THREE BLOCKS AWAY FROM THE INTERVIEW TABLE
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There could be several things that border you when you think of securing the right job. If I should be right, one of the things that border most of us is how to get to the interview table first. Most people are rest assured that if only they can get to that table, they would not come back empty handed. So, the war is how to strategically and tactfully position yourself with the information on ground to get to that throne of honor.
Many
people had so wished such that they have nothing to wish for again. Bringing it
to the right perspective, success does come by hardwork which is a function of
diligence and commitment to duty and not slothful wishes. Just imagine how powerful knowledge can be yet
it is still fruitless without application. This is to show us how great minds
had been caged in obscurity and abject poverty.
No matter what you know, without the right application, you will remain
where you are and if care is not taken, you will return to a level below zero.
Success
is principle-dependent. These principles are strategies and instructions which
you must heed to before you can see meaningful proofs. In essence, before you
can set out in life to out-run others in the race of life you must develop strategic,
tactical and technical strategies. The
labour market is so jam-packed and too aggressive such that it barely
accommodates half-baked job-seekers much more never-baked job-seekers. Preparation in this sense is what I refer to
as continuous improvement. No matter how prepared you think you are, there is
another more prepared than you. So you must continuously make effort to add
more value to your life. This, also I refer to as Continuing Professional
Development (CPD). So, if you want to out-run others, then learn to prepare
more than others.
Most
often, I get infuriated with this saying “there is no job” because the simple
truth is, there are jobs but there are no qualified/prepared people for the
jobs. Statistics showed that over 80% jobs exist in the hidden market while
only 20% apply. In this 20%, the probability of securing the job is not up to
0.5. On the other hand, about 20% jobs
exist in the visible market while 80% apply. On the average probability, not up
to 0.2 will get the job. Why? Most are unqualified. Now what is the reason for this great
discrepancy? Simply put poor preparation and lack of information.
The
aim of this article is to guide you to how you can pass through the blocks of
limitation and get to the environment of liberality and freedom.
The
three blocks away from the interview table are;
1. Effective
Cover letter.
2. Effective
Curriculum Vitae
3. Effective
Distribution and Marketing Techniques.
EFFECTIVE COVER LETTER
It
may sound like an untold and unheard story but it is true that most job-seekers
know little or nothing about cover letters. It is appalling how ignorance had
kept great minds in obscurity and abject frustration. Knowledge is a very
powerful tool for great success but its nature cannot be unraveled if not
applied. 20% of the meaningful and
strategic effort you put in writing an effective cover letter has an 80% chance
of getting you to the interview deck. If you can be able to defend the content
of your cover letter and CV in an interview, you stand a 100% chance of
securing the job.
Your
cover letter is more than likely the
first contact you will have with a potential employer. If it is well
written, your letter will lead the reader to your résumé or CV. Cover letters
are marketing tools used to create interest in you as a candidate for jobs
and/or internships and are an important part of the application process. Each cover letter you write must be unique.
The goal is to motivate the recipient to review your CV and ultimately invite
you for an interview. A good letter will
clearly demonstrate how you fit with the particular organization and position
to which you are applying. If your letter is poorly written or produced, the
employer may not even take time to review your CV and your application has a
good chance of ending in the circular file or trash bin.
For
more information on Effective Cover Letter, CLICK
HERE>>>
EFFECTIVE CURRICULUM VITAE
The
curriculum vitae (or Vita), commonly referred to as a CV, is a detailed
biographical description of one’s educational and work background. Curriculum vitae is Latin which means “the
course of one’s life” and it is seen as a comprehensive statement of your
educational background, teaching and research experience, professional and
other academic qualifications and activities. In one of my articles, “Effective Curriculum Vitae”; the primary elements of a CV and their order of arrangement were
highlighted while in another “General
Tips To Writing Effective CV; the forms and styles for effective CV writing
were explained.
The
primary elements of a CV and their traditional order are;
·
Personal identification to include your name
boldly on your CV as the title of your CV, contact address, phone number and
email address.
·
Personal information to include your date of
birth/age, place of birth, citizenship/nationality, gender, marital status,
religion, weight, height, blood group and other information which may be
relevant. This list is customary to traditional method of CV writing. In the
recent times, the customized CV may only include date of birth/age,
citizenship, marital status and gender. Most firms and organization give their
own CV format, you must therefore, follow their customized format.
·
Career Objective which is a one or two line
sentence of your purpose of applying for that job position. For some jobs, it may be a brief paragraph of
your statement of purpose or vision or reason for taking such vocation.
·
Educational Qualification to include all
educational certificates with dates and names of institutions arranged in
reverse chronological order.
·
Professional Qualifications to include all professional
certificates and trainings with dates and names of institutions arranged in
reverse chronological order.
·
Professional membership/affiliations to include all professional bodies you are
a member to or affiliated to.
·
Other relevant qualifications to include all
certificates, credentials and licenses which you might have obtained through
training and experience relevant to the job position you are applying for.
·
Job Experience to include a list of all the
job experiences you’ve got relevant to the job position you are applying for,
with dates, names of companies and contacts and brief description of your job
in those companies. It must be arranged in reverse chronological order.
·
Other relevant experience to include all
volunteer, leadership, community or committee experiences among others,
relevant to the job position you are applying for.
·
Personal skills to include all skills
relevant to the job positions you are applying for. It is necessary to
highlight specialized skills as this draws the attention of the potential
employer. In the customized CV, if you have a poor educational performance, your
skills can come before educational qualifications. In such sense, you are
highlighting your strengths before your weaknesses which is viewed as a
strategic and tactical approach.
·
Hobbies to include your personal passion and
addictions relevant to the job position you are applying for. Most people choose their hobbies wrongly such
that they do not correspond to the position they are applying for and that’s
why most CVs are discarded.
·
References to include a list of people that
can give meaningful information about you based on their experience or contact
with you. You must be careful on who you choose as your referee. Avoid using family members, relatives and
close friends. Use your manager, academic advisors, deans, professors, HODs and
noble men preferably.
Although,
in a more compound or complex CV, these elements may be infinite, so you have
to adapt the headings that apply to what you need at the moment. More so, this
arrangement may be rigid to the traditional mode of CV arrangement, if it does
not suit your competence, you may have to customize your CV. For instance, when
someone has a pass or third class grade but has excellent marketable skills, he
may decide to put the skills first before academic qualification as this is
intentional to delineating the effect of his weakness.
For
more information on effective CV writing, CLICKHERE>>>
EFFECTIVE MARKETTING AND DISTRIBUTION
OF YOUR COVER LETTER AND CV
Lastly,
the distribution and marketing of your cover letter and CV must be efficient
and effective. You can have a beautiful cover letter and CV but without getting
to the right places, you may as well be wasting away. Before you set out to
write any CV, you must have set your vision and targets right so as you are
getting done with the cover letter and CV, you should launch into the market as
a prepared entity knowing fully where you are going and why you are going
there. In essence, you must have an effective channel of information.
Effective marketing and distribution of your curriculum vitae and
accompanying correspondence are as important as the quality of the material
itself. Both require a comparable degree of creativity, thoroughness, and
attention to detail in order to achieve the desired results. View the process
of distribution, in and of itself, as an essential means of marketing yourself.
To be effective in your overall marketing
effort, you need to use strategies that are consistent with your personality
and do not exceed your comfort level about presenting yourself for evaluation. A
reticent person should not use the same strategy as a gregarious individual who
has strong interpersonal skills and who is interested in projecting that image.
Marketing and distribution strategies should include:
-Congruence among your professional, career, or vocational goals and
your marketing strategy. While diverse objectives require diverse
strategies, at this stage, it is essential to be certain that the information
on your CV complements your objectives.
-Research
approaches and skills you have developed and honed through your academic
experiences to obtain information about individuals and/or organizations you
plan to contact. The quality of this research will naturally
affect the approach and the information you include in your correspondence, the
negotiation strategies you use in obtaining and conducting interviews, and the
general outcomes of the complete process. Know
as much as you can about the intended recipients of your correspondence.
-Self-management
of marketing and distributing your correspondence, as well as all other aspects
of your application process or job search. This means you must
give careful attention to such matters as time management, record keeping,
follow-up, and negotiation strategies. Know where you are in every step of the
process and exercise control over each element to ensure desired outcomes.
Self-management can be one of the most
nettlesome aspects of this emerging marketing and distribution strategy. For
some individuals, the worst time to seek a position is when they do not have
one and must get one. The pressure to obtain a position can lead to the
production of an inadequate CV and/or marketing strategies that reflect
necessity rather than opportunity. Likewise, an impending application deadline
can cause panic in some individuals and thus result in a less than outstanding
effort.
Other individuals, however, are actually
energized by impending unemployment or application deadlines and, in effect, do
their best work under pressure. In some circles, it is a badge of honor to do
things at the last minute. Whatever your management style, know its
possibilities and its limitations. Structure and manage your marketing and distribution
strategy accordingly.
In writing curriculum vitae
and job search correspondence, care need to be taken so as to effectively and
efficiently prepare your way up to the job. Join us HERE
for more Information on CV and Job search correspondences.