Three Tips to Land Your Dream Job

You may think the term “dream job” is an oxymoron. Yet we can likely all relate to wanting a job that has meaning, and that we find both personally fulfilling and financially rewarding. These qualities are essential elements of a “dream job.” Many people can probably relate to the “nightmare job” – one that is dispiriting, time-consuming, and doesn’t pay well. Once you’ve been there it’s important to recognize that you never want to go back. Everyone deserves to find meaningful work, so here are three tips to help you in your search.

1. Know why you were selected over other candidates for your current and prior positions.

   This can be tricky to discern but it is possible to gain some insight through a little self-reflection. It’s well within reason to ask this question of your manager or hiring manager after you have been there for a little while. It usually comes up in the final phases of the interview process as they begin to emphasize the things about you that were top on their list for making their decision. So pay attention to the insight the hiring team provides, since this will be very helpful in targeting your next career move into just the right position by emphasizing the skill set and competencies that landed you in the current one.

2. Know what you were hired to do and what you accomplished in each role.

   These are the critical points to understand, to present in your resume or CV, and be prepared to highlight in your interview. Find ways to discuss and emphasize your tangible accomplishments. These accomplishments should be within the realm of what you were hired to do. Don’t make the mistake of getting off track talking about things you achieved that were outside of that scope. This is a time to stay positive and share the things you did to move the company or department forward.

3. Know your strengths and weaknesses.

   This aspect of self-awareness is important in the interview process. You should know your strengths and be ready to talk about them with confidence and humility. Your strengths are not the same as your accomplishments and your weaknesses are not your failures. Be prepared to explore your weaknesses honestly yet be adept at reframing them in a way that shows that you are aware of them. You could express that you’re working on improving them or you are aware of the particular weakness. Or you can find a way to be humorous about it; just be sure that it’s not a major weakness that you’re downplaying. Be sure that it’s not a required skill or important aspect of the organization’s corporate culture. Let’s face it, most of us have a few weaknesses so choose wisely and frame it well and you’ll show the hiring committee that you have a level of self-awareness and maturity that makes you a wise pick.

Contact BrainWorks, one of the leading executive recruiters in the world, to help guide you through your search for a digital marketing and ecommerce job.