So, you want to become an X? (X here is a variable and might refer to your goal profession) Great, what next?
Thinking or dreaming about becoming X is ok but you know, just thinking and dreaming won’t be enough, you will have to do something more than that.
This is where our two-step approach comes into the picture.
The primary thing needed to become an X is to learn ‘how to become an X’
And the final step in learning how to become an X is to learn how to learn ‘how to become an X’.
That’s it. It’s that simple.
I’d say please go and learn it and keep doing it.
Keep doing it, not once or twice…
Keep doing it till you get what you want.
We are in 2017 and there are billions of resources available on the internet for learning anything and everything including job search. Blogs, articles, associations, experts, videos, webinars, eBooks. You just name it and these resources are all there on numerous social media platforms sharing their knowledge and expertise with you if you want.
Remember, learn what’s needed.
Then learn how to learn what’s needed. Period, that’s all you need to do.
Lack of time on the visa, lack of experience, lack of ‘Kiwi’ experience, lack of references, lack of soft skills, lack of communication skills, lack of social media skills, lack of ‘kiwi format’ CVs and cover letters, lack of interview skills or anything else that I have missed. What is it that cannot be fixed, if you want?
Identify your issues,
Learn how you will fix them.
And finally, learn how to learn how you will fix them.
Let’s take an example of one of the favourite issues of migrant job seekers, ‘lack of references’.
“I don’t know anyone in the company I’m applying in”, “I’ve recently arrived in NZ and no one knows me here”, “It’s only the people with references from within the company who will be interviewed/hired”. I’m sure a lot of it would sound familiar if you aren’t using any of these above statements you must have heard someone using them for sure. ‘Lack of references’…. Right?
Say, if you have identified this as the main issue that is stopping you from getting into the workforce, which in itself is debatable, but let’s go with it and say ‘lack of references’ for whatever reason is your biggest issue.Then how do you learn to fix it? I’ve been googling for the last 22 minutes just for our case and I think I have a total of 14 points that can fix the problem.
Step 1 – I will learn everything about these 14 points. I might not be comfortable with every point, not every point will work for me, I might have to tweak some points to make them effective for myself and some points might be completely irrelevant to my profile/background/requirements. It’s also possible that at the end of it all, I might be left with one point or none. If that is the case, I’ll do more research to find more points and I’ll also learn if I’m researching in a way that I should. Google is not the only source of information. I’ll keep doing my research till the time I don’t have my shortlisted points.
Step 2 – I will learn everything about my shortlisted points and I will learn how to implement them to counter the issue of ‘lack of references’.
After reading this, I know some of you will hear these voices and or questions in your head.
“O… this is time-consuming.”
“What’s a guarantee that I will get a job by doing this.”
“Hmmm…. I wonder if I actually know my problem. I have no idea why I’m still jobless”
“Yeah… I know, we have to learn and learn and blah and blah and blah.”
“See, I have tried everything, what you’re saying and nothing works…ok?”
If that’s what you’re hearing or something similar is going on in your head, this article is not for you.
I am sorry to have wasted your time.
However, if not, then go out and identify your issues, learn how to solve them and finally learn how to learn how to solve them.