Networking For A Dream Job

Last week we spoke about “having it all” and having it all definitely means different things to different people. So today I want to talk about “Dream Jobs” what that means and how does one find a “dream job”? When I was in school I worked in the customer service department for a well known company that sells all things related to dinning, cooking and entertaining. Sound like a dream job? Well, although what the company does can be considered “fun” the job itself was most certainly not. It was basically sitting for eight hours a day in a cubicle fielding call after call from angry, pissed-off people who wanted to know where their shipment was, or why the items they ordered arrived broken. I remember at the time being acutely aware that many of my fellow employes were women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s. I remember thinking to myself, “is this what they wanted to do with their lives?” While their counter-parts sitting a few feet away in well lit offices have rewarding ,well-paying positions? I also remember thinking, that I was so glad I was in school and learning a skill so that I would not end up like them. But well, should I think again? Is a college degree enough today? Because sadly, I would like to add…they almost all had college degrees.

So hows does one find the dream job? Should one apply to every job posted online they are remotely qualified for? Does it mean signing up at a number of head hunting agencies? Is it luck? Privilege? Perseverance? Networking? We have all heard that networking is one of the most important aspects to finding a job. According to Refinery 29 via a report by NPR, 80% of available positions are not posted or advertised, and of the positions that are advertised—almost half (40%) go to candidates that are referred by another employee at the company. Ok, so these statistics are pretty sobering and if you find yourself in the position of looking for, or needing a job, they can seem fairly daunting. In fact one of the reasons I started a blog in addition to having a creative outlet, was to broaden my skill set and well…network. Networking in person can be hard for some people, but networking in cyberspace can seem less threatening and one is a bit freer to be themselves. But it should always be in conjunction with old fashioned face to face networking. Yes, this not always easy, and many times I have found myself intimidated by showing up at event that I am covering for the blog alone, camera in hand, and having to “network”. But done it I have. The first time, it was an evening event and I downed a glass of wine which helped. And not only did I manage to take a bunch of pictures which tuned in to a blog post, but I also met the marketing director of the company sponsoring the event, who was nice enough to promote and tweet my blog post on the companies social media channels. So if this company, decides to open offices in New York, will I be on their first must call list? Probably not, but hey you never know, never say never. Can networking like this lead to a dream job? Perhaps not via this one event, but if I keep putting myself out there and I keep networking maybe it could? We all have all head the old slogan “It is not what you know, but who you know” Right?

So what does a dream job mean to you? Do you currently work at a “dream job”? Or is your current job just to pay the bills? How did you find your current job? And if you did land your dream job how did you do it? Do you think people who come from wealthier backgrounds and who go to better schools are more likely to get ahead? And do you network? And if so, how do you network?

Image via http://trendenser.se/

XOXO