25 May Dream Big: How to Find Your Dream Job
According to the news reports, the economy is finally in real recovery, and that’s a good thing.
But maybe you’re still trying to find your dream job. So what are some ideas to find that next best role?
Five Tips to Find Your Dream Job:
1. Talk your way into your dream job.
Using your personal network is still one of the best ways to find out about new jobs. Some companies post internally before they publicize open positions. By letting friends, family, and former co-workers know that you are in the market, they can keep an eye out for these “secret” opportunities that might be on their employer’s internal job sites. Also, they may be able to make a personal introduction to HR or a hiring manager to help you get your foot in the door.
2. Get your profile online.
More and more employers advertise their jobs on LinkedIn, so if you aren’t already a member, it’s well worth it to become one as soon as possible so that you can search for new positions being listed there. Much better – get your own profile up to date, so that employers can find you. A lot of human resources managers scour LinkedIn profiles and actively reach out to those who look like a good fit.
Bonus points – consider building a resume that you can post online. You can use any website builder for a one page site and use your name as your website page. Plus, you can hand out business cards with your personal resume website on your card.
3. Temporarily finding your dream job.
Nope, we don’t mean just getting your dream job for a short period of time – we’re saying consider working with a staffing company to get your perfect employer’s attention. In a recent report, 40% of companies planned to use temporary staff for part of their open roles, and 42% of those temp positions were expected to become permanent opportunities.
If you’re not sure what you want to do, a temporary position can be a great way to see different organizations before you commit to one.
Even better – you might find that temporary jobs are your dream job. You can avoid the boredom of the same responsibilities day in and day out. And some staffing companies offer benefits and training just like a traditional job.
4. Make no mistakes.
If you’re not a great speller, English is not your first language, or you are a “numbers person” (aka not much of a writer), get someone to double check your resume, your cover letter and your LinkedIn profile. Even if you are looking for work that is manual or doesn’t require a lot of writing, companies don’t like to see spelling and grammatical errors in job applications.
You need to show that you are serious about your job search, pay attention to detail, and a professional.
So find a friend or relative who can help you be sure your putting your best foot forward on paper.
5. How not to find your dream job.
Sometimes what not to do is as important as what you should do. So remember a couple of things to avoid when conducting your search:
- Watch your use of social media. If you have a lot of posts with strong political views, inappropriate pictures or foul language, you could risk turning off more conservative companies.
[bctt tweet=”Be careful what you post or tweet. More and more HR departments check an applicant’s social media accounts before making a permanent offer.”] - Don’t talk money too soon. While it’s natural to want to know what the bottom line is when you are in the job market, you want to focus on looking like the best possible candidate for the job before you start talking numbers.
- Sell yourself – but be honest. Don’t list things on your resume that just aren’t true. If you haven’t got much experience with PowerPoint, or you’re not fluent in Spanish, don’t say so. Even if you fool them during the interview process, you risk being right back out in the market if your new employer finds out that you misrepresented yourself during the hiring process.
Getting your dream job isn’t easy, but it can be done. It takes a lot of commitment – treat the process of finding a dream job, like a job itself. Stay organized, focused and professional. Put the word out, follow up on leads and consider every avenue – former bosses, community college job boards, university alumni groups, any connections — to increase your net.
There is nothing like having a job you love – a recent poll said that Americans work over 45 hours per week – so you can look forward to every Monday morning, as much as every Friday night.
