Let me guess: you don’t want just any job… you want your dream job. And in an ideal world, there would be only 7 steps to land your dream job and you’d land it tomorrow! 

I’m not a mind reader. I’m just a good listener! As a job search expert and career coach, I have listened to hundreds of job seekers talk about their greatest struggles, deepest desires, and biggest goals. I hear you and I see you. Let’s get you to where you want to be with the 7 steps to land your dream job…in any market.

The 7 Steps To Land Your Dream Job

These steps are universally applicable to any career you’re looking for. It doesn’t matter if you’re entry-level or going for a VP or C-level executive position. It doesn’t matter if you’re going into non-profit, government, tech, entertainment, professional services

Step 1: Boost Your Confidence

The first thing any jobseeker must do to set themselves up for success is build up their growth mindset and really let go of anything that’s been hindering them or holding them back. Building up confidence is crucial because as job seekers, we can feel really discouraged. We might start to jump to the worst-case scenario if we don’t hear something back, and the rejections can build into self-doubt.

That’s a very natural reaction! But in order to get to where you want to be, patience and resilience are the key ingredients to your success. A lot of people I work with are just focused on resumes, but building your confidence up is critical to your success.

Step 2: Get Clear On Your Dream Job

We always know where we are, but without knowing exactly what our destination is, we tend to become scattered and unfocused. This might look like having ten different versions of our resumes or applying for a different type of role each day.

Get clear on your dream job. Figure out what your values are, what kind of opportunity matches and compliments your skills, your interests, and the impact that you want to make. When you can hone in on that, you’ll be ready to start working on the next step of this job search process.

Related Article: Career Clarity: The Most Important Yet Overlooked Aspect of Job Searching

Step 3: Polish Your Personal Brand

Your personal brand is what people are saying about you when you’re not in the room and you control that both online as well as offline. 

It is very common practice nowadays for companies to Google search your name. When I’m Googling your name, what is populating? Are you showcasing that you’re an expert in whatever it is that you say you’re an expert or seasoned professional in? You want to be able to control your narrative so that organizations can really see you as the candidate that they should hire compared to a lot of other people who have very similar skills, education level, and background experience. 

Step 4: Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile

 One mistake I see a lot of people make is pouring all of their job search energy into their resume. But let me tell you, your LinkedIn profile is actually more important than your resume. Your LinkedIn profile is what allows you the opportunity to become visible and get found from your dream employers every single day.

Recruiters are on LinkedIn every day looking for candidates just like you, but if your LinkedIn isn’t optimized and strong, you’re not going to be found. And even worse, if you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, you’re sending a signal to your employer that you’re not as serious about your career as you say you are. Having a polished LinkedIn profile showcases what kind of attention to detail you’ll have and what kind of effort you’ll put forth if you’re given this role.

Related Article: CREATE A LINKEDIN PROFILE OPTIMIZED FOR JOB SEARCHING

Step 5: Get Visible

I believe that it’s possible to become visible even if you don’t have any connections. A lot of my clients actually get just their jobs from strangers, meaning they just messaged somebody on LinkedIn for the first time ever.

If you have a strategic message and are able to concisely share your mission and impact, you can make connections that ultimately lead to your dream job. 

Step 6: Position Yourself Correctly During Interviews

Interviewing is not about being perfect. Interviewing is really about positioning yourself to snag that opportunity because you know exactly what the interviewer is looking for.

You’ve done your research, you’ve done your prep work, and you know how to close the interview. If you leave that interview room and get an update letting you know that you were overqualified or under-qualified, it just means you didn’t position yourself well enough during that interview.

Take a look at this interview preparation video and make sure that you’re starting to think about what is it that employers really want.

Step 7: Negotiate Your Offer

If you’re at this stage, congratulations on receiving an offer! It’s really important to make sure that you know how to position yourself firmly yet politely while also backing yourself up with accurate salary data reports. 

Using accurate salary data reports will give you the confidence you need when presenting the reported information to the company. When you can provide specific information from compensation analysts and consultants, it’s really powerful. 

So there you have it. Those are the step-by-step foundations that if followed in order can help you land a dream job as quickly as possible. 

Emily Liou and her team believe that everyone can land their dream job. Want to find out more about how you can wake up happier on Mondays? Whether you like to work at your own pace or need a group to hold you accountable, there’s a Happily Hired program that fits your needs here.

 

 

Emily Liou and her team believe that everyone can land their dream job. Want to find out more about how you can wake up happier on Mondays? Whether you like to work at your own pace or have a group to hold you accountable, there’s a Happily Hired job search program to shortcut your job search today.

 

Spread the love