Foto by Hamed Saber

Part 2: Taking Action: Finding the HOW

In the article "Finding the right career (1)" last week, I wanted to find out, how we can decide what the right career looked like, by investigating our personal strengths, our passion and our past successes where we created value for other people.

So let’s assume you read part 1 of “Finding the right career” and you looked first inside yourself. You decided what your dream job is, what you really want to do and maybe you even know where you want to work.

But how do we go from here?

1. Get started

Don’t wait for a right opportunity or a right mood, get started in your field by doing what you want to do. For example, if you want to be in the creative gaming industry start to produce what you want to do, for instance game-levels that other people can see and maybe even play. If you want to program for the internet, start a personal website with program-code you want to produce. If you want to become an actor or an actress start in a local theatre, if you want to become a manager, look for a project and a group of people in your desired the field.

When you get started you instantly begin learning in your desired field, which is always essential for success. You will get new ideas and see opportunities to advance, in other words, it will accelerate you to the job you want. You will also create something that you can show later to potential employers. Maybe you have already started, then depending on your current skill level get to the next level or focus more on the next steps.

2. Role-model

This is a great way to get further to your goal of finding the ideal career. Look for people in your field that are where you want to be. Those are the people who have achieved what you want and are (or were) on top in your desired field – simply people who you admire. Well known examples would be Steve Jobs of Apple if you want to make it in the computer business or Jodie Foster if you want to become an actress. Michael Jordan if you want to get a career in sports. Of course there are more people that are not that famous in a more specific field and you probably know them. Then try find out what they did to get where they are, maybe there is an auto-biography or other reading material about these people. If it is someone you can reach out to, just ask him, maybe you can do an interview with him. Find out how your role-model achieved what you want and what drives them, meaning the underlying motivations.

Role-modeling doesn’t mean that you blindly adapt what others did. Use it as an inspiration and work with it, add your personal skills and adapt. In any case it is great input.

3. Present yourself

Present yourself and your work in a good shape. It always helps if you can add a great portfolio of your work to a job application. The other side will be impressed if you invested your energy here and this will give you a much easier entry-point. Use the best fitting way for the job you want: a website with your profile and work, a presentation in print or as a Powerpoint or PDF. A manuscript (if it’s writing) or a program (programming) one can easily check out. Be profound with your presentation and make it look professional, invest some time and energy here (but don’t overdo it), this is important, since it will create an image of yourself for the other person.

4. Network actively

You have to actively get in touch with people. Get in touch with people that do the same as you and get in touch with people that could help you, or hire you. A great way to do this is the internet today. You social business networks like LinkedIn and Xing (or even Facebook) to contact and connect with people that are in your desired field. Offer them something where you can give them any value and just ask them about what you want. Just do it, the worst thing that could happen is no reply. The best thing that can happen is a job offer or at least a valuable contact that can help you on your journey. It is important that you first fill out your personal profile and add information about your skills and your results, as described in step number 3. Internet forums are also a very good way to connect with people in your field.

Visit fairs and other exhibitions in your field of interest and connect with people there. It is advisable to have a professional business card at hand and maybe your presentation of your work (see step 1 and 3). People on fairs usually are there to present their company and work, so they like to talk to you. But they are probably not the right person to talk to for you. Ask for the right person, i.e. product manager, developer or marketing manager etc., if you don’t want to get a lengthy introduction to their products. If you get in contact, present yourself naturally and with confidence, you really have something to offer. Get back to them after the show via phone if possible to push to the next level, at least write an email with further information about you and a next step suggestion.

Besides that you can network constantly, if you are on a party or any other public gathering, you can talk about your desire and interests of your career and maybe there will show something up.

5. Apply for the job

Start applying for the job you want now. Read in newspapers or on the internet about job offers (most social business networks have job offers and there are plenty of job-websites out there), or get to the company you’d like to work for directly. Look for job offers on their website and call in directly for it. You may also want to send in an application without any offer, describing your value for the coompany in a professional way.

Please don’t make the mistake of being shy or thinking “I am not good enough (yet)”. First this is very likely not the case and secondly it doesn’t matter. If you don’t get the job, you learned something. But if you don’t apply, you just waste time. You must take responsibility for your life and get yourself into the field in the best way you can now (See my article about responsibility ) There is no such thing as failure, unless you give up. Every lesson you can learn from so called negative feedback, is a great lesson that you will use to your advantage. By getting in the field you will get feedback that you can’t possibly get if you only improve and wait for the best moment. What happens when you do that is, that you give in to your fear of rejection. This will hold you back massively. To conquer any fear is to face it, and then see that it is illusionary, because you are in the power to simple react to the feedback that you are getting and change your approach until you get what you want. So just do it, learn from it and then go from there.

The best way to apply for a job is recommendations or by personal contacts (see step 4). Most jobs are taken via personal contacts not by application forms.

If you apply for the job, be respectful of form, present yourself and your work professionally and with confidence. When you write a letter or an email, look how it is appropriate in your field. You should google for application formalities. Don’t overestimate it, but don’t miss the opportunity to make a great first impression. Remember: everything the other person will see from you, is this application. He/she will decide if this is good enough – and presentation form plays a great role here – to even talk to you on the phone or just dismiss your application.

6. The job interview

If you applied for the job and you are in the range of possibly candidates, you will get an invitation for a job interview. This is great, you are in.. Be relaxed and natural but be focused. Job-Interviews, depending on the skill of the interviewer, have usually the following content: a) Introduction and brief job-description b) personal history c) personal skills and work d) personality questions and e) end and next steps.

To be prepared, know your job-history and successes, as well as “problems”, be able to present your work and achievements and know yourself (motivations, strength and weaknesses – very important!). Then be relaxed, be energetic and communicate clearly. Also be dressed appropriate.

All in all you will learn from the job interview and eventually get the job you’re looking for.

Get self-employed?

First of all, you are always self-employed. You are offering your own personal services to any company you work for. Never forget that.

Besides this fact, maybe you want to start your own business. This is a great adventure and a great way to grow in nearly all ways possible. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Don’t take it lightly, but don’t fear it. If you see that you are great at something and you see the demand in the world, I’ d always say go for it. Be aware that it is not sufficient to be skillful in your particular field (i.e. in programming) if you want to start a business.

Besides skills for the product, you must have knowledge in the team about selling, marketing and management. If you don’t, it’s a sure way to run into problems and you have to get it into the team eventually. I will get to the topic in another article but I would encourage you to start your own business right here, you will grow for sure.