How to Land Your Dream Job

Wouldn't it be lovely if we could just jump into our perfect career paths and have everything seamlessly fall right into place? Maybe you know what you want to do but you’re not sure what to specialize, or maybe you know what company you want to work for but you don’t have any contact there. Well don’t let little road blocks get in your way. You can have the career of your life and here’s how.

NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK

College contacts are easy contacts for nabbing interviews in your desired field. Contact your university alumni network, your universities career center, and keep in contact with many of your professors and ask if there are workshops, lectures, or networking events in your field that you could participate in. Another option is to email everyone you know. Make sure it’s a tastefully done email asking if anyone has contacts in your desired field. You never know if your friend has a cousin who has a husband that could put you in contact with someone or give you some helpful pointers. Lastly, don’t be afraid to be social at the gym, weddings, and cocktail parties. You can often make the best contacts in relaxed non-working environments.

If you’re currently unemployed, have a set of personal business cards made up with your name, e-mail address, phone number and the general field you’re in like “writer.” It looks professional and don’t have to scramble for a pen and paper that could easily get tossed.

Look for looking networking event in your area. I’ve used Meet Up to find some great women’s networking groups in my local area. You can also find some other pretty cool groups too, it doesn’t always have to be about business.

Make sure to follow up with contacts too. People tend to have a lot on their plate most of the time, so polite follow ups are always great ways to keep you in on someone’s radar.

SEEK OUT INTERNSHIPS

For me, an internship was what opened the doors for me. Yes, it does often mean little or no pay, but if you stick around long enough, do an excellent job, have a good attitude, and impress the right people, you could be offered a full time position, or a freelance job.

As an intern at NBC I didn’t get the producing internship I had originally wanted, but instead got an internship in the marketing department. I only had to complete 100 hours on interning, but by end of summer I had racked up over 300 hours and interviewed for a full time position that had just opened. I ended up getting the job because of the work I had done and for the relationships I had made internally.

Companies are usually flooded with interns during the summer and are dying for help in the fall and spring. If you have the time, those are the best times to apply and remember work hard, it pays off.