yourpersonalbrandname.com
http://yourpersonalbrandname.com/young-qualified-and-no-work/
Young, Qualified and No Work??? diana
I hear this sentence daily; there are literally millions of Young, Qualified people across the world with No Work and finding it increasingly difficult to stay motivated and positive. A recent announcement from ‘Zappos’ stated that they will no longer be advertising vacant positions, wow – does this mean other companies will follow suit? And if this is the case how does anyone find work? On top of that Professional Contract Employment seems to be taking the leading as the norm for employment hire. If the future of Employment is Contract based and on top of that the positions that exist are no longer advertised – how can you secure your future? This is such a good question and I am sure one that weighs heavy on many minds.. In essence you have to consider yourself as a ‘Contractor’ for future security and ensure that you are asked to tender for many opportunities.
The question is what kind of a contractor are you and how do you get yourself known? If the future working world is only about being useful to an organisation for a period of time how are you going to ensure that you can gain constant work to guarantee you a good living and position yourself for a secure financial future? There is only one answer, you have to think of yourself as a business, You, Your skills are now a business and it is time to grow them and make people, companies, associates aware of your unique skills in order to have a ready market. You have graduated College a year ago and all you have gotten in the way of employment is causal work and that long dreamed of job with NASA, Forbes or Wired seems like a mad hallucination. All those late nights studying, the 1am in the morning sessions where you planned to be CEO of the World Bank by the time you were thirty five seem crazy right now. You can’t even get an interview for a mailroom position even though you can split the atom three times, at once whilst turning it pink and adding it to a shooter – whilst standing on your head!! So what do you do? You have loans to pay off; you need to get experience how do you gain that? First let’s consider:
What are the topmost skills hiring managers look for?
Research by the Subcommittee for Education in the New Global Economy Ohio Department of Education Tells us that the following are the top 10 skills needed by 2020 1) Critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and applied knowledge for practical results 2) Mastery of rigorous academic content, especially in literacy, mathematics, and information technologies 3) Innovative and creative thinking, including entrepreneurial skills 4) Communication skills, both oral and written 5) Team learning and work, relationship building, and interpersonal social skills 6) Alignment of education with the needs of economic development, including better communications and cooperation between educators and business people* 7) Personal responsibility, including good work habits, work ethic, knowing how to be flexible and continue learning, and financial literacy 8) Global awareness, languages, and understanding other cultures (including history, economics and geography) 9) Communications and better interfaces between K-12 public education and post-secondary/higher education to make high school graduates better prepared for the next stages of their education and lives* 10) Teacher education, preparation, and professional development to support content mastery and skill development, including applied learning (or problem-based learning) across disciplines in a global context*
That’s a lot to take on board. Perhaps to sum those up the topmost skills needed are: to think critically, solve problems, collaborate and communicate effectively. OK so now you know what is wanted half the battle is won, now all you have to do is prove that you can do this and be in the circles or spaces where the right people or organisations are noticing you. I have a cunning plan – please read on.. You are going to create for yourself your own Personally Branded Website, hmm that sounds like a lot of work right? In some ways it is however I have a simple step by step process that you can follow so relax. I know you are now an unknown so how could you be a brand and this is rightly argued by “Branding Experts” and they are right, however for the sake of this purpose we are going to call it your own Personally Branded Website. This site is all about you and what you can do for others, this is not a ‘Me –Me’ exercise , via this site you are going to demonstrate the skills that are needed in order to gain you your place in the economic playing fields of the employed. Your site will include an ‘About You’ front page which offers a summary of what you offer and why you are good at it, a professional photo, your social media icons, contact info and video and a favorite famous quote, perhaps include websites you follow, books you have read and movies you like. In effect this page is an overview of you. Include anything that allows us to get to know ‘You’, not someone you want to be, it has to be the real ‘You’.
Still with me? You will need to get professional photos taken and I suggest you ask for a white background, it always looks much better. Create a 30 second to 1 minute video of you telling us about you and how you can help; VideoBio.com is very helpful for this exercise and well-priced. You will have a resume page where you can input your qualifications and experience. A Testimonials page, self-explanatory Stay with me.. And lastly your blogging platform, now this is where it gets interesting, here you are going to write about what you do thoughts on your industry, ideas to improve your industry etc. Here you have the ability to prove you can think critically, solve problems, collaborate and communicate effectively. Your posts should be at least 500 words, watch spelling and grammar, and remember communication skills are one of the top skills needed. These posts you are going to share on your Social Media Platforms to include LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, Pintrest, YouTube and Facebook. If you don’t have these profiles set up then do so now, want some help then refer to Hubspot who offer excellent instructional downloads.
Your Headquarters On completion of the above task you will discover that you have provided for yourself the headquarters to your business and this business is You, You are the CEO of your business. This site will travel with you for the rest of your working career and will grow and change and you hope in the future rank in Google and be referred to. Know that another advantage of having this site is when someone completes a digital search on your name this is what will show up in first place in Google search. You are now driving your own reputation and it’s a powerful place to be in.
Playing in the Same Circles as Your desired Employer
Earlier I talked about playing in the same circles as the company or organisation you would like to work for to get noticed and get hired – how do you do this? It’s quite easy really look up your desired company go to their social profiles and join in the conversations, offer some of your blog posts as a comment, post your articles to Linked in and join the groups these companies belong to. Start getting to know the people who control the organisations, follow the thought leaders in your field, and make yourself known. You won’t get offers pouring in within the first few blog posts but if you are consistent you will find your voice and so will others, at the same time you are growing your followers, your tribe, you are getting an idea of the thrust of your field and you are learning and growing. You are proving your digital fluency and your ‘Klout’ or influence is slowly growing. Recently I have come across several people who were hired due to their influence or rather due to the size of their tribe. Your followers, the people you interact with online provide for you valuable business equity as companies are beginning to realise the strength and value of an individuals’ connections. Think about it if you have a following of 5000 twitter followers what company wouldn’t want to market to them? So you see whilst you are waiting to get your perfect job there is plenty you can do to ensure you get perhaps an even better job. Today’s market is very much referral driven, most often by the time a person has gotten to the store to make a purchase he/she has already done extensive research online via blogs and offline via friends and already knows the brand and model of the article desired. The sale was completed long before the customer entered the store. Are you seeing just how powerful your website can be, how you have extreme power to determine your future, and remember your site and your reputation continues to grow as does your following. Now that you have gained this valuable business equity your future in a world where professional contract employment is the norm is no longer as worrying as it once was, in fact you could go further and say it is exciting. The longer you keep on this path the more able you are to determine your own future as your voice and your thoughts, your connections and your experience increase and become such that they are wanted and needed globally.
Are you as worried as you once were? Now go ahead start that site, start your future now and aim for the stars, we are all valuable, now we have to demonstrate our value first until you get to the point where it turns and your value becomes rare then you are in demand. The sweet spot. Go here quickly www.yourpersonalbrandname.com. Our sites are backed by an international community providing you support 24/7/365 and we include valuable training materials for life.
You are Young Qualified able to think critically, solve problems, collaborate and communicate effectively. Welcome to your future.