Workshop Job Search Skills With JobnetAfrica: Four Essential Tools To Pursue Your Dream Job

19-03-2021

Workshop Job Search Skills With JobnetAfrica: Four Essential Tools To Pursue Your Dream Job

Applying for a new job can be exciting and tiring at the same time. How do you stand out from the crowd and how can you impress your future employer? Last Friday, 12 March, the New Career Platform, (part of the New Business Challenge Ghana), organized a workshop on ‘Job Search Skills’ together with GNBCC Member Minoek Wijs from JobnetAfrica.com. Together with two other ambitious trainers she took up the challenge to guide over 30 job seekers in their application process. Through their workshop, they introduced the participants to four tools that are essential to apply for the job of your dreams.

A CV or resume is the first (and most obvious) tool in the search for a job. Building on the online workshop of CV writing earlier, Circumspecte.com founder and career skills trainer Jemila Abdulai took it a step further in the in-person workshop. Your CV or resume provides insight into your course of life and the relevant skills you gathered along the way. An impactful resume highlights your relevant experiences, your achievements and ambition towards your future employer. A recruiter or employer should be able to get to know you and, more importantly, get curious about you. Your CV or resume can take you to the doorstep of your employer so take your time composing it: make sure that you research the organisation, select your most relevant experiences and craft it towards the specific job opportunity.

The next essential in the job search toolbox is the cover letter. Beatrice Brew took the job seekers along in the do’s and don’ts for the cover letter. Beatrice has over 10-year experience in the field of international relations while also actively contributing to capacity building for the youth. “The cover letter is a lifeline on which your chances of a job hangs”, Beatrice explained. It provides you with a chance to introduce yourself as the most suitable candidate with the relevant skills on board. While a CV focuses on the past, the cover letter provides you the opportunity to focus on your employer and the future of your career.

The third essential tool is to put yourself in the employers or recruiters’ shoes. Minoek Wijs, Executive Search Associate from JobnetAfrica.com, shared the recruiters’ perspective with the young professionals. Minoek has over 13-years’ experience in recruitment, talent sourcing and she has seen over 150.000 CV’s by now. Did you know that a recruiter takes up to 6 seconds to review your CV? And that 50% of the recruiters reject candidates due to poor grammar or spelling errors? This makes it even more important to stand out and get the recruiters attention, Minoek shared. She emphasized how essential it is to tailor your CV for each job you apply to and create a clear structure within your CV. A recruiter should be able to grasp a sense of you, your experience and ambition with one look at your resume. Your skills are just as important as your experience and they should be constantly developing. She emphasized how advances in technology, globalisation and also Covid-19 has its impact on work. We work more remotely than ever; we are required to be more creative and flexible – what feeds into the important work skills of the 21st century.

The fourth and last tool for your job search is reviewing. In the last part of the workshop, the job seekers were asked to exchange CVs and give each other constructive feedback. Reviewing of your CV is an essential tool to get a to-the-point and engaging CV. Each of the trainers emphasized how important it is to double check your application and let someone proofread before you share it. Asking a friend, classmate, or family member to review your work can give your CV the last boost it needs – which the participants applied in practice immediately.

Curious about the New Career Platform and it’s activities? Keep an eye on the upcoming events. Circumspecte.com also has more career resources and you can request for a one-on-one training with Jemila. Get to know more about JobnetAfrica and Minoek Wijs on JobnetAfrica.com.

GNBCC | News