Below are a list of 10 things you must get done while serving your nation to be better positioned for the job hunt especially in the private sector.
#1
Research: carry out a research on the compan (ies) you would like to work with. It baffles me how people submit their CVs to companies they know little or nothing about. A little research will do you some good. Get to know a thing or two about their history, the people, their organizational culture, their vision and their mission statement.
#2
Professional certification: acquire at least one professional certification. This is why you should decide first on the choice of career/job you want as it will help you decide on which professional course to go for. Don’t be a party to the band wagon mentality that is prevalent among corps members. Everybody is going for project management, therefore must you too go for project management? Everybody in your lodge is enrolling for NIM, so you too must enroll for NIM. That is not true. Get to find out the professional certification that best suits your dream job. All you may just need is a course on safety or data base management. Trust me!
#3
Skill acquisition: please learn a new skill. Get your hands on something, so when they ask you, what can you do? You can provide a definite answer, instead of just telling them what you studied. What you studied and what you can do are two distinct things altogether. This is very important especially for my friends with a background in social sciences. A good skill acquired could also be handy pending when the dream job comes.
#4
Change your wardrobe: dude please dress like your dream job. Starting building a professional wardrobe from that small alawee. It’s not the time to spend your money on another dirty jean, combat pants, or what have you. Get yourself a cutting edge professional suit (don’t bank on your convocation suit to do the job). It doesn’t cost much. For guys, invest on good ties, cufflinks, shoe, shirts, and a good brief case or bag ( stop carrying your cv in that big brown envelope, some directors can sight you from their office and tell the security or secretary “don’t let that guy in, he is looking for a job)
#5
Work on your web image: image is everything. Shun those clichés’ or fat lies on our CV, if I go through your Facebook timeline or twitter handle , I will tell the kind of person you are ( I just shared a little secret of what some employers now do, work on it and thank me later). If your Facebook time line and profile is not decent, work on it or get a new one before you start job hunting. Follow the company you would like to work for on twitter, like their page on Facebook. Build a professional online presence. Get a good e-mail ID (Do away with the xyz4love@yahoo.com craze and the likes of it.). a good professional ID comprises of your name and your surname e.g. adewalejohnson@yahoo.com.
#6
Improve your network: the job you are looking for dey some people hand, Hello! Start building your contact list, invest in strategic relationships while you are still serving. Join associations, clubs, and forums. Ladies you can join Women in Management and Business (WimBiz), the biggest association for women professionals in West Africa. You can enroll for their mentee program as a young female graduate. Trust me, you don’t need to know the caliber of women you meet in such an association. One good contact is worth more than a hundred CV submitted at random. Build new, better, and strategic relationships, even if it means changing your church *winks*
#7
Get a mentor: identify someone who has distinguished him or herself in the career you desire to pursue. A good mentor can carry you along, just make sure the person is accessible. Don’t go telling me that Ngozi Okonjo Iweala is your mentor, when you two don’t communicate. She can be your role model, but obviously not your mentor. Identify someone that can create time for you and probably entrust you with responsibilities, even if you don’t get paid.
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