Almost 90% of people are unhappy with their job. So the question is – how to end up in the lucky 10%? There are several steps that you need to take to get your dream job. But first, ask yourself – what exactly is the dream job for you?
The dream job needs to provide you with a solid ground to develop and increase your competencies. And has to be rewarding (not just in terms of the salary but also in terms of the pure satisfaction and fulfilment you should get out of doing your job). It should challenge you at times so that you will avoid monotony.
These few mentioned aspects make up what is considered to be a dream job. You need to make an effort not only to find a dream job but also to be attractive enough to be wanted at that position. This article will point you in the right direction to become more employable. It will be helpful whether you have just started thinking about your career plans, or you already have some work experience.
Professional satisfaction among employees
Since 2010, Gallup has surveyed millions of employees from almost 200 countries about their level of job satisfaction. Based on this survey, in 2013, Forbes magazine reported that “work is the source of frustration rather than fulfilment for 87% of the world’s employees.” This number very slightly improved over 4 years, dropping to 85% in 2017.
Work is the source of frustration – rather than fulfilment – for 87% of the world’s employees
To avoid frustration, active disengagement, stress, and burnout, it is crucial to find a job that will allow you to follow your chosen career path. It should be fulfilling and don’t have the horrendous overworked and underpaid duo. However, it is not a simple task to find a dream job and then be chosen as an employee to work there. Do you want to feel happy in your future work? Well, the sooner you act, the bigger chances you get at that happiness.
Read what to do to increase your chances of getting your dream job:
1. Define your professional potential
It’s crucial to know your abilities to even begin a search for your dream job. Defining your potential will help you analyse your character and see which of your character aspects are worth improving or in what field you should get more extensive experience. Check out this article on our blog that will help you define and use your professional potential.
2. Focus on personal growth and constantly try to improve
Never stop learning and gaining experience. Take on the approach that whatever you are doing and have accomplished up to this point is not enough. It doesn’t mean that you should start working restlessly and feel unaccomplished, but instead, despite your vast experience and achievements, you should still vastly focus on self-development and improvement.
Employers like ambitious people and appreciate especially those who always want to learn, despite already being successful. There aren’t many things worse than people who are full of themselves. Don’t get me wrong, confidence is a huge advantage, but cockiness will get you nowhere.
With that being said, search and take opportunities that will allow you to improve. For example, if you struggle with public speaking, then volunteer at a class at your university to do a presentation. If you are self-conscious about any skill that you possess, make time and effort to improve it. It might cause you some stress initially. However, when you master it, you will have a confidence boost as your weakness will become your asset. Then there will be one less thing holding you back.
3. Join one of student organisations or clubs
Universities usually offer plenty of diverse choices of student clubs and organisations. There is a considerable probability that every student can find something that fits their interests and allows them to acquire more practical skills in the field that they are interested in.
Student organisations are an excellent way to gain valuable experience in an area that you take an interest in, and usually, they do not require any work experience to join.
4. Apply for internships
Another great way to become more attractive in terms of employability is to get an internship. The process of applying there is usually not as easy as it is with student organisations because they have higher expectations.
To be considered a candidate, it is most often required to either take part in multiple additional activities (such as being on the student board, a member of a club, to actively take part in conferences, etc.) or to already have some work experience.
Internships will give you a glimpse of what the industry you want to work for looks like from within
Internships will give you a first taste of what it’s like working for a company and will let you have a glimpse of what the industry you want to work for looks like from within. Internships are either offered during the school year or over summer vacation. If you have daily, full-time studies, then it will be probably better to try and get an internship during vacation. If you can get a summer internship abroad, it would be a perfect occasion to travel and improve in a foreign language.
Even if such change might be a step out of your comfort zone, it will be a valuable experience as the ability to acclimatize quickly to a significant change is an excellent skill to possess and will be appreciated by any future employer. After an experience like this one, you will vastly increase your employability.
After an internship, you will be a strong candidate for most employers, not only because of the experience that will spare them the trouble of teaching you everything from scratch, but also because it shows your ambition and interest in that particular field.
5. Be in the ‘search-mode’ nonstop
To increase your odds of getting your dream job, you need to be always on the lookout for opportunities. Everybody wants to find a company that shares their values, has a friendly working culture, promotion opportunities. And they are looking for a position that not only interests them but also is challenging.
If you want to work in the future at such a great place, you need to collect a lot of experience to get there.
You need to be always on the lookout for new opportunities
To get into student organisations, get internships, a job, it is essential to never stop searching. Unfortunately, in this case, opportunities will not come knocking on your door. Most probably, you will be forced to put an effort and commit some time to find them. If you do it regularly, you increase your chances of finding something valuable that might interest you.
6. Attend job fairs and events at the university
Attend job fairs and all university events regularly. It is a perfect way to find new opportunities and meet intriguing people. Even though we live in the era of the internet, real-life still provides a richer experience.
You will get a much better picture of how a particular student club or a work position looks like from a face-to-face conversation. Try to talk with a person promoting it.
7. Keep focus on finding new contacts and maintaining the old ones
The more people you know, the more people recognise you. So the easier it will be for you to find a job. By expanding your network of contacts, you will be able to reach out to people who might offer you a position somewhere. This way you can increase your chances that somebody will recommend you as a future employee.
8. Create a creative resume
Among thousands of resumes recruiters receive, make yours stand out. However, don’t go too crazy as it still needs to be neat and readable. With that in mind, you can use a different (but clear and legible) font.
You can also use an unusual background colour. It can be any colour as long as it’s toned down and doesn’t strike the eye as vibrant and intrusive. The text should be sharp, understandable, and easy to read.
HR personnel gets thousands of applications, so, naturally, they get tired and bored after some time. In that case, they might speed up the process of looking through them, committing less time per application; thus, your resume must catch their attention.
9. Put yourself out there
Use the perks of living in a world of te internet. Create a LinkedIn profile and display your resume on sites with job adverts. This way, you will provide access to your resume. And ‘head-hunters’ will be able to reach out to you if they consider you to be the right candidate for a particular position. Apart from looking for a job yourself, now you have jobs looking for you!
10. Don’t neglect university duties
During all this madness of perfecting yourself and collecting experiences, don’t forget that most importantly, you are still a student, and you need to graduate.
Allocate time to study and complete assignments. After all, it is the studies that are good place to acquire theoretical knowledge that will be the basis for further implementation of your professional aspirations.
