Guest Post: Nikita Patel

Nikita is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students. Here she writes about getting the job you want.

The first and most important step to finding your dream job is to write down what it really is. This can be discovered by defining what your talents, integrity, and passions are. Once you have the list of the companies that appeal to your desired potential, think about what you could do to achieve your dream job by selling yourself to a potential employer.

It's imperative that the next step in the process of finding your dream job is to glorify your resume, since we know that the resume’s function is to get you the interview and not the job. Put every line in your resume to the test. Every statement should indicate a benefit to hiring you over someone else. Once you have the right resume in place, cover the bases of aggressive job hunting by applying to different companies’ websites, corporate networking websites, and employment agencies. Consider sending resumes to multiple employers so that you get as many interviews as possible. Once you have sent out your resume, follow up on phone to make sure your resumes have been received.

Try to develop corporate relationships by contacting alumni of your university who are currently working for the company you are interested in, attending technical conferences, and attending networking events. The job seekers are looking for someone who fits into the company and is of value to the job. To fit their requirement, research the company, its culture, the person you are interviewing with, what they are looking for, and what they need to know about you to be impressed and want to work with you. Before the day of the interview you should get a good night’s sleep. Most interviewers state that they hire most of the candidates in their company based upon their instincts and that they can judge the interviewee within the first few seconds of meeting them. Keeping this in mind, on the day of the interview, you should be appropriately dressed and show up before the interviewer with confidence. Be prepared for small talk and be respectful to everyone. Tell the interviewers some of your professional stories as per the STAR form (S-Situation, T-Tasks, A- Action, R-Results) which will convey more information, beyond your resume, about you. Try to take a proactive approach during the interview. Ask the interviewer a lot of questions that will illuminate the information you need to know as to whether you will actually enjoy working in the company. Lead the interviewer to talk about compensation and once he does that, do not hesitate to ask for what you are worth. You can get approximate data about current salary statistics by visiting websites like salary.com. After the interview ask them when can you expect to hear back and if you are required to do any follow-up. Follow up with them accordingly, and that’s when you thank them and make up for any potential blunders you made during the interview.

Networking played a key role to getting my dream job. Though I already had a job in hand, since the job required me to stay away from my family, I wanted to move back to my home where my family stayed. This made me wonder if I would actually be able to get a good job in my home town. At the same time I met a project manager who was in my Business Unit through a common friend. It was then that I told him about my willingness to move to my hometown. Later the same day he asked me to send my resume to his friend who was a project manager in a reputable company in my hometown. And, voila! One week after I sent my resume, I interviewed with the same company and finally ended up getting the job I had wished for.

I realized that networking should be part of your daily work when you are in the midst of a job search. In fact, I have heard people say that networking starts long before the job search, and you probably don’t even realize that you are doing it.