How to Score Your Dream Job in a Few Easy Steps
Finding a job straight out of college or at any point in a person’s life is a tedious task. People prepare you your whole life up until adulthood to find the right job or career for you. Your parents enroll you in sports and activities when you are young, you take classes in grade school and high school that teach you fundamental skills, and in college you take classes and internships to hopefully prepare you for your future and job. There are, however, challenges you will face along the way when applying for your first job or for a dream job. Read on to find out the steps you should take and tools you will need to be successful at landing your dream job.
Make a Good First Impression
One of the most important steps in scoring your absolute dream job is to make a great first impression which actually starts before you meet face to face. There are many things one can do to prepare for an employer to potentially be doing research on them. This includes making sure all of your social media accounts are free of promiscuous activity like underage drinking, partying, revealing clothing, cussing, slurs, etc. You want to present yourself in a good light professionally so make sure you present yourself well privately too. Even if you make your accounts private, there will always be a way for people to find those photos you do not want anyone to see. So, be responsible with your posting as soon as you create your accounts.
Perfect Your Resume
When you go to apply for a job, and especially your dream job, you want to make sure that your resume is the best it can be and is perfected with the best wording and language. You want to make sure you write multiple drafts of your resume before turning it in with your application. You should also have someone peer review your work so that you can get a second set of eyes to look at your work and give you some constructive criticism. Make sure you also tailor your resume to the job you are applying for so that the job experience you list is pertinent to the position you are going for. For example, you might not want to list your camp counselor experience for an aspiring fashion designer.
Update Your LinkedIn Profile
We live in a world today that thrives, survives and surrounds social media because anyone can have access to your social media accounts at any time. Any important social media network that every job-aspiring young adult or even college student for that matter should have is a LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is the easiest and most effective way of networking because it puts your name out in the job field and lays out all the necessary information on your profile. LinkedIn allows you to connect with thousands of different people over a wide range of industries and shows you who is connected to who. This social networking site also alerts you of jobs that are available by your filtering of interests, skills and the locations you are looking to find jobs in. When applying for your dream job, it is absolutely essential to update your LinkedIn profile, which is sort of like an online resume. You will want to highlight all your recent jobs and internships experience, awards and honors, education and current residence.
Nail Your Interview
Perhaps the most important step to scoring your dream job is nailing your interview and making the perfect second first impression after scouring your social media and resume. Dress for your interview so that it is appropriate for the position you are applying for but always dress a little more fancy to show that you take the interview seriously. Do not wear anything too flashy that would distract the interviewer from what you are saying, but be sure to showcase your personal style if this is important to you. The few things you need to bring to your interview are a few copies of your resume in case one gets lost or torn. You should also pack with you some breath mints, a notepad and pen, some lipstick and mascara in case you need to touch up your makeup, a hairbrush and possibly a portfolio or some other work that you would like to show off for the job you are going after.
Show Appreciation
About a day after the interview you should email your interviewer to show gratitude for them taking the time to meet with you. In your email, express that you appreciate their time, how interested you are in the position and that you would love to learn about the next steps in the interview process. Continue to show gratitude throughout the whole process even if you did not get the job and even if you did.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is there is no perfect formula for scoring your dream job because everyone’s situation is different, however, there are definitely a few ways to prepare yourself for a successful interview and make a good impression on the internet and off it. The few steps you can take away are to do research on your potential employer and the type of job you are going for before you submit your application or reach out to anyone. You also want to make sure that you censor or keep appropriate the content you post as soon as you create your social media accounts even if they are made private. Make sure to also tailor your resume to the job you are applying for, meaning keep the experience listed relevant to the skills you need for this new job. Correct any errors or mistakes in the resume that you may have made along the way and keep it to one page. Also be sure to create a professional-looking LinkedIn profile that highlights all the best qualities about yourself. Walk into your interview looking confident and poised, send a follow-up email showing gratitude and let fate take its course. If thing’s do not work, you should know that it just was not the right timing or job for you in the end.
