POSITIONED FOR YOUR DREAM JOB
Many people are looking for job; yet statistics show that there is insufficient job for the country’s teaming population. This creates stiff competition in the labour market. However, you can position yourself to get your dream job. Today, I want to share with you how you could do that.
The fundamental principle of positioning yourself for your dream job is: acquire relevant skills and knowledge, build confidence in its use and deploy yourself.
Follow me as I explain this one after the other.
One of the best definitions of job I have heard is from Pastor Bankie. He said that job is “anything you can do to add value to the lives of people.” This implies you cannot have a job if you don’t have anything you could do to add value to people. I have read many interviews by business executives and entrepreneurs and one thing they usually say about human resource is that they hardly see the kind of people they need. According to them, they see people who have wonderful certificates but hardly have requisite skill and workplace culture needed for their firm. That is why most companies start training their staff immediately after recruitment.
Now, if you make efforts to acquire relevant knowledge and skills needed for your dream job, you greatly increase your chance of success in getting it. I understand that many times, we are given theories and notes in school but hardly given training on how to put them to use in a work environment. But your commitment to get your dream job should drive to go in a quest for relevant knowledge in that area. It may require your going for professional training or even seminars where you will be better grounded and see practical application of what you are taught in school. Whatever it will take you to be sure you are well knowledgeable of your dream job, do it. It will pay you off in the long run.
Meanwhile, if among the intending applicants for a job, you prove to be the most knowledgeable, you have positioned yourself for success. Don’t forget this truth: every investment in knowledge pays you back in good measure. I can attest to this! Most of the things I do today and have recorded success in are product of investment in knowledge at the expense of luxury and fun. I spent a large chunk of my feeding money on newspapers and books and to get internet service just so that I will drink the knowledge that will enable me do what I am here on earth to do well. If you think that my parents have a lot of money, perish that thought. It’s out of sacrifice on my feeding money that I was able to do it.
In fact, Sunny Obazu Ojegbase, veteran Sports Journalist and Chairman of Complete Communications Ltd, testifies: “If it were about certificates, I wouldn’t have gotten a job at that point in my life, because I did all my studies – GCE, the diploma in journalism by correspondence. I was reading at home, but I was religiously cutting their columns. My mind was on it. I did something else which I believe is very good thing for people to know: I was always looking forward to reading other sports papers from other parts of the world, especially the British papers. Later I added American papers. I got a lot of inspiration from these sources. I think that helped me tremendously.”
Read materials associated with the industry you are interested in and interact with those who are there. Even if you can meet them one on one, meet them on the pages of newspaper as they are interviewed, catch them in interviews on radios and TV as they reveal secret of the trade there. I listen to radio a lot and read newspapers a lot; observing what the high flyers are doing and taking cue from them on how I am going to do mine when the time comes.
Now, let me tell you something very important. This is not easy. It will make you lose things like luxury since you will spend your money buying materials and paying for opportunities to be in seminars where the people you want to see are located. I did that and I have started enjoying the fruit. As a matter of fact, your reading this article online is a proof of that effort.
If you get yourself equipped with skills and knowledge needed for your dream job and can make your potential employee see it, you have taken an important step towards positioning yourself for your dream job.
Beyond acquisition of knowledge and skills needed for your dream job, you need confidence in the use of the knowledge and skill. That’s you need to put yourself to test so as to ascertain if you have really mastered what you have studied as well as gained mastery of the relevant skills. This helps you build confidence in your ability to meet your potential employee’s need for job and bargain effectively. A good way to do is to practice what you have learnt in any way possible no matter how small. It involves deploying yourself or allowing someone use what you have leant while paying you very little. I have seen people who refuse to put their skills and knowledge to use for free because they feel they are used. My dear, don’t join them. If anybody or organization is using you, it means that you are NOT useless. Meanwhile their using you helps you build confidence in your abilities and give you a platform for experience and exposures. Look for who want to use you and submit yourself to him; it’s for your good. Offer to do what you have leant and put your skill to use for free or very low price and you will be, by that, positioning yourself for eventual employment or better still, starting your own business.
In fact, if done properly, you will make opening where there is none because your potential employer must have seen how positioned you are for peak performance in your job. That was the experience of journalist cum biographer and associate publisher of the Entertainment Express, Dimgba Igwe when he has acquired journalism skill but have no job. He positioned himself well by studying the features stories of the section of the publication he wants to have his article published in and wrote a feature story for them. When the late journalism icon, Dele Giwa read his story, he gave an automatum to fetch him in less than 24 hours! Journalist and publisher, Mike Awoyinfa said, “If you can write well any editor will hire you”.
Please this article is not about getting job as a journalist; I use these examples because it’s my constituency which I know more than other areas; though the same principle applies to virtually every field of life.
When you have prepared yourself and therefore ready to deliver value, the next step you need to take is positioned yourself where the potential employee will recognize you. A very simple way to do it is to put your gift and skills to use even if you are not being paid. While you are doing this you are building confidence in your skill and talents. It even enables you develop confidence you need to negotiate with any employer in the future. For Dimgba Igwe, he wrote an unsolicited feature story for a magazine. For you someone who see what you do could recommend you but that implies that you must be doing something.
A recap of what I have said: define the job you want and what it entails. Begin to develop you to be able to do what it entails, build confidence by putting it to use. Deploy yourself for exposure and marketing and you will be in the place where your dream job will find you.
Have a great day!
