Take These Four Steps To Get Your Dream Job
Step 1 — Never Apply!
If you read nothing more of this post, you’re off to a great start :).
I recently sold a recruiting software company I’d started, and along the way, I learned that the average number of job applicants per hire for professional roles was between 72 - 150.
Employee referrals, on the other hand, interview at a rate of 10 to 1 being hired.
In this post, you’ll learn how to (1) get your resume and profile ready; (2) identify a set of great career opportunities, and (3) get a referral so that your chances of being hired are over seven times better than applying cold. I’ll essentially be explaining a manual, candidate-first version of what my company very successfully did for countless hires.
Step 2 — Make Your Resume And Profile(s) Perfect
Yes, you read that correctly — perfect.
I rarely use that word (there’s some PTSD there), but in this case, I want you to spend hours, days, weeks obsessing over this.
You’re building your own one-page sales pitch that’ll be the only representation many ever have of you.
And yes, if you’re reading this article, your resume needs to be confined to one page. No questions. Across the many hundreds of recruiters I worked with, most spend fewer than 10 seconds on a resume, and they do not like long ones.
Fill out all the basics, putting experience and education in chronological order, versus skills in order of competence (if you’re not great at it, leave it out). Since you’re limited to one page, you’ll probably want to list fewer details the older the experience, save stand-out accomplishments. Use lots of verbs, and quantify results — e.g. launched X resulting in Y. If you maintain a list of professional achievements, you can take a shortcut and pull from there.
Make sure the formatting is clean and consistent — in the way you capitalize letters, use punctuation, indent, etc. If you have a friend with (minor) obsessive compulsive traits like me, it’s time to call in that favor (I can also help with resumes as a service).
Once you’ve reviewed your shiny new resume countless times and find nothing to change, you’re ready to proceed…
Now, in case you weren’t aware, LinkedIn is the new resume. Whether or not you send a resume, lots of people evaluating you will just pull up your profile. Unfortunately, because…old school, you still had to also build the resume. And if you’re into startups, you’ve got a third — AngelList. Not to worry — you can just copy/paste the content from the resume.
And yes, anytime you change one, change them all. This is why it makes sense to go in order.
Before starting, disable network notifications on LinkedIn to avoid broadcasting every spelling mistake you correct. Copy/paste all the things from the resume, and fill out every single tiny little thing LinkedIn (and potentially AngelList) show(s) or prompt(s) you to complete anywhere — the more of these things you do, the more people will see your profile, increasing your chances of landing that dream job. Filling out skills (choose the most-used names), sorted by your strengths will particularly help you show up in search results.
Doing all the things doesn’t exclude adding connections — though I only like to add people I’ve met to my LinkedIn, I add most all of them I do meet and get along with (this is helpful for the next step of getting that referral).
Now before adding connections, go ahead and turn on notifications for your network so it can grow more exponentially. Then, you’ll want to pull in all your contacts from all the places — your phone, email account(s), etc. Request to connect with everyone who qualifies, and then jog your memory from grade school, college (if you went), clubs, past jobs, etc. As a final step, scroll through all the suggested people you may know.
After adding all the connections, request recommendations with a personal note to each recipient — it works best to send emails with the handy LinkedIn URL it generates for you.
Step 3 — Identify A Great Set Of Career Opportunities
In this step, we’re going to build a list of around 10 (more is fine but will quickly become taxing as you’ll see) companies that interest you. For the purposes of this post, I’ll assume you have a good idea of the role where you best fit. To start, it’s helpful to identify what you’re seeking in the following dimensions: industry, size (larger will likely be more secure though usually slower paced), location (even for remote workers, this can matter), and any other important attributes like being mission-driven.
Next, if you have some companies you admire, go ahead and jot them down on a list. Then, you can add to that list with things like a Google search for “best places to work <location>”, replacing “<location>” with wherever you want to be based. A search for “best remote companies” may be helpful for those seeking more flexibility. Next, ask 10 people with careers you’d like to emulate to tell you the best companies they know, and after that, ask reputable local headhunters about hot companies. Getting a free trial on Crunchbase is a great place to find startups (filter by funding, revenue, etc.), and finally a LinkedIn Sales Navigator trial is a helpful way to filter down other companies.
A note on “dream” jobs, since that’s the title — beware of searching for the perfect thing, here.
I know, sorry.
I’ve thought a lot about the Japanese concept Ikigai (pronounced EEY-key-gaa-e) over the years. Broadly translated as a reason for being, it’s the intersection between what you can get paid to do, what you are good at doing, what you love, and what the world needs. I don’t advise trying to jump to the middle, rather trying to get one step closer with each move. Focus on your strengths and where you’re needed. That’s where you’ll thrive. And somewhere with a healthy workplace.
Step 4 — Still Don’t Apply; Get A Referral
Onto the last step (almost) — getting that golden referral (or with this process, perhaps a handful of them).
Once a good chunk of people have accepted your connection requests and some have written recommendations, search for first and second -degree connections to every leader above the role you’d like at every company on your list. Warning — this list can get big, fast — I recommend a spreadsheet for the task (it’s likely too overwhelming/unhelpful to share, here).
As you build the list, store the name of the first-degree connection as well as the strength of the connection and their likely influence over the second-degree connection. Sort the list, and then work down it, inviting your first-degree connections to a thirty to sixty minute breakfast, coffee, or lunch — you’re going to be paying (duh). You’ll want to record who you contacted, when. And don’t reach out to multiple people for the same second-degree connection at the same time — space out the requests.
When you meet your first-degree connection, thank them for their time, and then explain that you’d generally like to (1) catch up, (2) tell them a little about where you are in life, and (3) ask them for a favor. Spend a good chunk of time on (1), splitting the time between yourself and them; (2) should be a well-crafted two-minute story that tracks with your resume and culminates with (3), a request for an introduction to the second-degree connection.
If your connection is willing to help, you can offer to send him or her a forwardable email (later that day while it’s fresh). This email is intended for your connection to forward to the second-degree connection and is basically a humble brag.
Do this process for all the connections, and you’ll have an audience with the right person in no time. Now at some point after connecting with the second degree connection, someone may ask you to apply, to which you’ll reply, “Gladly”…because your chances of landing that role are now an order of magnitude better 😊.
Now there’s one special first degree connection you should be sure to make, Mark Cunningham — he’s simply the best recruiter I've ever met or worked with. And I built and sold a recruiting software company (conversations with Mark were actually a big part of the impetus for that venture). Unfortunately, many recruiters give Recruiters a bad name, and that simply does not apply to Mark. See, Mark is a node of trust. CEOs keep coming back to him because he’s the best. Candidates keep coming back to him because he’s the best. And as you can imagine, it snowballs. Reach out to him (or to me for an introduction), and you’ll be in good hands. It’s not a coincidence that over 10% of my network is also connected with him. And PSA, he and I don’t exchange any cash for referrals. We send people to each other because we each believe it’s in your best interest.
One more big way to positively impact your chances — while you’re doing all this, park yourself at a coffee shop where your connections and/or folks you want to meet often go. When you see someone relevant, do all the things above, in-person. I like to think of this as intentional serendipity.
Research shows that the simple act of closing your eyes and visualizing the outcome you desire makes it more attainable. This puts you in a mindset more open to things that'll help you succeed and results in actions that'll get you more help from others along the way. Place a reminder somewhere you’ll look daily to do this throughout the journey!
Intrigued but overwhelmed (I know, it’s a lot)? Give me a shout. I’ve helped dozens of people do this successfully and can work on commission.
We’ll cover interview tips, including sussing out if a company is right for you, and salary negotiation later!
Thanks for reading,
Andy
Here’s a review on the process from one person I helped with it…
“I was most impressed with Andy’s systematic approach to helping me get the job I wanted. It wasn’t a matter of if I was going to get it, the question was how many offers I was going to receive. Andy provided me the framework to obtain the upper hand in the job search, and it felt like companies were competing to hire me. It was actually kind of fun, and I felt valued and excited about making that big change in my life. By the end of the process, I had my choices, Andy helped me negotiate, and we got the best job!”
