Who do you know? And who do they know?
Do you know someone whose work you admire or who has an educational background that is similar to yours? Or does someone in your network know of such a person? What is it that they do? How did they get there?
Ask these questions and have them elaborate on their career. When taking a retrospective look at our own journey, it’s easy to present events that have led us to where we are today in a straightforward manner. But in reality, it’s much more complex, and the journey takes us through bumpy roads, intersections, highways, dead ends... you get the point.
When asking someone how they got to where they are, inquire into what they did when they were in a situation like yours. Do they have any words of advice? What does it take to get to where they are? Would they have done anything differently? Maybe you can come up with other questions.
Use your network as a source of inspiration and information, but take it with a grain of salt. Remember to choose your own path and take only from others what you can use to get there.
What others do can be an inspiration – but don’t think you have to do the exact same thing
When we described how to discover your motivations, we mentioned that a university does not produce graduates for specific jobs. We know this thought is not comforting to everyone, but it’s an important one to remember.
Now we will focus on how you can find inspiration to get to where you want.
By looking at someone else’s journey, you can hopefully see that there are many opportunities and ways to get to a certain point. But don’t let it restrict you. It is only meant to be inspirational. You’re not supposed to do the exact same thing as others, just because you have the same degree.
Use LinkedIn as inspiration
Do you have a LinkedIn profile? If not, it can be a great idea to create one. It can be a useful tool to find inspiration for your career.
LinkedIn is kind of like Google. In the search bar, you can type in a job title, an education or a keyword that relates to an area of work. The results will show you the profiles of people who have somehow indicated or mentioned these details on their profile. You can also find the University of Southern Denmark on LinkedIn, and on the profile you can search for alumni with the same education as yours. This way, you can see people who have studied the same as you, where they have worked or where they are now. Again, use this as inspiration to become aware of potential titles, work places and tasks.
Would you like to meet for coffee?
If you come across some interesting people you would like to know more about, reach out. Suggesting a coffee meeting is a great way to get to hear more. It's not about them getting you a job, but about you getting information.
Questions you can prepare for a coffee meeting:
- How did you get to where you are today?
- How do you use your education in your daily work?
- What does it take to get a job like yours?
- What competencies are sought after?
- What are the current trends right now? How do you keep up-to-date on this?
Be curious. This way, you’ll get insider knowledge that can make your own job search more focused on specific companies and be made explicit in your job application and CV.
In your application, you can use this information to show that you know about current trends and that you have the competencies that they are looking for. This will make you stand out among other applicants.