by Reynold Owuor | Oct 22, 2019 | Career Happiness, Job Applications, Job hunting, Job Search
Want to know the difference between a job seeker and recruiter scroll down.
Continue scrolling, the answer might surprise you!
There is none recruiters are human, just like you.
They are working to ensure they connect great talent to great opportunities. So when reaching out to one ensure you put your best foot forward and express yourself well. They have limited time to play guesswork around what you mean. It’s better to ask if you don’t understand than to leave anything to chance, remember the only way they can help you is if you present yourself well. Treat them with the same respect and professionalism you would expect them to treat you.
by Reynold Owuor | Oct 18, 2019 | Career Happiness, CV, Job Applications, Job hunting, Job Search
The job market is stiff and it’s a no-brainer that your CV has to be in top shape in order to attract a hiring manager or recruiter, and it has to be 2-3 pages long.
Some things have become obsolete and take up too much space and as a result, are no longer required in today’s CV i.e.
1. Personal Information – Other than your contact information all other information is unnecessary i.e. age, date of birth, race, religion, sex, or marital status. Although some of these might be useful in international applications, if the job is in your home country it’s better to leave it out.
2. Education Level – Always include your latest educational level on the CV and any other certification that might be relevant for the role you are applying to. Often little attention is given to where you went to primary or high school. Unless it’s the highest level attained or is required in the application, leave it out.
3. Unrelated skills – Employers are interested in learning about your current skills that will be useful for the role, not skills you gained in your entire career. Be careful when using overused words and phrases. Balanced careers have created a guide on the list of skills and words that will give you an edge. Read more here.
4. Work Experience – Only include experience related to the job opening. If you worked as an assistant in your uncle’s company while in campus it’s best to leave it out unless the job you are applying for is for an assistant position, or this is your latest experience. Also if you have had an 8+ years experience, it’s best to include experience related to the job you are applying for. If narrowing down is a challenge, talk to a recruiter or career coach to help you out.
5. Career Objectives – Lengthy objectives might end up doing the opposite of what it’s intended to i.e. be a career summary. Make sure it’s concise and ties up your key areas of contribution and ambitions well. I can’t stress this enough but it should be tailored to the role you’re applying for and your career aspirations.
Other things to leave out include; personal pronouns, long descriptions, acronyms, exaggerations, spelling and grammatical errors.
by Reynold Owuor | Oct 8, 2019 | Career Happiness, Job Applications, Job hunting, Job Search
You have done a hundred applications and aren’t getting feedback.
Many companies aren’t relying on just CV for recruiting The traditional way of recruitment leads you to believe it’s your CV that isn’t getting you a foot in the door i.e. a callback? While this might be true there might be other reasons you haven’t thought of.
The following are some of the reasons you probably hadn’t considered:
– You are applying for the wrong job.
– Your CV isn’t in the right format i.e.is more than 2-3pages, has grammatical errors.
– Your CV doesn’t actually highlight your achievements.
– Your applications are not good enough for the hiring manager or recruiter.
If you are having a difficult time figuring out what the challenge is, research on recruiters that can offer you advice. Check out our previous video on why your CV is not landing your perfect job here .
At edge we are always happy to help, you can send an email to happycareers@edgeperformance.co.ke to sign up for any of our career coaching programs.
by Reynold Owuor | Oct 8, 2019 | Career Happiness, Empathy, Happy Workplaces, Succeeding where you are
According to AskSpoke.com empathy is the ability to understand someone else’s thoughts and feelings.
Empathy is one of the 5 key elements of emotional intelligence according to psychologist Daniel Goldman and is an essential leadership skill.
So why do you need to develop this skill?
Embracing empathy at work will allow you to be more productive and have higher satisfaction in the workplace. According to HBR’s Empathy index, Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Netflix and Unilever are undisputed as the most empathetic companies and this not only has a positive impact on their employees but also their output making their teams more successful than companies without empathy.
It’s thus an essential tool that you need to learn if you want to be more successful at your work.
You will be able to work well with your workers coming from a place of understanding, which allows you to have an open mind towards different situations and reduce levels of conflict in the workplace.
So how do you become empathetic?
- Actively listen to your workmates: and try and understand their point of view if you are a leader then listen to your workmates. You don’t have to agree, but listen!
- Ask questions, this will show the other person that you’re interested in them. Asking how someone is doing can go along way and it will let someone know that you are a caring person.
- Avoid making assumptions about people: if someone looks off dont assume it’s because of you, the genuinely might just be having a bad day.
- Be genuine in your interactions with people: being open and honest about your achievements and shortcomings allows people to be able to relate with you.
- Accept people as they are: when people feel accepted, they are more likely to feel like themselves and they can feel free to give their best without feeling judged if they make a mistake.
Try it out and let us know if being more empathetic has had an impact on you and your workmates or team!
by Reynold Owuor | Oct 3, 2019 | Career Happiness
It’ s Saturday morning and you are at the supermarket and bump into an old friend, he asks “what have you been up to?” You fumble a bit, find your footing and wow him with a short compelling speech about yourself, he is impressed and asks for your number so that he can keep in touch. You exchange contacts and leave, a couple of months go by, and he calls you and tells you about a business opportunity he believes you would be suited for based on what you told him. And just like that, you have opened the door to something you weren’t even looking for and that has the potential to help you grow.
Still not convinced as to why you need an elevator pitch? Here are 3 other compelling reasons why you should create time tonight to start working on one.
1. Opportunities that might not knock twice.
Some opportunities come up and it’s a now or never situation. For example, imagine that you happen to attend a family function and as you are there, you meet an incredible person who is a key industry player and business leader. With the right pitch, you could land your next career move or an opportunity to grow your business. He/she is someone with a vast network that might be able to help you, but guess what? The only way he/she gets interested is if you can quickly capture his attention in a compelling manner in the moment. Elevator Pitch.
2. Interview
‘Tell me about yourself?’
Still the most terrifying question for many job seekers. Communicating who you are, the skills you possess and your value to a company will be very essential if you want to land that job. This question can set you up to Ace the interview, if you get it right.
3. Networking event
Your network is your net worth and being able to concisely pitch yourself to a prospective employer might help you open new doors spontaneously. Networking events/channels are one of the best places to fast track growing your professional networks, and these networks will be vital if you want to get to the right places in your journey. How you talk about yourself at events or social media can either make or break those engagements.
There are tonnes of more reasons: like dating, you may want to impress that significant girl or guy that you don’t know how to approach.
You need an elevator pitch ready,it’s applications are limitless, so get cracking.
Don’t know where to start? Talk to us today!