Anyone looking for a job nowadays and experiencing some frustration when regular techniques of job-hunting are not successful, might wonder if more powerful help would be available to achieve success. For spiritual people, powerful help may be available. People across the ages have relied upon dreams to guide them in important matters and this area of immediate human concern should be no different. Christian writer Morton Kelsey said it rightly in 1978 when he opined, "If however, humankind is open to another dimension of reality, then the dream may be one of the most common avenues by which God reaches out to us...dreams should be taken very seriously." (M. Kelsey, Dreams: A Way to Listen to God, Paulist Press, Mahwah, N.J., 1978, 1989, page 5.) Muslims also know this. Imran N. Hosein in his "Dreams in Islam: A Window to Truth and to the Heart" (Masjid Darul Qur'an, Bayshore, N.Y. 1997, 2001, page 94-95) states, "We wish to remind our readers that Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu 'alaihi wa sallam) constantly interpreted not only his own dreams but also the dreams of his companions...Muslims should strive to be blessed with the capacity to interpret dreams..." Imran N. Hosein describes certain spiritual practices which aid believers in experiencing good and true dreams.
If your dream is "true and good" and not evil or from the 'nafs' (self), as Imran N. Hosein describes them (pages 51-74), and (I would add) you feel confident that you have received divine guidance in your dreams about an area of business or industry or a company to work in, it is possible to write to a company or companies in the relevant area (in reality usually multiple letters to different companies). In this respect, one idea that might be quite useful for this purpose is the "ignition letter" suggested by one author, Carter Elliott, who was involved in placing troubled Vietnam veterans in jobs. (See Carter E. Elliott, "Clean, Sober and Unemployed: Strategies for the Post-Rehabilitation Job-Seeker", Tab Books, Blue Ridge Summit, PA, 1992, pages 73-77.) He describes an ignition letter as "... simply a personal letter to a particular person asking for an appointment to discuss a matter of importance to both of you." It is, of course, advisable to apply to relevant positions that are open and publicly advertised, working through standard channels such as the company's Human Resources/Personnel Office. However, ignition letters, as I see them (similar to Elliott's description), are sent out typically to named higher-ups and these people sometimes can create a position in companies that have not necessarily advertised a position. Therefore, to be taken seriously, I also agree with Elliott that there should be, importantly, four suggested aspects of ignition-letters. As Elliott states, "Your ignition letters will be personalized if possible but will never be cute or flip...it will be short...it will show knowledge of the organization or product...it will show that person, in a few sentences, how you can help the company make more money." (Elliott, page 75). It is always important for the job-seeker to have done adequate research on his/her own background and skills and also adequate research about the target company and, if possible, of the company official receiving the letter and make a good match. (See Elliott. pp. 78-99 on target research.) As all of this research should be inspired after a dream so we should also be very careful to ask ourselves if our dreams are indeed true and good and have inspired our subsequent research and selection of companies.
In this respect it is also important to note the warning of Imran Hosein (page 75), " Then there was the grave warning from the Prophet (sallalahu 'alaihi wa sallam) concerning false claims of true and good dreams...or to falsify a dream which came from the nafs (self) and thus to mislead concerning the inner message conveyed by the dream..." Therefore we should most probably remain silent about the content of any dreams being the inspiration for writing to companies and let them be merely our private and personal guidance and motivation. The content of our public statements should consist only of the products of rigorous and convincing research of our own background and skills matched with a well-researched choice of companies. Our true and good dreams and inspired research might lead to a good match that could also be clear in the mind of the recipient company officer reading our letter. If we were wrong in the interpretation of our dreams, it may be less likely that the company officer will be convinced and more likely that he or she will ignore or reject our letter. We also have the additional safeguards of a hiring process often utilizing highly skilled human resource professionals to ensure good matching. Last but not least, we have an ethical responsibility and we must personally and individually provide ourselves and others an ethical safeguard for our behavior: we should commence any and all of our inspired action tested against and in accordance with our Islamic ethics contained in the Shariah. Of course other ethical and cultural standards may also be in place locally which we must consider and we also must know about and adhere to local legal standards in our behavior.
If we receive guidance from the Almighty with content in our true and good dreams, this may help us with our attempts to achieve optimal matching of ourselves with an interested company by showing us where to do research. Subsequent rigorous research and preparation could result in more higher-echelon recipients of our letters being pleasantly surprised to receive a properly researched and well-matched letter and hopefully a job offer. An optimally matched and timely letter from the right candidate to the right company official can sometimes save involved people time. If inspired and aided by good dream-work, a good match can appear to multiple parties as something of a small miracle. Then, of course, there is always the chance that the new boss is also spiritual and the boss could find their "dream employee."