Once you secure a job, you’ll be spending a whole lot of time at it. Don’t settle for a job you hate. Considering that a job will consume such a significant portion of your life, it’s important to find one that will be meaningful and enjoyable for you. Use the following 4 tips to secure your dream job:
1. Decide what your dream job is
There are countless amazing job opportunities available at any given time – and you can’t work at all of them. What, exactly, do you want to be doing all day? If you could work for any company on earth, which one would it be? Making conscious decisions about your employment goals will help you to avoid settling for any mediocre job that comes your way.
2. Educate yourself about the jobs and companies that appeal to you
Your next task is to learn about the industry you want to work in, the companies you want to work for and the job you want to pursue. Is the industry growing, or shrinking? This is a question you can usually answer by navigating to the Job Outlook government website and doing a search for the job you want to do – then clicking on the “prospects” tab. While you’re there, check out the typical salary ranges for the job by looking at the “overview” tab.
Another thing to research: How do people who work at your dream companies rate their experiences? You can answer this question by navigating to Glassdoor’s review pages on Australian companies.
3. Find out what problems in your target industry need solving
Employers typically hire people at times when they have problems that need to be solved. So, your primary task as a job seeker is to convince the hiring managers at your dream company that you’re exactly the person who can solve the problems they need solutions for.
Here are a couple of examples. Right now, employers in just about every industry are realising their data isn’t as secure as it needs to be to withstand the onslaught of cyber crime attempts being made against them. Is this a problem you could help them solve?
Perhaps you have a knack for recognizing malicious code, poring over network activity reports and determining whether a particular network usage pattern is normal or not. If so, you will more than likely be able to find well paying work at your dream company helping them to secure their data from intruders. There’s a global shortage of people who have the required skill set for that job.
Another example: Managers in virtually every sector of the Australian economy are staring at piles and stacks of data – sales data, inventory data, website analytics, social media analytics and the list goes on. They know the data they hold could be the key to figuring out solutions for many of their most puzzling problems. Unfortunately, they have no earthly idea what they should be doing with the data to extract the answers they need.
Perhaps you have a talent for statistics. Maybe you’ve messed around with mathematical modeling. Perhaps you’re excited by the idea of transforming massive quantities of data into useful charts that executives could understand and act on. At this very moment, your dream company is probably seeking employees who have that specific skill set.
Australian employers are actually facing skills shortages in a remarkable number of different capacities. To land your dream job, it could be as simple as identifying a match between your own skill set and the skills your target employer desperately needs in order to solve the problems faced by the organisation.
4. Build your personal brand around your Ability to solve your industry’s problems
Most recruiters and hiring managers will perform internet searches for information about you before they interview you. If they search, what sorts of information will they find?
Here’s what you want them to find: credible evidence that you’re someone they can’t afford not to hire. So, your next task is to start creating this evidence and ensuring it can be found on the internet.
How do you do that? Here are some ideas:
- Start a blog on the topic of your target industry and how to solve the problems it’s currently facing.
- Guest post at other prominent blogs in the industry.
- Leave helpful, well thought out comments on other bloggers’ posts discussing your industry.
- Volunteer to be a guest on various industry podcasts, discussing solutions to prominent industry problems.
- If you’re a coder seeking programming work, contribute to open source projects.
Taking the time to decide what you want to do, research the industry and build your brand image will pay off when it comes time to secure job interviews. You’ll be well prepared for your interviews and ready to impress your prospective employers.
