No, I’m not referring to Martin Luther King Jr’s famous speech in 1963, but rather your career dream. Perhaps you’ve been interested in a career in technology since you got your hands on your first ever smart phone or laptop. Or maybe you had an epiphany several years later, but whichever is true for you, it may well have gone something like this:
- You see something cool and wonder how it works
- You decide to find out more, maybe ask some questions, or do some research
- You learn that there is a piece of software, or some other technology solution, behind the cool thing
- You think that’s cool! I’d love to be that person who makes stuff like that and gets paid to do it
- You realise that you need to learn how to do it, so sign up for College/University/Coding Academy
You learn to develop software and it’s just as cool as you had hoped. Hooray!!
All great so far, the dream is coming true. Now comes the bit where you need someone to pay you to do this for them, and that can be where it all gets a bit tricky. Technology is a very popular sector and there are thousands of eager people coming out of all sort of training courses every year. So how are you going to land your dream job?
First, you need to be clear what your dream job is. What role are you targeting? Which technologies, or languages, do you want to focus on? What ongoing training and development are you looking for? What sector appeals to you? What location, or do you want to work from home? What values are you looking for in an employer, and why? Do your research on all of the above points then consider which of these factors are critical and which are nice to haves.
Now you have a clear target, you need to ensure that when a job that matches your dream comes up, you’re making the strongest application that you can. Just being able to meet the technical requirements of the role will not be enough. Your ideal future employer will no doubt receive lots of technically qualified applicants. You’ll need to craft a CV which has a strong personal statement describing you, your wider skill set and values. Try to reflect the language used in the job description or advert, alignment with company values should be clear too. Make sure to demonstrate your achievements highlighting the skills or strengths that you used along the way. The key to increasing your chances of success is to take the time to tailor each application for a specific vacancy.
Thorough preparation to your job search is one of the first steps in turning your dream into reality.
Click here for more information on The People Portfolio
Take care and chat soon
Morna
