12 Steps That You Absolutely Need to Follow to Land Your Dream Job

“I knew exactly what to do. But, in a much more real sense, I had no idea what to do.” Michael Scott, The Office.

With the present world being nothing more than a rat race where mortals are competing to prove themselves better than the other, the whole struggle of landing your dream job can be daunting.

While it’s certainly possible to turn your dreams into reality, it’s also true that it comes with its side of lows. Especially when you’re just starting, everything might seem like a mess. You probably have not figured out what you want to do yet, or maybe you just realized that the job you’ve been in for the past ten years is a drudge and you never liked the profession in the first place.

As terrifying as all this may sound, we want you to know that’s alright, and that’s natural. We’ve all been there and done that. The first thing you need to do to embark on your journey of landing yourself up a position in your dream join is to ‘start’. Start somewhere, small or big. If you’re feeling lost and all over the place, we’re here to help.

We have carefully chalked out the initial twelve steps that are essential for you to work upon, to bag yourself a job in your dream company. From figuring out what you want to build your resume – every crucial step that can make or break your career has been jotted down below.

So pull up your socks and delve deeper. We hope you get started as soon as you finish reading!

Contacts matter

The world might say that talent comes first, and it most certainly does, but what comes next is contact. Use your network wisely, build contacts in the field you want to prosper.

A few references here and a few recommendations there might land you up in your dream job. Socialize more, meet new people, scrutinize your social circle, and pick out the ones who you think might be helpful for you in the long run.

Approach them and try to make an impression, You never know who might turn out to be someone you would forever be grateful to.

Build a strong resume

Resumes are there for a reason – to help a recruiter judge a prospective employee solely based on their talents and experience, and not looks or personality or behavior. These do come in the picture though, only later.

So make sure that you have a strong and impressive resume that can make a powerful first impression. A resume is an inanimate incarnation of you, that would represent you when it first reaches a recruiter’s hands.

Fill it with all your accomplishments – it can be as small as you leading the student council back in school, to you working as the Vice President of a company. Every little achievement matters, so jot down as much as you can recall.

Mention your work experience as well, as it plays a key role in showing that you know how to work in the corporate world. Mention your strengths, and always keep updating your resume.

Before submitting, glance through it once and check whether it’s properly updated or not. A strong resume can take you a long way.

It’s never too late to start afresh

Even if it’s been years that you’ve been working in a firm, it’s alright to start afresh. It’s possible that you landed up a job by chance, or that it was not your first choice. Age is just a number, and you can start from scratch whenever need be.

Chalk out your likes and dislikes, find out what you’ve always been interested in- it can also be a minor hobby that you like to do once in a while, and see if it can be changed into a legitimate profession or not, and just go for it.

Always remember, if you are passionate about something and like doing it, you will undoubtedly be good at it. To err is human, to go after what you want is divine!

Be willing to keep learning

The process of learning knows no bounds. You learn when you’re a kid and you learn when you’re older, and the point is to always be willing and open to learning new things. Be open to new ideas and seek knowledge.

If you feel someone younger to you is more experienced than you, keep your ego aside and listen- they might offer you some life-changing advice or insight. If you refuse to learn because you wish to nurture your petty ego, you will hinder your growth.

Do freelancing or volunteering to make your resume stronger, bag an internship even if it pays you meagerly to gain experience. Don’t keep your knowledge limited to books and papers, you’ll always learn a lot more when you apply those in practical life.

Nobody ever started big, but the only difference between successful and unsuccessful people out there is that the former were willing to start small.

You will have your own “know it all” moments in life, but keeping that kind of attitude always-on will take you nowhere.