Seven Ways to Increase Your Employablity

[Published in Manila Bulletin last Dec. 9, 2009]

Having interviewed many job applicants for more than a decade, I have seen my share of the best and the worst.

The best ones are gems that come by once in awhile and HR practitioners like me rejoice when we sense a perfect fit. The worst ones (people with questionable characters) are more difficult to detect because it takes time and a lot of background checking to know the true nature of a person.

Interestingly, majority of job applicants fall in between the best and the worst. These people are essentially good, but they have not yet developed into their full potential nor have they mastered the art of job hunting. Like rough diamonds, all they need is some polishing to shine in the job hunting game.

If you want to increase your employability, here are seven practical tips that you can do to become more marketable and to find a job that is right for you.

1) Upgrade Your Skills
Whether you are a new graduate or a transitioning worker, you need to stay on top of your game by continuously learning and upgrading your skills. To do this, you can make it a point to learn something new every year by reading books, attending seminars or studying online. Develop your communication and people skills, as well as technical or computer know-how. Nowadays, information is very accessible, so there shouldn’t be any excuse for not learning.

2) Get Experience
If you are a new graduate, do not let lack of experience stop you from getting a good job. There are many ways to get experience such as volunteer work, internship or being active in community group activities. If you have work samples or project portfolios, show them. These can get you in the door and could even lead you to a good job.

3) Develop a Pleasant Attitude
Most recruitment officers look for skills and experience when they read through resumes. But when you come face to face with them during an interview, it is your personality that they will respond to. If you are pleasant, positive and generally likeable, you are more likely to impress them. HR practitioners look for people that are easy to work with and manage.

4) Enhance Your Image
From your resume photo to your actual interview, take the time to groom yourself and dress properly. Not only will you impress your recruitment officer but you will also earn his or her respect. Like a precious gem, you need to cut and polish it to be able to present it as a valuable commodity and command a good price. When you look presentable, you will become more marketable.

5) Improve Your Online Presence
Social Networking Sites are becoming very popular and quite a few HR practitioners are beginning to use these resources as a way to do background checks on potential candidates. They may look into your facebook, friendster or multiply accounts, so be sure to keep a decent profile of yourself. Avoid bikini shots and inappropriate words that may destroy your reputation. Meanwhile, if you have a blog, an online resume or website that you are proud of, you can include them as part of your portfolio.

6) Build Your Network of Contacts
In business, the more connections you have, the better your chances of success. The same is true when you are looking for employment, especially in the field of sales and marketing. When you are well-connected and willing to tap your network to succeed in your job, your value as a job candidate instantly increases. So be sure to mention people or groups that you are connected with either socially or professionally, it will definitely increase your employability.

7) Do Your Homework
Employers and HR practitioners love it when you show sincere interest in their company. So before an interview, research about the company and visit their website. Let the interviewer know that you have done so by asking questions or referring to their website. You can even go as far as sharing ideas or projects that you can contribute to help the company succeed. Taking the time to show that you are really interested in working for their company will make them more interested in you.

Many people get frustrated and discouraged in job hunting because they think lack of education or work experience is hindering their chances of getting a job. Although these are important, there are several ways to get educated and gain experience. More importantly, there are other factors that can make you very marketable. So believe that you can be a gem of an employee and start increasing your employability today!

Jhoanna O. Gan-So is president of Businessmaker Academy and the managing director for HR Club Philippines. They conduct seminars on Corporate Skills Development, HR Management, Job Evaluation, Labor Law and Trainers Training. Together with her team, she has recently launched the INSTANT HR TOOLKIT, a service that provides HR practitioners with over 100 ready-to-use downloadable, customizable and printable HR manuals, contract, letters forms and templates. To know more about HR seminars that they offer, you may visit www.businessmaker-academy.com or call (632)6874645. To know more about the Instant HR Toolkit, you may visit www.hrclubphilippines.com. You may email your comments and questions to: mbworklife@gmail.com

When Job Hunting, Is Honesty Really the Best Policy?

[Manila Bulletin WORK LIFE Column: published September 30, 2009]

Years of convent-style schooling compels me to say that in anything you do, you should strive to be a person of honesty and integrity. I believe in that wholeheartedly, not because it gains me entry to heaven, but because humbling experiences have shown me that it is much simpler to tell the truth. And yes, the truth does set a lot of us free (unless, of course, if you are a criminal).

But when telling the truth, there is a fine line between Tactful and Tactless. What you say and more importantly, how you say it are really what ultimately affect people. This reminds me of an actual conversation that I witnessed among my childhood friends Mina* and Belle* (not their real names)

Mina approaches Belle and says, “No offense, Belle, but you’re tactless.” Belle gets back at her, “Ikaw, pangit!” (you’re ugly)... After awhile, Belle whispers to us, “What’s tactless?”

THAT conversation is a perfect example of tactlessness. In case you are wondering which girl is the tactless one---both of them were!

TELLING THE TRUTH, TACTFULLY

When job hunting, you’re ability to tell the truth tactfully or tactlessly can spell the difference between landing that job vs. losing the career opportunity. Telling the truth tactfully is a communication skill that not many people have and it would be wise to develop and apply it in the process of your job search.

So let’s take a look at some real-life job hunting scenarios where telling the truth tactfully matters the most...

Scenario 1: Jumping from Job to Job
You have worked as a call center agent for a year, but the problem is: it is not for just one company but for four companies. The first two companies you worked for closed down after 3 months, while the other two, you resigned from because it was really tough selling to US consumers in the midst of the recession. You don’t want to appear like a serial job hunter who can’t hold a job for a long time. Question: Should you even put these short stints in your resume?

My advice: The Call Center Industry generally has a higher job turnover rate compared to other industries. It is quite common to see shorter than normal stay among call center agents. Hence, if you are applying for another call center agent position, it would be good to include the jobs you held for that year since it will show that you have experience. Recruitment Officers review job experience and timeframe in resumes. If you do not put those stints, you will be leaving out a year’s worth of experience. That one year gap may render your resume as questionable.

Meanwhile, when you get that interview, simply tell the truth and explain that the companies you worked for closed down due to management decision. When the interviewer asks you why you resigned from the other ones, never ever tell him or her, “Ang hirap kasi ng trabaho”. (The work was too hard). Instead, try phrasing it this way: “I resigned because the job did not really utilize my strengths. Being productive gives me a lot of fulfilment.” And while you’re at it, make a mental note and tell yourself never to whine about work being hard. You can do it!

Scenario 2: You Hate Your Ex-boss’ Guts
You resigned from your previous job because you simply could not stand your boss. He gets angry easily and you are not happy with your pay. There are many things you don’t like about that company and have finally decided to call it quits. Question: How should you answer when the interviewer asks: Why did you resign from your previous job?

My advice: Never ever say that you hate your ex-boss’ guts as the reason why you resigned. Never ever bad-mouth previous employers. When I interview applicants and they start telling me negative things about their previous employers, I usually just cut the interview short. First of all, no one wants negative people in their office. Secondly, an interview is not a counselling session. Lastly, if you say bad things about previous employers, recruitment officers will immediately see that you are likely to do the same thing to their company. Instead, simply say that the company culture does not fit you well, that you are looking for a happier and rewarding place to work in.

Scenario 3: You Have Some Experience but No Title
For your first job, you worked in a small company where you did all-around work. You did a lot of stockroom inventory work, some marketing and purchasing. Now, you are applying for a bigger company as an Inventory Supervisor. The problem is, you previous job title is Office Assistant. Question: How can you show that you are qualified for the Supervisory position even if you did not have the proper title?

My advice: Do not claim that you used to be an “Inventory Supervisor” to get that Inventory Supervisor job. That’s considered lying. Believe it or not, this actually happened to an HR friend of mine who was duly checking the background of one of her job candidates. The candidate passed the interview, but when she called and verified the information presented, she realized that the candidate lied about the position title. As a result, the candidate didn’t get the job. See, it is important to know that Recruitment Officers do background checks. And they do not simply just call the references you presented. They call previous employers. So instead of giving false information, the simple solution here is to highlight your experience in stockroom inventory work. Enumerate your skills, the activities that you did and what you accomplished or contributed in your previous job.

THE TRUTHFUL WAY

Being honest, whether you’re applying for a job or talking to a childhood friend is not just about telling the truth and nothing but the truth. What you say and how you say it matters very much. It can make a relationship or break one. So be wise and tell the truth with a lot of tact.

Jhoanna O. Gan-So is president of Businessmaker Academy and managing director for HR Club Philippines. Together with her team of HR Consultants, she has developed a successful seminar series on Human Resource Management which includes courses on Recruitment, Screening and Selection for HR practitioners. To know more about these seminars, you may visit www.businessmaker-academy.com and www.hrclubphilippines.com or call (632)6874645. You may email your comments and questions to: worklife@businessmaker-academy.com