How Does one Land a Dream Job? Do you have a dream of the perfect job?

Dream jobs are one of those things we all dream about. Some dream to be the CEO of an internationally recognized company whereas for some a good paying job is good enough for a dream job. There are few things that every job applicant needs to remember when it comes to landing the job of their dreams. Today we want to explore a few of those things and how it might make you a strong candidate in the eyes of your potential employer. Make a List Surprisingly thats where you need to start and not at a resume. Whether you use a computer or a pen and paper, thats totally upto you but start with making lists. Are you someone who likes a good challenge or someone who wants to get by doing the easiest stuff? Although this sounds silly, it does help tremendously. Many people waste a lot of years doing jobs they hate. There is no surprise that hundreds and thousands of people are complaining about their job each day. Make a list. Write down what you are good at and what you are not so good at. Are you good at negotiating? Do you enjoy it? If it is something you are good at and enjoy doing there might be business opportunities and jobs that cater to this quality of yours that you have yet to capitalize on. Be Bold and Outspoken Although networking on the computer and making use of social media platforms is a must, face to face talk is the best way to network. Meeting in person and shaking hands is way more effective than sitting behind a computer screen and networking online even in this day and age. Whether its a career fair or any other gathering that you are at, be bold and connect with people. Dont be shy to talk about your ambitions, your career goals, your dream jobs and the industry you want to be in with people. Your contact at the moment may not know about these but your passion may lead them to refer you to someone they know. Break The Limitations These limitations can be financial or geographical. Remember if you want to achieve your dreams there are certain things you have to be willing to give up. Your dream job may require you to climb the ladder and while starting out the pay may not be as good. But if thats what it takes to get to a place where you want to be in five years, thats a choice you have to make. Another thing when it comes to grabbing that golden opportunity or landing a dream job is that you have to be willing to relocate. I have seen plenty of people unwilling to relocate due to family, emotional attachments, etc. Although these things play a important part in ones life, if you want to succeed and thats what it takes to land your dream job, the first thing you need to be able to do is willing to relocate. Breaking the limitations will help you make the dream a reality. Deal Maker or Deal Breaker The reason many job applicants never get call for a job interview isnt because they arent qualified, it is because their resume doesnt portray who they really are or what they are capable of. Interview comes after the potential employer has seen your resume. Your resume is the key to your golden career. Dont be in a hurry when creating your resume. Resume isnt just a piece of paper but it is one of the most important documents that tells the potential employer who you are and what you can do. Be careful when preparing your resume. Those little typo that you think may not be a big problem might be the only thing coming in between you and the dream job you are applying for. Although these tips can help you land your dream job, the only person that can make it happen is you. It doesnt matter whether you read hundreds of articles each day, it doesnt matter whether you dream of someday landing your dream job, what matters is that you have what it takes to get there. And one thing that is of most importance when it comes to grabbing that dream opportunity is the fact that you need to be able to get up when you fall and stay on track. Be persistent, be bold and reach out. Your dream job isnt as far away as you would like to think. Just mold yourself to be the one who can achieve and the career you want will be knocking on your door in no time. Overcoming the Fear of Change! If youre considering a job change, its probably for one of three reasons: 1. Professional You have determined the need to advance your career. For example, youve found that you wont reach your professional or technical goals at your present company. Research & surveys have shown that 73% of people dont leave their companies, they leave their bosses. 2. 2. Personal You want to change your relationships with others. For example, you may have discovered that youre incompatible with the people in your company. Perhaps they have different interests than you; or they communicate differently or have different educational backgrounds. 3. Situational You are dissatisfied not because of personal reasons or career development; its tied to a certain set of circumstances. Maybe youre commuting too far from home each day, or youre working too many hours, or youre under too much stress, or you want to relocate to another city (or stay where you are rather than be transferred).

Whatever your professional, personal or situational reasons may be, youre motivated by the desire to improve your level of job satisfaction and to make a change. The Complete Job Description In order to translate your needs into results, lets begin by evaluating your present position; its the first step in any job change. Youd be surprised how many people are unclear about what they actually do for a living and the way their jobs make them feel. For example, take the following sample of an interview with a candidate. The interviewer wants a complete job description; not a job name. So tell me, Srinivas, what is it that you do at your present company? Well, Sir, I thought I told you already. Im a software developer. All right, fair enough, but would you please describe to me in detail the following two things: What are your daily activities? That is, how do you spend your time during a typical day; and "What are the measurable results your company expects from these activities? In other words, how does your supervisor know when youre doing a good job? Candidates are sometimes hard pressed to come up with solid answers about the specific nature of their work. Theyre not exactly sure about their job responsibilities and their lack of focus results in stress, or counter-productivity. While a little bit of stress may be natural in any job, a steady diet of it can destroy your incentive to work. In fact, a recent study indicates a direct correlation between a persons lack of task clarity and their level of job dissatisfaction. Try this exercise: On a sheet of paper, write a complete, current job description in which you list all your daily activities and their expected, measurable results. This exercise will not only help you clarify your own perception of your work, it will be useful later on when you begin to construct a resume and communicate to others exactly what youve done. The Positive Power of Values Once youve described all the facets of your job, the next step is to understand the relationship between what you do and the way you feel. Understand what types of work-related activities you really enjoy. Determine which goals or accomplishments are important to you and give you a feeling of satisfaction. Evaluate whether your personal priorities are in balance, or in harmony with your job situation. Although its fairly simple to decipher which daily tasks you really enjoy, the task of scrutinizing your personal priorities can be tricky. Thats because there are often factors unrelated to your job that can come into play. To demonstrate the importance of these values in our decision-making process, consider the following: One job-seeker turned down a position because he was an amateur athlete and he didnt like the air quality where the new company was located. An engineer took a job with a company that offered him a demotion, since being highly visible within his current employers department made him feel uncomfortable. The point is that we all have highly personal motivations that guide our career choices. The Job Description Make-over Now that you know how to clearly define your values, the next step is to describe the changes youd like to make in your new job. The more specifically youre able to communicate what youre looking for, the faster youll be able to get what you want. Naturally, youll want to be realistic with your expectations and think like a grown-up when considering your gripes. Just decide whether they are really serious or not. Your Job-Changing Strategy Someone recently asked whether recruiters helped people get better jobs or jobs that made them happier. The answer was that the two were the same. Of course, if you were to look at your career from a purely strategic point of view, there are four good reasons why it makes sense to change jobs within the same or similar industry three times during your first ten years of employment: Changing jobs gives you a broader base of experience: After about three years, youve learned most of what youre going to know about how to do your job. Therefore, over a ten-year period, you gain more experience from three times 90 percent than one times 100 percent. A more varied background creates a greater demand for your skills: Depth of experience means youre more valuable to a larger number of employers. Youre not only familiar with your current companys product, service, procedures, quality programs, inventory system, and so forth; you bring with you the expertise youve gained from your prior employment with other companies. A job change results in an accelerated promotion cycle: Each time you make a change, you bump up a notch on the promotion ladder. You jump, for example, from project engineer to senior project engineer, or state sales manager to national sales and marketing manager. More responsibility

leads to greater earning power: A promotion is usually accompanied by a salary increase. And since youre being promoted faster, your salary grows at a quicker pace, sort of like compounding the interest on your savings. Many people view a job change as a way of promoting themselves to a better position. In most cases, I would agree. However, you should always be sure your new job offers you the means to satisfy your values. While theres no denying the strategic virtues of selective job changing for the purpose of career leverage, you want to make sure the path you take will lead you where you really want to go. Now, Do You Have Any Questions? Now, Do You Have Any Questions? Is the statement that most candidates fear, this single question can make or break the interview for you. It normally is the last question in the interview. There are great questions and dumb questions and, worst of all, no questions at all. The interviewers last question is frequently the most important one. Thats when the interviewer smiles and says: Now, do you have questions for us? Your response at this point often determines if you continue as a job seeker or transform into a job getter. The response the interviewer does not want to hear is, No Questions! Of course, even great questions will not get you a job offer if you come in with other problems. Vested in the Interview In every job interview, if you are lucky, you will get to this stage of the job interview. What you do now controls whether or not you get an offer. The resume gets you in the door, but whether you leave as a job seeker or employee depends on how you conduct yourself during the interview. The questions you ask, and how you ask them, do as much to differentiate you from the competition as the questions asked by the interviewer. As you prepare for the job interview, your questions have to be as carefully coordinated as your suit and shoes. If you miss the opportunity to leave your interviewer with any one of these impressions, you risk losing the main prize. Thoughtful questions emphasize that you are taking an active role in the job selection process, not leaving the interviewer to do all the work. Active is good. Great questions demonstrate that, far from being a passive participant, you are action-oriented and engaged, reinforcing your interest in the job. Asking questions is an excellent way to demonstrate your sophistication and qualifications. The questions you chose indicate your depth of knowledge of our field as well as your general level of intelligence. Asking questions also enables you to break down the formal interview/candidate relationship, establish an easy flow of conversation, and build trust and rapport. The matter of rapport is critical. Remember, most finalists for a job are more or less evenly matched in terms of qualifications. What gives the winning candidate the nod is rapport. Your questions steer the interview the way you want it to go. Questions are a form of control. You can also use questions to divert an interviewers line of questioning. If you sense the interviewer is leading up to a subject that youd rather avoidyour job hopping, for exampleask a question about another topic. After a lengthy exchange, the interviewer may not return to her original line of questioning. The more senior the position you are seeking, the more important it is to ask sophisticated and tough questions. Such questions demonstrate your understanding of the subtext and context of this position, as well as your confidence in challenging the interviewer. Hiring managers will judge you as much on the inquiries you make as on the responses you provide. If you dont ask sufficiently detailed questions, it will demonstrate lack of initiative and leadership qualities that a senior level position demands. Ten Rules for Framing Better Questions The art of asking questions is considering what responses you prefer and framing the questions to maximize your chances of getting the answers you want. Here are 15 rules for asking better questions. 1. Ask open-ended questions. 6. Keep it short.

Avoid Questions that are Obvious or Easy to Determine 9. Avoid Why Questions 5. Asking Questions that Focus on What the Company Can Do for You 10. Relax and smile. Five Great Questions To Ask 1. What does this company value the most and how do you think my work for you will further these values? 2. Whats the most important thing I can do to help within the first 90 days of my employment? 3. Do you have any questions or concerns about my ability to perform this job? 4. When top performers leave the company why do they leave and where do they usually go? 5. What do you see in me? What are my strongest assets and possible weaknesses? Do you have any concerns that I need to clear up in order to be the top candidate?

2. 3. 4.

Dont Interrupt Use Inclusive Language

7. Getting to Yes 8. Ask Questions the Interviewer Can Answer