Comments on: Top 10 Things I Learned About Job Hunting in Melbourne, Australia

By: Mwangi - the Displaced African

Mwangi - the Displaced African — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:08:18 +0000

@Terri: I just came from Kenya about a month ago and unfortunately your problem from what I have heard is all too common. Whichever way you choose to go, I wish you godspeed…….

By: Terri

Terri — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:53:36 +0000

Hi,
Came across your post today and was I inspired! I’m Kenyan, can’t find a job in chosen career path despite many, many qualifications. So I’m looking outside Kenya now.

By: Mwangi

Mwangi — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 19:57:54 +0000

@oliver: Thanks so much, that was awesome. Nope, it appears networking is quintessential, speed to application is important….I guess the only place I see as differing significantly was how powerful email was for you, then again, you were qualified and I wasn’t.

Thanks for that Oliver

By: oliver omotto

oliver omotto — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 19:47:18 +0000

Hi Mwangi, you are doing a god job…
Mine is a Kenyan experience and we all know how tough the job market is in most developing countries.

Partly i can say the networks that i created through internship programs that i went through while in campus came in very handy. Most of these guys were my mentors (seniours in campus) and later became my bosses and colleagues. I still use them as referees and they came in handy in information whenever there are job openings at their places of work. So, don’t burn old bridges even when you have to leave a job, keep contacts.

Secondly, i keep up to date with newspapers. In Kenya, ,jobs are advertised every Wednesday and Friday and it is just good to find out your job value even if you feel you are stable at you r current job… i do exactly that to test my worth in the market at least once in 5 months! And that is how i landed my current job.

Thirdly, keep your cv and certificates closer all the time. With me i have even a template cover letter that i just edit fast to suit the job advertise and forward it through email. All the jobs i got were done through email!!! And it was just part of many applications i did on that day.

So try and collect several email adresses of HR departments and employers from newspapers and send your resume in application for specific position even if they have not advertise vacancy. They may just be thinking of you. That is how i got my second job after tarmacking for 4 months!!!

Currently, I am doing what i call international job seeking. Most of these positions are advertised online and through professional networks where employers frequent. So try and register online and also join professional body within your field to network with people. Another thing is to show regular career growth in your field: attend seminars, workshops, register for online courses, etc and get certificates. It show you are up to date with current trends in the field.

At local level i have had a bad experience with Job Seeking Bureaus. Even after paying registration fee to several of them, i never got any response. Most employers nowadays avoid recruiting through agents and would rather interview directly to get that interpersonal contact with potential employee. That is my experience though the situation my be different in Australia or other developed world.

By: Mwangi

Mwangi — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 19:04:04 +0000

@oliver: Thanks for sharing your story. Do you have any tips or tidbits on how you got your new and improved job that may be of help to others?

By: oliver omotto

oliver omotto — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 18:56:20 +0000

Losing a job is a painful experience. I once resigned from a job that i felt was presenting me with very tough work conditions and they pay was equally unstable. Little did i know that i was to tarmack (job hunt) for the next 4 months! At one point i almost went back to my former boss to beg back the job i had just resigned from.

But now i can say that it was a blessing in disguise. That experience opened my eyes to fresh opportunities beyond my field. After resigning as a magazine reporter, i got a job 4 months later as a communications officer and now (2 years later) as a trainer of media studies. Its a drastic and rewarding career growth that i could not have found at my first magazine job.

By: Mwangi

Mwangi — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 01:17:52 +0000

@Brandon: Thanks for the kind words. I am actually typing this from the computer of the new job where I now managed to x2 my salary thanks to the tips above. I hope other people can get such great use from the tips.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 17:39:45 +0000

Good Post and congrats on your Job! In this great thing called Internet Marketing, we still must use “Common Sense”…. the element that pays the bills, while we all dream of our products making that big time cash!

Thanks for the tips!

By: Mwangi

Mwangi — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:54:45 +0000

@Jason: Thanks for the kind words. To be honest I am quite surprised at how transferable these tips are. When I wrote the post I really thought it was only for minimum and mid wage job searches in Western cities……thanks for the pleasant surprise

By: Jason Alba

Jason Alba — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:52:03 +0000

Mwangi, this is a brilliant post. I had to keep scrolling up to see what jobs you were shooting for… you talk about jobs on the lower end of the pay scale but every point you list here applies to executives also (yes, executives can get value out of intelligence research from the newspaper and job boards).

Thanks for sharing this!

Jason Alba
CEO – JibberJobber.com
Author – I’m on LinkedIn — Now What??? (second edition)