In these times of economic in stability, nothing is more ben-eficial for most companies than to hire efficient people with a large set of varying skills. These people are those who are flexible and well-rounded to carry on and coordinate multiple tasks.
Government offices like private companies are on the lookout for these special types of employees. Because federal funds are restricted and limited, they would always make it a point to maximise and spend these funds on people who are worth the money and time of the organisation. They want someone who not just know the specific job, but someone who has the abilities and values to accomplish many types of duties and the knowledge necessary to realise different goals.
That being said, it is then very necessary that a resume for government jobs includes relevant and general abilities that are valuable across a multitude of jobs and industries. Unlike before when jobs are suggestively the same to develop specialisation and expertise, this time around, what most employers require are the existence of what we call “transferable skills.”
What are transferable skills?
Transferable skills are basically those acquired abilities that are beneficial and pertinent to a wide variety of jobs and industries. They may have been gained from previous employments, school, past trainings, or even from a personal experience at home or with friends. Among the most common examples of transferable skills are “self-motivation,” “communication,” “creativity,” “problem-solving skills,” “leadership,” “flexibility,” “time management,” and “customer service orientation.”
Transferable skills and their appeal to government offices
Besides the fact that most government institutions want to economise human resources through the employment of a well-rounded and highly skilled staff, these government bodies require exemplary-skilled applicants. These are the applicants who have strong rational and technical skills and likewise the expertise to communicate with others and work effectively with a group of people. Most especially that more than a hundred applicants battle for a single spot, there is nothing more effective than to evaluate people based on what they could do and what they could offer compared to other applicants.
Amplifying transferable skills in resume for government jobs
Though transferable skills are somewhat applicable in almost any type of jobs, applicants should still be wary of the particular skills that are best suited to a given profession. Basically, they need to check on the particular job opening, assess the skills and requirements needed in those open posts, and apply the greatest skills that best match the prerequisites.
For example, a person who is to apply as an account representative should not amplify merely his/her experience in clerical works or her background in administrative duties and computer activities. Instead, he/she should apply transferable skills and focus on magnifying her experience through the use of such qualities.
For instance, to intensify her experience in administrative duties, she may write about her customer service and interpersonal skills experienced, which were best applied to her involvement with a large variety of personalities and management levels. She may also boast of her effective time management skills as evidenced by the multiple tasks she was able to manage simultaneously on her previous employment.
To sum up, resume for government jobs no longer stands as a basic enumeration of all the jobs held within the last few years or so. What is more vital in today’s time is the edge of one applicant over another. For this, it is advised to apply necessary and relevant transferable skills on the resume and amplify them on each task accomplished for every employment.
EkiniConsult & Associatesis organising three free and open workshops, “Knocking on the Right Doors- Strategies for Uncovering the Hidden Job Market” for The Nation readers in Lagos. A free eBook of the same title will be given to those who may not be able to. If you are interested, send-in your name, location, email address and GSM no to 080-8384-3230. Precede with the word ‘ATTEND’ for those who want to come and ‘FREE EBOOK’ for those who want the free eBook only.
How to Apply for a Job
A job application (referred to as cover letter by Americans) is the first impression a potential employer gets of you, and it can make or break your chances. As you only get one chance to make a positive first impression, then you need to be careful and do your levl best to do everything right.
Something to honest confession: Following these guidelines perfectly won’t guarantee that all your application will get you somewhere as some manager look for some pretty strange things.
1. Application Form
Some jobs require an application form and some don’t. When there is an application form ( sometimes called application blank), it asks for the information the employer most wants to know, like work experience. Most information required is already on the Resume. Nevertheless, it is important thing is to include all the relevant information. The reason employers take this route is to provide a standard format for assessing applicants. Don’t leave a field blank unless it’s optional or you don’t have any relevant information to include.
Another important thing to do right is how you format the information in each field. If you format things like your phone number or your name (I have seen it) incorrectly, an employer is likely to assume you have poor communication skills. This means proper capitalization in text, proper grouping in phone numbers and proper layout of things like addresses.
Cover Letter
Sometimes entry level positions wouldn’t require a cover letter but all higher level and professional jobs do. Your cover letter should be tailored to the specifically to the job you’re applying for and, when possible, addressed directly to the hiring manager or the person-with-the-power- to-hire. A cover letter should be brief, generally one page and never more than two, and professionally written. You should clearly state why you think you would be most suited to the position and the organization.
It’s crucial that your spelling and grammar are correct. One spelling error could remove you from consideration instantly. Read over your cover letter at least once, probably twice, before it goes off to an employer.Better still, get somebody to look it over for you.
Résumé
Your résumé is the core of your application and thus the most important. It’s always a good idea to tailor your résumé to the job somewhat and you absolutely must format it correctly. (You’ve probably noticed a theme.) It should be separated into sections that deal with the things employers look for, like work experience and education.
Be sure to keep all your points brief. Say the most important things firstHiring managers have a large volume of applications to review and only have a few minutes to look at each one . Typos, grammatical errors are a no, no, no. If you feel needs to be expanded on you can do so in your cover letter but only if it’s particularly relevant.
Email Application
Even though email is usually regarded as quite casual, an email application is not. You generally don’t need a separate cover/application letter, the email body can serve that purpose. All the same rules apply to the email that apply to a conventional cover letter. The subject line should always contain the position you’re applying for.
Addressing the Hiring Manager
In cases where you know the name of the hiring manager, you need to address them properly. The rule of thumb is to start as formal as possible and get more casual when they indicate it’s appropriate. Obviously, if all you know is a first name then it’s appropriate to use it but if you know a surname then that’s what you should use to start with. The only exception is when you have no indication of what the appropriate salutation would be, like if they have a unisex first name such as Alex. If you’re applying to me, you should start by addressing me as Mr. Oyeniran and later, once I’ve demonstrated that I’m a fairly casual employer you could start addressing me as Steve or Steven if you’d like. Truth is the last part hardly apply in this part of the world.
Application Method
Most job postings include how you should apply and all list at least one piece of contact information. When there’s an application method listed, that’s how you need to apply. Otherwise you could be eliminated without your application even being read. If there’s only contact information, then the method is at your discretion, just be sure to do it properly.
Hopefully you found this helpful and will make your job search easier.
EkiniConsult & Associates is organizing 3 free and open workshops, “Knocking on the Right Doors- Strategies for Uncovering the Hidden Job Market” for The Nation readers in Lagos. A free eBook of the same title will be given to those who may not be able to. If you are interested, send-in your name, location, email address and GSM no to 080-8384-3230. Precede with the word ‘ATTEND’ for those who want to come and ‘FREE EBOOK’ for those who want the free eBook only.
HOW IDENTIFY YOUR SKILLS
Employment experts agree that skill identification is essential to a successful job search. Employers want to know what it is you can do for them-not just what you’ve done for someone else. Knowledge of your unique skills is needed to successfully complete an application, write a resume or answer interview questions. Skills Identification is a key initial step towards new employment.
Webster’s New World Dictionary defines a skill as “a great ability or proficiency, expertness that comes from training, practice, etc.” A simple definition is that a skill is anything you can do right now.
Everyone has skills, hundreds of skills, many of which employers are looking for in an employee. Yet most people can only identify a few skills and are generally unable to describe them to an employer. Employers need to hear what you can do. If you’re looking at purchasing a product that will cost you thousands of naira a year for many years, you also would want to know that it can do. The more skills you have identified, the easier it is to convince a potential employer that you have what it takes to do the job.
SKILLS CATEGORIES
Job Skills
job skills are those skills specific to a job or occupation. An administrative assistant is skilled in typing, word processing, answering telephones, company correspondence and filing. An accountant would list accounts receivable, performing accounts payable, payroll, figuring taxes, using a 10 keys adding machine and computer accounting programs. A salesperson would include customer service, record keeping, order processing, inventory management, billing and product displays.
Job skills are important to employers for obvious reasons. These are the specific skills they look for in a candidate to accomplish the duties of the job. Job skills do not always come from employment. Along with the skills you used in previous jobs, you may have developed job skills through education, hobbies, community activities and life experiences. Common activities such as shopping, managing finances, balancing a bank account, hosting a party and teaching a child all contain potential job skills.
Self-Management Skills
Sometimes called “personality traits,” these self-management skills are skills you use day-to-day to get along with others and to survive. They’re the skills that you unique. Sincerity, reliability, tactfulness, patience, flexibility, timeliness and tolerance are examples of self-management skills. Employers look for these skills in candidates as evidence of how they will fit into the organization. How a person will fit in is an important consideration to employers.
Transferable Skills
These are skills that can transfer from one job or occupation to another. They may be either self-management or job content skills, and may or may not have been developed through pervious employment. For most jobseekers it’s very unlikely that they’ll find a job that is identical to their opportunities. It’s also important to look for ways to express this transferability to a prospective employer.
DUTIES
Many people have trouble distinguishing between their skills and duties. Duties are the basic functions of an activity. Skills are tools to accomplish those functions. Duties or functions are a part of any organized activity, whether it’s employment, volunteer work or hobbies. A simple example is the management of a lemonade stand. The basic duties of a lemonade stand owner might be to manage lemonade operations including product, marketing, distribution and finances. These are many skills needed to accomplish these functions including: mixing, measuring, planning, sales, customer service, writing, cash handling, record keeping, maintenance, timeliness, dependability, accuracy and motivation. A complete list of skills would be very long.
Writing out the duties or functions of an activity first can be useful way to begin identifying skills. When presenting your skills to an employer, it’s best to tie them to specific activities in which they were used. It’s not enough to tell the employer your skills: you need to be prepared to tell where, when and how you used those skills.
WRITING YOUR SKILLS
Identifying, listing and describing your skills isn’t an easy task. However, it’s critical to job search success and you should plan to invest the time needed. Listed below is an outline for skills identification that has been successfully used by many jobseekers.
· List by title a job you’ve held. Start with your most recent employment and work backwards.
· Write a detailed description of four to five major duties.
o Think of the skills needed to accomplish each duty you’ve listed. Write those skills down on a piece of paper. Remember to look for both job and self-management skills. Be sure to include tools used, machines operated, knowledge applied, etc.
· Repeat the above steps for each activity you anticipate describing to an employer either on an application, in your resume or in an interview. Use this process for other work-related activities including hobbies, volunteer work and community experience.
Once you’ve completed this process, you should have a long list of skills-A list too long to tell an employer. Go through the list, select and prioritize those skills that match your job[s] target(s). 3-8 can be optimal, depending on your years of experience and relevancy. These are the skill you will use and sell in your job search effort- deciding what you will like to do, during interviews and in your resume/CV
EkiniConsult & Associates is organizing 3 free and open workshops, “Knocking on the Right Doors- Strategies for Uncovering the Hidden Job Market” for The Nation readers in Lagos. A free eBook of the same title will be given to those who may not be able to. If you are interested, send-in your name, location, email address and GSM no to 080-8384-3230. Precede with the word ‘ATTEND’ for those who want to come and ‘FREE EBOOK’ for those who want the free eBook only.
Olu Oyeniran is a Job Hunting Specialist and Lead Consultant, EkiniConsult & Associates. He is a blogger (www.jobsearchhow.com.ng) and the author, Job Search Guru’s Job-Hunting Manual –Strategies for Effective Search in Nigeria’s Competitive Job Market currently on sale nation-wide. You can reach him via 08083843230(SMS Only), oluoyeniran@yahoo.com, jobsearchguru@jobseachhow.com.ng, twitter@JobSearchGuru01 and BBM: 287ED6CA.
7 Things-to-do for Successful Job Hunting
Realizing that their job search campaign doesn’t have to be a never-ending struggle, successful job seekers approach the process with patience and persistence. In the job search craze, there are those who land a job right away and those who struggle through the process of finding one for a long time. ‘Luck’ is usually the response one hears from disenfranchised job seekers when they find out that their neighbor down the street was offered a position after only a two-week search. With many job seekers vying for only a few open positions, the truth is that ‘luck’ rarely has anything to do with it. If you want to be among the highly successful job seekers make it an habit of doing the following seven things outlined below:
1. Search with purpose
Instead of trying to fit into a mould set by a hiring organization, target companies that match your goals and career values; doing this will allows you to focus your energy into searching for a position that is a natural fit.
After all, you don’t want to find yourself embarking on another search within a year’s time because you made a decision in haste.
2. Always be prepared
Be ready for your day’s activities by 9 am. Opportunities rarely land on your lap and you have to be prepared for the surprises that may come up during the day. You don’t want to be caught sleeping when someone calls to discuss an employment opportunity.
If you find yourself answering the phone like this: “hello? . . . well . . . um . . . well, like I was kinda sleeping. . . how long is this gonna take? . . . who are you again? . . . like I, um, contacted so many places, cuz, you know, like, I can’t like find a job . . .” then it is time to reprioritize your needs.
Waiting until things are about to get absolutely out of control before you begin aggressively looking for a position can be a costly mistake. You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where you are running low on resources and desperation is about to set in. This is when mistakes are made and your job search may begin to suffer.
3. Develop a job search plan
Organize your job search, map out a strategy, set priorities, and establish goals. The greates source of confidence is knowledge and preparation. Begin your search with a clear focus and a plan. Participate in a number of activities including answering newspaper ads, posting your resume on the Internet, and going on informational interviews.
4. Bypass Human Resources
A human resources representative is also known as a “screener.” The screener’s job is to review resumes and match your experience with a checklist of requirements set forth by the hiring manager. If there are enough matches, the human resources representative forwards the resume to the decision maker.
Unfortunately, not much is left to the screener’s interpretation. This is why most opportunities are lost – because the screener doesn’t have the luxury of making a decision based on instinct; he or she is instructed to follow the lead of the hiring manager.
Since the decision makers (e.g., National Sales Manager, Marketing Manager, or CEO) are the ones who determine who is ultimately hired, it is advisable that you apply directly to them.
5. Write follow-up letters
Well-written follow up letters can make a difference as to whether you get hired. A follow-up letter is more than a simple note thanking the interviewer for his or her time. It should be a sophisticated letter that either re-affirms your interest in the position, serves as an opportunity to mention an important point you neglected to bring up, and/or provides an opportunity to offer new insight on a topic that was discussed during the interview.
6. Avoid toxic job seekers
Support systems (even those created by you) are a great way to generate ideas and for networking purposes. However, some are also a breeding ground for negativity. “There is no job in Nigeria now”. ‘Didn’t you hear of so many people who lost their jobs in XY company last month?”, You can’t get a job there unless you know somebody”. Are not what you should surround yourself with. Check those people around you, especially those you involve in your job search endeavors. Do they offer words of encouragement? Are they supportive of your efforts, or do they feed into your insecurities/negativities? Create a positively supporting system.
7. Be good to yourself
There are two types of job seekers. One that has a laid back approach, and the other that always feels “there aren’t enough hours in the day” and compulsively searches for a job without taking a breather.
Following in the footsteps of the latter is the fastest way to reaching burn out and when careless mistakes are often made. Though your job search should be your primary activity, don’t allow it to consume your every waking moment.
Every so often take a mini vacation; spend time with people who support you, listen to music and participate in activities you enjoy. Clearing your mind replenishes your energy and will allow you to continue searching for a job with a fresh outlook.
EkiniConsult & Associates is organizing 3 free and open workshops, “Knocking on the Right Doors- Strategies for Uncovering the Hidden Job Market” for The Nation readers in Lagos. A free eBook of the same title will be given to those who may not be able to attend. If you are interested, send-in your name, location, email address and GSM no to 080-8384-3230. Precede with the word ‘ATTEND’ for those who want to come and ‘FREE EBOOK’ for those who want the free eBook only.
