Sample the Goods Before Buying and Land Your Dream Job

Dear Debra: I’ve been laid off from a job I hated with six months’ severance. I want to think carefully about what I want to do next. Advice?

Volunteering or interning is a great strategy if your goal is to avoid simply filling time or gaining irrelevant experience that does nothing to move you toward meaningful, challenging work.  Volunteer to sample a new company or industry. If you love the work, leverage it into a paid position. Here’s how.

1. Assess your interests and talents. What do you love to do? What work inspires you to get out of bed each day? What is your dream job, no matter how outlandish or if it matches your background or degree? What were your favorite school subjects? What industries spark your passion?

2. Do your homework. Research companies or organizations; spend time daily studying The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Inc., and business sections of major newspapers. Take note of people, companies, organizations, and jobs that light a fire inside of you.

3. Contact the H.R. department—or preferably the decision maker, i.e., the C.E.O. mentioned in an article—of companies that captivate you. Sell the skills, talents, expertise, and training you have to offer for a volunteer position. Ask to set up a face-to-face interview. If you get a no the first time, don’t be discouraged. Keep phoning different people; follow up using multiple channels of communication: e-mail; a succinct voice message; a creative cover letter accompanying your resume—FedEx’d to decision makers so that your serious intent and ambition stands out.

4. Spell out why you want to be a volunteer in the organization, but focus heavily on strengths you bring to their table; focus on why they need you, not on what’s in it for you. 

5. After landing a spot, turn it into a paying job by cultivating key contacts within the organization; form your own Informal Board of Advisors. Begin your day at the opposite end of the building from your office; knock on doors, say good morning, lunch with different people. Send around periodic e-mails with tidbits of news relevant to the industry. Stay on folks’ radar as someone who is paying attention and motivated. Some 85% of jobs are won through word-of-mouth contacts. 

 

Who better than a high-performing volunteer to fill a full-time, part-time, or consulting position? When an opportunity opens up, throw your name into the hat: “I’d be great for that job!”