Thread by @BanjiAlo

Dear International Students and Graduates,

I will explain why it seems employers don't want to hire you and what you can do better.

#thread

#1. You are considered high-risk

Hiring is a risky business.

You are worried employers don't want to hire you, but the employers are afraid you might not be able to perform in the role.

Would you blame the employer?

Maybe not.

A bad hire is essentially time and money wasted.
Employers don't like to go back to the drawing board.

What can you do about it?

Lower your risk profile.

How?

- Provide evidence that you can do the job via previous experience or projects.

If you are an IT professional - provide a repo of your work.

Singer? Share your album

Graphic Artist? Share your designs

- Build your personal brand online - show your work everywhere - LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.

People think talking about your work is showing off.

It's not.

Stop hiding your outstanding skills. Show and talk about your work.

It builds your credibility.

#2. You are only applying online

If all you do as a graduate with little or no experience is to apply online, you are in for a long wait.

Why?

Everyone is doing the same thing.
Everyone sees the job ad once it goes live on the net.

- Your classmates
- Internal candidates

- Those recently laid off from their jobs
- Those currently working willing to change jobs
- The guy who's a friend of the hiring manager
- The Uber driver that picked you up last week

Anybody can apply

You are competing against the world.

What can you do?

- Spend only 20-30% of your time applying online

- Spend time applying "offline" - reach out to companies in person, use LinkedIn to grow your network

- Focus on less competitive states or regions

#3. Lack of clarity

You don't know what you want.

This can cause serious problems.

If you don't know what you want, employers cant help you.

Their job is to hire, not to help you find what you are good at.

What can you do?

Ask yourself:

- What am I good at?
- What are my interests?
- How can I add value + get paid?
- What motivates me?

4. Poorly-written resume

Employers only spend about 6 seconds scanning your resume.

You won't pass if your resume is error-laden or has poor formatting.

A resume that worked in country A might not work in country B

What can you do about it?

Ignorance is no excuse

- Get the proper resume format
- Write it properly, OR
- Get a resume writer

#5. Application docs have no direction

Your resume is all over the place.

#Education
- Bachelor of Engineering Engineering
- Masters of International Finance
- Masters of Social Work

#Work experience

You noted that you worked as:

- An Accountant
- Factory Worker
- Call Centre Officer

Yet, you are looking for a Case Manager role

Even though you have all these degrees and experience, you think you will stand out by listing them all.

That is not correct.

It confuses the employers.

What can you do?

- Select only relevant degrees and work experience and target this for each application.

#6. Social Media

You might have negative posts on social media.

Yes, many employers now Google you before giving you a job.

Those negative posts or pictures where you are at the club with your friends might be working against you.

What can you do?

- Time to clean up your online profile
- Post more good stuff about yourself

+++++++++++++-++++

Was it easy to spot the " - "?

I doubt.

The positive stuff will eventually overshadow the negative ones

#7. No local work experience

Employers like candidates with local work experience.

You might be a pro from your home country, but another candidate at the same level with local work experience might get the job

What can you do about it?

Always, always get some local experience through internships and volunteers if you can

It was a game-changer for me

#8. Follow-Up

You submit an application and you go to sleep.

Problem?

It might get lost in the pipeline.

What can you do?

- Follow up on each job application
- Track them

This strategy keeps you in the mind of the employer

#9. Visas

Employers will not hire you if you don't have the right work visa.

My friend landed a dream role with a student visa. Unfortunately, the employers rescinded the offer once they saw his visa

What can you do?
- Get the right work visas before applying for jobs

If you enjoyed this thread:

1. Follow @BanjiAlo for more like this
2. Every Sunday, I share helpful career tips for young professionals, especially those wanting to work abroad.

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