EDITOR’S NOTE: Forbes launched an e-book on finding your dream jobtoday. In it you’ll find everything you need to succeed in your job search. Some of our best careers writers penned the original articles used in this compendium. Even if you like the job you currently have, this job guide offers tips and tricks for becoming an indispensible worker and making the most of your career.
In life we’re taught to plan for the worst, to be prudent and hedge our bets. We’re told, “Be realistic! Keep your dreams in check.” For the most part that advice is sound.
However, these “words of wisdom” may be keeping us from pursuing our dreams, particularly in the job search arena. In many ways, finding a job is a job in and of itself—it’s time-consuming, stressful and contingent on demonstrating your skills and mettle to others.
Your dream job, unfortunately, won’t fall into your lap out of the blue one day. That happens, but it’s so rare that nobody should ever bet on that boon befalling him. No, finding a job first involves assessing your current station. Do you like your job right now? Is there room for growth? Does it capitalize on the skills you’re best at?
The Forbes E-book: Find And Keep Your Dream JobThe Definitive Careers Guide From Forbes encompasses every aspect of the job hunt from interview to promotion. Written by some of Forbes’ best careers and leadership writers, it is available now for download.
If your job doesn’t pass muster on these fronts, don’t just send out your resume en masse. “What works best in any market is for the job seeker to take a pure, entrepreneurial approach to their job search process,” executive resume writer Mary Elizabeth Bradford says. “Go around H.R. That’s provocative, right? Well, it works.”
There is a right way and a wrong way to get a great job, and many, in their eagerness to find new work, fail to realize that the shiny new thing may not always be better. Best to research the companies you want to work for, smartly target the people who can open doors there and arm yourself with a flawless job application.
Find And Keep Your Dream Job, The Definitive Careers Guide From Forbes is a blueprint for doing just that during one of the hardest periods to find a job in recent history. Despite the economic headwinds, there are battle-tested, effective ways to secure good job leads (and no, they don’t involve resume blasts or job sites), and our best careers and leadership writers have collected this sage advice here. In fact, they were so good at synthesizing the ins and outs of smart job hunting that they have each scored new jobs in the last year.
Even if you don’t think you need a new job, anyone in the workplace can benefit from the sections that identify your skill set and strengths, along with the sections suggesting tips to becoming a better worker, like this infographic on how your boss is judging your appearance.
