Your dream job starts with work you would do unpaid

Where Muzamil started

Muzamil opens with his own story. In 2016 he had a basic job in the IT industry that paid 60,000 rupees a month. He says the work did not suit his temperament, he could not see himself growing in it, and it left him deeply depressed. He stayed about two years because he was married and needed the income.

About five years later, he says, he works on his own terms, earns far more than he expected, and can work from anywhere in the world. This episode lays out the steps he says made that move possible. The YouTube title counts nine. They run in order, from knowing what you want to accepting the right offer.

First, define the work you love

When people ask him how to get their dream job, Muzamil asks them what that job is. He says most young people cannot answer. They describe a good salary, a car, a big title. “That is not a dream job,” he says. Those are the outcomes of doing work you enjoy.

So the first step is to identify the nature of the work that excites you. Read job descriptions. Watch videos about what different roles involve day to day. Ask people around you, a doctor, a data scientist, a freelancer, what a normal day looks like for them. Some people are people persons and might suit sales. Others want to sit with a laptop and build reports or do technical work. His test: which of these would you do even if no one paid you?

Then find the companies doing that work and pick the ones that match your values. He gives media as an example. You might love media but not want to work in TV news. Look on LinkedIn at who works at those companies and what their titles are. Search those titles to see what the roles demand. That research, he says, tells you exactly which skills and responsibilities you need to build toward.

Why he says merit still wins in the private sector

Muzamil expects pushback at this point. Many viewers will say jobs in Pakistan go through sifarish, the personal recommendation that gets a relative hired with one phone call. He says that happens in government jobs, and points to the state of government as the result. “The private sector always looks for efficiency,” he says. A private employer hires to make money and will not keep someone who cannot deliver. Since the private sector is now far larger than the government and will keep growing, his advice is to prove you are the best.

Build the skills and the proof

With the target role defined, work backwards. Job descriptions list the technical, soft and management skills the employer wants. Fresh graduates often say they cannot get experience without a job. Muzamil’s reply is that a jobless person has nothing to lose. Take one skill at a time. Do a course or watch videos. Then find a way to use it on something you can show.

His own skills were in media: shooting, editing, speaking on camera and managing social media. He also had to learn how to manage a team, send invoices and handle money, because he had never hired or managed anyone. “I can honestly claim that my whole degree came out of YouTube,” he says, given the thousands of videos he watched.

Next, do small projects. If you want to get into web development, offer to build a free website for a relative’s small business or a friend’s startup. Even a friend’s birthday party, run formally with a budget and a team, can become an event management project. Put this work on a portfolio website, which he says no-code tools like Squarespace or Wix make easy. Explain the problem, your thinking and the result. Pair it with a strong LinkedIn profile. “In the modern day, if you are not on LinkedIn, forget about getting a good job,” he says.

Stop applying blindly

Many people then fire off applications everywhere and wonder why no one replies. Muzamil explains from the other side of the desk. He has about 200,000 Instagram followers, and about 20,000 people see his stories. When he posts a job opening, he says, he gets at least 2,000 to 3,000 CVs. He runs a small team with no HR department. A blank email with only a CV attached gets skipped, and he says 99 percent of what arrives is junk in his eyes, even though some of those applicants may well be talented.

Network, then tailor

Before applying, network. Connect on LinkedIn with people in the industry you want to join. Go to webinars, seminars and incubator events. At this stage the goal is knowledge and relationships. The job comes later. You pick up the industry’s language and insight, which later strengthens your CV, cover letter and interview.

Muzamil separates a referral from a sifarish. A referral is when someone who already knows you are capable and trustworthy is asked if they know anyone for a role. The hiring manager interviews those few people before going to the open market, because trust is already there. That, he says, is why networking is such a powerful tool.

Then tailor every CV and cover letter to the job. Put the most relevant experience at the top, because a recruiter scanning quickly may never reach it otherwise. Show problems you solved and the impact, with numbers where you have them. He adds that he has seen Pakistani CVs with photos and even the applicant’s religious sect on them.

Research the company and show you care

When an interview comes, Muzamil says, most candidates prepare their technical answers and know almost nothing about the company. He tells you to study its website, its social channels, its clients, its scale and its problems. Use the STAR method for problem-solving questions. When asked if you have questions, ask about the company, the daily work and the clients as well as the salary.

He tells his own story here. He applied to one place in his life, a large multinational, for a role that asked for two to five years of experience. He had none. He went as far as his technical knowledge allowed, then told them honestly that he was a fresh graduate. He said he understood their business, was passionate about the problem they solved, and would close his gaps within two to three days of starting. He credits the result partly to confidence and partly to his soft skills and his real understanding of the company.

He expects some viewers to say they only care about the money. His answer is blunt. If you treat a job as purely transactional, he says, you will stay on 40,000 rupees and maybe reach 80,000 or 100,000. Getting into the 500,000 race means caring about the work and the value you create.

Follow up, negotiate, play long

After the interview, send a short thank-you note and ask for feedback even if you are rejected. When an employer is choosing between three or four people, he says, the one who follows up first often gets the call. Feedback tells you what to fix. Do not let rejection hurt your confidence. Ask what was missing and come back better.

When an offer comes, research the market rate, for example on Reddit and company review sites. If the offer is low, thank them and counter politely with your expectation. But keep long-term goals first. He would take 50,000 rupees at a strong company with good culture and growth over 100,000 at a weak one. Weak firms, he says, often pay more to make up for their problems. “Play long term,” he says. “Play the slow and steady wins the race game.”

He closes with a warning about the get-rich-next-year mindset, which he says has hurt his whole generation. If getting out of bed for work feels like a struggle, he believes you will not grow there. His suggestion is to keep the current job while you explore a new area, build skills in it, and pivot slowly.