So you’re wanting to find your dream job. As we mentioned in the first part of this series, it’s imperative that you focus on writing the perfect CV. But once that’s done you’ll now need to focus on finding available job roles that you’re suitable for. You might be looking for a job to start you on your career path. Perhaps you’re not happy in your current role and are looking for a different job opportunity. Finally, you might be happy in your role but are looking for a different organisation.

Whatever the case, the first part of your job search should be to identify potential and related job titles to the field you’re interested in. This is only going to help getting you more organized and efficient as you look for the right opportunities. Always remember to pay attention to the experience and qualifications required, and most importantly whether it’s a company that you want to work for.

What do you want to do?

If you’re looking for a job but aren’t sure what you want to do then you’ll need to start by looking at yourself. No, I’m not telling you to ‘follow your passion’ or ‘do what you love’. There are many things that I like, possibly even love, but that doesn’t mean I want to turn it into a career. You want to find an occupation that’s a good motivational fit – more on this below.

Even if you’ve started your career and have come to the realisation that it’s not for you, there’s no need to panic! It may not be widely discussed, but it’s a perfectly normal feeling to have. How are you supposed to know if you’ll be happy in a role you’ve never actually done it before?

When I was unsure of what I wanted to do, the best piece of advice I was given was to make a list of all the careers I didn’t want to do. Surprisingly, This then left me with a handful of opportunities to pursue. Furthermore, you need to define who you are as a person – ask yourself the following questions, and from the answers you get, try to find industry’s that match your developed criteria.

Ask yourself these questions:

Skills

  • What do you do well?
  • Do you look forward to using any particular skills in the workplace?
  • Are there any topics you’d like to learn about?

Experience

  • What did you dislike about your previous job; was it the role, team, company, or industry?
  • Of all the jobs you have ever held, which was the most enjoyable and why?
  • Remember a time when you had a really good day at work – What did you do that day? What did you achieve and what was so enjoyable?

Interests

  • What interests you?
  • Have any advertised jobs caught your attention?
  • What topics do you enjoy talking about?
  • If you could try any job for the day, what would it be?

Values

  • What matters to you?
  • Who are the kind of people you like to spend with?

And finally:

  • If all jobs paid the same wage, what job would you want to do?

Motivations & Goals

As mentioned earlier, you want to find an occupation that provides a good motivational fit. It may seem like everyone has different goals & motivations, but we all focus in particular domains of life. This can be categorised by Work, Love, Family and Health. This also means that everyone has similar strengths and weaknesses.

Are you someone who thinks about your goals as opportunities for advancement, achievement & rewards? If so, you follow what’s known as promotion-focused goals. You should therefore look for job roles that are fast paced and rapidly changing, such as marketing roles or Technology based roles.

On the other hand, if you’re someone who likes security and wants to fulfil your responsibilities, then you follow what’s known as prevention-focused goals. Consider careers where your thoroughness and attention to detail are valued such as cybersecurity or data science roles.

Research the Roles

Conducting research about potential job roles and titles will provide you with information that will not only make the search easier but also allow you to present yourself more convincingly as a potential candidate. There are two ways in which you can begin doing some research on job titles and both are equally important: online research and networking.

Remember: Job titles are not consistent. If you’re staying In your current industry but looking for a new company, be aware that what your past employers called you may not be the same for other organisations. Although this is frustrating, it provides you with the opportunity to evaluate jobs in your sector and find out what responsibilities are necessary for each role. If you know anyone in the industry you want to work in, then ask around to try to find out what the job is like. This will also help when it comes to future interviews.

Finding Job Roles

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a very powerful site for job seekers to improve their job search. When searching for a job they also recommend similar jobs that you can apply for. At the bottom of the page you will notice two valuable categories:  “People who have viewed this job also viewed” and “search more jobs”. Both of these might be helpful in gathering additional titles. If you want to pay for the LinkedIn premium service, then this shows you what skills the role requires, whether you’re in the top percentage of candidates, amongst other things.

Recruiters

Does the job hunting process fill you with anxiety and dread? An option for you could be to use a recruitment agency like RedCat Digital. Not only do we have a vast base of clients and job opportunitites available, but our candidates are our top priority, and we’re here to help you every step of the way. We can help you find the right role and will help you with our top interview techniques.

 

The third part of this series will be released in March 2018, so follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter for our daily news and updates.

 

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