions you really won't enjoy much after you read about them in detail. It is the perfect time to chuck them off the list. This is help you focus on things that you will really enjoy and love working on.
2. Identify Your Current Skills
One of the major advantages that you can have while applying for your dream job are the skills you posses. And once you have a list of the skills you hone, it will also help you identify what skills you need to build up on.
Start by looking at your previous work experiences. If you are still in college, then recall any and all voluntary work that you did, what clubs are you a part of, and what are the topics that you have extensive knowledge about.
Again, making a list of these skill sets will help you keep track of things and make things easier.
Phase 2 : Start mining the required skills
The first step was to know yourself better. The next is all about knowing your dream job better.
Getting to know your dream job better will help you set goals and better understand the steps you’ll need to take to land your dream job.
3. Understand your dream job’s requirements
What are the educational requirements for landing your dream job? What kind of skill sets are they looking for? What are the roles and responsibilities associated with it?
You can find the answers to these and various other questions by simply looking up your dream job online. Most companies post an ad over various job platforms such as Indeed. They even post about the job openings along with all the job details on their website.
This is where the list you made of your current skill set will also help you out. You can simply compare the two lists (yours and the one on the job posting online) and start focusing on gathering the skills that you don’t have.
Depending on what you find, you can talk to a career advisor or a counsellor to understand what to do. Additionally, you can also network with people that have similar job experiences.
4. Educate yourself
This will vary from industry to industry. If you wish to enter the tech industry then you will have to ensure that the degree you are pursuing helps you in gaining the necessary tech knowledge. Or you might have to take up extra courses alongside with your degree to help you build up those skills.
In other cases, getting a masters in the field, irrespective of what your undergraduate degree is might help. Sometimes, just taking up multiple internships and certificate courses can also help out.
Identify where you want to be and accordingly figure out how to learn more about the industry. You will find numerous resources online which can help you out. Keep on searching.
5. Get practical experience
While doing your research and building your network is helpful, it is equally important to get your hands dirty by gaining some actual experience in the field.
Start looking for opportunities that will help you gain the required work experience while also giving you a proper insight of how that particular industry actually works. It can help you confirm your decision about pursuing your career and give you a better sense of a typical job day.
You can start by doing these:
- Look for mentors, teachers and other professionals in the field you are interested in. First, identify them and then approach them with the attitude of learning new skills. Work for them for free initially if you have to, the crucial thing here is to build on your experience and learn the important skills.
You can also find these mentors by taking up internships under the supervisor of the job role that you are aspiring for
- Take on internships in related job fields.
- Do some voluntary work and focus on learning from them.
Phase 3 : Hit the bullseye
The final step is to go after your dream job and hit the bullseye. This is where you take all the experiences that you’ve gathered and utilise them to start living your dream.
But if we talk realistically, your dream job is probably at a higher position and you mostly won’t be landing it right away.
So starting small and working your way up is probably a good idea.
6. Undertake internships in the same company
Start monitoring the company that you want to work for and constantly look for an internship opportunity. The advantage of starting at a small position is that you can easily make time to learn and improve from your seniors.
You can land an internship in various ways including:
- Actively looking for internships and job openings at the company’s website.
- Networking with people that are currently working at the company using websites like LinkedIn.
- Use the network that you built before, someone might be able to help you out.
Once you successfully land an internship, you can keep looking for ways to turn your internship into a full time or a part-time job. You can ask your seniors for any possible openings too.
Also, focus on giving more than your best every day. Working harder than you are getting paid for is always appreciated and will increase the chances of you getting hired for your dream job position.
Lastly, if the company you want to work for does not have any openings, then look for internships and job openings with your desired job in other companies.
You can always build your resume and hit the bullseye once you see an opening.
7. Let your resume speak for you
Working on your resume and updating it is something that you have to do on a regular basis.
Focus on customising your resume and include everything that resonates with your dream job. Tailor your resume by adding the education requirements for your dream job and including all the work experience that showcases the skill sets required.
During the job interview, make sure to show enthusiasm, confidence, passion, and a drive to learn. More often or not, employers look for passion within employees.
Some employers believe that they can teach you the necessary skills as long as you have the drive, and the passion to learn them.
