Have You Been Tested???

Tests Tests Tests... HIV, Pregnancy, Urinalysis, blah blah blah...

I'm so sure that at this point you must be wondering "what do tests have to do with getting a job?!"

Okay, lets break the tension. Yes tests, but No... not hospital tests. 

The tests I'm referring to however submit to some clinical procedures. 

Fret not! We shall not be sticking needles up your arm to check your employability status.

We may however try to probe and prod in order to obtain some data then provide you with some helpful information about you.

I'm sure some people might already understand the kind of tests I'm referring to. Certain kinds of tests help you discover yourself which in turn enable you find a suitable job and eventually a good career. There are quite a number of them: Personality tests, Career tests, Psychometric tests, Aptitude tests and lots more.

These tests are carefully prepared by psychology and career experts to help people through the dilemma of "who am I?", "what am I cut out for?"

Good news is, a lot of these tests are free and available to be taken online. 

I have taken a couple of them myself, they have been very helpful to me so i would gladly make some recommendations by including links where you can take a free test.

They are not too lengthy (shouldn't take more than 15 minutes), easy to understand and immediately interpreted. 

You should be able to help yourself with the test results (unlike medical tests that contains a lot of technical jargon) but if you feel you need help or further clarification and counselling, then do send me a mail right away at:

modupeola.salau@gmail.com.

I'd be glad to hear from you and help you out.

Take a test today and you're a few steps closer to where you want to be.

Recruitment Personality Test

Career Test

Entrepreneur Test

Emotional Intelligence Test

Let's get TESTING!!!

The Brief (concise and precise) by Dawn Oluwadare

Brevity matters in Business Communication. No busy person wants long stories. Infact, they want you to tell them how long the conversation will take. You will want to make sure you are giving the right impression about whatever you are selling quickly.

If you are a sales person, please don’t tell me about your home town, your wife and children, the company you work for or even the product. I don’t care! Nobody probably does. Tell me what I will benefit from the product. Its all about me here! How does it affect me? Mind you, when you get to have my precious time (which is so costly) in your hands just make sure your expression doesn’t give you away. You might need your body language to express your absolute confidence in the fact that what you’re selling will changer my life forever!

In the Business World, from interview processes when you want a job to convincing a potential customer, you have to make sure you “glitter” (like shine shine bobo – Star!) within the shortest possible time.

In summary, permit me to say it this way; if it is really worth selling, then “drop it like its HOT!”

 

For more on business communication read on http://forbes.com/sites/amyanderson

 

 

 

 

 

The Perfect Excuse by Modupe Salau

 

“Excuses are tools of incompetence, monuments of nothingness. Those who use them seldom achieve anything”.

A lot of young people seem to have an explanation for their inability to get and keep a job. Those “explanations” in my opinion are nothing but EXCUSES.

You could have a million and one excuses but never a good reason for not accomplishing a task.

Let’s take a look at the top 10 excuses that we give for not getting the job, laugh about it, but if you can relate to any one of them, remember that no excuse is good enough.

10. There are no jobs out there.

WRONG! There are jobs, only unemployable people. All you need to do is be in more places, meet more people, do more things and more often, you’ll find a job.

9.   I applied already and they turned me down.

          Ensure that you’ve done everything correctly then do apply again, if you really want it... apply again. Nobody will sue you for trying a second or third time.

8.    I don’t have the right “connections”.

         Connections can get you a job but not keep the job. Network with the right people. Don’t be shy to tell people that you’re in need of a job.

7.     I don’t want to work any job that’s not fun, once it stops being fun, I quit.

       School wasn’t all fun but you attended, medications aren’t fun but you take them... A job may not be fun but you need one... not unless you don’t actually need one. Life isn’t all fun anyways, so get serious.

6.    I’m just not an office person.

Nobody was molded, transported and planted in the office...so who exactly is an “office person”

5.   I dont have the right qualifications/degree
        If you’re only concerned about your degree, that’s only a small portion of the big picture. Many firms are leaning towards experience rather than degree these days. If you have the required skills/experience, then please go for it.

4. I’m off the age limit

Don’t include your age in your CV if it will infringe on your opportunity of making it through to the interview. Impress them with the other 9 out of 10 qualifications that they’ll overlook your age, with the confidence that you can deliver.

3. They had issues with my appearance and i can’t change my appearance to suit anybody.

    Nobody would employ a person that would compromise the image and brand of the company. Besides, isn’t it time to do away with some of those childish fads?

2. They were asking questions that aren't related to my field.
            Versatility is a key skill in the business world. Get reading and always “know”.

1. The interviewer just didn't like me!

       His job is not to “like” you! You’re the one who needs to do everything to WOW him!

Dressing up for an Interview by Awoyungba Damilola

This really has nothing to do with fashion. It’s a job interview and not a runway, save your creativity for other days.

Here are a few tips for the gentlemen and ladies, enjoy.

Very soon, we’ll do a “who wore it better” session...lol

I hope you’ve learned a thing or two?

Don’t forget to leave a comment and of course share...

CV101 - Writing a good CV by Modupe Salau

Writing a CV is the one most vital step to take in your starting a job search. The importance of a good CV cannot be overemphasized. It is alarming that after a research carried out by Jobberman, the rate of job applicants that cannot write a good CV stands at 85%... very sad indeed.

A CV is a representation of you, it sells you to your potential employer without you being physically present. I’m sure you want to make a good first impression.

Everyone has a unique content that makes up the CV, however, there are some basic qualities that all recruiters look out for, thus setting a standard for a good CV. Have a great time learning what these qualities are.

Generally, CVs are of two kinds – Education-based and Experience-based. The first is used when you have got no work experience (fresh graduate) or you are applying for a research role in an educational institution. The rule is that your educational/professional qualifications come first before other information. The other, experience-based, centers more on the skills you have garnered while working. Your experience should be listed from the most recent to the oldest, not forgetting to showcase your exploits. For both, put to mind that one CV may not work for all the industries, thus, you will have to adapt each CV for each industry.

Usually, a CV should contain the following information:
1.Your personal details – name, address, age (not be compulsory), phone number, email etc Put these information in a strategic location and in legible fonts, easily noticeable by the employer and make sure the data are current. (Some job seekers can fix in email addresses that are not theirs!)

2.Education and qualifications (starting with the highest)
e.g. 2009 – University of Lagos
• B.A. History and International Relations
• Excellent diplomatic skills and versed in three foreign languages – French, Protugese and Chinese
• Graduated with a first class grade of 4.56 and won the ‘Best Graduating Student’ award.

3.Work experience (current first)
e.g. 2012 (present) – Iceberg Communications Limited – Marketing Executive
Iceberg Limited is Nigeria’s number one market place for electrical home appliances.
• Individually increased the monthly revenue from N150 to N235 in 6 months.
• Worked with the marketing team to spread our products from Lagos to all the 6 states of the Western Nigeria within a year.
• Won the ‘Salesman of the Year” award consecutively for November and December 2011.

Do remember to link your job experience with what you are applying for. It will increase the employer’s preference for you.

4.Interests/Abilities
Keep this section short. As you build up on experience, this length of this section will diminish greatly. Key things to note here are:

• Avoid clichés – Scrub off words like ‘Team player’, ‘Motivated’ etc. Trust me, they will be lost among thousands others. Be creative!
• Be specific about your hobbies – Replace ‘running’ with ‘I jog about 300 km everyday’. This shows you are very active.
• If you have demonstrated leadership skills at any time, here is the part to show it. – I was Head Girl of The Baptist Academy High School, Ikeja from 2009 to 2010. During my tenure, the school won 3 academic awards through various competitions that I actively participated in.
• Add any other interests that are relevant to the job you are interested in.

5. References
Normally two references are required: one academic (from lecturer or project supervisor) and the other from an employer (perhaps from your internship).

The lesser the pages of a CV, the greater attention it receives. As an employer, you would not want to be bothered by CVs that look like handouts. A 2-page CV is excellent. Therefore, be direct, clear and convincing. For design, use a quality A4 white/cream paper and check out for  grammatical errors and misspellings. Use good font (like Times New Roman, Verdana) and normal font size is 12 with larger sizes for subheads and if asked to use write, makes lettering legible such that an employer does not need to squint.

So, there is it! Isn’t it time to give your CV a revisit? For sample CV formats, visit CV Templates.

Have a fun time!

How To FAIL a Job Interview by Dawn Oluwadare

I personally love sarcasm... It think it has a way of sending the message both accurately and with a lot of humour. This educative yet entertaining video shows you HOW TO FAIL A JOB INTERVIEW... how hilarious!

I’m really sure you’d love it J

Told you it’d be worth it J

Don't forget to post your comments!!!

Not Just Another Welcome Speech

Been thinking of the perfect "welcome speech" to introduce this blog to you, but I really can't muster any.

So here's what it is; a coalition of vibrant young minds drawing from the vast knowledge they have received in a bid to light the path of others who are threading the same road as they are.
This journey we're embarking on is on the road to finding and keeping that desired job. How awesome, with just a click, you have access to all of the information you could possibly need to landing that awesome job you've been looking forward to.

Journey with us everyday on this blog and receive great insights. In the meantime, you can follow these handles on twitter, they'd come in handy as you prepare for a successful career:
@brianoji, @AGDCJobs_ @360SLtd.

Do have a great evening.