The Digerati Life

This must be the best job in the world.

It’s one that inspires all sorts, even kids.

It’s a job that allows you to be inventive, expressive, FUN, and continually creative.

It’s a job that rewards handsomely and has returned many millions.

It’s also a job that helps you remain fairly anonymous — well, except for that occasional writeup.

This job is currently filled by the Google Doodler, Dennis Hwang, who is Google’s official web artist and stylist. He manages over 20 people to maintain Google’s pages along with being responsible for the ever famous Google doodles that number 50 a year. So you want a job at Google? Here’s how to get it.

Though this could be as close to the perfect career anyone could ever get, the truth is, you can increase your chances of finding just the right position for you. There are things you can do to help you in your quest for that dream job. Here are a few:

Tips For Finding And Landing Your Dream Job

Use your existing connections.
One of the biggest factors I’ve seen for snagging a plum job is to know the right people. It sure doesn’t sound very democratic, but this is the reality especially for jobs in high demand out there. For instance, a job requisition from a top company in Silicon Valley yields a crazy number of leads. But given the incestuous nature of workers around here, if you know someone who already works for that company, you have a distinct advantage. Let me just say that I’ve landed a few jobs this way and most everyone I know has simply been referred from one company to another, no sweat. What does this say? Make and keep offline and online connections. Offline connections may be hard to make in certain parts of the world, but there are still opportunities: in churches, community gatherings, trade shows, both professional and leisurely meet ups and so forth.

Put yourself out there: apply networking and marketing strategies to your job search.
Make yourself visible as someone who is interested in a particular line of work. In this day and age, it may be a good idea to have a web site or blog to provide some information about yourself and what you can do. An online persona (preferably professional and not necessarily the MySpace kind) will make it easier for prospective employers to know who you are. If you don’t have existing connections to work with, develop them. Linked In anyone? Network whenever you can, in the realm you want to enter. Here’s an interesting story: Kevin Federline wasn’t the most talented dancer in the world, but he sought his dream job by shadowing a friend in the dancing business. He networked….heavily. It was during one of his “networking events” that he encountered Britney Spears. The rest is history.

Know your strengths and have clear goals.
Know what you’d like to do but also know what you are capable of doing. Recognizing your strengths and skills can get you a long way with snaring your job of choice, as a perceived good match between what you can offer and the responsibilities and rigors of a given position is what a hiring manager is always wishing for.

Check out job boards and do some research.
Take your job search up a notch by trying out these Web 2.0 techniques, with suggestions beyond just visiting job boards such as Monster.com, Dice, Hotjobs.com, Careerbuilder.com.

Prepare enough material on yourself, then prepare again.
The key to having a successful meeting with hiring personnel is to be proactive, to come ready with a good resume prepared, your references in order and to be equipped to answer the necessary questions in a job interview. In some cases, you may need to have a portfolio ready for review such as in the case of people in the creative or entertainment field. For technical people, you may have to brush up on the latest technologies that are in use in the jobs you seek. The key is to have all your ducks in a row before you make your initial meetings with “the powers that be.”

Be real while making a good impression.
I have been in the role of a hiring manager and have interviewed numerous job candidates in my time. What I found was that I was most partial to candidates who asked questions, who showed enthusiasm, looked and spoke confidently and who were genuinely interested. I liked candidates who were professional, yet showed some personality or were “themselves” while interacting with me or the interviewing team. When looking for a dream job match, you need to fall into a position naturally based on your inherent skills and personality. Anything not genuine will result in a disconnect with your employer that will ultimately lead to possible job dissatisfaction down the road.

Follow up after a job interview without overdoing it.
Following up after a job interview or meeting with a potential employer is a courtesy that shows how interested you are in a position. Expressing your appreciation for the time spent and the opportunity to meet with a hiring representative is a display of professionalism. As part of the job application process, you may want to inquire how and when you should touch base with an employer after an interview. Proceed with tact in this case as going overboard can be detrimental to your situation — case in point: following up with too much enthusiasm or aggressiveness can lead to losing out on the job as such tactics can be construed as harassment. After an interview, a job candidate at my company lost his chance when he freaked everyone out by making too many repeated calls about his job status.

Once you get an offer, evaluate your job package to see if it’s what you expected.
So you got that job offer! Now since you are after a dream career and not just any career, make sure you review that package carefully to see if it’s up to par with what you’re expecting. Some people get very excited about getting their foot in the door of the career of their dreams that they don’t think things out too carefully. Take a step back, consider the tradeoffs and weigh the options that you face, especially if you have more than one offer in front of you; give careful thought, sometimes what seems like the most obvious choice may not turn out to be the best.

Now that you’ve read about some methods to get that cool job you’ve had in mind, care to see if it’s as dreamy as the ones on this list?

Image Credit: Google Blogoscoped, Schoolgirl Wins Google Doodle Competition