1. Discover your Talent: Discover your Talent first, before you start your career journey. Nature has gifted every one of us with some kind of “talent”. Discovering your talent is the first step in your career success.

In theory, Talent also means competency (which means a combination of skills, knowledge, and attitude someone possesses). Talent doesn’t always mean hobbies like singing, dancing, sports, and music. In simple words “Talent”, is something that you love to do without getting money or recognition, or fame. Talent is sometimes inbuilt or sometimes gained through learning and practice.

For example:-
Some people are great with objects like computers, machines, technology and they can work the whole day and night without talking to someone; like engineers, technicians, scientists, etc.
Some people feel great to give services to other people, mostly in service sectors, doctors, teachers, nurses, and trainers.
Some people are great with their ideas, theory, and creativity, innovative thinking, breaking some records such as writer, painter, creative directors, innovators, thinkers, saints, sportsman, etc.

There are many more such traits. Now close your eyes and do self-reflection and try to assess which type of talent you have, is it with objects, people, or ideas.

Discover your talent by observing yourself, because no one knows you better than anyone else. However take feedback from parents, friends, elders, teachers, colleagues, mentors as they are mirrors for you who have observed your behavior very closely from a different perspective. However, sometimes Talent is hidden and it gets exposed due to certain situations, like leadership qualities during a crisis. For more information on this subject, please send me an email or book a call.

2. Know Job Market & Opportunity: Once you identify what is your “talent”. The next step is to explore whether your talent has demand or potential in the market. Are you solving someone’s problem? Are there people, who are ready to pay you for your talent? If yes – proceed with making a career plan. If not you may need to work extra hard to generate that demand first and it could be risky, so please reassess and plan in consultation with your guide or mentor.

3. Career Planning: Most working professionals still rely on their career success in luck, on the flow of life, and their career choices are based on opportunities they come across rather than planned objectives. Due to this, they encounter multiple failures, again and again, trail in different roles due to a lack of clarity and direction in life.
On the other hand, some people are so occupied with a professional life that they forget about family life; some are busy with work and social life, that they forget learning and development in their career. Some are busy in office pressure and forget about their personal health and family; some are so much into achieving financial success and forget the purpose of life and lack spiritual happiness.

The secret of life is on a “Balanced Approach”. Which you can only achieve through proper Career Planning which gives clarity, direction, and ease in decision making to achieve success and happiness in life by balancing six important aspects.

Therefore, you should document your career plan as per the template below. There are the 6 important pillars of our life – personal, professional, social, financial, spiritual (self-discovery) and continuous learning and development; if we are able to create a balance among them, we can experience success, happiness, and contentment.

Template: Age Personal Professional Social Financial Spiritual Continuous Learning and Development

4. Prepare Professional Resume & Letter: Once you have set your career goals year-wise, now it is time to prepare a professional job-winning resume and introduction letter. Thus, prepare the following document at this stage or contact me to make these professional documents: I will make a separate blog or video on these subject shortly

i. Professional Job-Winning Resume
ii. Effective Cover Letter
iii. Drafting Job Search Introduction Email
iv. LinkedIn / What sup Introduction Message

5. Follow Job Search Techniques: Searching for a job is neither easy nor difficult. It depends on your profile, needs, and interest in the right skills. If you have all of these qualities, it is comparatively easier for you. Follow these JRWCN steps for your professional job search techniques:

Job Portal: Upload your professional resume with correct details on the right website. For example, if you wish to apply for Dubai then use Naurkigulf, NaukriIndia, Gulf talent, Monster gulf, Indeed, Bayt, etc. The key is to refresh and update your profile early morning so that your profile goes on the top of the database when recruit search early morning.

Referencing: Use Linked to network yourself, contact target companies, consultants, recruiters, and groups, follow their requirements, etc, and try these leads to approach the company. It will take time but if used correctly, it will yield the right results.

You can also use your friends, ex-colleague, relatives, and social sites, friends. Don’t forward your resume if they are not comfortable, rather ask them to share their company’s recruiter email Id or phone number or ask them to forward your resume to the respective dept. a hiring manager who can check and forward to HR.

In all cases, if you have some contacts in a senior-level position, it will give an added advantage; however, if they are not comfortable please don’t approach again as it’s very difficult for senior managers to recommend if they don’t have confidence in you.

You can also approach a manpower agency that has directly tie-up with hiring companies.

Walk-ins: I would strongly recommend you to go for direct walk-ins for junior roles, sometimes the recruiter has an urgent need but they have not posted the ad anywhere. Thus, if you walk in and get such opportunities to meet with a recruiter; you have a very high probability to get selected.

The physical meeting is always fruitful l as you get to see the company, their business, and environment and may check with employees about company strength, its culture, and good things which you can share during your interview.

Career Portal: Most of the company uses ATS – Application Tracking System. Thus, all active vacancies are posted on their career sites. It is always suggested to apply directly to an open position so that recruiter can check and contact you for an interview. Always ensure to upload a recent and professional resume with many keywords as mentioned in the company job description.

Email: Send emails to the company, it’s easy, fast to reach many target companies in a short time without spending money and physical visits. If your profile is strong which matches with company requirements, you will get a call from HR.

6. Prepare & Practice for Interview: If a company wants to hire one candidate then the average recruiter and the hiring manager have to interview more than 10 candidates, depending upon the criticality of the position. Therefore, the rate of success is largely 10% for everyone.

In such fierce competition, where everyone has equal qualifications, work experiences the only strategy that works is preparation and practice. Thus, you need a great amount of work in this area of job search. I strongly recommend you for professional guidance, preparation, and practice interview sessions to clear at this stage as we see most of the candidates fail with some silly answers for basic questions.
For more details on interview questions and answers, please wait for the next blog.

7. Negotiate for Value: The recruiter selects three candidates on average for one position to close. Thus, your small mistake in negotiation for salary, benefits, position, joining date, notice period, increments and etc. may lead to rejection or in standby and recruiters moves on to second-best options. Thus, consult with seniors or professional guides before you take any risky move on negotiation. Always negotiate for the value you bring to the company rather than what you expect from the company. Don’t directly focus on money rather focuses on what are your strengths, USPs (unique selling proposition), education, previous achievements, values, skills, knowledge, etc. For negotiation techniques, I will make a separate blog.

8. Join with the First Impression: Whenever you are joining a new company, try to make a first and lasting impression with your personality, preparation, and action. Research, understand, and go with one year plan on what will you do in your new job. Your first 7 days, 70 days, 7 months, and finally 12 months plan layout.

Follow the following few techniques to make a first and lasting impression:
• Personality – you must understand the company culture, dress code, timings, and go to the office as per their policies.
• Always ensure you wear something professional during your initial dress until you make that first and lasting impression.
• Don’t wait for others and start interacting with your boss, seniors, and colleagues as you are being noticed for your behavior. Introduce yourself, get to know each other in a way it will help them. Please ensure nobody feels uncomfortable with your behavior and approach. You intent is to make professional relation and not to make school or University friends. You are at work neither to make friends nor to make enemies, you are there to be professional. This must be your “mantra” on interpersonal relations.
• Always carry a diary and pen, and ask everyone what is their problem? and how you can help them solve. Your intent is to understand the challenges and opportunities to become a problem solver and make a lasting impression.
• Always go with some skills that you can share with them which is mostly required but people don’t focus much. Like some email rules, excel formula, your technique on time management, how to prioritize, how to automate, etc which is useful to all.
• Don’t get into office politics and groups and always be neutral at the workplace without hurting anyone to avoid making enemies during initial days.
• Understand your Boss and team communication style and adapt yourself. Do they like emailing everything or do they prefer face-to-face talks. Are they into WhatsUp, audio conference, or video-call?
• Discuss with your managers about your JD and his/her expectation. Prepare your monthly goals, key initiates that you have to take, KPIs – key performance indicators through which your performance will be measured.
• Discuss your ideas and improvements which help team, dept., customer or anything that helps dept. while appreciating the work the team had done in past.
• Keep communicating, take feedback, and continuously work towards – taking ownership, bringing results, continuous improvement, bringing positivity, high productivity, reducing cost, increasing process efficiency at work.

If you follow the aforesaid strategy, your journey from dream to reality will be smooth and easy.

All the best for your career and I am always available for you through calls, WhatsUp, and email @ rishi@makemycareer.co

Blog Written by: Rishi Koirala
Date: 23rd June 2021
Source: Professional studies, experience, and expertise are subject.
Contact: +971-581003035