Am I Employable?
You are a graduate, and this calls for celebration. In few months, you are going to need a job.
Good that you have a good grade, and I am happy you are the best product in your department. However, there is a very important question you need to ask yourself before writing an application letter. You importantly should see after answering this question that definitely, you are an irresistible product for an employer. Why not ask yourself, “Am I employable?”
Professor Peter Cappelli, the Director of Wharton’s center for Human Resource, in his article, ‘What Employers Really Want are Workers they do not have to train’, revealed that employers do not seek graduates without tenable skills, they do not need burdens in work environment. Instead, they desire workers they do not have to train.
He said that “when employers are specifically asked about recent graduates, their complaints have nothing to do with academic skills, they often express the same concern older generations have always heard about young people –they are not conscientious enough, they do not listen, they expect too much.”
That exactly tells us that employees need in-depth knowledge about certain industrial requirements pertaining to their field, and if they do not, some basic skills are required.
Master The Rules Of English Language
Have you noticed that not quite a few of today’s graduates find it hard to communicate? It begins to reflect in their interactions, and soon one ends up not making sense of their speech. One thing has certainly lost it ground, “the use of English”. This is dishearteningly becoming problematic, and graduates of this kind need to reread English textbooks. No one is too old to learn. If you did not understand the use of English in your high school and even in the university, why not consult an English textbook for mastery. One thing employers appreciate is good communication skills.
Learning to use the right word any time is a requirement for industrial acceptability. Except you have waiting for you, a job that requires no interview, proficiency in the language you communicate with is important. Begin to learn it now, master its usage, so that it becomes part of you.
Go In Search Of Additional Skills
By additional skills, I mean the skills you were not thought in schools, but are relevant to your studies. Many a number of software exists today. Why not learn them and have an edge over your competitors. Besides, attending conferences, workshops, and training will boost your potential. Go in search of them.
Do Not Be Jack Of All Trade
Employers seek dynamic job employees, and this, still, does not make them employ jack-of-all-trades. It is better to have specialization than say you can do thousands of things. Jack-of-all-trades does not have a space in industry, but someone with specialization does. Know what you can do and what you cannot, and will not want to do. Develop on what you can do, and eschew what you cannot do.
Perfect Your CV
Your CV should depict your skills. What power will you gain from bombarding your CV with irrelevances? Forget about trying to stand out. And if you have to stand out, lies will not make you. So, craft a simple and relevant CV, and see why you won’t be hired.
Let Google Qualify You With Reliability.
Have you searched yourself before on Google? “Google yourself. What comes up – and how does it make you look?” says James Whatley, social media consultant at Social@Ogilvy.
“Potential employers will do this – so make sure you’ve done it first.” Use Facebook’s new “view as” button (found under the “edit profile” settings) to see how your non-friends can see you – and adjust the privacy settings accordingly.
“Next, set up your LinkedIn profile. It’s a brilliant place for hearing about jobs on the grapevine. Keep adding new training and skills you pick up, so it’s always bang up to date,” adds Whatley.
If you neat your social media page and make sure it speaks volume about your profession, you can get hired through this means. Employees nowadays get jobs via LinkedIn.
Postgraduate Is Not The Option
Please, carefully think before signing up for an exclusive postgraduate course that may be of little or no interest to employers. Don’t see postgraduate studies as a way to bypass the demand of employers. What your employers seek are employable skills. If you do not have those skills, , find a means to acquire them. Postgraduate schools will not inscribe those additional skills into your CV. Who says things will be better in 12 months i.e. after your postgraduate? Next year, you will be competing with a new batch of graduates and those that did not find work this year.
Yusuff Olayode Yusuff-Supoto wrote in from Lagos at getlayus@gmail.com
