How To Land Your Dream Job
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We’ve been exploring people, culture and tech here in Australia on our daily blog. If you’re looking for your next dream role with 100+ of Australia’s top companies doing amazing things in tech, check out The Martec.
You’ve got your foot on the tech ladder, but you’re not sure what to do next – stick it out, move on, change paths?
Changing jobs isn’t something we do overnight, and now more than ever it’s important to find the best fit for your interests, passions and skills. There is a heap of great opportunity out there so we’ve been speaking with some of our top candidates and employers to share some top tips:
It may sound obvious, but you should spend some time thinking about what you want. We don’t just mean looking at jobs boards.
There are two ways of looking at a career change:
- The job you want to do day in and day out.
- The company that you want to work for (and the team you want to rock up to each day).
Spend the time looking at both, and not just when you’re actively looking.
The SaaS industry is on the rise in Australia, and job roles are evolving faster than we can say Halal Snack Pack. Keep on top of all the latest players growing. The Sydney and Melbourne scene is booming, attend meetups, SalesHacker events, Fishburners entrepreneur talks, etc. You’ll come to know which brands values you love and feel like a natural fit. You can then see how your skills fit into a role with that company.
Alternately, start with the job you’re interested in. Research, read, meet all the people you can in the SaaS field who do that role and explore the career steps they took to get there. You can then find a company where you can apply those skills and have your perfect match.
So you have a better sense of your role and the types of companies. It’s time to get back to basics; LinkedIn. Long before your CV lands on either a recruiter, a HR manager or a Directors desk, they’re checking out your LinkedIn. Here are the key ways you can keep ahead of the game.
Profile – There’re no excuses, you have to keep it updates. When someone is scanning your LinkedIn, it’s not often they’re admiring your summary section at the top. For tech they’re looking at the experience, how long you spent in each job, what industries you’ve worked in and what results you’ve achieved in areas that would apply to your next role. For example, if you’re 150% above Quota in your B2B subscription sales, you’re already standing out.
Network – Be proactive with the Influencers you follow, engage on topics that are interesting to you, ask questions when people post about areas that impact your career, share your best case examples. You are much more likely to invite a conversation about a career change if you’re proactive in your community. Don’t make the mistake of limiting yourself to LinkedIn – Try Quora, Medium and our very on content board!
So you’re starting to get an inkling for a job or company you are keen for. There is no point just sitting at your desk dreaming of how you would tell your boss you were leaving. Do all the research you can on the company. A couple of things you want to have a handle on before you turn up for an interview include:
Understanding the culture – what’s important to them and what were the principles they built the company on. Tech companies normally have a very common value thread across all employees, and no two ‘start-up cultures’ are the same.
Vision – different to the culture, this is about where they company is hoping to go and is often directly linked to business outcomes.
The space they play in – SaaS companies cover industries far and wide. It’s worthwhile taking a bit of time to research the specific space (security, retail, storage, voice of customer) and the opportunity in the local market.
Growth Goals – Many companies have their growth numbers out there in the public domain, have a glance of funding to date, employees to date and how the growth trends are shaping up. It will give you some context for the interview stage.
So you’re in the room, you’re chatting about the opportunity and here is where you can bring all the things you have on your CV to life, don’t forget this is about you, though, not your team’s accomplishments.
Experience – Bit of a basic one but it’s amazing how many people forget to provide context to an ‘can you tell me about a time when..’ type question. Always back up your examples, if you won more clients than anyone else during Q3, focus on bringing in 60% of the team’s quota in Q3. Then demonstrate how you did it.
Soft skills – Particularly in the early stages in an interview, companies that are going through growth are assessing your soft skills as much as they are your experience. Being part of a team is everything. Some of the most popular traits our SaaS employers look for when looking for new Inside Sales candidates included; Intelligence, Coachability, Ethics, Ownership, Determination, Curiosity.
We’ve all been there; you had that great date, and now you’re not sure what to say in the first message. Now we’re not saying dating is the same as interviewing (awkward), but it makes perfect sense to follow up after your interview. Don’t forget you’re assessing each other, so it’s important to let your interviewer know why you liked them – what appeals to you and emphasise how excited you are about the role.
For most tech companies you’ll go through multiple interview stages, some more personality based, others more skills focused. No matter who you meet, recruiter, HR Manager, Sales Director, Founder – be sure to follow up.
Lastly, the day has come when you are starting your dream role. Why not pay it forward and share your experience with the community to help them land theirs.
