Four Laws to Getting Your Dream Job and Building a Better Network

Hi everyone! My name is Anson Lee and I am a Grade 11 student at Agincourt Collegiate Institute. Last weekend, I got the privilege to attend Illuminate’s Think Tank with Mash Chowdhury, a cybersecurity consultant at Deloitte , as part of Illuminate’s Associate National Lead program. I was extremely inspired and would like to take the opportunity to share what I learned with with my Blog.

Mash came from Bangladesh to Canada at 18. Being an international student, he had a lot of pressure from his family to perform. When he got here, school was tough but he worked his ass off. Today, he has won two cyber case competitions on stage and is a cybersecurity consultant for Deloitte.

During the session, Mash highlighted four laws he has learned and shared them with us!

Law #1 - First impression is everything. No one will talk to you unless they realize you’re worth their time

It's important to realize that people won't help you for no reason. They need to be getting something out to it. The same can be applied when talking or reaching out to people. You need to impress them at your first opportunity and to show them that you're worth the help!

Law #2 - Your parents, teachers, friends and “insider connections” cannot get you into your organization. Stand up on your own feet.

Coming to Canada when he was 18, Mash was confused as crazy, school was hard, and he had a lot of pressure to perform. He learned that your connections won't be there to get you into jobs and companies and that you need to venture out for yourself.

Law #3 - Be a sniper. Don’t bring a shotgun. Aim. Prepare. And get that job. Everyone's resume should be 1 page max. Avoid big buzz words which fluff up your answer and sounding like every single other student applying and to be concise and related your past experience to what’s expected on the job.

Law #4 - There’s literally no other way to the top. You work hard, you study on the weekends and you keep doing it. Your biggest challenge will be learning to be successful in your own way. You need to have a balance between happy with yourself while keeping others around you happy. Always act on what you learn. ALWAYS.

In conclusion, if you want to get your dream job, you're going to need to learn to network. You need to stand out at first impression and to network like crazy. Aim for the job you want and work like there's no tomorrow to get to there. In short, You need to constantly think about the state you are in. Are you satisfied with the way you are today? If not, how do you start getting there?

Moving forward from this session, I will reach out to potential mentors on LinkedIn 2-3 times a month and send them my quarterly newsletter to keep them in my loop. I will also attend more Hackathons and Conferences whenever possible. I would like to thank Mash for giving us such an grounded-to-Earth and interactive talk, and for Illuminate Universe for hosting this session!