Want A New Job Fast? Stop Only Sending CVs, Do These 6 Things.

Getting a job for some of you is frustrating and very challenging. You keep asking yourself, “where am I going wrong?” Why can’t I seem to get a job even after sending all these applications?”

Find out which 6 things you must also do alongside sending your CV, in order to land a job in the Kenyan job Market, faster and easier.

1. Keep the momentum going: spend 10 minutes a day

Searching for a new job is almost like a full-time job. If you are currently employed, this could be quite tricky to keep up with. So, plan to spend at least 10 minutes a day in your job search and add it to your calendar to keep you accountable! It could be as simple as reading an article about a specific company, scheduling a coffee chat with a relevant person, giving another twist to your CV /LinkedIn profile, etc.

Push yourself: you need to find time to do at least one thing a day.

2. Make a list of companies (& roles) you want to target – be exhaustive

I’m sure that some of you keep saying to your friends, ‘I really want to work for Safaricom or ‘I can’t wait to join Deloitte, but you have to ask yourself why you want to work for these companies. What’s the drive?

Is it the growth, company culture, market entry, challenges they face vs competitors, software development, tax issues….and try to boil it down to the underlying driver? Once you get that right, you will be able to create a much richer and more exhaustive list of companies you would want to work for.

More importantly, don’t forget to add roles/functions within these companies. Think of the things you enjoy today vs those that you don’t: meeting clients, doing analysis on your own, running a team, convincing internal stakeholders, presenting in front of big audiences, problem-solving…etc

Remember there are thousands of companies out there and some of the greatest jobs do not necessarily appear in the ‘best companies to work for’ list.

3. Be focused

Now that you’ve built a good list, start targeting those companies, one or two at a time max: don’t do it all at once! You will hinder your chances and burn bridges if you don’t prepare well for all interactions.

If you are getting anxious and things are not moving fast enough, you can start doing research for more companies at a time. For instance, start by writing down who you know in each company (+2nd/3rd degree connections, reading their annual reports if they are a public company or Googling them and reading the latest news.

In short: there is a lot you can do before contacting them.

4. Understand their business…Really Well.

It is crucial that you really understand the company you want to work for. In order to avoid looking ignorant during the interview, asking questions such as, “how many departments the company has you can find the answer online.

Imagine you are a hiring manager and one candidate asks you ‘how do you make money?’ and another one asks you ‘I’ve seen a decline in the growth of your X business line last year, do you think that you are plateauing in your more mature markets or is this related to your product mix shift?’. Which candidate is really standing out?

Even if your assumption about the company is not accurate, a hypothesis/research is much more powerful than a blank sheet of paper!

5. Contact the relevant people who are going to help you in a systematic order.

This may sound obvious, but you would be surprised.

Start by reaching out to your close friends/family and asking them all the ‘stupid’ questions you may have in your mind, in a safe environment. Get to a decent place of understanding and then reach out to the next layer further out of your comfort zone like 2nd-degree connections or school & uni colleagues who may be in the same industry and can provide a good perspective. A quick 15-minute call to clarify your questions or a simple email should do – be specific.

Next thing is to check their open positions (on LinkedIn or their website) and define which ones are interesting to you: see that else is doing that job (what’s their profile like? Is it much different from yours?), what skills are required in that role (do they match yours?).

6. Now that you are ready to meet them, get smarter in each interaction

You may have a couple of informal chats before you actually have an interview. Sometimes there are no roles available, but still, get in front of whoever and impress them! Talent is a top priority for most CEOs, so you want to be on that list.

Make sure you bring something to the table each time. Ask smart questions: ‘I’ve seen that you’ve opened a new development facility in Nairobi – is that very different to what you do in Meru?’

Meeting after meeting, interview after interview, you will become smarter and understanding the challenges a business has and hopefully having an idea of how to solve them/where to start – this will set you up for success.

Not only from a business sense but meeting more individuals will give you a better sense of how the people are in each company. For me, this is crucial and more telling than the company values that may be posted online.

By this point, you have impressed the employers and are ready to send your CV.

Susan is a Communications Officer at Career Point Kenya. Email: susan@www.careerpointkenya.co.ke