Get That Dream Job Now!

Hi Friends,

With my last post titled, “The 3 Secrets of Financial Freedom”, I feel inclined to direct our attention to some practical ways we can start earning an income right away.

There are two ways I know to earn an income – either you look for a job or you create one.

1. Look For An Employment
To get employed, you will need the fight qualification for the prospective job.

What is your qualification? Do you have an academic certification like high school certificate, diploma, HND, BSc, post-graduate degree and professional certification in the various professions? Or technical training on whatever field you have chosen? Then you have what it takes to get employed.

The next step for you to get a job is to go look for one. Now, this is where it becomes tricky. Most of us falter when it comes to scouting for a job.

May be now I need to open your eyes to some things you may be overlooking as you try to get your dream job.

i. Decide on the type of job you are looking for – most people think they don’t have a choice just because there is scarcity of job opening but they do. The more focused your search is, the more likely you are to find the right one for you.

ii. Do consistent search – I’ve noticed that most people looking for a job do haphazard search. Get a list of website addresses and newspapers that publish job vacancies and be sure to visit and read such sites and papers consistently, not just when someone tells you to go look at so-and-so place. Of course, what you are looking for has to be in line with your decided job-type.

As you search through websites, you will notice there are some with mostly stale vacancies. You should do away with such sites. They are time wasters.

iii. Know what employers want – whenever you see a job vacancy that relates to you, look at the qualification they are looking for. Some are just your basic certificates; others want more, like professional certification. Do you have such?

Take a look at The Guardian on Tuesday. Check out the page titled “Appointments” where new appointments and promotions are discussed. Here, you will see how these people build up their qualifications to get to the post they are. This is also important for those in an employment, hoping to move up the ladder.

iv. A little more training will do – now I know most job seekers will not want to hear this, but it’s true. If you have been very attentive when reading through job vacancies, you would have noticed that most of them are asking for an extra. And this extra doesn’t have to take you back to the university.

If you want a job as an air hostess, go for an air hostess training. If you want to be a Client Service Executive, go for Client Service Training. If you want a job in banking, marketing, telecom, etc, all you’ll need to do is go for an extra training in the field and that may be all you need to get an edge.

v. Build an irresistible CV – your CV is like a marketing tool and what you are marketing is you. I heard from a Human Resources professional recently that most job applicants get turned down because of the low quality of their CV.

One thing I know is that your CV has to be clear, easy to read and understand. You may want to seek the help of an experienced person or even consult professional CV writers.

vi. Now, don’t wait. Begin to drop your CV at the door of every prospective employer. It will amaze you that most of them actually keep these unsolicited job applications in their database for use at vacancy periods.

I have not said that you are going to get that dream job as soon as you take the steps I have discussed above, but I know for sure, it improves your chances of getting one! I have seen them worked many times, believe me.

Now, what do you do when you can’t seem to get a job on time? Create one.

2. Create A Job
It’s a pity most of us focus too much on looking for a job that we don’t recognise that we already have the tools to create a job for ourselves and even for others, no matter what we read in school.

To create a job, all you need is a competence and some marketing. Let’s see them.

i. Competence: you must have a creativity that relates or may not relate with what you read in school – that you can turn into an income-generating venture. Almost everyone I’ve met has more than one, so I’m guessing you are like them.

Look at this list: cooking, baking, writing, drawing, painting, computer knowledge, marketing skill, public speaking, counselling, home decoration, balloon decoration, hair styling, driving, internet knowledge, singing, musical instrument, music, camera handling, make people laugh with jokes, etc.

Do you have any of them or more? Good news! You can make money from them. You can turn most of the things you do as hubby into business.

Sometimes, it may stem from your parent’s vocation. I know a guy whose father was a licensed clearing agent at the sea ports. As soon as he finished his NYSC, he got hold of his deceased father’s license and went straight into business.

I know a lady who is good at home decoration. She didn’t need a dime of capital. As soon as she gets a contract, she gets an advance payment to execute the job and gets the balance as soon as she finished the job. She just finished her degree exams in Industrial Relations at the Lagos State University.

ii. Marketing: So, how do you start off? Do you remember the adage about charity? Where do they say it starts from? Oh, so now you get it. Start by telling people around you what you do and you’ll be surprised how well this can help you start off, marketing-wise.

Do you have a family, friends, former classmates, church members? Then, you already have people you can tell (market) about what you do. This part about creating a business is so extensively expounded in David Ray’s Make Money from Your Hidden Talents.

You can think about printing two hundred business cards or registering a business name later.

To start earning money immediately, do these two things. I’m sure you’ll have something to tell me about the result. Are you smiling already?! ;-).

You shall succeed!