I whined this way to a friend of mine immediately I completed campus. She gave me a schedule to follow that has never failed me and I will share it with you here.
1. Job seeking is your new full-time job. Work at it from 8 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday, to obtain results. Surfing the net for kitten videos and the latest episode of your favourite series should be done outside of working hours.
2. Update your CV and tailor it to match each application. Do not use the same CV to apply for different positions. For every vacancy announcement, emphasise your corresponding qualifications.
3. Make at least 100 applications. Where will you get them from?
- Start with blind applications to companies you have always dreamed of working in
- Next, get in touch with your network and let them know you are looking
- Respond to all vacancy advertisements that you are 50% qualified for. Most adverts look for the ideal candidate and not finding them, they go for the next best candidate that may just be you
- Check job websites for vacancies. Register on LinkedIn, Brighter Monday and other sites where employers and employees interact
- Go office to office to check for vacancies especially in the industrial area. Old is gold. It is time-consuming and labour intensive but what else do you have to do?
4. Remember to file a copy of the advert, your application and corresponding CV for each application. It is good for keeping a tally of the number of applications made but also for reference when you get called in for an interview.
Before you get to 100, you will have received interview invitations. Try it. It works for me every time.
Author of this article, Susan Nyakiamo has dedicated her life to helping people make better decisions with their finances. She does this by sending email updates, via her website (Suziema) and also via Campus Radio Kenya’s Money Matters segment. Visit her blog and subscribe to her mailing list to learn more about financial management.
