Three Places to Search for Opportunities at Your Dream Job

Happy Friday! I am almost a month in at my new job and one of the most frequently asked questions from friends and family is where I found the job posting for my position. I honestly don't remember because were was a large gap in between when I applied and when I heard back, but since starting I have become a lot more active on LinkedIn and thought it would be beneficial to my college-aged readers to share where to look for opportunities at your dream company!

The first place I always look for jobs is LinkedIn. This is such a wonderful platform because it gives you access to a ton of information about the company, including if you have any connections or mutual alumni that work there. You can also see up-to-date news about the organization and search jobs with a pretty good variety of filters for location, level, and more. One of the features I like to utilize on LinkedIn is to follow my dream companies and set email alerts for new jobs in my area for that company. Every single time the company posts a listing that fits your given criteria, you will get notified and can look into the position further!

In addition to simply looking for jobs, by following along with your dream brands you can engage with their posts, sharing when you think something is super cool or exciting, and commenting or liking other posts you enjoy. Engaging with a brand virtually will show that you have a genuine interest in the company, and can help bolster your application when it is being reviewed (think of it like college admissions - schools know who has gone on a tour, information session, or engaged with the university in any capacity before they are accepted).

Another way that I look for dream jobs is by going directly to the company website. Sometimes a company may not actively post their opening on LinkedIn because they use some other platform to track their job applications. Going directly to the website and checking in regularly can give you a good idea of what jobs they have available and even see an overview of the different departments the company has to offer. Head straight to the source and cut out the job application middle man! I also find that the company website is usually updated more frequently than the LinkedIn jobs page.

So make a list of your dream companies, even if you feel like they are totally out of reach. Head to the website for each company and search for positions that are in your desired field. Reading through job descriptions can be super beneficial to let you know what skills, programs, or other strengths you may need to add to your resume before you can land your dream job! If your dream job requires knowledge of Salesforce, SolidWorks, or another program that you have no current experience with, you'll at least know that you should look into learning that program so you can head in the right direction.

Lastly, there are a ton of cool companies that post on social media when they are hiring. I have seen job postings for brands like Everlane or TheSkimm when scrolling through Instagram stories, for example. I find this to be pretty indicative of the company culture since most traditional companies would not use social media platforms for job recruitment, and if you are looking into more startup-y companies, you could also drop a DM asking if the company is hiring.

I hope you find these tips useful for your job search! Let me know in the comments below what platforms you use for job searching.