Do you have a dream company you’d like to work for?
A company that’s internationally successful such as Google or Amazon, has a good reputation and offers a fantastic place to work?
Maybe you’ve heard that company’s staff are highly paid, enjoy many benefits, travel opportunities or flexible work arrangements.
Perhaps your dream company is a start-up that provides your favourite products and you wish you could get an opportunity to interview for a position.
Regardless of what constitutes your ‘dream company’, there are several considerations when searching for companies you would love to work for.
How to find companies you would love to work for?
Different people have different work expectations. For some individuals, a business that pays well, offers good retirement benefits, a safe work environment and annual vacation leave are ideal.
Other people may require more perks such as bonuses, commission, travel and flexible work arrangements. Regardless, finding a company you would love to work for starts with identifying what exactly your professional needs are.
Are you the type of individual who values attractive compensation and promotion? Or do you cherish teamwork and the opportunity to be part of a greater cause? To properly identify your dream company, your professional needs, beliefs and values must be clarified.
When these variables are clarified, you can seek companies who hold the same values. When you find them, the professional fit will be perfect.
Learn as much as you can about the employer
Browse social media, websites, customer reviews and press articles to learn about a company’s operations, brand perception, public reputation, ethics and management style. Evaluating how a company presents itself, helps you decide if this is a place you want to work.
For example, if a company is consistently in the news for malpractices or if their social media pages are littered with employee complaints and negative customer reviews, you can rest assured this is an organisation you do not want to work for.
Also, consider all aspects of being an employee at that company. Your research must go beyond simply looking at social media posts.
Many companies delete social media posts that portray them poorly. To get a comprehensive sense of their workplace culture, you need to talk to people who know the company intimately. Search for their company pages on LinkedIn. Look up their current employees and reach out to these people.
It may take some time and not everyone will respond, but start conversations with these employees and ask their honest opinion. How is their work environment, culture and leadership style? This is essential internal data you need to decide if a company is worth working for.
When having conversations on LinkedIn, always be professional. You may ask in-depth questions about management practices and the work environment. However, refrain from asking questions that would make employees uncomfortable or put them in an uncompromising spot. Stay clear of topics such as salary, benefits, company lawsuits or negative online reviews.
More ways to get noticed by your dream company
Subscribe to their social media
Companies post important events, accomplishments and relevant information on social media which will be useful for you to know. They also post job vacancies there. Once you subscribe or follow their pages, you will be alerted available opportunities and get a chance to apply.
Engage online and offline
Subscribe to their newsletters, ask questions about products, attend their events, and be aware of their company milestones. You never know when you might meet someone from the company who will gladly share information about potential job openings.
Subscribe to job boards
Subscribing to job boards, such as CaribbeanJobs.com is also beneficial. You can identify available vacancies in the companies you wish to work for. You can also see based on their job descriptions, the skills, education and experience they value most. These would be most advantageous to acquire and include on your CV.
Network and nurture relationships
As the post-pandemic world sets in, some companies are reverting back to in-person events. If your dream company is hosting a networking session, sponsored event, workshop or career fair, be sure to attend. You might meet someone who you can strike a rapport with, gain valuable company insights and learn if suitable positions are available.
Tips for getting hired by your dream company
- Make effective use of LinkedIn to start and build relationships. Professional relationships lead to career opportunities. If people do not know you, they cannot see your value or hire you,
- Cultivate a strong professional network of people particularly in dream companies you wish to work for. Qualifications may get you the interview, but qualifications with a solid rapport already built may get you the job.
- Practice interviewing. You must sell yourself so well that you look and sound like a team member of that company.
- Dress appropriately. An interview with your dream company don’t come around often. You will have one shot to make a first and lasting impression. Dress like the ultimate professional – jacket, shirt/blouse, dress pants, formal shoes, minimal jewelry and maintain a neat appearance.
- Sound the part – include company or industry facts, stats or jargon when speaking so the interviewer can clearly see you’re interested, you’ve done your research and you can be a member of their team.
- Remain confident. Interviews can be nerve-wracking. Practice interviewing with family and friends until you become more confident in your speech and assertiveness.
- Be realistic. This may be your dream but do not confuse ‘dream’ with ‘perfection’. All companies have problems to solve. The perfect company simply does not exist. Therefore, don’t be too optimistic but realise the company for what it is – a good but imperfect organisation. Being realistic like this takes a bit of the anxiety away.
