Making dream job a reality is no easy task

Second of two parts

--

Want to know the secret to landing your dream job? Hard work.

Victoria Young has figured this out, and she’s still in college. The 20-year-old UCLA senior, her sights set on a marketing position in an entertainment company, has interned with Sony Corp. and is now interning with Disney Worldwide Outreach, a division of Walt Disney Co.

She has been active in the Bruin Ad Team, UCLA’s student-run marketing group, which participates in an annual competition sponsored by the American Advertising Federation.

She’s already a skilled networker, e-mailing friends, former co-workers and current Disney colleagues to let them know of her job interests and handing out the business cards she received through her part-time job as a campus sales rep for Dell Inc.

And she reviews her resume at least every other month: “It’s a constant work in progress.”

Young’s leave-no-stone-unturned effort will pay off, experts say. As outlined in these pages last Sunday, divining your dream career requires introspection and honest self-assessment. Getting hired is all about doggedness and focus. It means throwing yourself out there over and over again and facing rejection. Again and again.

Along the way, there are seven things you should do:

1. Post your resume online

You should buy high-quality paper and fresh ink for your printer, because even these days, some employers want to hold your physical resume in their hands, and there’s more on that below. Meanwhile, accept that there are virtues to going digital -- those being that it’s easy, fast and puts you in the nice position of being immediately accessible.

The largest online job portals include www.monster.com, www.hotjobs.com and www.careerbuilder.com (the latter owned by the Tribune Corp., parent company of the Los Angeles Times). Monster.com for example, lists hundreds of thousands of jobs in virtually every occupational category and works with 90% of the Fortune 1000 companies, according to spokesman Steve Sylven. Other sites target specific fields, with www.jobsinthemoney.com focusing on accounting and finance, for instance, computerjobs.com on the obvious and philanthropy.com and opportunitynocs.org on the nonprofit world.

Posting is generally free to job seekers -- an advantage that’s also a disadvantage. With 75 million resumes on Monster.com, yours can get lost in the shuffle.

Security has also been a problem. Last fall, Monster Worldwide Inc. said an internal investigation found that criminals used passwords belonging to legitimate corporate recruiters to scour posted resumes, giving them access to e-mail addresses, home addresses and phone numbers.

Sylven says Monster has since implemented a number of measures to safeguard job-seekers’ information.

2. Apply directly to a company, online and off

Many companies post openings on their websites, but responding blind could land your application in a “black hole,” says Gary Kaplan, founder of Gary Kaplan & Associates, a Pasadena executive search firm. Do it the old-fashioned way too: “Get the name of someone and write to that person.”

3. Tap the ‘hidden’ job market

Tell relatives, friends, friends of friends, trusted colleagues, your rabbi, your uncle’s dentist, the deli clerk -- almost anyone and practically everyone -- that you are on a job hunt. For all the sweep of the Internet, the word-of-mouth route, also known as networking, is still invaluable. If you don’t know about a position, you can’t apply for it.

And keep tapping even if you’re not on the hunt. “One of the biggest mistakes people make is that they only network when they have to,” Kaplan says. Dedicate a portion of each week to keeping relationships alive, he advises, by meeting for lunch or talking by phone. “Sometimes those that land a job fastest are not the best qualified but the best networked.”

Networking landed Diana her first job in consulting three years ago. She started with a computer search to build a list of companies where she might want to work and wrote directly to people at each specifying the type of job she hoped to find. The employers she met then didn’t have openings, but she made such a strong impression that one found a place for her in the company within a couple of months. The 20-something Los Angeles woman doesn’t want to use her full name because she’s hunting for a new job and plans to mine the hidden job market this time too.

“I figure it’s better than putting your name into a big pile of online resumes with people just clicking buttons,” she says. “It’s not personal at all.”

4. Contact a recruiter

Employers hire executive search firms to help them find high-level managers. These firms find prospects by combing through their resume databases, soliciting resumes and calling hot shots they hear about from former clients. And many headhunters will be happy to hear from you. The Directory of Executive Recruiters -- known as the Red Book -- is available in libraries and bookstores and lists virtually every recruiter in the country.

It’s “smart networking sense” to take calls from recruiters even if you’re not looking for a job. Kaplan advises. Bobby, a 32-year old West Los Angeles sales representative, says he always makes time when a recruiter calls. “You don’t know what’s going to be behind door No. 1,” says Bobby, who is looking for a new job after nearly 10 years with the same company, and like Diana, doesn’t want his full name published.

5. Polish your resume

Putting your best self on paper or into pixels is a “craft that has to be mastered,” says Richard Bolles, author of the job hunter’s bible “What Color is Your Parachute.” First-timers and veterans can find plenty of resume tips on the major job search sites and at the library. Some rules of thumb:

* Be specific; instead of “worked in a retail setting,” try “trained and supervised ten employees, handled payroll and purchasing in a restaurant with $3 million in annual sales.”

* One size does not fit all; employers expect your resume to clearly show why you fit their specific opening. Successful job seekers draft a different version of their resume for each application.

* Typos or grammatical errors will route your resume directly to the round file.

* Employers can and will verify your academic credentials and employment history, so tell the truth.

6. Prepare for the interview -- and brush your teeth

Spend time on the company’s website, check out their annual report, company news and the biographies of the people interviewing you. Be prepared to explain why you want the job and why you’re the one they should hire. Be able to explain every item on your resume. Dress professionally; leave the bling-bling at home, take out the nose stud, and make sure your suit -- yes, suit -- is clean and pressed. Shake hands, make eye contact and send a thank-you note.

7. Be patient

This may be the toughest assignment of all. Despite all her efforts, Victoria Young admits to being discouraged at times, especially when she hears of friends who’ve already gotten job offers. “But I have to take myself out of that anxiety,” she says. “I have to remind myself that I have to stay positive.”

[email protected]