The world of work – Finding the job you want
Know your art – You do not have to know it all in a particular
field but you certainly need to own it. You need to carve a niche for yourself
as the go to person for information and advice. How do you do that? Read, read
and read some more. Whichever area of endeavor you settle on, there is a wealth
of information out there in the field for you to explore. Gain experience in
the field. Volunteer if you have to just to gain knowledge and experience in
the field. You do not want to be that person who cannot speak to an issue when
confronted with a question. Get well versed with emerging trends in the field.
If budgets were done manually in the past, there are matrices for that now.
Get the degree to back the talk – In the informal sector, it is
easy to get by or be recommended for a job without a fancy degree. Back in the
day, a lot of priority was given to experience rather than a degree. Today,
when you get to the Ministries, everyone has a degree while others are working
towards a second Masters. Times have changed. If you remain content with an O
level, someone with relatively less experience but with the requisite
educational background might just be placed ahead of you. Knowing your art does
matter, but it means nothing if you will not even get shortlisted because you
did not make the cut in the first place.
Rolling stone effect – I call this the rolling stone effect because
I worked with a colleague and we used this term a lot on colleagues who never
seemed to make up their minds and seemed to be doing quite a number of things
at once without having any clear results to show for anything. To be the
perfect professional, you need to have the tendency of a rolling stone. This
should only be done after you have mastered your art. This is the time to allow
your mind to wonder from time to time to other areas. For instance, if you are
an account’s person, it does not hurt to start reading a bit on philosophy and
politics. Get involved in a little bit of everything. What this does for you is
that it keeps registering in your knowledge repository and you never know when
you might need a particular information that will catapult you to the next
level.
Make Straight A’s – There is a book that says that Straight A’s
never made anybody rich. That is true but not making them certainly diminishes
your chances. By straight A’s, I mean good grades. In simple terms, if you do
not make good grades, you do not get into a good secondary school and if you do
not get into a good secondary school, chances of you getting into a good
university are even slimmer. Give yourself a fighting chance by acing the
things you can control and leaving the ones you cannot control.
Acquire employable skills – In this fast paced and competitive
world, how do you make sure that you stand out from the thousands of applicants
chasing after the same jobs? You can do that by acquiring skills that set you
apart and give you an edge. From basic technical skills such as typing, and
computer skills through to soft skills such as presentation, interviewing and
negotiation skills; these competencies will not only help you acquire a job,
but will help you thrive once employed. I have met many graduates who cannot
even put together a decent CV or PowerPoint presentation despite having had
straight As in school. By all means get the As, but ensure that you acquire
skills and competencies which are valuable in the “market place”.
Have a second or third International language – I get a lot of
frown with this point. Where the world is headed, you need to stand out in
order to be outstanding. Your language skills is what will differentiate you
from the next best candidate. Anglophones usually have the misfortune of having
everyone around them speaking their language therefore, there isn’t the need to
learn a second. Amongst the United Nations languages, most Anglophones would
learn French as a second language. The challenge is that, learning French as a
second language for Anglophones is not the easiest of ventures. Fundamentally,
English and French do not belong to the same language family. One is from the
Germanic family whilst the other is a Romance language. You might fail a couple
of times. Don’t give up. If all else
fails, French is not the only other International language. There is Arabic,
Spanish and Chinese.
Network, network, network – What do you do if you are looking for
job? Ask a friend to ask a friend. Look within your network to find out if
there are any job openings within their organizations, or that they have heard
of. Majority of companies will hire someone based on a recommendation from
someone they trust. Therefore be sure to inform friends, relatives, members of
the same church or group you belong to about your search for a job. However,
bear in mind that people will usually not recommend someone they cannot vouch
for. Therefore before you approach the
big man in your neighborhood or whom you go to church with for a job offer, ask
yourself, ‘what image have I been portraying to him and the general public?’
‘Can he attest to my ability to perform the job, I am looking for?’
Send out that application – In my many travels, I have met
jobseekers who while they say they are looking for employment, have not even
submitted one application. They are waiting for someone to hold their hands and
walk them into a job. While knowing a big man/big woman who can help you get a
job helps, or some people get miraculous jobs they were not even looking for,
this accounts for a very small percentage of successful jobseekers. In the real
world, you have to apply, and apply, and keep on applying while following the
afore-mentioned steps until you get the job that you want. Remember, you do not
get what you deserve, you get what you fight for.
Je ne sais quoi – This is French for ‘I don’t know what’. It is
used to express a phenomenon that is difficult to explain. Some call it the act
of God, the intervention of the Holy Spirit, luck, destiny, divine intervention
etc. Call it what you want, but you need it. Hiring managers meet some
candidates and they just like them. They meet others and write them off before
they have had the chance to open their mouths. You need that extra ‘humph’. If
you don’t have it, pray for some.
