How Writing an e-book Landed My Dream Job, and How You Can Land Yours Too!

On Halloween of last year, I released an e-book on how to land your dream job. It was a side project that crossed my mind that summer. In the fall I finally took action and, in short order, released the e-book on my blog. Earlier in my career, I did a fantastic job of writing off the power, nay, the necessity of networking in the 21st century job market. I quickly reverted this unproductive mindset during my MBA program at the Gustavson School of Business. The program did a great job of placing emphasis on networking. Not only that, the school offered a wealth of connections for students to tap into. This gave me the opportunity to connect with a number of professionals in my field of interest – consulting. By hustling, and proving myself through the interview process, I landed by dream internship at the Victoria office of a prominent accounting and advisory firm.

After my degree, I accepted a position in the financial services sector as a Business Analyst Lead.  It was then that I decided I wanted to share my career journey and to help others with their career paths. By writing an e-book on networking, I connected with others who were establishing their careers. It was a good feeling to help others. What happened next I did not anticipate at all. I was contacted by someone from my alumni network who I previously met after I had secured my first post-MBA job. My blog caught his attention and he asked if I had any materials on mentoring frameworks. I provided what I could, and in his reply he mentioned an opening where he worked – at a Big 4 consulting firm. I always had aspirations to become a senior consultant at a Big 4 firm after graduation and this helped put my name on the firm’s radar. While I was more than satisfied with my then current role in industry, this was my dream job and it was an opportunity I could not pass up.

I went through a rigorous four rounds of interviews that included being interviewed by partners, a director and senior managers. After I received an offer, I was elated and proud of myself. I reached a very big career milestone that I had set out to achieve. A milestone I had essentially left in the rear view mirror previously, as I was happy working in industry and knew that transitioning back to the consulting world is often challenging. And I did it!

While I always believed in the power of networking, I did not anticipate that my e-book would be a vehicle for that. My intention was helping others make an impact in their careers and achieving a milestone of my own by releasing an e-book. The ripple effect in elevating my career to the next level was not an expectation. By helping others land their dream job, I landed my dream job in the process. And I’m very grateful for that.

The best part of this story is that this is something any driven professional can achieve by taking a different approach to the same goal.

Here are four ways for you to get going right away:

1.     Get a .com domain name

This is paramount. You should either use a .com url extension or one dedicated to your country (e.g. ".ca" for Canada). While registering a domain name comes with a cost, it is the best investment you can make to promote your brand. If your name as a domain is not available as a .com or for your country's extension, be creative to find a domain name that is available. You could use your middle initial or put your designation at the end of the domain name. If you do not have a registered domain name and opt to go with a free domain name, this will represent your brand. Consciously or unconsciously, your credibility could be questioned by readers and potential employers. Be official and make that a priority.

2.     Use an easy website development platform to create your site

Unless you have a background in HTML and JavaScript, this is a no brainer. There are a host of website development platforms that allow you to quickly and fairly intuitively create a professional quality website. Mine took about one afternoon to create. I used Square Space to create my website. Two other prominent platforms are WordPress and Wix. Take a look at these and decide which one works best for you.

3.     Get the word out

The beauty of using a website development platform to create your site is that it seamlessly allows you to push your content out to social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. This will allow you to develop a following right off the bat, even if it is just your inner circle. Having your posts and insights on social media feeds will keep people in the know when you publish something new. It also gives them quick access to the content without having to check your website on their own.

4.     Focus on giving

You likely have a lot of insights to offer in your field of expertise. Even when you are still trying to determine what that field is, your discovery process is in itself valuable for others to hear while forging their own paths. The world has a way of reciprocating back what you give to it. So be outcome independent and good things will happen for you. Look at things through a lens of abundance, where prosperity and knowledge should be shared rather than hoarded, and you will lead a life of abundance.

So I hope this story inspires you to start a blog or releasing an e-book (or both!). Aim high. This is a great way of getting you that much closer to your dream job. It showcases who you are to employers and establishes your brand beyond the confines of LinkedIn.

So what are you waiting for?

Do you have questions about how to start a blog or write an e-book? See how I did it with my free e-book on Landing Your Dream Job and leave a comment below – I will answer as many questions that you have for me. I’m ready, are you?

5 Small Changes to Make a Big Impression at your next Job Interview

Going in for an interview can feel like being on the most public stage imaginable. The stakes are high and every move of yours is being observed and analyzed to the Nth degree. Everyone has had an interview where they walk out feeling like they are on top of the world. And everyone has definitely had that feeling in the pit of their stomach when things seemed to have gone terribly wrong and where their chances of landing the job seem like they went down faster than the Hindenburg. I plan to delve extensively into interview preparation so you can interview like a pro. Today, I would like to present 5 small changes to your interview approach that will drastically improve your success rate in landing your dream job.

And speaking of slight change leading to big results - a mentor of mine once provided me with a great analogy. In a prior career he was training to become a chef. Part of this process entailed he cut enough carrots in a shift to feed a small country. Not only were these carrots to be cut, they were to be cut evenly and precisely to look presentable as part of a dish. Suffice to say, this was a difficult undertaking and he continued to have the same lacklustre results using the same technique. Go figure. At some point, he modified his cutting technique by ever so slightly adjusting the angle of his protective hand, and in the turn, the blade, leading to a dramatic improvement in both his cutting capacity and the quality of his results.

Interviewing is similar to cutting a bag of carrots. You need to take the right approach to accomplish your goal. And the right approach is likely not going be that much different than what you have been doing all along. 

Here are 5 things you can start to do right away to improve your interview results:

1.     Weave your knowledge about the company into your conversation

When I was a hiring manager, I was generally impressed by the research candidates did before an interview. This information typically came out when I asked them what they knew about the company. And while this is a completely fine place to showcase the homework you’ve done on the company, you can take this to the next level by incorporating it into other parts of the conversation. A place I like to incorporate this is when I asked the interviewer questions about the firm. For example, “I know your organization ranks as one of the leading environmentally friendly firms in the country, what initiatives is the firm currently working on in this regard?” Another place to weave in this information is when answering behavioural questions. If you are asked how, for example, you’ve adapted in the past to a new environment, you can mention the benefits of having a mentor at your old workplace and how you are excited about their formal mentorship program for new employees.

2.     Know your interviewer

Some people feel it can come across as creepy to look up an interviewer’s Linkedin profile and reference your research to them during the interview. I take the opposite stance. If you stick to LinkedIn and cursory Google searches, there is nothing to hide about reading up on who is interviewing you. It shows your interest in the job, the firm and, of course, the person interviewing you. And everyone likes to feel important! In the first round interview for my current job, I mentioned that I noticed the person interviewing me held a Project Management Professional (PMP) designation, something I was considering preparing for in the coming years. I asked him what the process was like attaining the designation and how it had helped him as a project manager. I was genuinely interested and, because of this, my question was well received.

3.     Have more than three great questions prepared and written down

One misconception about interviews is that you need to have your questions memorized. I used to think that way and did just that. Now, I come in with a binder that contains 5 questions for the interviewer. Usually a couple get answered during the interview so I have a few left as backups at the end. The beauty of writing questions down is that it shows you have come prepared, you will be able to ask the questions without jumbling your words and, most importantly, you can showcase your active listening skills by writing notes as you receive your answer and then reflecting back on this feedback to the interviewer. This is a highly effective method of showing how you would work in a collaborative setting that is client focused.  It’s almost like you are giving the interviewer a preview of what an on-the-job meeting would be like with you. And that’s the kind of impression you want to make.

4.     Use people’s names

This is brought up as one of the tenets in How to Win Friends and Influence People. There is no sweeter word that people like to hear than their own name. It also shows a level of respect to greet them with it. Remember to include your interviewer’s name both when you begin and when you end your interaction with them.

5.     And show gratitude

This goes hand-in-hand with using people’s names – express that you are grateful for the opportunity to be interviewed and for their time, both at the beginning and at the end of the interview. Never assume people can read your mind (news alert: they can't) and intuitively know you are grateful for the opportunity to meet with them – say so!

While I will have more on how to ace your next interview in upcoming posts, these five tips will help you stand out from many other candidates - that’s a big carrot dangling as a reward for such a small shift in your approach.

Do you want to learn more about how to get your foot in the door to interview for your dream job? Check out my free ebook How to Land Your Dream Job - and network like a pro!