Finding a dream job is a desire and wish of every leader. Some are fortunate enough to have that job which perfectly fits their skills, passion, experience, while also meeting their financial needs. The question becomes is there a formula in which to find such a job?
In his fantastic book War Room, author Michael Holley tells the story of how Thomas Dimitroff became the general manager of the Atlanta Falcons in 2008. His hiring provides a template for all leaders to follow in finding their dream job.
- Prepare For Your Dream Job – While Director of College Scouting for the New England Patriots, Dimitroff was mentored by the team’s general manager Scott Pioli for his future position.
- Look For A Cultural Fit – To secure your dream job, you must be able to fit into that organization’s culture. Falcons owner Arthur Blank was looking to create a healthy culture with the Falcons. He says, “Do they believe in our culture? Do the live our culture?..They could have been really good at whatever their job was, but if they weren’t great cultural leaders and weren’t strong when it came to character, integrity, trust, and didn’t understand what we were about, then they weren’t going to be promoted.”
- Chaos Creates Opportunity. Look For Opportunity – After the Michael Vick dog fighting scandal, the Bobby Petrino resignation, and a series of bad personnel moves, the time was right for Blank to hire a person like Dimitroff.
- Let The Dream Job Find You – Dream jobs find you rather than you finding them. As mentioned in the previous point, Blank went looking for someone with Dimitroff’s temperament, skill set, experience, and pedigree. This is a principle we learn from Joseph. He was summoned by the king to interpret a dream. Whenever you are summoned, you can rest in the fact you have been prepared for the job.
- Look For Clear Responsibilities – Before Patriots head coach Bill Belichick granted permission to the Falcons to speak with Dimitroff, he was first assured that as the potential new GM, Dimitroff would have total control over personnel decisions.
- Have A Long-Term Plan – Blank was wanting to build a sustainable organization like the Steelers, Patriots, or Packers. Therefore, he was looking for a general manager from within those organizations who possessed a similar approach.
- Display A Burning Passion For Your Dream Job – When the play-offs created a scheduling conflict preventing Dimitroff from coming to Atlanta for a onsite interview, he creatively put together a Skype interview to fit into the Falcons decision window.
- Be A Lifelong Broad-Based Learner – During the interview, Dimitroff quoted Thoreau when making points about football. He also displayed a healthy balance between the game of football and the business of football.
- Have A Mental Model For Your Dream Job – Dean Stamoulis, a recruiting consultant from Russell Reynolds, stated Dimitroff was “Able to see the big picture…Clearly smart…amazing focus on detail…amazing rigor…Profoundly driven…Get the feeling that he has a mental model for what the job is and has spent a lot of time thinking it through.”
Cultural Fit, Chaos and Opportunity, The Job Finding You, Clear Responsibilities, Long-Term Planning, Burning Passion, Lifelong Broad-Based Learning, and Developing A Mental Model. These were the skills that helped enable Dimitroff to secure his dream job. Since his hiring the Falcons have never been as successful as they are currently. If you possess a similar skill set, you too may be positioned for the most success you’ve ever had.
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