How to find your dream job

[Badshah Mamun]

How to find your dream job

By Andrea Noonan

Everyone needs to look for a job at some point in their lives. For some, more than  others. We've all had our employment low points. I was less than enthused about a job I had archiving council files in a dingy London basement filled with rat droppings and hundred-year-old dust.

I also know how daunting it can be when you're faced with putting together your first resume or selection criteria when you're just out of school or university.

So what are some tips to actually get the job you are looking for and avoid your nine to five being elbow deep in rat poo? I spoke to Sally Brooks, RMIT University Career Development and Employment Manager, to get her top tips on getting the dream job.

Sally identifies five main points to remember:

1. Start with a strong resume.


Check for mistakes, don't rely on spell check, and get someone fresh to read it over. Balance it visually and professionally and tailor it to each job you apply for. Use relevant information for the job, rather than chronologically.
"It's critical to understand what the employer is looking for when recruiting and these clues are often in the advertisement," Sally says.

2. Research the industry of the job you're going for.


"If you send out the same job application 100 times, you are almost guaranteed not to get a job. You need to apply for fewer jobs and target the applications and build links between your experience and the job offered," she says.

3. Address all parts of the selection criteria and use real life examples.


"Be clear about the criteria and reflect back on your experiences, hobbies, part-time work and school. Pick out examples and relate them to the selection criteria because employers will base interview questions around this," she says.
Sally recommends using the STAR-L method when addressing selection criteria.

"Employers are looking at how you fit into a company so your behavioural past predicts your behavioural future," she says.

4. Practise your interview techniques.


Practise questions you are likely to be asked so you can give fuller answers in an interview situation.

"Practise aloud and start to realise where your stumbling blocks are. Particularly practise behavioural questions, like 'tell me about a time' and talk about that situation. Employers are looking for examples," she says.
"Switch your mobile phone off and don't use SMS language when communicating with a company and make sure your email address is appropriate to the work environment - make the shift to business communication," Sally says.

5. Tap into the hidden job market.


A small percentage of jobs are gained through advertised positions and positions are often found by word-of-mouth.

"It's important to use networks, friends or family who know someone looking for a job. So ask around. Join professional associations, student memberships in your professional area can increase your networking potential," she says.
On the other side of the job fence I spoke to Julia Dwyer, graduate program manager at Coles.

Julia received a massive 3500 applications for the 12 graduate positions across IT, HR and marketing in the Coles 2008 intake. The applications were then cut to 300, then 80 and then a final 30, or two to three applicants for each role. She says the biggest mistake people make is sending a standard resume, leaving names of other companies or the wrong contact person and spelling errors.

She says as an employer she is not out to trick people in interviews, just to work out whether a candidate will fit in with the company.

"When in an interview, be yourself. We're looking to see if you'll fit into the culture of the company and it's really important to show you have an understanding of the industry," she says.

Her advice on resumes is to make sure extra-curricular activities are included as these skills are transferable in the workplace and set applicants apart.

"Don't pad out your experience, but it's key to put in what you've achieved. If someone can show leadership capacity, no matter if it's with a basketball team we will look at it."

A trap young people can fall into when getting their first job is realising their rights in the workplace. JobWatch is a Victorian employment legal rights centre and receives 20,000 calls a year from Victorian workers, a quarter from young people.

"Desperation or eagerness to get a job means that young people often accept a job not really understanding the contract, or even reading it," says executive director Zana Bytheway.

Ms Bytheway also warns young people of scam advertisements.

"Make sure there is a proper address, and be very wary of anything you need to send money into for training, look for an office address and make sure you know your employment rights," she says.
Weird (and less than wonderful) jobs people do to get by Doug Gibb, 20. Studying a bachelor of mechanical engineering and business, Swinburne University. Earned $13 an hour working at a salami casing factory, which packed cases of the thin outer layer of salami. Worked for three weeks during the uni break.

Alicia Fernandez, 27. Studying a bachelor of production, Victorian College of the Arts. During Christmas worked in a shopping centre as a chaperone for a giant teddy so it didn't crash into anything. Was also stuck working in the shopping centre lifts for 11 hours with the same Christmas carol playing over again, Maria Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You.

Miles Hurrell, 20. Studying a bachelor of media communication, Swinburne University. Worked since November unloading 25 kilogram bags of lactose and starch from shipping containers and putting them on pallets for distribution.
Jacqui Bell, 23. Studying a master of architecture, University of Melbourne. Went door-knocking the streets of Melbourne to sell a restaurant package, which involved going to the restaurant five times and getting the sixth time free. She left the job after one day when she was informed the job was on commission, she sold one package in nine hours.



Picking a Job that suits


Whether you're looking for a part-time, stop-gap, or career job, it's really important to find something you're interested in. Penny Warner is Careers and Employment, Student Development Program Manager at the University of Melbourne and says it's crucial to be discerning about the jobs you apply for.

"It is important to find something you are interested in and that can often be challenging to find out. Do some career investigation and really shape up an idea of what you might want to do," she says.

Her advice, whether at school or university, is to see your local careers counsellor to get a picture of what jobs might suit.

Penny says any work experience is useful and to consider all work experience as transferable skills in time management, people skills and leadership skills.

"Work experience is a really valuable resource. Don't leave it to your final year to start thinking about what you're going to do after it, start your investigation early. Find out about courses or careers and ask where is that going to lead me?
"People will be happier in a job that interests them because it engages them and they are likely to stay in it longer.

"It's usual for young people not to know what they want to do and that's OK. Don't get too anxious, your career will unfold as you start taking the steps, doing work experience and a course."

Government website career information: www.myfuture.edu.au

Use the STAR-L approach when addressing selection criteria and in interviews:

Situation: Outline a situation where you developed a particular experience or used the required skills or qualities.
Task: What was your role and what did you have to do?
Action: What did you do and how did you do it?
Result: What did you achieve? What were the results?
Learning: What did you learn from the experience. How would you do it differently next time?

Published: 07 April 2008

Source: http://content.mycareer.com.au/advice-research/search/finding-your-dream-job.aspx