Stallone-Obaraemi Samuel: Repositioning Yourself – find a job, Keep it (Part 2)
... continued from part 1
4a. Video Resumes: Turn their static paper cover letters and resumes into dynamic video presentations that are GUARANTEED to make an unforgettable first impression and get the more interviews.
b. First, marketing, then selling: Unless you get an employers’ attention in the marketing phase, you won’t succeed in selling. Marketing gets the attention of the prospective buyer. Selling begins when they contact you, visit you, or look at your web site. It is advised that job seekers do 90% Marketing, 10% Selling: Spend the majority of your time in the marketing phase strategizing around how to get an employers’ attention and being very clear about what you have to sell, where you are going to sell it, and how you are going to sell it.
c. What do you have to sell? Most people do a poor job on this. The employer doesn’t care if you have an MBA, or if you’re an engineer, accountant, or whatever. The only thing they care about is “how will hiring this person make my life easier?” Unless your whole approach is centred on this, you’re wasting your time.I once worked with a brash manager who stormed into my office some years back and told me straight to face “ I don’t care what the company’s policy is about certificates and academic qualifications. I have found a candidate, who has been a contract (Casual) employee. He has proven that he can do the job, and I want him hired. I don’t care what those so-called MBA graduates say they have”
d. Where are you going to sell it? Jobs advertised in the newspapers, on the Internet, or other media represent, about 20% of employment opportunities, and it is a mistake to focus exclusively on those. You need to become a news hound and sniff out opportunities and build a strong network, with the primary intent to give. It appears to be a bitter pill to swallow. But working for free pays! If you can, while looking for a paid job, volunteer to work for free.
e. How are you going to sell it?How does anyone sell anything? Anyone can learn how to sell effectively. It’s common sense. Do not forget; How do you tell someone that you know his problem and that you could help?
INTERVIEW (WHAT RECRUITERS LOOK FOR WHEN SPEAKING WITH YOU)( 2 mins)
Many job-seekers are prepared for employment; however, a segment of people looking for work don't have what are called job readiness skills. Job readiness skills are the basic, fundamental skills that a job seeker or an employee must have to be employable. In addition to rudimentary skills that many job seekers, employers and employees take for granted, job readiness for the 21st century involves another set of skills related to professional behavior, communication, collaboration and critical thought processes, diversity awareness, computer literacy, autonomy and problem-solving skills.
KEEPING YOUR JOB - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR CAREER SURVIVAL IN THE 21ST
The future work world will be even more global. Some of us will eventually be competing with bright and hungry workers in India, China, Korea and other developing nations around the globe.
Competing in the new environment will require higher levels of competence and necessitate looking straight ahead, not constantly glancing rearview mirror for warm fuzzy feelings about what you have achieved in the past.
Here are 10 skills to acquire and refine that will increase your professional confidence level and make you more employable in the 21st Century:
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Constantly adapt to technology. Dependency on technology in the future will increase, not decrease. Spend time learning new computer programs but more importantly, use the applications in your daily routine and strive to use technology as an enabler of productivity.
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Embrace diversity. Get comfortable with other ethnic cultures, religions and customs. Be curious about what makes people from other cultures tick. Learn a little about the customs and attitudes that belong to workers from other countries. The time will be well spent as you begin to relate human to human, not human to inhabitant of another country.
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Be a life-long learner. When you finished your last university or polytechnic course did you utter a sigh of relief and mumble something like, "Whew, glad I'm finished with my education!" sorry. Now, you are required to reinvent yourself every 3 – 4 years.
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Practice impeccable integrity. Employers need to feel your spirit and have the quiet assurance that you are honest. Taking integrity beyond just simple honesty, however, means that when you commit to a deadline, you are fully committed to producing results, not excuses.
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Be a self-starter. In the reality of a recession, merger etc, those who learn to work on the optimistic side of life, not the pessimistic side of life, are more valuable to the organization as they create a positive work environment that produces higher productivity.
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Demonstrate personal discipline. Employers want to hire people who have disciplined work habits and disciplined thinking. When you demonstrate personal discipline, you and your manager can spend more time on solving problems and moving the company forward.
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Prioritize and evaluate daily. Two of the biggest time wasters in the world are not knowing where to start when you get to work in the morning and working on low priority items.
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Be adaptable. To stave off obsolescence, organizations must constantly change and regularly introduce change initiatives. To increase your employability, learn to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Ask tough questions that define the future and actively look for ways to support the new change initiatives.
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
