For Recent or Soon-To-Be College Graduates: Job Search Advice from a Genuine Success Story
In his response to President Obama’s State of the Union Address on January 24, 2012, Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels stated: “Nearly half of all persons under 30 did not go to work today.” Is it any wonder so many college grads are resigned to living with their parents and settling for any job—barista, gas pumper, cashier—that will help them pay off their student loan debt?
When he was a senior in college, and unemployment was the highest it had been in 10 years, Pete Leibman didn’t let a down economy stop him from going after his dream job: working for a pro sports franchise. He didn’t let lack of experience, naysayers, or fear stop him either. Thanks to his winner’s mindset, perseverance, and some powerful strategies, Leibman not only landed his dream job, but was promoted to management within the NBA’s Washington Wizards less than two years later, when he was only 23. In his first book, I GOT MY DREAM JOB AND SO CAN YOU: 7 Steps to Creating Your Ideal Career After College (AMACOM; March 6, 2012; $15.95 Paperback), Pete Leibman shares what he learned on his own, through trial-and-error, with all big-dreaming, job-seeking Gen Yers. He gives readers something they can relate to and use, immediately: a systematic process that’s based on real-world experience and real-world results. Plus, he offers them something increasingly rare: hope for achieving their professional goals. “This is the best time ever to get your dream job and skyrocket your career, no matter what you want to do. Seriously,” Leibman explains and then shows why.
Providing plenty of encouragement without glossing over the hard work required, I GOT MY DREAM JOB AND SO CAN YOU breaks the job search into six steps. Combining creative tips on traditional job-hunting tools and tactics with little-known secrets for advancing a career through social media and innovative online resources, a job search is S.I.M.P.L.E:
- Start. Don’t make excuses. Do something! Expect doubters and use them to fuel your fire to go after your dream job, even if you’re not yet sure what that dream job is.
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- Identify. Begin with the “big picture” of your dream career, based on your passions, talents, and values. Then, clarify the details of what you want from a job, through creating a Dream Job Description, and develop a list of ideal employers to target.
- Makeover. Market yourself for success. The key lies in 10 assets, including confident body language, polished physical appearance, rock-solid references, results-oriented résumé, pristine Internet presence, pumped up LinkedIn profile, and a winner’s mindset.
- Plan. Be strategic with all your job search efforts. Learn how to tap the abundance of resources you already have on your side, identify the best networking events to attend, and create a strategy for using LinkedIn and other websites to get hired faster.
- Look. Once you have a clear job destination, seek out experts to ask for directions. Begin networking with people you know and uncover “hidden” contacts. Don’t be afraid to talk to strangers. Be ready to engage them with questions related to your career goal.
- Execute. Learn how to prepare for and face any job interview with confidence, answer the most common interview questions, avoid the six deadly interview sins, sell yourself to impress without bragging, and transition from the interview to a job offer.
Leibman also focuses on the ultimate step for career achievement: being professional—in mindset, commitment to excellence, performance, relationships, and out-of-office life. At every step, readers will find helpful and engaging features, including Q&As addressing common job-seeker concerns, Leibman Life Lessons, and profiles in success, introducing 10 young professionals who recently landed their dream jobs with employers including Microsoft and the U.S. State Department. Regardless of the economic climate, I GOT MY DREAM JOB AND SO CAN YOU shows college grads that it’s possible to find not just any job, but a personally meaningful and professionally rewarding one.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Pete Leibman landed his first dream job, despite being told it was “impossible,” right out of college, and rose to the management ranks of the NBA’s Washington Wizards by age 23. He is currently flourishing in his second dream job—helping young professionals get their dream jobs—as a keynote speaker and the entrepreneur at the helm of Dream Job Academy, an online career-training program. He lives in Arlington, Virginia, and welcomes visitors to his websites, www.peteleibman.com and www.BestCareerBook.com.
Title: I GOT MY DREAM JOB AND SO CAN YOU
7 Steps to Creating Your Ideal Career After College
Author: Pete Leibman
Pub. Date: March 6, 2012
Price: $15.95 Paperback
Pages: 256
ISBN: 978-0-8144-2020-1
Visit AMACOM Online at http://www.amacombooks.org
Find book covers and author photos online at http://www.amacombooks.org/go/art/
