Are you frustrated looking for a job or looking to shift careers without success? Many people these days will tell you that they have done the best there is and they can’t seem to succeed in any job hunting endeavour. They easily end up blaming corruption and the government for their misdemeanours. I don’t blame them but just ask a question, if you believe you have been doing everything there is to be done, have you been doing it the right way? People who normally pop into our offices keep asking if there is something they are not doing right. I can tell you that there can be a combination of many things which explain why you have not gotten a job:
1. Have you ever thought that you are looking for a job at the wrong place, maybe you are doing it wrong or you are looking for a job in some industry because you know there are jobs there although you are not qualified in them?
2. Are you specific or are you approaching the job industry haphazardly? Think about it, where are you looking for a job and if you looked at the companies you dropped you vitae with, is there any relation between them.
3. Are you having very high expectations in the job market? Are you overqualified for the jobs you are applying for? What many job seekers forget is that there is selection and once you are over or under qualified then you can’t be shortlisted.
4. Which town are you in and what are your qualifications. The town matters a lot especially if you are qualified in some fields that are specific to some companies that require your skill. Most companies are in our cities and I will urge you to stick to that especially if you know your qualifications are irrelevant in some towns.
5. If you are applying jobs physically or online (I recommend this mode), how are you doing it? If you are sending your CV, what is accompanying it? How have you drafted the cover letter? What is the format of your CV?
Either or more of the above is what you are doing wrong. We are going to share with you the available methodologies of going for a job search venture and we will be sharing it with you. As we approach a new year, you need to put it under your resolutions that you will not only get a job but nail a good job. Whether you have a job right now and you feel you need another one or you like the one you have currently, believe me a resolution at the beginning of the year makes a whole lot of difference.
Let me share my personal experience if you will allow me in a few sentences. While in university for my undergraduate studies, I identified a good method of hunting for a job and by the second semester of my fourth year, I had a job in a leading bank. As much as it was not well paying, I had fulfilled my promise. I got a job without bribing someone, not knowing anyone in Nairobi and starting life in Nairobi without even a relative. Today I run a very big company that I am proud of and I believe you can do it. Sorry for diverting but I will share my story another day when the forum is right. All I am advising is that you can get the right job for you and one which you can enjoy doing.
I will put my job searching tips in a bullet version and I hope that if I miss any of them, I will put them forth when I am given the opportunity to front them in the near future again in this site. I know one of the human resource may have shared this before but I won’t mind repeating it for the sake of those who do not go through our daily career advice tips and articles. To get the right job that you will enjoy and earn well do the following:
Ø Identify the industry across which you need a job. Here I mean that you should be specific and try to match the industry with your qualifications and technical abilities. The target at this point should not be money although that will be at the back of your mind for the sake of making an economical decision.
Ø Clear the feeling of desperation from your mind. Although you may be desperate, please don’t let that sense govern your job application. Here I am advising for a care free attitude. If you get this, the confident feeling will pop in and I can tell you that with that, you can walk into any office and drop your CV without any worry.
Ø Develop a superb CV and general cover letter: This will be more applicable to those people who are looking for a first time job and will go dropping CVs all over. The cover letter and CV in this case should be very simple and straight. Look for our article on a winning CV.
Ø List all the companies that are in the specific industry you selected. You should get the physical addresses of all these firms and make sure you know those buildings as soon as possible. Use yellow pages and list around fifty of them.
Ø Spirituality. This is a controversial topic but I will simply put it that if you are a spiritual person, please involve your supreme being in the search of a job. If you believe in God, Allah, Jah, Brahama, Budha or any other that I haven’t mentioned, say a prayer to your God every day at night and in the morning. Successful people are very spiritual, ask them!!!!!!!!
Ø Drop your CV. I am assuming that this exercise should be done at your second semester of the final year in university or college. Out of fifty CV dropped, I promise you that ten of them will be perused through and you will get a chance of an interview for about four of them.
For those experienced and already working, you do not have a reason for obtaining a good job especially if you have access to the internet. All you need to do is to have your CV and a good cover letter in soft. Get daily job update from this site or any that you prefer, match the job requirements to yours for any job that arouses your feelings and send both your CV and cover letter. If you apply for two jobs every day, that will be fourteen at the end of a week and sixty at the end of the month. I promise you that in a month you may attend at least five interview and you will nail a job very soon.
Every day so many jobs are created and you need to occupy these jobs. They are out there waiting for you, the economy is expanding and as long as I will advocate for self employment, you need a job first to get capital and basic soft landing. We will take time to discuss how to shift from employment to self employment. Keep watching this space.
We at Human Capital Consulting (HCC) (K) Ltd. wish you all the best in your job search.
