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If you have a cushy job that excites you and pays well then this post isn’t for you. This post is for the tired and bored ones with drab jobs they don`t seem to go with anywhere. I’m here to help you find a better job. Unemployed Americans are much happier than their employed peers who hate their job. According to a poll by Gallup, American workers who emotionally disconnect from their work rate their lives more poorly than do those who are unemployed. Worse, a dull job can give you a heart attack.
I’m not here to push you to do something you don’t want but it’s okay to look for another job if you can’t stand the one you have. In fact, no one can blame you if you do because 35 percent of employees change jobs every three years looking for a better one. For this reason, I’ve made you a list of five things you must do to find your dream job. Here they are:
Step #1: Work on your network from day 1.
I would’ve chosen Networking to be the second step on my list but I had to rethink it after a dear friend of mine dominated an already-stuffed local E-liquid market in less than ten months with a few phone calls. Another friend—the slickest I’ve ever met—makes 20X more money than his college mates because he knows how to make friends. He wasn’t always like this. But he evolved, and so did his bank account.
Want more reasons to build your network? Not only a strong network of friends is linked to career success, more friends —according to a Harvard study— will make you happier and fulfilled. Studies on luck by psychologist Richard Wiseman found that among five major traits lucky people have, networking came second.
You must build your networking skills regardless of what you do for a living. A good network of friends can get you hired in a better place and get you in touch with the decision makers of any company. In the 1970s when Michael Bloomberg was a fed-up investment banker at Salomon Brothers he decided it`s time to build his own business. So every day at six in the morning, 30-something Bloomberg would drive to his Wall-Street office with a dozen cups of tea and coffee of all types —decaf, black, half-and-half— then tour the building for the next hour looking for anyone working early to offer them a drink.
These people weren`t receptionists or secretaries; they were the type of people you can`t meet without
a dozen of gatekeepers blocking the way; ambitious and hardworking CEOs and managers who enjoyed being the first ones in and the last ones out. And Bloomberg had access to them all. He would knock on the door with their favorite drink in exchange for a few minutes of their time, and it later helped him build an empire worth of $51.9 billion. So my advice is, get out of your way, stop taking introversion as an excuse and start building your network.
So how to build a strong network? Erik Barker, author of Barking Up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong, suggests you do the following:
Become the go-to person.
Part of being genuine means you shouldn’t ask people for favors right away. Take the time to know them and offer them help if they mentioned it especially if you’re networking over the internet. For more about that, you can watch this video.
Maximize on commonalities.
In social interactions; like poles attract. So you`d better let people know you too have something in common. Studies found that even having common things like sharing the same name, disliking the same person, or sharing the same complaints increase familiarity.
Start with the friends you already have.
The easiest way to build your network is to start from the bottom and connect with people with higher accessibility; old friends, neighbors, co-workers, and friends of your friends.
Find the super-connectors.
Find those 20 percent of people in your city or workplace who know the other 80 percent and connect with them. They know everybody, and they`re the best to go to when you need an introduction.
Be a good listener.
Let others do most of the talking. They will like you for it.
Step #2: Identify what you want.
Landing your dream job may not be the simplest thing in the world, but it will get much easier if you first
identify what you want. Ask any dating coach, and they will say you should have a clear image of what to look for in your future partner. So you`d better identify your skills and strengths then ask yourself:
- In what field do I perfectly fit?
- What are my motivations and highest ambitions? And
- What criteria will I use to choose between two similar jobs in that area?
One poll by Gallup found that most employees prefer a job that has the following:
- The ability rely on their strengths and do what they do best
- Greater work-life balance
- Job security
- A significant increase in income (Forty-one percent agreed to this).
- A famous brand name. (Women and baby boomers prefer a company with excellent reputation)
Another study from the Journal of Happiness Studies also suggests a link between job satisfaction and both job security and having good relations with colleagues and supervisors. So, now that you know what to look for in a job, you can exclude the ones that don`t meet at least most of the criteria mentioned earlier.
Step #3: Play to your strengths.
“I can’t play chess like other people can. But my mind does work well in terms of evaluating businesses. I have this one little skill, and I was dropped into a society where it’s paid off in a huge, huge way.” – Warren Buffet
Find what you`re good at or the things that excite you, then look for jobs that satisfy that desire for significance. I know this can be difficult sometimes, especially when you need a quick buck but you still need a plan so that whatever you`re currently doing, be it flipping burgers or waiting tables, becomes temporary. My advice is, take some time to assess your qualities and list all the jobs you feel are right for you. If you still can`t decide your calling, then plan to hunt those jobs that will give you some real-life skills like sales, so you`re learning something new every day.
Step #4: Learn how to write the perfect resume.
A resume is a story you tell a recruiter to make them hire you. So it must be as professional as possible. There are guides out there to how you should write a resume but to sum things up; a well-written resume should include your past experiences, skills and proficiencies, language skills and education and any positive feedback you may have received.
You should also include links to your social profiles —especially LinkedIn— and make sure they look as professional as possible. A recent survey by Jobvite.com found that 93 of recruiters use social media to check on future employees before interviewing them.
Also, there are two more tricks you can use to boost your resume:
Attach a photo (only for men).
When creating your resume, make sure you attach a picture of yourself if you`re a man, and attach none if you`re a woman. Business Insider reported on a Harvard study, CVs with pics of attractive men garnered more callbacks from employers than CVs with none — and nearly twice the callbacks of resumes showing plain-looking men. But for women, CVs with photos (whether of attractive or plain faces) yielded lower callback rates than those without. The researchers cite female jealousy of attractive women in the workplace.
Mention your past (exciting) experiences.
Openness to experience is one of the traits recruiters will look for in a resume – especially in marketing – so make sure you write about your weird skills since that`s what the market wants, novelty.
Step #5: Prepare for the big day.
“One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” – Arthur Ashe
The last step is interview day. The rule says: You won’t suck as long as you prepare. So, do your homework, research the interviewer and ready yourself for any tough questions. Keep the conversation about your strengths, not weaknesses and end the interview with a 60-second sell that summarizes your full pitch in just one minute.
You also want to dress appropriately; 37 percent of executives won’t hire you if you don’t. So pick something that matches the company spirit and don’t wear orange, red or pink; they’re the least appealing.
Finally, you must believe in second chances. Desire the job so badly but don’t see rejection as the end of the world or you’ll rub yourself with the confidence needed to wow your interviewer. You might be on your toes, dreaming of how landing this dream job will change everything—which is fine, by the way—but you must also believe that even if they reject you, the door of opportunity will stay open elsewhere. There’s always time to go back to your drawing board and prepare for another move.
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Photo credit: Getty Images