HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE JOB YOU REALLY WANT
As we celebrate the 70th birthday of Prince Charles, spare a thought for the fact that he’s effectively been preparing for his dream job for his entire life – that’s 65 years as heir to the throne. He’s been learning all the ins and outs of the position he’ll undertake, he’s been training for all kinds of situations his role may put him into, and he’s been taking on more responsibility in his current role in preparation for this advancement, but he’s still waiting to take it on officially.
Of course, the role he’s preparing for isn’t quite like any other out there on the job market, but there’s no reason why you can’t apply the same mentality to your career preparation to ensure that you’re the perfect candidate for your dream job.
Read on to find out how you can make sure you’re as prepared as you can be for when the perfect opportunity arrives.
Do your research
Not everyone can be born onto the career ladder for their dream job, so it’s important to find the right company where you can grow and flourish in your ideal role. Make sure you do your research and find a company that not only sits in your industry, but also represents the kind of company you’d like to work for in terms of the values they hold, the objectives they have, and the people that work there.
Also, understanding the actual role you want to apply for is crucial. When you get called for an interview, you want to be prepared for anything they can throw at you – knowing what responsibilities you’d be taking on and what’s going on in the industry are great places to start your research.
Make sure your CV is compelling
As we’ve mentioned in our CV writing guide, recruiters often only take a number of seconds to scan your CV and determine whether you’re an appropriate candidate for the position. For that reason, you need to make sure that your CV really stands out from the crowd.
It’s crucial that your CV is targeted to the specific job you’re applying for – don’t just create a blanket CV for all the roles you apply to. Focus on your most relevant skills, accomplishments and previous roles and tailor your CV to the keywords and specific job requirements of your new position.
Just like Prince Charles has taken on many responsibilities from the Queen to prove his skills, such as when he was named as the Head of the Commonwealth, make sure you have the skills from previous positions that would allow you to take on a new role with experience.
Cultivate your online presence
In an age of growing social media presence, your online persona is more important than ever before. Nowadays, many potential employers will investigate your online behaviour and accounts to see what kinds of views you express online and how you conduct yourself.
If you’re beginning to apply to new jobs to advance your career, make sure you freshen up important profiles – such as LinkedIn – so that you can be found more easily and represent yourself well.
Take advice from the Royal Family as a whole when it comes to your online social media channels. None of the Royal Family have their own personal channels – Megan Markle closed all of hers before becoming the Duchess of Sussex – and instead present their online reputation with formality and poise on the Clarence House or Kensington Palace accounts.
Find out more about managing your online reputation in our blog.
Grow your experience
Preparation is the key to feeling confident when applying for a new job, interviewing and then actually starting in that role. For that reason, we would suggest finding out more about the industry and the job you’re applying for through informational interviews.
These aren’t interviews for the job you’re applying for, but rather talks with people either in your career field or advisers for the industry you’re going in to, such as recruiters, who can help you understand the industry from a personal point of view and offer guidance based on their own experiences.
It could almost be considered as a rapid-fire internship – while you don’t get the hands-on learning experience, the information you gain will be just as valuable for when you interview and apply for the job you really want.
Prince Charles’s position could be considered an internship in itself – hands-on learning for 65 years to gain all the information he needs. We’re sure you won’t take that long to find your dream job though!
If you’re looking for your dream job in the property industry, we at Property Personnel would be more than happy to help. Take a look at the jobs we currently have available or register with us to find out more about how we can help you prepare for the job you really want.
