Essential Skills for New Economy

Essential Skills  provide people with a foundation for learning other skills, and enhance their ability to adapt to change. They are generic skills that are used in virtually all occupations and throughout daily life. They are transferable from school to work, job to job and sector to sector and they also provide the foundation for learning other skills, such as technical skills and job/workplace skills.

How to Stand-out at a Job Fairs

Follow a PET (Prepare, Engage, Track) strategy to stand out and get most out of your job-fair experience. 

Prepare
The most common mistake students make at job fairs is the lack of preparation. Therefore the first rule of success at job fairs is to research selected organizations. It's a good idea to have a mix of well-known, popular companies as well as some smaller, not so known ones.

Engage
Next important step is to engage the recruiter or HR manager. Ask them what they do within the company and what they like about working there. What challenges they are facing and what they are looking for. You could also use a pocket resume for less distraction and more conversation.

Track
Lastly do a follow up with the recruiter/manager, which is a rare practice among students.
A simple post-fair email really get you a long way in employers book!

Five reason why you fail to find a job

1. You don’t know how to find a job.
Better learn job search strategies that works for you. If you knew them you`re not looking for a job now!

2. You don`t know where to find a job.
Finding employment by looking at a newspaper, internet job boards, or sending unsolicited resumes will not work for you - most of the time. Majority of the employment opportunities are never advertised and job seeker must learn how to approach employers in a strategically effective ways.

3. You are using the wrong tools.
Most job seekers are often stuck with one tool - resume, and often it does`t work. Therefore you must learn how to create and use variety of tools for marketing yourself to the employers.

4. You are harder to sell.
If you are targeting employers for full time job. By showing your willingness to accept part-time, contract or temporary work you make yourself more marketable and flexible to the employers.

5. You are unaware of Social Media.
You are your Google result. The personal branding guru, Dan Schawbell says “Your first impression isn’t a handshake anymore. It’s your online presence that will decide the fate of your career.” Managing your online presence is a key to career success in today`s interconnected world.

Career Advice for the Parents and Students

Often parents assume that as long as their sons and daughters work hard and pay attention to their studies, they’ll be rewarded with a good job at graduation. The path from college/university to a good career is not automatic; it takes considerable work on the student’s part, starting early in their time at college. Follow the suggestions below and so they could gain maximum advantage and enjoyment from their education.

Self Assessment - Why it is important for students

Self assessment is a key element of a career decision making process. It begin with an evaluation of your personality, interests and values. In many cases students bypass, overlook or does not give enough consideration to self assessment and end up in a career which keeps them unhappy or unsuccessful. In either case students passion does not matches with the profession.

Many times student have an interest in arts but ends up in accounting because of parents, uncles or other family member suggests so.

Therefore knowing your personality, interests and values will eventually gives you a better start then many others who does not goes through this step of self evaluation or assessment.

Drop-out - Opt-in Theory of Career Development

Drop-out theory of career development
In a career development process if a student does not get admission in a program of his interest because of low marks, or lack of financial resources, then s(he) drop-out of competition and rely on the remaining educational options on a career ladder. Occupations on these career ladders are defined by actual or perceived demand of particular occupation.

Education and Learning - Who's responsibility!

The focus of education and learning should not be on getting a piece of paper but it should be on improving knowledge and skills, which they could use to create value for themselves, at their work and in the community.

Most parents think that it is the responsibility of schools and colleges to educate students but it is an equal responsibility. If students does not perform good at school it does not mean the school system is not good rather it could be the parents who are responsible for this situation. 

It takes two hands to clap.... 

Advice for the job seekers who are new to the professional life from HR Professionals

Following is a summary list of advices, for the job seekers who are new to the professional life, provided by the Human Resource professionals on a Rozee Blog.

How to be Successful in a Professional Life

Successful professional in every profession possesses certain qualities and characteristic. When we analyze their life stories we often find some common traits and characteristics like a theme present in all of them. Most of the success literature is built on it. Therefore in recruitment and selection phase human resources and hiring managers expect that new hire demonstrate some of the following qualities during interview and in the resume.

An analysis of interview done to dozens of Human resource professionals in Pakistan by Rozee Blog shows us that some of the following qualities and processes are required for a successful professional:

CommitmentCommitment to yourself, your goals and to your work, commitment to deliver more then what is expected of you and going for an extra mile.

Innovation and creativityInnovation is a key to success in any business in today's competitive business environment. People who can think outside the box are in high demand with future oriented and technological companies.

Leadership Take initiative and do more than what you are being paid for. Be a role model. Inculcate a winning attitude and be open to face new challenges.

Self DisciplineDemonstrate punctuality, time-management and organization in your life

Collaboration Synergies your relations with other in a team-work environment, help others to develop themselves, share knowledge and experience, build professional network for learning, sharing and team work.

Passion You have got to love what you do, find something you love to do and have faith in it.
If you do not like what you do, you will never be able to commit to it. Passion get activated when you choose the right career path for yourself.

Confidence When you trust your knowledge, skills and abilities without being arrogant you'll build your confidence.

Respect Respect each and every individual around you will leads you to win the respect of others.

Self development No one born with all the qualities needed to excel in their career, rather people develop them with hard work, commitment and focus. Adopt CANI (Constant And Never-ending Improvement) attitude in life and always be open for feedback.

GoalsDevelop clear goals and plan for your career with a clear time-lines for achieving them. Develop all kind of goals i.e. personal, career, family, social, financial and learning goals.
Demonstrating integrity, adaptability and dedication to work - set goals and become committed to achieving those goals

Self BrandingThere may be an excellent products in the market, but unless, they are visible, they will not sell. You may be a top performer but you will not get promoted or hired unless your achievements are visible to the decision makers.

Common Interview Mistakes - what human resource professionals says

Following is the summary of replies, provided by dozens of human resource professionals, from the Rozee Blog on the question of what common mistakes interviewee often make in an interview.

These common mistakes fall under eight broad categories. The two most common complaint made by HR professionals were - lack of communication skills and preparation. Communication

• Talking too much or too little, results in repetition, mumbling, and not focusing on what is being said
• Not asking right questions or worst not asking questions at all, which means they have no clue of what this job is all about. 
• Answering what is not being asked this demonstrate their lack of listening skills, one of the most important communication skill. 
• Inconsistency in responses i.e. saying things that are different to what is written on the resume.

Preparation

• Not being prepared mentally and physically for the interview, which includes not knowing about the company or the job and their own strengths and interests. This demonstrate non-seriousness, leads to unclear responses and make it difficult for the interviewee to prove that he/she be a right fit for organization. 
• Dressing and appearance is also viewed critically by human resources 

Energy

• Lack of energy, and enthusiasm for the job is identified as the main tripping point. This usually happen when an interviewee are not sure of their capabilities, knowledge and skills. Lack of preparation and self knowledge often leads to energy deficit.

Confidence

• Nervousness, hesitation, no eye contact are some of the manifestations of lack of confidence. When interviewee are not clear about their career goals and plans, and did not prepared themselves or practised for the interview, then they will automatically loose their confidence. 

Direction

• Having no clear sense of direction and purpose in life is another major obstacle in interview success. 
• Lack of proper career planning and non availability of guidance for right career is another factor, which result in the wrong assessment, by the interviewee, of themselves and the job for which they have applied. 

Attitude

• Attitude is identified as a key success or failure factor in an interview. Bad attitude shows itself when interviewee believe that they are the best in their field or a right fit, but not being able to justify it; 
• Other attitude problems shows up as having negative outlook towards life and its experiences, unrealistic salary expectations, no focus on growth, lack of flexibility and adaptability

Discipline

• Coming late without even informing and not apologizing is a common complaint by HRs. This demonstrate lack of conduct, control and organization in an interviewee. 

Using the following 3P formula will help interviewees in overcoming their mistakes in an interview:
Plan - plan your career/job goals on the basis of your interest, skills, personality and strengths, and how you are going to accomplish them

Prepare - preparation process includes getting comprehensive knowledge of industry, company, job for which you are applying.

Practice - practice your interview skills in front of webcam, friend or family member and get their feedback on all of the above interview process. This way you'll confirm that you would not get faulted on any of them.

Career Guidance - Pakistan: Top 10 Employability Skills

Career Guidance - Pakistan: Top 10 Employability Skills: To be successful on the job requires you to possess certain traits and skills. Business leaders and human resources generally agreed that th...

Top 10 Employability Skills

To be successful on the job requires you to possess certain traits and skills. Business leaders and human resources generally agreed that the following list is crucial for the success of new generation, and old as well, in this new economy.

1. Communication skills (verbal and written)
2. Honesty / Integrity 
3. Teamwork skills
4. Interpersonal skills
5. Self-motivation / Initiative
6. Strong work ethic
7. Analytical skills
8. Technology skills
9. Organizational skills
10. Creative minds

Evaluate yourself on each of these traits either on a scrap paper or with your teacher or friend. Note down your areas of strength and areas of improvement on these skills and traits.

Make them part of your career goals/plans. If you have one then it's great! if not then make one.