Vibrant Pro (M) Sdn Bhd

The world has changed over the past 10 years, shifting from the Industrial Age to the Information and Knowledge Worker Age. Totally changing the way business operates. The marketplace is now intensely customer-oriented, but this customer-focus has not yet become a concern of job seekers.

The key to getting the job you want is to be oriented to the needs and wants of your customer, which is your prospective employer. Try to think what they want.

The traditional approach of sending out resumes, seeking employment interviews and filling out applications no longer work. Your exposure to the market is very broad. The problem is that to the organizations that receive your resume, you are one of many hundreds or even thousands trying to get a job. Personnel offices are absolutely inundated with letters, resumes and phone calls from people who want work. As good or experienced as you may be, to most of them you are a “problem,” a “hassle,” one of a stack of letters or calls they have to answer today.

This may be harsh, but this is the reality in most organizations in today’s rapidly changing and globally competitive environment. They are dealing with the pain of extensive downsizing and outsourcing. But there are jobs everywhere disguised as problems, even the problem of downsizing.

The approach of just sending out resumes and giving follow-up calls will, for the most part, rarely yield results because those who look for work in this way are behaving as if they are the customer. Customers approach companies with a need and a problem that they want solved—in this case, the need is work—a job. Businesses already have more real customer needs and problems than they can handle. Can you see who and what you are competing with when you approach a company in this way? So you must be is a solution to the needs and problems which that organization and their customers face, not another problem.

If you need to position yourself as a solution to some significant need or opportunity that an organization faces, you are going to have to focus. You must be enormously resourceful and creative in learning about the organization you want to work for. Creativity is a unique human endowment, and is a powerful capacity that lies largely dormant in most people. Do not panic or feel nervous about not having a job, and start immersing yourself in the realities of the company you want to work for. Creatively find ways of talking with and learning from the company’s employees and managers—talk to their suppliers, their customers, and even their competitors. Reach the point that you can describe their challenges and needs as well as or better than they could themselves. Then you can position yourself—your unique background, skills, education, experience and talents (some of which you may need to further develop first)—in the context of their needs. Your resourcefulness and insight will deeply impress them.

Finally, in your creative research it is vital to learn about the culture and norms of the organization. Every organization is different. This awareness should govern how you should approach the organization for an interview or meeting with their managers or executives. Be creative. Have empathy and be aware of these differences. Your proactive approach will provide the wisdom to bring great results.

I acknowledge there will likely be few people who will take this advice and pay a sufficient price to really get the job and career they seek. Consequently, they will still be coming up with excuses as to why they’re not getting employment: blaming the economy, blaming the company, blaming prejudiced people, or blaming themselves. Work to get out of the reactive attitude of waiting for things to happen. Einstein put it this way, “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” We must get with the spirit of the age, and gear ourselves to the needs of “our customer.”

Now, what do you think? We have a lot of unemployed graduates. These graduates though have a problem from lack of communication skills. But if they don't would you think, this is a better way to get a job?

Let me hear from you.