10 steps to your dream job

“I go to interviews, but to no avail”, “I have an excellent resume, I am a professional in my field, but I have not been able to find a job for a year”, “I want to change jobs, but I am scared and don’t know where to start.” Familiar? I get asked these questions quite often. How to increase your chances of getting a job? Why do some quickly go to a new job, while others are free-floating for months?

As a rule, it is more difficult to find a job for those who:

• cannot determine their true goals;

• does not have the necessary information;

• does not use a systematic approach.

These tips will help you identify your needs, organize your knowledge about employment, and make your job search more efficient.

1. Determine the zone of proximal development

Perhaps this is one of the most important steps. What comes to us when we are looking for something? «Something» comes. To get a job that will bring both money and pleasure, you need to decide on a few things.

Remember what you really like to do

What you love, what gives you goosebumps. Do you feel uplifted every time you successfully close a deal or submit reports? Or when they came up with a new selling slogan or wrote great code? Be honest with yourself. Don’t substitute your own «want» for the socially desired. Follow your dreams, not someone else’s.

Tatyana headed a department in a large media holding for several years. She liked the job, satisfied with the level of income. When she thought about changes, about the need to grow professionally, she did not understand in which direction to move.

After thinking about what she really likes, she realized: yes, she really likes to organize. But not trainings, but weddings (“What weddings, you are in serious business!”). Now she works in a wedding agency and is happy that she was not afraid to admit her desires to herself.

Analyze what you already can and do best

We often underestimate or underestimate our talents or skills. Take a pen and paper and write down everything that has accumulated in your professional luggage. Maybe you acquired some skills at your last place of work, not having them in your job description. Have you learned how to write well? Mastered a new design program? Have you audited counterparties? All this can become your asset.

Study the market

What is in demand at the moment, what industries and professions will be promising in the near future. Research and publications on this topic on the Internet is now enough. The zone in which all these areas intersect will be the zone of optimal choice. And if what happened causes you an inner smile, interest and a sense of fear, do not hesitate: this is it, the very thing, yours. Feel free to move on!

2. Visualize an image of future work

After you have decided on the direction, create in your imagination an image of a new work. Imagine what level of position and in which company you want to get. Describe and draw what you do, what tasks you solve, who surrounds you, what kind of boss you have, what the workplace looks like.

If you are an introvert by nature and the ideal place to work for you is a quiet, cozy, not crowded office, ask yourself if you can feel comfortable in a noisy open space, even in a very famous company? The advice here is simple: follow your needs. The more accurate image you create in your imagination, the closer reality will be to it.

3. Focus

Have you set goals at work? Use a business approach when looking for a new job. Set a specific goal and set a deadline for achieving it. For example, “in three months I want to work as a financial controller with a salary of 150 thousand rubles after tax in a company from the top 3 in the pharmaceutical industry.” At the same time, be open to other possibilities. It is likely that you will receive an offer for a similar position or see an attractive job in another industry.

4. Treat your job search like a project

Make a search plan, determine the timing of its implementation, create your own system of performance indicators to evaluate intermediate results. For convenience, use any online project management program available or create a simple spreadsheet in Excel to track progress.

Do not neglect the self-sales funnel technique — for example: 100 responses — 10 invitations to an interview — 1 job placement. Be methodical and don’t get frustrated if you don’t get an immediate response or get rejected. If possible, specify the reason for the denial. This will help you correct the shortcomings and avoid similar mistakes in the future.

And of course, don’t leave everything to the last minute. Employment is a process that requires consistency and patience. According to your schedule today, it’s the item “get a response from the HR”, and according to the schedule, the HR can have a two-week vacation. Therefore, determine for yourself not only deadlines, but also redlines — internal deadlines for each stage. This way you will experience less stress.

5. Adjust the plan or goal

If you see that all your efforts are not producing results, you may have fallen into one of five traps:

1. You have formulated a fuzzy request and you yourself do not fully understand what you want.

2. Your goal is too ambitious and objectively does not correspond to the professional level or the market situation.

3. Not putting enough effort into direct search.

4. The summary is incorrect.

5. Are you having difficulty getting through an interview?

Conduct a self-assessment on all these points, seek feedback from relatives or experts. Adjust your goal and action plan.

Dmitry wanted to move to a larger company in his industry. He set a clear goal for himself — the position of CFO with a 30% increase in income by the end of the year. Experience in a similar position allowed me to do this. However, the new company could offer only the level of deputy financial director and a salary 10% lower than the current one. Dmitry did not want to put up with such a proposal. But from the interviews I realized that his experience really does not correspond to a new level.

What to do? After analyzing his state of protest, he realized that his unwillingness to receive a lower salary than now is, rather, the voice of a wounded ego. And leaving even with a demotion will allow him to grow professionally and open up new prospects in the future.

6. Be proactive

If you are looking for a job, this does not mean at all that she will find you herself. Being in search is like sitting by the sea and waiting for good weather. But actively searching is already setting up nets and casting a bait. With bait for the fish you want.

Determine the list of companies that are attractive to you. Send resumes to employers, apply for vacancies, don’t wait for a magical invitation. If the HR does not answer you, write a second letter in a few days. Better call him if you have contacts.

7. Use all possible job search channels

Use all available channels. Both formal: job portals, employer websites, job fairs, recruiting agencies, and informal: relatives, acquaintances, friends. Tell them that you are looking for a job and are open to offers. Ask for a recommendation. The power of networking and personal acquaintances cannot be overestimated. Sometimes vacancies are distributed only «on their own» or in a conditionally closed access.

Oksana had long planned to change jobs, but did not dare to declare it openly. It seemed to her that the announcement of a job search would lower her importance in the eyes of her friends. In addition, she always believed that only losers got a job “by acquaintance”. The sluggish search lasted more than a year. As soon as she decided to tell her friends and acquaintances that she was looking for a job in the field of PR, within a week several people sent her links to interesting vacancies that were not published in the public domain.

8. Build a Quality Resume

Your resume is your business card, your “multi-passport”. It should be relevant to the position you are applying for, be concise, structured, and reflect your value to the company. It is not necessary to describe experience that is not essential for this vacancy.

Learn your resume by heart to answer any question, whether it’s about your accomplishments at your last job or about the stages of training. Pass it on to someone close to you. Be truthful, but don’t be too modest. If not you, then who will tell the employer what a great professional you are and why the company will benefit when they hire you?

If you write a three-page resume in which you describe all your achievements since school, then this most likely indicates low self-esteem. Ask yourself: Why is it important for me to share all my accomplishments? What do I want others to know about me? What will actually be important information about me for this company? Do not try to be a «very good girl» or «very good boy» for the employer on your resume. Focus and describe experiences and successes relevant to the specific position.

And about the hobby. Cross-stitching or fishing, of course, can be resource activities for you. But it would be better if you share this story with your colleagues over a cup of tea after employment.

9. Prepare for the interview

First of all, emotionally. What feelings arise when we hear the word «interview»? Usually fear and anxiety — except for the joy that you have reached this stage. Job interviews are always stressful, adrenaline rushing, and the fight-or-flight pattern is on. Therefore, we either begin to show signs of aggression, or shrink into a ball and fall into a stupor. Determine how you tend to react in a stressful situation and learn to control your emotions.

Do not fall for provocations if you get into the stress interview format. If you feel that you are ready to lose your temper, remember Carlson’s main principle: “Calm! Only calm! After all, what’s the worst thing that will happen if you don’t get hired? They won’t take you. Is it all that scary?

If you are still doubting yourself before going to an interview, the thought: “I am a worthy candidate for this position” will become a resource. Your confidence will be transferred to the interviewer. After all, you really deserve what you want and have chosen yourself, right?

10. Take your time to make a choice

If you have successfully passed all the stages and finally received a long-awaited job offer, take your time, stop for a minute.

You have already managed to get to know the company well, have studied its website, talked with the immediate supervisor. Ask yourself some questions.

Do I really like this company? Is her corporate culture close to me? Do I want to work there? Will I feel comfortable with such a boss? Are there prospects for development here? This is your choice, you will not come here for a day or two. Do not agree immediately if you have doubts.

Sometimes it’s better to keep looking than to end up somewhere you’ll soon want to leave. And this small victory in the form of an offer will give you the strength to move on.

Have you reached your goal? Secure your success!

When you enter a new job, look back and analyze what helped you achieve your goal. What were you especially good at? What motivated you to move on? Who was your support? All of these are your resources. Use them at work and develop your strengths. And of course, do not forget to thank yourself for the work done.