--- title: How to Prepare for Your Dream Career in Just 1 Week description: Take advantage of your connections on social media. canonical: https://time.com/4214193/career-search-tips/ author: Varsity Tutors article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-10T16:06:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:02:24.167Z og:title: How to Prepare for Your Dream Career in Just 1 Week og:description: Take advantage of your connections on social media og:url: https://time.com/4214193/career-search-tips/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaefc5d63f3e2401c/69877889524fc01325debc14/computer-keyboard-typing-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: TIME.com stock photos Computer Keyboard Typing og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How to Prepare for Your Dream Career in Just 1 Week twitter:description: Take advantage of your connections on social media twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaefc5d63f3e2401c/69877889524fc01325debc14/computer-keyboard-typing-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How to Prepare for Your Dream Career in Just 1 Week > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Worth Your Time: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Worth Your Time is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more. Worth Your Time is a curated guide to the culture worth knowing, from the biggest conversations of the moment to the books, shows, ideas and discoveries worth your attention. Culture editor Eliza Berman taps TIME's collective taste and perspective to surface what is worth watching, reading, talking about and sharing, and why. 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It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: How to Make Your LinkedIn Profile Irresistible to Recruiters [Watch (HLS stream): How to Make Your LinkedIn Profile Irresistible to Recruiters](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bYGQX940.m3u8) (1:30)  _Published 2016-01-27_ by [Brian Witte / Varsity Tutors](https://time.com/author/varsity-tutors/) ## Brian Witte / Varsity Tutors Feb 10, 2016 4:06 PM UTC  Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME by [Brian Witte / Varsity Tutors](https://time.com/author/varsity-tutors/) ## Brian Witte / Varsity Tutors Feb 10, 2016 4:06 PM UTC Although career planning is often a long-term project, you might be surprised at how much you can accomplish in just one week. **Use the right language** Once you identify your dream career, your next step is to determine the path you will take to an employment offer. This involves defining your target and maximizing your return on the time available to you. Begin with an Internet search for “\[your dream career\] synonyms.” You may be surprised to learn that there are often multiple position terms—even for well-defined niches. For instance, a business analyst might also be known as an information analyst or a systems analyst. A commercial photographer might also be called a product photographer. You can likewise search “\[your dream career\] keywords” to uncover the words most commonly associated with your field. Then, do your best to include them in your social media profiles. **_Varsity Tutors:_** [_How to Build a Great Resume as a College Student_](http://time.com/4070270/build-great-resume-college-student/) **Capitalize on social media** Next, turn to social media. Modern job searches depend on an optimized LinkedIn account, so if you do not have one, make one. If you _do_ have an account, ensure that it is updated with all of your work experience and links to a portfolio of your projects (if applicable). If you do not have a professional profile picture, get one. Dress in business casual clothing (or formal attire if your goals lie in an area like medicine or law), and ask a friend to take a photograph of you against a neutral background. Avoid selfies and disorganized backdrops. You should also expand your network and your involvement on LinkedIn. Join professional groups related to your target career. Send connection requests or queries to people who post interesting links. Use the tools on the website to mine your school email for possible new connections. Your college classmates might not hire you, but your connection to them brings you one step closer to the managers and recruiters with whom they interact. Like posts, and endorse your connections for their skills. In short, participate as much as possible. **_Varsity Tutors:_**[_How to Land Your Dream Internship_](http://time.com/4061689/dream-internship-interview-tips/) **Expand your circle of contacts** The steps outlined above prepare you for the most important thing you can do: make contacts. Find people who are doing what you love, and send them emails. You will need a professional profile, savvy search skills, and a bit of audacity. Keep your emails brief and to the point. Do not ask about employment—rather, ask to conduct an informational interview. Explain that you are fascinated by or love their field, and wonder if they have time for a brief discussion about the keys to success. Offer to meet them at a time of their choosing, or to speak by telephone. Include your contact information (both telephone and email), as well as a link to your LinkedIn profile. Send at least a dozen of these requests. If you receive a response, be prompt to the meeting or telephone call. Bring a resume, but keep it in your notebook or folder unless you are asked for a copy. Do, however, ask if you can add this person as a contact on LinkedIn. **_Varsity Tutors:_**[_How to Make the Most Out of Your College Degree_](http://time.com/4088600/college-degree-make-the-most/) Finally, post your resume to several job boards, but remember that this is a less likely way of breaking into your dream field. Whenever possible, emphasize personal connection. _Brian Witte is a professional tutor and contributing writer with_ [_Varsity Tutors_](http://www.varsitytutors.com/tutoring-new%5Fyork%5Fcity)_, a live learning platform that connects students with personalized instruction to accelerate academic achievement. He earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Washington and holds a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University_ ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] [ SOUND ] [ MUSIC ] [ SOUND ] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4214193/career-search-tips/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4214193/career-search-tips/"},"headline":"How to Prepare for Your Dream Career in Just 1 Week","datePublished":"2016-02-10T16:06:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:02:24.167Z","description":"Take advantage of your connections on social media","url":"https://time.com/4214193/career-search-tips/","keywords":["Living","Education","College","resume","Internship","career","job search"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaefc5d63f3e2401c/69877889524fc01325debc14/computer-keyboard-typing-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Brian Witte / Varsity Tutors"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaefc5d63f3e2401c/69877889524fc01325debc14/computer-keyboard-typing-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TIME.com stock photos Computer Keyboard Typing","caption":"TIME.com stock photos Computer Keyboard Typing","creditText":"Elizabeth Renstrom for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4214193/career-search-tips/","name":"How to Prepare for Your Dream Career in Just 1 Week"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Some of The World's Most Powerful Women Share Their Best Advice","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/LF8Rmcmf/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-02-02T13:57:47.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/LF8Rmcmf.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4214193/career-search-tips/","duration":"PT1M11S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4214193/career-search-tips/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How to Make Your LinkedIn Profile Irresistible to Recruiters","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/bYGQX940/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-01-27T15:44:35.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bYGQX940.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4214193/career-search-tips/","duration":"PT1M30S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4214193/career-search-tips/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```