It should never be just about finding ‘a job’ but the one that is right for YOU. It’s essential to choose a job that fits your personal circumstances, allows you to pursue your career goals, and is enjoyable. Therefore, answering the question, how to find the right job, we should consider several different issues. You can read about our 11 golden rules in the text below.
First, some questions to help you figure out how to define your dream job:
- What have you enjoyed studying the most? Courses you did at a university? Some additional classes? Something you learned on your own?
- Do you have a friend who does a job that fascinates you? What aspects make it so appealing?
- If you’ve had a job that didn’t suit you, decide why was that so. Was it your position? The means of work? Your company’s field of work?
- How are you around other people? Are you an introvert or more of an extrovert? Do you enjoy working alone or with others?
- If money was not a factor, what jobs would you consider, and why?
If you have answered the above questions then more or less you have an idea what aspects to look for in a job. Now I will introduce to you the way of finding the right one for you.
Commit enough time
It’s important to realise that this process will take a while. If you want to have satisfying results, then you must engage and commit enough of your time for this activity. Sometimes it can takes even a few months, but the results can be much more satisfying.
Analise your personality
Think about whether you are ‘promotion-focused’ or ‘prevention-focused’ person
Think about whether you are more promotion-focused or prevention-focused. Promotion-focused means that you constantly strive to achieve more. Such a person would enjoy an adrenaline rush and wouldn’t mind uncertainty. Prevention-focused would describe a person who needs stability in life, and uncertainty would cause them to be in distress.
This could help you see which type of work suits you better and what to pay attention to in job offers. It’s awful to get stuck in a tedious, stable job if you are promotion-focused and vice versa.
Know your experience and skills
Analise your work and life experience, the set of skills that you gained, and what doors your education has opened for you. It’s always possible and even encouraged to increase your set of skills.
However, for this moment, you have to make it work with what you have. It will save time for both: you and the recruiters if you send out applications only for jobs you are qualified for.
Make a plan
To know what to look for, you need a perspective of where your ambition could take you. Make a self-development plan to get a picture of what steps you need to take to get to wherever you see yourself in the future.
Create a picture of your path to your goal – this way you will see more clearly how to find the right job.
Create a profile of your ideal job
Take some time to think about what you search for in the right job. Consider such aspects as a position you wish to take, promotion opportunities, means of work, the sector of the company, work style, etc. This can be done based on previously answered questions and your character analysis.
Be constantly in the ‘search mode’
If you want to find the perfect job, then you need to be on the lookout non-stop. Instead of spending just a few days job searching, commit a little each day. Consequently, you will increase your chances of finding the perfect one, especially that every day new job offers appear on the market.
Use any connections you have
Don’t limit yourself just to the internet. Try talking to friends, going on job fairs, reaching out to any business connections you have made throughout the years. If you are a student, you can see whether your university offers any help in terms of finding a job, which they usually do. Usually it’s easier to get information, how to find the right job, from someone more experienced.
Be able to make small sacrifices
If you have created a profile of your ideal job, then you somewhat know the factors that define it. However, you shouldn’t roughly stick to it as it will significantly reduce the chances of finding anything.
Let’s say you have found 10 things that define your dream workplace, and a job offer you found matches 7 of those, that is still a satisfying result. Unless one out of those 3 missing was the most important one for you, you should still take your chances and apply there. Keep in mind that your attitude and your work conditions could change for the better in the future.
Check your future employer’s web presence
Check the company’s social media, like LinkedIn and Facebook, to see their means of work, their work atmosphere, etc. Going through their web page, you can also encounter some useful information (sometimes they have a detailed recruitment process information). The more you know about the company, the better you know whether you will fit in there.
Use a job interview as a testing ground
During a job interview, the recruiter sees whether you are the right match for the company. However, you can and should also use this opportunity to check whether this company suits you. It might happen that the recruiter will like you, but you will get some off feelings. In such circumstances, it’s okay to decline the offer or ask for some time to think.
It’s not all about the money
The benefits a job can offer you can be much more rewarding than a huge salary. Depending on your character and life circumstances, you should pay attention to different things.
If you are a student, then probably flexible working hours will be appealing to you. If you are a very social and open person, then you might need a dependable and integrated team to work efficiently. Small traditions a company has, like common outings, might become an essential factor that will make you enjoy work.
Summary
I hope that with the help of these tips, you will find the strength and will to commit enough time and effort into finding an ideal job. Doing what you love for work is worth the efforts that had to be put into finding such a job. If you need to explore this topic even more, take a look at this article, in which we write about how to find your dream job.
