“How can I get my dream job?” – it’s a tough question that we all wish we had the answer to. Finding the perfect job for you, being invited for an interview and then winning over your potential employer is not an easy task. Learn how to get past these common roadblocks that are keeping you from landing your dream job.
Your resume is your first impression whenever you apply for a job, so it’s important that it’s as perfect as it could possibly be. Go over it multiple times to make sure that nothing is spelled incorrectly and there aren’t any grammar errors or typos. Make sure to have a friend proofread it also before handing it in. It’s important that your resume reflects experience that is relevant to the job that you’re applying for. Each resume should be tweaked a little bit depending on the position.
Your dream job may be different from what you imagined in high school. After you have some professional experience under your belt, you learn more about the kind of worker you are and how you like to contribute. That’s why it’s important to be self-aware and think critically about what kind of position is actually your dream job. A position you once idealized may actually be your living hell.
A lot of people are scared to pursue their dream job or career because they are afraid of failure or judgment. The irony is that the only people who succeed at their passions are the ones who aren’t afraid to fail. If something goes wrong, they learn from it and bounce back. Failure is an inherent part of success, so you might as well embrace it and shoot for your dream job.
One reason why you may not be able to snag that dream job is because you aren’t ready for it professionally. Learn what kind of candidates are getting the jobs you consider dream positions and figure out what experience you need to be like them. Make gaining that experience a priority. One way to gain invaluable experience in the field of your choice is to intern abroad, which also gives you international experience.
If you feel your career is stagnate it can sometimes be difficult to motivate yourself to push things forward. Spend some time really focusing on what you want out of your career and dream about the job you want. Make some short, medium and long-term goals for yourself that will help you inch towards this dream career. Reward yourself for all of your accomplishments and keep a positive attitude. It’s important to believe in yourself and trust in your ability to move forward towards a better career.
It may seem like the world is full of successful millennials, living out their dream careers after just a few years in the job market. This isn’t the reality. Although there is a very small percentage of highly successful young people, many of us are still trying to figure out exactly what we want to do with our careers. Don’t focus on the overnight, child genius success stories and try to not compare yourself to anyone. Make some long-term goals for yourself but accept that they are long term and they require some different steps, more time and more effort to achieve. Climbing these steps may take longer than you want them to, which is why patience is an important part of working towards your dream job.
How you deal with failure will make or break you. Everybody fails in life, but it’s key to not internalize that failure but rather identify mistakes, learn from them and do better next time. Feeling bad about yourself will do nothing but keep you from achieving your dreams.
Sources: http://careerrocketeer.com/2009/10/knocking-down-your-career-roadblocks.html
Photo 1. based on The road ends….Uhh no it doesn’t, by Nicholas Canup, CC-by-2.0
Photo 2. based on Work 🙁, by Prakash, CC-by-ND 2.0
Photo 3. based on getting little impatient.. xD, by J, CC-by-ND 2.0