Finding a Job: 10 Tested Steps

with

Moruf Kolawole Nasir

(Experienced HR professional)

nmkolawole@gmail.com; jarushub@gmail.com

The saying “Applying to jobs is a full-time job” put me to work this week. After reading two articles which centered on this quote this week (one asserting and the other indirectly negating the statement), I got thinking about the quote knowing fully well the rigour of finding/applying to jobs. I finally came up with these TEN nuggets to find a job.

The 10 steps will also serve as prove that seeking job is a full time job and if one can religiously follow the 10 steps, the period of job hunting will certainly be very short. Here are the 10 tips.

1. Get Your Tools Ready: You don’t go to farm without hoe and/or cutlass, so get the tools to work with-uninterrupted access to a computer and internet facilities. You can sustain cyber café for only a short period before you get tired and out of cash, even when using the cyber café you will always be in haste most of the time thus making silly mistakes or doing a shabby job. Is it not funny seeing fresh graduates without computer at this age when two month allowee is enough to get one a fairly used laptop? No wonder some job seekers send out scanned CVs and many others use one CV for many years, unedited.

2. Subscribe To Job Boards: Now that your tools are ready, you are good to go. Subscribe to as many job boards as possible and frequently visit as many others as possible. I guess you know some of them? Jarushub, Nairaland, hotnigerianjobs, Naijahotjobs, jobberman, nigeriabest forum etc, ask your friends the list is endless. I know too many people who do not believe in online vacancies, please don’t join the folk, online vacancies are very real. In fact HR practitioners try as much as possible to reduce cost of recruiting and for that reason we do lots of online advert placement. Read some of my previous articles to know why you are not getting invitation for job interviews, and also keep following Jarushub for more.

3. Check Newspapers: Apart from online subscriptions, see newspaper adverts too. See as much of news paper advert as possible. Some companies prefer to use the print media. Most “Big” companies use all the platforms to advertise. It is very unlikely to see “unserious” companies paying heavily to advertise on the pages of newspapers. Although some fraudulent recruiters also use the print media (just as they do with the internet) to advertise their illegal business of extorting unemployed Nigerians. But by their advert you will know them. (I will do an article someday on how to identify them, just always be on Jarushub).

4. Network! Network! Network!: Always remember networking is key in job search. Even those who have made up their minds that to get a job one must be connected believe in networking, so no one should be left out. In networking, you reconnect with your old contacts and create new contacts. Remember after your service year you began calling one or two people, after the first few months you gave up. Bro! it doesn’t work that way, it is a continuous process, that is why all these steps are real full time job. If the last time I heard from you was three years ago and now that you called the reason you did was to tell me to help you find job, that is not networking, start from somewhere. Consciously build/develop your network.

5. Sieve Vacancies before Applying: You ask- “do beggars choose?” Trust me, beggars may not choose what they get, but they choose where they stay to get what they get. Stop applying for civil engineering job at the same time applying for front desk job, Ahba! What career path is that? The point is, I understand you just have to leave home, anyhow, but try as much as possible to search within some limit, bikonu! Sieving vacancies also involve applying to jobs you are qualified for, not just sending CVs around with the lame excuse of trying your luck. No wonder out of 300 applications you got only one invitation for interview, in all fairness to yourself how many of those jobs did you meet the minimum requirements?

6. Customize Your CV and Cover Letter: This is another daunting task, because you are expected to prepare different CV for different job. At least you should have like two different CVs, you can have as many as you want. Mind you the real job here is knowing the CV you sent out for different application so as not to prepare with CV “A”to attend interview where CV “B” was submitted. Again you must do a new cover letter for every new application. With these you will agree that it is a full time job that needs commitment, otherwise you will go the popular way- same CV and same cover letter for all applications

7. Update Your Skills: Thank God we now have limited cases of graduates that cannot use computer, although we still have some. It beats my imagination when occasionally I come across graduates like that, unfortunately they usually eye administrative/secretariat jobs. I wonder how the roles will be discharged without the use of computer. You are happy because you can use PC well chei? don’t be deceived that is never the only skill required in jobs. Having made up your mind on the job area you want to build your career path, find out the skills required for the job and begin to work on it. Most times when hiring managers ask for work experience, their concern is in you having the SKILLS to perform the job and of course your exposure in the job.

8. Go For Internship: This may be necessary especially if you are a fresh graduate, try get a place to render free service to avail yourself the skills that will enhance your chances of being selected for interviews. If however, you are fortunate to get a job after service year, don’t be too insistent on high pay especially for jobs that is in line with your career path.

9. Prepare Well for Tests and Interviews: Now you have succeeded in getting called for test/interview. Preparation for test/interview is the thin line between the person who gets the job and the person who did not. How well you prepare for test and interview will determine the level of your confidence and that determines your performance.

10. Be Lucky/Godly: Since our audiences are not restricted to only the Theists, I decided to alternate this sub-heading. To the Theists be Prayerful and to others be Lucky.To those who strongly belief in prayer, it is the first and last step to find a job; and for those who do otherwise, luck has a role to play in landing a job, if luck is on your side you are good to go, otherwise with all the above you may still find it tough to get job on time. Either God or luck somehow, something beyond our control also has a role in all of these.

With all the above I await the comment of anyone who still feels seeking/applying to jobs isn’t a full time job.

Always remember “In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn”.

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