5 Things You Need to Know to Find a Dream Job [Newcomer’s Edition]

I kicked off my professional 2022 with a clear goal – find a new job. For the first time in my life, I was not forced to quit, like when we were moving to Canada, and I had to leave my beloved language centre, colleagues, and students behind. Instead, I decided to quit the job I liked, the job I knew from A to Z, the job that connected me with amazing people. My palms were sweating when I was sending my notice to the boss who had taken a chance on me. Who trusted me. Still, there were reasons for me to quit. I couldn’t keep up with speed and volumes anymore, and I noticed that my mental health was affected.

Diving into a job search again, with the previous one being challenging, was a major undertaking on its own. When I was searching for my first job in Canada back in 2019, I knew nothing about the labour market and its rules, how I should approach it, and how to make my resume convincing enough to get a callback. Back then, I sent out dozens of applications to get zero replies. I got a couple of interviews for shady positions where I was supposed to lie to people and got involved in an identity theft scam. I was getting more frustrated, stressed, and hopeless with every email from Indeed saying that the position I had applied for was closed.

This time, I had a different approach. I knew what I wanted, had a better understanding of how the market worked and was ready to put effort into the process without hoping for fast results. So, here are the five simple steps that I took to stay calm and control the process.

  1. I created a table (I used Notion, but anything from a paper notebook to Excel will work) where I had the following columns:
    • Position,
    • Company name,
    • Application date,
    • Response (yes, no, empty) and the date I heard back,
    • Follow-ups (if any).

Every time I felt how all my hard work of crafting resumes for each position was going in vain, I opened that table, looked at the number, and it was a surprisingly soothing feeling, no matter if it was 7 or 23. The total number I got to was 40. Besides, I have a clear timeline now: it took me six weeks to find a new dream job.

  1. I tricked my brain into being grateful for “thank you for your interest, we decided to move forward with another candidate” emails. They allowed me to select the “no” option in my response column, not letting me float in limbo. Shoutout to recruiters who personalize those emails and encourage candidates to keep searching for their dream jobs!
  1. I took a lot of time reviewing each job posting, thinking, “Is this what I want to do?” Basically, I listened carefully to what my small inner Content Writer wanted and looked at how the position goals and responsibilities aligned with my professional compass. When I was looking through a job posting, I asked myself, “well, I can do that, but do I want to?” And if I felt hesitation or resistance, I kept scrolling.
  1. I didn’t let the first excitement power the way I made decisions. Searching for a job is hard. Searching for a job you’ll love is arduous and emotionally demanding. After the first recruiter reached out to me, I rushed to my husband, jumping around like a three-year-old who had too much sugar before bedtime. Then, at about the same time, two companies got back to me with the first screening calls and set up interviews with my potential managers. Let’s say that there was company A, which seemed a bit less exciting based on the job description and the information on the website, and company B, which had a very detailed job posting that promised a rewarding career. During the interviews with real people, when I got a chance to ask questions, it turned out that I felt matched with one company, and the other felt more and more disconnected with every further step. You already know which company I felt more aligned with, right? Company A. Although I was excited about the description and initial conversations with company B, later on, I could feel that it wasn’t the right fit for me, and I wasn’t the right fit for them.
  1. Finally, although job hunting has its highs and lows, I was a steady believer that I was the professional who deserved the positions I was applying for. I’m sure that the number of people who fight with imposter syndrome every day is unfathomable, but it shouldn’t limit your opportunities.

Overall, “keep calm and carry on” is the best advice for job seekers, but the whole process becomes more inspiring when backed up with step-by-step routines. To everyone trying to ride the waves of the job market – good luck! I wish you to receive an email with this subject line as soon as possible:

Some Thoughts on Why a Compelling Story is Important for Any Business

This Christmas break was supposed to be full of winter activities, but it’s -30C here. So, I ended up trying to spend some time navigating a maze of brands in a huge department store, which made me think about one peculiar thing: I keep falling for one simple trick.

I was wandering from one brand corner to another and realized that only the pieces hung properly and in order caught my eye. Although digging up a deal nugget used to be my favourite part of shopping, I had to make an effort to pay attention to anything on sale racks. Why? You know the answer because you’ve seen those racks a hundred times: a total mess of pants/tops/dresses in all possible sizes and colours. Even when I found a great deal, I couldn’t help but think that something was wrong with the item. Why is it hanging so lonely here? Have dozens of other girls tried it on but didn’t like how it fits them? Is it just a brainchild of exhausted designer fantasy? What’s curious is the reason I started asking these questions.

Picture any store and compare their “New Arrivals” section to the “Sale.” Turtlenecks organized by colours and sizes, living their best life in front of the store, have extra value for a regular shopper (me). However, the materials, the quality, and even the colours can be the same as what you can dig up in the Sale section. Digging is the problem. Having to search in a cramped and dusty space in the back of a store where the lighting is the worst is the problem.

Remember those billboards with royal green or deep blue velvet background and a single watch shining like Rhianna’s inspiration? The purpose of those billboards was not only to sell the watch but to make you feel the luxury that could become yours. And it did the trick, right? It’s as easy as the order of clothes in stores. The value can be added in a million ways, but you have to find the right one. That’s what marketers do every day. I do too.

As a part of the audience, or as a consumer who tries to track what triggers me to buy this shampoo instead of another one, I feel that today it’s not enough to promise luxury only. We need more than the promise. We need things that are familiar, authentic, relatable, unique. That empower, become a part of our life, and tell a story.

A good story is what any product, service, corporation and charity need. If the goal, mission, vision, product descriptions, and other parts of your business tale are like passages from different novels and genres, no matter what great things you do, they fall under the “sale” category in our, users and consumers, minds. If you use words to construct your company’s digital presence in a way that forces people to dig meanings up, welcome to the “sale.” Tell your brand’s story in a way that will make people think, “That’s the clever trick I’m proud to fall for.” Being honest and consistent is more than enough to start with.

Loneliness on the Net: How LinkedIn Made Me Feel Isolated and Left Out

apple applications apps cell phone

Before moving to Canada I was afraid I would feel lonely. I have already gone through all those stages when you make life-long friends: school, university, first job. I’ve grown apart from many of them, but I still believe this is the time to network.

It’s not that I was scared to lose the friends I already had. My best friend lives in another city, so I know what a long-distance relationship is. I just was not sure how to build new connections when you finished all studies, have your own family, and don’t hang out because you are ready to zonk out at 22.30.

I calmed down when I started meeting people in Canada who are open-hearted and supportive. Surprisingly the online space was giving me trouble. Here is why.

LinkedIn is blocked in Russia, don’t ask me why. Of course, some professionals and companies still use it, connecting to the web with VPN and special browsers, but being an English instructor I had no need to have a profile there. I knew that it’s crucial for the American labor market, so when we got an invitation to apply for visas I downloaded that “special” browser. It took me sooo long to start a profile because of the low-speed connection. Anyway, I won. Now what? I didn’t know what to do next. I just waited until we moved and settled to figure out how it works.

Here we are, “Welcome to Canada!”. I started my job search, and the best tool for that is LinkedIn, right? But the majority of people I wanted to connect with were hidden from me because I didn’t have enough connections. I now have only 29, and I noticed that people don’t connect as fast as on other social media. They are not eager to accept someone they don’t know, but I can’t meet them in person, I don’t work with them and we don’t have mutual connections. You see, this is a vicious circle.

The online space where you are supposed to feel free and be able to reach out to anyone made me an outsider. I didn’t belong there. I still don’t, but I care less.

Have you ever felt left out because of the social media?