I'm going to help you land your dream job

Two weeks ago, I landed my dream job. I'm standing at my desk, peering out my window overlooking the New York City skyline from my office on the 23rd floor of the Empire State Building. I'm surrounded by some of New York's brightest and hardest-working people, who are developing cutting edge products and reporting to passionate and motivated managers. Life is good. Now I want to return the favor in recognition of everyone who helped me along the way.

The journey to my dream job began in December 2012. I was working at an ad-tech start-up based out of Tel Aviv. It was my first job out of university. I had studied politics and economics and was hoping to work in diplomacy, but finished university during the financial crisis of 2008. Competition was intense and, after almost 5 months of unemployment, I felt like I just needed to start working. I was very disappointed that I didn't get a job in the field I was looking for. I was worried (and was mostly right) that this first job would define the rest of my career: closing some doors and inadvertently opening others towards a career I had never planned on. During the time I debated accepting the offer, my dad and grandfather instilled a valuable lesson upon me. "You are never too good for a job,” they taught me.

Frankly, I learnt a ton and was extremely grateful to the, then-small start-up of 6 employees who took a chance on me. I, in turn, gave blood, sweat, and tears to that company, helping lead them to become the success they are today. After three years there, I felt like it was time to move on.

Once I decided it was time to leave, I took out a pen and pad of paper and wrote down how I wanted my professional career to look in one year or more. I wrote down where I wanted to live and the ten companies I most wanted to work for: companies with visions and products I am passionate about, and where I could surround myself with gifted people.

I made it my goal to get an interview at all ten of those companies. I'm not saying it was easy but I utilized the network that I had built over the past 3 years and more. I was relentless. I incessantly bothered friends, recruiters, HR and even people I barely knew in order to reach the right people: basically everything I had learnt as a salesperson. I mapped those people out using LinkedIn. I took the necessary steps along the way to reach my goal.

Some tips:

1) Your dream job probably won't just land in your lap. It requires hard work and keeping your eye on the prize. I interviewed at LinkedIn almost two years before I was finally made an offer. I moved to New York to make sure I was more hire-able and took a job at another great company on my top-ten list. I took intelligent and calculated risks on my path to my dream job. A certain amount of luck and timing didn't hurt either.

2) Dream BIG, but be honest with yourself. In reality, my dream career would probably be to become a rockstar, but my friends and family can attest to my terrible karaoke performances. I was honest with myself at what skills I did have and where my strengths lie. My drive, social skills and love for technology led me to my decision to work in sales/biz dev for one of the best tech companies in the world.

3) Relationships matter. Use your whole network, not just your close friends to help introduce you to the right people. Those people will open doors to new opportunities and new people, who in turn will help you on your way to your dream job. Make sure to foster those relationships and always help others land their dream jobs too. A former colleague introduced me to someone at LinkedIn and I got passed around between about 5 recruiters before I arrived at the right person - thanks Aaron and to Shawn (my recruiter at LinkedIn).

4) Demand excellence from yourself and do it all with integrity and humor. No matter where you are on your journey, work hard, act like an owner and be a good person. Accept that not everything is in your control and smile even during the difficult times: there will be plenty of those.

5) Don't be afraid to transform your career, and I do mean to any career and at any age. You'd be surprised at what a mixed bag of experience and backgrounds there are at LinkedIn. One thing ties them all together: their passion for the company's mission and their desire to make a change.

As a final point, I have enjoyed helping a good amount of friends and former colleagues on their way to finding their dream jobs. One of my former CEOs once said to me “Life is a Ferris wheel, sometimes you're up and sometimes you're down. The most important thing is to stay on the damn thing." Feel free to reach out to me for advice.