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Stallone-Obaraemi Samuel: Repositioning Yourself – find a job, Keep it (Part 1)

Practically speaking life itself could be tiring. Looking for, finding, and keeping a job could be mountainously challenging.  I cannot promise you that what I am going to say will form a miraculous wand with which you could get a job in a flash, or that will guarantee your keeping the one you have. All I want to do is examine some facts with you, so that we all can see how dark the tunnel could be and probably how bright the light at the end of the tunnel could shine.

I will try to be as practical and ordinary as possible, with related experiences, without sticking too hard to the textbooks. After all we all do have access to the internet and can download and read a universe of materials. This time let us get our hands dirtyJ.

Background of the  Nigerian Situation

These facts I am going to share are not necessarily mine, and may not be absolutely correct as par current reality. However, they may not be entirely far from the truth and they thus present a situation that could either be a burden or a blessing depending on how you use the information.

  1. Thousands of employees have been fired in the past couple of weeks, to join the millions of unemployed youths that are already flooding everywhere.
  2. Although the Federal government has ordered organisations to stop firing people, the government has been said to be misguided and populist in its pronouncement. In other words, the government is seen to be thinking with its heart rather than its mind.
  3. The government earlier this week announced that it is poised to employ over 500,000 teachers. This is goodnews, but the average Nigerian doubts its feasibility and sustainability at the moment.
  4. Research has shown that for the unemployment level in Nigeria to be levelled, we would need to create about 1.6 million employments yearly. The current situation poses that as a far cry.

In the midst of all these, very many people are still looking for jobs. For those still job hunting, looking for a job, is a job in itself. So I have put down a few thoughts to help those who are looking for jobs to probably find one.

Prepare for Job Search

  1. Acquire Soft/additional skills: If you are attending a regular school, make it a point of duty to acquire addition skills, maybe soft skills (use of computer, MS word, Excel, Corel draw, spss, web designing, shoe & bag making, clothing making, bead making etc) Additional skills will help you create a job, where you are unable to find one in the immediate.

  2. Know your etiquette & Build your communication Skills:  Your mouth is the door to your soul, to your world. Imagine what a man does with his mouth when he woos a woman; Think about what swindlers, politicians, motivational speakers, orators, leaders do with their mouths. They practically move figurative mountains. While in the presence of your interviewers, what comes out of your mouth and how it comes out could make or mar you. While the above portrays that you be confident, be careful not to be cocky. Because sometimes, job conversations could happen over the telephone, you must make it a duty to learn and practice telephone manners. Like a salesman who constantly practices how to sell over the telephone, or make cold calls, you must be serious with preparations to get a job.

  3. Your CV prepares the way for you: There is shortage of time now than ever before in human history. Unfortunately there are at least tens if not hundreds of thousands of people applying for almost every single job.  Interviewers and recruiters subconsciously lose their cool when you begin to repeat your role description at your current or former place of work. They are going to do nothing with it. So the natural thing to do is to dump your “ too-long-a-CV” and to move on. It is your responsibility to find how, and learn how to draft dynamic CVs. There’s nothing duller than a traditional resume. Its’ focus is “Here’s what I’ve done in the past.” Great resumes answer the question; “How can you help me today?”

Importance/Attributes of a Good CV

  1. A good CV carries that first page that tells the recruiter “ I have taken my time to study your business to the best of my ability. I have seen where your pain is. If you will allow me, I can fix it.”

  2. Stop using all those zombie expressions such as “ I can do anything and everything’, ‘I am a fast learner’, ‘I really need this job’,’ I work well under pressure’ etc” Recruiters are quite busy and are looking for people who understand their problems and pain, and have ready solutions. They are not in that role to hand over favours. Do note that nobody owes you anything. This mindset makes you tougher and focused and this reflects on your CV.

  3. a)      Human Voice Resume – HVR – In your CV, you must show that you are specific as to what you want. Avoid sounding generic in what you want. Avoid the “ I can do anything you say” syndrome. Standard resume language like “Results-oriented professional with a bottom-line orientation” brands you exactly like every other banana in the bunch, according to Liz Ryan. Do not use one CV for every job. Your CVs must be job specific and built around the pain-points of the hiring manager. Every manager has a reason for hiring. Find that reason and build your CV around that. When you do that you are simply saying “I do not want to waste your time. This is what I have found out about your pain points, and I can help out using my experiences so, so and so”.

    b)      Use Visuals, Reduce Words: There’s nothing visual about a Word Document. Rather, the saturation of text might even diminish a reader’s ability or willingness to pay close attention to all that you have to say.

    c)       Use Social media/Networking platforms rather than just email addresses: Your mailing address doesn’t say much about you. Your social media and networking profiles on the other hand tell the story of who you are. So be careful what you post online!

    d)      No More References on Request. (that’s dated) –You must learn to incorporate QR codes into the design of your resume. QR (or quick response) codes are digital fingerprints connected to web-based content that users can access by scanning them with their smart phones or tablets. On a resume, QR codes can be used to take viewers to a website showing your recent blog posts, work samples, social media profiles, and originally created content. Additionally, QR codes can be used to embed video references from professionals in your industry for potential employers to view and listen to.

    e)       Graphs:  The use of graphs, charts and timelines in the design of CVs is becoming increasingly important. Each of these can serve a meaningful purpose on a 21st century resume or curriculum vitae too. The less mental energy a viewer needs to exert to simply understand what your resume is telling him or her, the more time and energy he or she can spend appreciating what you have to bring to the table. 

 

Stallone-Obaraemi Samuel is an executive coach, a corporate learning and development consultant and keynote speaker. He currently serves as the lead consultant and CEO at DellonVille Global Associates.

Stallone.samuel@dellonvilleltd.com; obaraemicity@gmail.com

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