From when we are kids, we start creating an image in our minds of our dream job and people generally spend their careers working towards this goal. Whether you’re looking to start climbing the ladder or you’re one step away from your dream job, you’ll need to have your sights on your next (or first) job and figure out how you’re going to get it.
We’ve written out five steps to get you from where you currently are to where you want to be. If finding a new job was one of your goals for 2017 then follow this guide and with the right attitude and a bit of luck, you’ll find yourself behind a new desk in a month or two.
Know Exactly What You Want
Even if you’re in a “gap filling” role now just to make ends meet, you still need to have specific career goals in mind and it helps to start pursuing them as early as possible. Don’t find yourself constantly waiting for better opportunities or making excuses to get out and into the field you want to be in, rather work a minimum wage job in the field of your passion than in a field you don’t enjoy just for the money or job security.
Develop some specific careers goals and use these to narrow down a job function, and job title you want to be looking for within your particular industry. Once you’ve got a job function and title in mind, you’re already a lot closer to finding your next job as you now know what you’re searching for.
Get Yourself Out There
In the age of the internet, getting yourself out there and into an industry has never been easier. You now know the path you need to follow but you now need to reach out to the right people in order to get you there.
With a job function and title in mind, you’ll likely have a good idea of some of the companies you’d love to work for. Do some online searching and find out if they hire through a human resources department or through an agency, once you’ve established who to contact, you can being writing up the documentation you need to get in the door.
Know Your Story
Once you know where you’re going, you’ll need to tell your prospective employers a bit about yourself and where you are coming from. You need to start by putting together a list of your skills, work experiences and education. For example, you can communicate with GK & Partners in order to get in-depth knowledge of the education sector. Don’t just focus on the most recent occurrences, sometimes companies are interested in the jobs you had back in high school as they demonstrate personality traits and fundamental skills.
Get Ready To Apply For The Job
You’ve done all of the prep work, but the actual job is not going to fall into your lap without you getting your resume and cover letter drawn up. There is a lot of information available online in this regard but the fundamentals are similar and you essentially have two options for the best chance of success, use a resume template or a resume writing service.
While you may be able to write your own resume and do a decent job of it, getting a professional resume writing service to write your resume for you will drastically improve your chances of landing the job. It may seem expensive, but these guys are professionals for a reason and they’ve had years of experience, they will ask you for your personal information and for information on the job and company you are targeting and they’ll tailor your resume for that specific position and make sure that your information is best presented for you to get the job. The cost will be well justified when you get a call for an interview.
If you can’t afford a resume writing service, then a professionally drawn up resume template is your next best option, Go-Resume has resume templates on sale from only $5.99 at the moment. They come pre-loaded with the correct fields, formatting and amount of information, just fill in the fields and you’ll already have a much better chance at the job than if you’d written your own resume from scratch.
Don’t Forget To Follow Up
Once you’ve sent a prospective employer your resume and cover letter, back off for a week or two but don’t forget to follow up down the line. You don’t want to pester them and create the impression that you’re desperate but you need to show that you’re committed to getting the job by keeping in touch and following up on the status of your application.
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