What Do Employers Really Want? Part 2

In first part of this post What Do Employers Really Want, we identified five skills which constitute part of the set of employability skills necessary in the work place and highly demanded by employers. In this concluding part, we will finally discuss the remaining and no less important part of these skills set.

6. Ability to handle multiple priorities
The demands of today’s work place are enormous and challenging. As such, those planning to come into it must brace up for its requirements. The basic requirements are:
setting priorities
openness to new and diverse ways of doing things
adapting to changing conditions and assignments
time management and the scheduling of tasks
minimizing mistakes and learning from them
accepting feedbacks

7. Enthusiasm for work: This requires,
Loving the job
dedication to duty and hard work doing more than is expected on the job
punctuality to work
exhibiting positive energy in word and action in the work place

8. Willingness to Learn: This means,
willingness to learn new skills or techniques, no matter your age or experience
openness to learn and grow through the dominant factor of change
being enthusiastic, knowledge-hungry and eager to meet professional challenges with the new knowledge and skills learned

9. People skills: This involves,
having value and respect for people
showing commitment to people
maintaining integrity with people

10. Honesty and Integrity
By far, employers probably respect personal integrity more than any other values. Honesty and integrity are about:
your words and actions matching up
your loyalty undivided and without pretence
your stance in the face of conflicting interests and values
your personal sense of contentment
building trust based on a principled life
your solid reputation, not just your image
you maintaining credibility with people

11. Computer Literacy
Almost all jobs now require some basic understanding of computer operations, especially word processing, spreadsheet and email. Therefore, you will do yourself some good by acquiring this basic knowledge of computer appreciation and operations.

12. Leadership/Managerial skills
Leadership skills basically will require the mix of all skills and values discussed in both the first and second segments of this article. However, this mix of skills and values will of necessity be propelled and given direction by a clear vision and demonstration of influence.

Leadership skills require that you think in terms of ownership and influence, irrespective of your position in the organization, while inspiring others to make impact on the fortunes of such organization.

Managerial skills basically will require that you exhibit aptitude to effectively work in and supervise systems, processes and people.

In conclusion, the best news out of all this, is that once you understand the skills and values most employers seek, you can hone your job search communications – your CV, cover letter and interview language – to showcase how well your credentials align with a prospective employer’s requirements.

To your success!

Career Seminars Nigeria: What Do Employers Really Want? Part 1

Career Seminars Nigeria: What Do Employers Really Want? Part 1

What Do Employers Really Want? Part 1

Life is about asking the right questions and getting the correct answers and job search efforts are no different. Depending on your attitude and experience in job search, the above title could be an intelligent question from one who desires to equip self with the right information necessary for success at job search.

The question could also be a job seeker’s outburst at the frustrating experience of unsuccessful job search ventures, arising from a lack or insufficiency of requisite information or knowledge.

Whatever the case, the fact remains that to be successful at job search and ultimately be part of a work environment, certain skills are necessarily required. These skills are generally divided into Job specific/ Technical skills and Employability skills.

Job specific / technical skills are the very technical skills needed for operations in any field, while employability skills (also known as soft skills) are the skills that are nearly universally sought by employers, irrespective of a job seeker’s field of qualification.

They are skills which are part of the human endowment and often deployed in our day-to-day relational experiences. So, what are these critical employability skills employers demand from job seekers?

1. Communication skills
This is by far the skill often sought after by employers. A job seeker must prove to have the ability to:

a. read and understand information presented in a variety of forms
b. write and speak enough to capture the understanding and attention of others
c. listen and understand the points of view of others

2. Problem-solving skills

The work place pays employees for value put in and not for time spent. And problem solving skills are one of the set of skills that will distinguish a job seeker and make that one highly sought after.

But, to prove the possession of these skills, a job seeker will have to show that s/he can:
(a) assess situations,
(b) seek multiple perspectives to a problem,
(c) think logically and see relationship between cause and effect,
(d) be creative and innovative in exploring solutions,
(e) Evaluate systematically in order to make recommendations and decisions.

3. Team work
The work place is not for lone-rangers, but for team players who can work well with others to realize the corporate goals of an organization. Therefore, a job seeker will have to prove his ability to:

a. understand and work well within the dynamics of a group
b. be open to, respect and support the thoughts, opinions and contributions of others in the work environment
c. contribute to a team by sharing information and expertise
d. lead and support when appropriate
e. understand the positive side of conflict in a group to reach solutions
f. manage and resolve conflicts when they arise

4. Self confidence
If in spite of your education and abilities you are still not confident in yourself, then why should a prospective employer consider you for a job? Be confident in yourself and in what you can offer the employer. Show that:
a. you can interact confidently with others
b. you can take calculated risks to reach challenging goals

5. Ability to work with little or no supervision
At the root of this skill is the need to:
a. engage tasks with personal confidence
b. engage tasks before being asked or forced by events
c. anticipate situations and make contingency plans for handling them
d. seek clarifications in order achieve desired results

If you will learn these skills and more and communicate them well enough, I bet you will be much more ready and positioned to impress your prospective employer and secure their positive consideration for your application. I expect your comments.

To your success!

10 Ways to Be on Top of Your Job Search in 2011 Part 2

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In the first part of 10 Ways to Be on Top of Your Job Search in 2011, we started looking at the necessary steps vital to succeeding in the ever-stressful job market, and it was clearly stated that applying these steps will reduce this stress and make the whole experience ultimately rewarding. Here are the remaining steps to coming out tops in your job search.

6.  Don’t be an ignoramus

Ignoramus – that sounds like the name of an animal. If it were, it would be the stupidest animal on earth! Actually, it refers to an ignorant person; a state of being empty of relevant information or knowledge.  Ignorance is not so much of being “not in the know” than it is about attitude.

Ignorance is an attitude – the attitude of one who doesn’t know and doesn’t make any effort to know. It’s said that an apt definition of madness is doing same thing over-and-over every time and expecting a different result!  No one stumbles into a job interview by luck; you will need to work out your luck with some measure of appropriate preparation!

You’ll need to learn what you don’t know. Attend job fairs and career seminars or read up from career websites and blogs. Learn job search skills; find out what employers are looking for, how to craft your CV and cover letter, job interview skill, and just anything that will be useful in your preparation for securing that job.

7.  Brand yourself

There is a sea of heads seeking to be hunted by headhunters in the job market. And given this situation, it’s imperative to ensure you’re in some way definitely unique from the rest of other job seekers. You need to package yourself as a brand and align your job search efforts to reinforce the integrity of that brand.

A brand is a promise; it’s a bold statement from a person, product or service about the value it offers or represents for the benefit of another, usually the buyer or employer as the case may be. However you consider it: you are a brand and everything about your personality, appearance, qualification, experience, curriculum vitae, cover letter and communication skills are all reinforcing your brand positively or negatively. So the earlier you start packaging yourself and your job search skills consciously as a brand, the better for you.

Every brand starts out as an impression in people’s mind, but its integrity (proving to be what you promised) must be proven by some form of process. The impressions of your grade, work history and appearance may get you into the job interview room, but here the integrity of your brand must be proved. Your ability to communicate the value of your brand to the employer gets you the job.

Network, network, network!

If you’re not getting enough, then you’re not asking enough! In your job search, you’ll need to do a lot of “asking”. You’ll need to make the right connections in the right circles. Now, this is not about knowing anybody of influence and power in any organization. This only means establishing contact or relationship with people who have professional affinity or relevant knowledge and information about the industry you seek employment. Such people are in a position to advise you career-wise and even notify you of relevant job openings.

Such networking can be either offline or online. Offline: through your alumni associations, professional bodies, family and friends and faith-based organizations. Online: through some professional and social platforms on the internet, such as Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook. Whatever medium you use, the rule of networking is to ask the right questions. Badgering people for jobs will get you the reverse result. No one has the responsibility of finding or providing you a job. A better style will be to approach such contacts from the position of a learner, exuding the virtues of patience and gratitude.

Nothing is wrong with making a request on any member of your network, as long as the situation, attitude and level of relationship are in a good balance. The important point is to couch that request in the form of you offering value and not just asking for empty blanket favour.

9. Have the persistence of the devil!

Hear me out first before releasing your “Holy Ghost fire!” This is the point: job search, especially in our time, requires the exhibition of some sales skills, one of which is persistence. It’s common in job search to encounter situations or responses that may put you off.  You may hear several “I’m sorry…”, “you’ll hear from us” and the likes. You may also have to do a lot of follow up on contacts, job applications and pending interview outcomes.  

It’s a daily reality in sales that for every successful sale, there may have been several rejection experiences before this time. Whatever the challenge in your job search, just know that you have to be persistent to win.

10. Involve the God-factor

I encourage you to involve God before and after every stage of your job search effort. In the run for jobs, you and I know that there is no qualification or experience or skill you have that another candidate may not have, or even better.

Life is spiritual and the spiritual controls the physical. So get spiritual and have a good relationship with your God. Just know that the fastest doesn’t always win the race; the skillful are not necessarily the wealthiest and the most qualified are not always successful. Chance, time and the mercies of God intervene in all.

When you have done all you can to stand, stand on your God. To your success!

           

    

    

10 Ways to Be on Top of Your Job Search in 2011 Part 1

No matter where you live and what the condition of your country’s economy is, job search will always be some sort of stress.  This is more so in a country whose economy is struggling or even in an obviously developed and prospering economy.  Make no mistakes: jobs, at least good ones, will always be competitive and consequently scarce. But your knowledge and skills on how to navigate this terrain will make the whole experience less stressful and rewarding. To find a job in a saturated market, the following will be helpful:

1. Watch your belief and attitude

What you believe is central to your success or otherwise in the job search venture. You will not make progress beyond the state of your belief. First and most important: do you believe in yourself? Do you believe you have what it takes to get the job? You will need to answer these questions, for nobody or organization will expend their recruitment budget on one who has punctures in this vital areas.

What have you believed before now? That it must take knowing someone in an organization before you can get a job there? Check what you believe and do a reprogramming where necessary.

Similarly, your attitude is also vital to whatever heights you want to attain in life. Is your attitude such that resigns to “what will be, will be”, “if God says it’s mine, it’s mine”.  Well, such attitude for sure will keep you unemployed for a long time. Life doesn’t give you what you desire, but what you’re able to negotiate! So negotiate with the right beliefs and attitudes and add some calculated action to these.

2. Ignore the din

In the same way noise pollution has been a major concern in our world, so also is the phenomenon of “news pollution”!  These are times that our print and electronic media churn out news items that cause peoples’ heart to fail with fear. Have you consciously or unconsciously been following news items – labour market reports, unemployment rates, job cuts, downsizing, and all such reports?

The best you can do is to ignore such noise and rise above it. This calls for strategic researching of jobs and opportunities and the alignment or realignment of your skills and qualifications for success in such a job market. Refuse to fear, fear paralyses. It demobilizes and numbs your thinking faculties.

Observe the trends, hear the news, analyze statistics, but you have a choice – to fear or to ignore the facts and forge ahead intelligently.

3. Adopt a mindset

Mindset is a fixed mental attitude or disposition that causes you to respond to situations in a particular way and determines how you appreciate or interpret such situations. The cumulation of your belief system and attitudes will invariably form your mindset.  Sure enough, in the course of job search you will encounter challenging situations and you will only win with the right mindset.

One way to have a positive mindset is to be “inverse paranoid”. This is the mindset that believes that there is in existence a great conspiracy propelling all things to work together for the good of him that holds such mindset.

You will surely struggle with ignoring and rising above certain situations in job search until you project this kind of mindset.

4. Analyze the opportunities

To be successful in your job search, one of the important requirements is to be alive to opportunities in your in your environment. This is about keeping abreast of information and situations in your target industry and your ability to analyze them accurately in order to secure the target job.

No matter the condition of the job market in your immediate locality, your ability to source information and analyze relevant situations will help you anticipate or pre-empt job opportunities and consequently, strategically position yourself to secure them. 

To be effective in this, you may have to do PEST and SWOT analyses.

PEST analysis entails a critical consideration of POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL and TECHNOLOGICAL factors in order to arrive at an intelligent conclusion regarding their implications for your success at job search under such prevailing climate.

SWOT analysis on the other hand, examines your STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, in view of OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS they present or portend to your success in any venture.  PEST and SWOT analyses are critical exercises a job seeker needs to do to strategically assess and position her for success in the job market.

5. Make job search a full-time job!

To give job search your best effort, you’ll have to make it a full time job (but not a career!). Success at job search is a calculated venture. It’s precipitated by specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound goals. This success mix is a product of wise planning and applying corresponding actions in the proper direction.

Perhaps, you’ll need to make a number of contacts in a week; read newspapers, do online searches, attend job fairs and career seminars. Whatever is relevant to your success at job search – give it the best shot!

Let me know what you think. To your success!

5 Wrong Reasons for Seeking Paid Employment

The word “Job”, for now and a long time will remain one of the most important buzz words ever known to man. Many approach the job market with different motivations. As you gear efforts into job search, it’s important you have the right motivations, so as not to short-change yourself in the light of so much potential in you.

Here is a list of wrong reasons for seeking paid employment:

1.       My parents want me to

This is about the most dominant and most passed down reason for seeking paid employment and that’s why most people are broke! This reason entices because of its false sense of job security, the prospects of a steady pay cheque, an enhanced ego and other perks from a corporate job.

But today’s realities spell otherwise as seen in the phenomena of unemployment, underemployment, job-cuts, down-sizing, right-sizing and not surprising at all – “pocket-sizing!”

2.        I’m a graduate!

It’s an unfortunate commentary that our education is skewed to produce job-seekers and not job creators. In this part of the world, any form of qualification is seen as a coupon for job search. Instead of our education to be an empowerment for the intelligent harnessing of the resources of our mind and our environment, is rather the gun that starts the rat-race for limited or even non-existent job opportunities.

3.        My friends are all employed!

Peer influence in career choice and decision, at the detriment of your life’s purpose and passion, will invariably result to “peer frustration”, “peer un-fulfillment”, and even “peer poverty!” Life is not a bandwagon; your friends’ goals and passions are not exactly same as yours. Find yours and follow them!

4.       I need a steady salary

Perhaps, one of the greatest motivations for paid employment is the need (fear actually!) to have a steady pay cheque. This need for a predictable income, if not driven with wise thoughts and planning, in the long run surely will deprecate the full potentials of people stuck in this mindset. Many have deferred great opportunities just to have instant food on the table. Instant gratification is a thief of opportunities; pay the price now if must have the future you desire!

5.       It’s safer than starting a business

A steady pay cheque, sure looks safer than the vagaries of entrepreneurship. But the gains and freedom starting and running our own enterprise offers are worth pursuing. The stalk truth is that the walls of the corporate world reveal deep cracks. If you can put your back to your own business, overtime, it could turn cozier than the environment of a paid job.

Whatever your choice and course is, the position canvassed here is that you should approach paid employment propelled not by some self-defeating and short-changing reasons and motivations. This will ensure your career success and fulfillment in life. Do you believe this?

To your success!

6 Steps to Lunching Out on Your Career

Discussions on career, in view of its ramification are always extensive.  But its substance can always be broken down to simple progression or steps to its realization. Perhaps, you’re a student or one at the threshold of making an important career choice. Worse still, your case may be you not knowing at all which career path to follow. Then, your question may be “how and what do I choose as a career?”

Here are six simple steps to your dream career:

1.        
Discover yourself

This is about the most important point you have to settle. You will need to know the personality behind your frame. In life generally, you have to at all time answer the question of who you are and you will find this recurring in your career life. If you do not know who you are, then the world will say you are not!

You will have to know the uniqueness, strength and weakness of your personality. You will need to know what you can do personally, what you can do through others, what motivates you and also de-motivates you. You should know your values, belief and perception. In brief, this is all about personality and talent or skills assessment.

2.       Discover your Purpose

Purpose is at the epicentre of the totality of our activities and existence. Miss this point and resign to an unfulfilled and uninspiring life! Purpose is bigger than a job or career and necessarily should drive the choice and course of our career. The totality of your personality and skills set will find better expression when fuelled by purpose.

Perhaps, you will need to be sober and reflective to discover your purpose. Whatever it takes, do discover your purpose and cross-check it against the light of attaining fulfilment in life, years into or after your career.

3.       Research the industry

No matter the prestige and glamour of your dream career, it’s always wise and proper to do your homework first, before plunging head on. In researching your prospective industry, you may need to do a check on the profiles of top companies in the industry; their line of business, operations and product or service offering; requirements and details job descriptions and responsibilities.

You may also need to read up on industry reports and also seek counsel from professionals in that field.

4.       Look into the Future

Armed with facts and perhaps figures from your research, you need to take a long gaze into the future of that prospective career.  What are the prospects of that career a few years from now, in terms of opportunities and threats? Note that seeing the future of your dream career, in some cases, may require you see with the eyes of faith. The prospects may not be rosy in the present, but may boom tomorrow.

After all, years ago most parents never gave a chance to pursuits in football, the comic and the dramatic arts.

5.        Draw a Road Map to that Future

Now that the picture of the future of your dream career is beautiful in your eyes, you must of necessity draw up and engage in some course of action to realize your aspiration. This calls for strategic thinking, planning and execution of plans.  

Depending on your station in the pursuit of a career, planning and execution may mean taking some study, writing some qualifying examinations, crafting your curriculum vitae, researching and applying for jobs, preparing for interviews and keeping abreast with relevant information in your prospective field. Planning and effective execution produce preparedness and success is the child of the meeting between opportunity and preparation.

6.       Be on the Road!

Pursuit is the evidence of desire, so give your whole self to the realization of your dream career. The road to your career may be bumpy, narrow and congested and full of sharp turns. You should expect negative responses, results and assessments. Just know that life is configured not to give you what you desire, but what you’re able to negotiate.

Negotiate your way to your dream life. The world belongs to only those who believe in and stick to the pursuit and realization of their dreams. Draw strength from your past victories, no matter how insignificant they seem; celebrate every current effort at making progress and learn from all failures and mistakes.

If you will follow these steps to lunching out on your career, nothing in life, except time will be a factor to your success. Do you believe this?

See you at the top!

5 Reasons You Will LIKE Career Seminars Nigeria

In a country where a great percentage of the graduate population are faced with perennial unemployment situation, accentuated by the near dearth of adequate employability and entrepreneurial skills, it becomes imperative that forces must align to find solutions to such a state of affairs. Career Seminars Nigeria is among such, but unique, social responses to stem this debilitating tide. We offer and will continue to offer services tailored to meet your career needs, irrespective of your chosen field and location in Nigeria.

At Career Seminars, we will strive at:

1. Providing you with relevant information, knowledge and skills necessary for success at job search
2.  Providing you with affordable access to employability and entrepreneurial skills acquisition trainings
3. Providing you with motivation and an inspiring environment for interaction and diffusion of career information,   experiences and networking
4.  Connecting you with opportunities and resources for realizing your dream careers
5. Providing  you with general and personalized career and business coaching services

We sure believe you will find us a great friend and partner for your success. Ensure you keep up-to-date with us by following our blog posts and also clicking the “Like” button on top of our facebook page.  

To your success!