Tuesday, April 17, 2007

MARKETING YOUR SKILLS

Whenever I think of getting my dream job, I always imagine myself being employed in a well- establishment organisation with a good salary. I picture myself applying my skills to whatever task I am assigned and always trying to do the best to prove my competence. But, after attending some few sessions from the World of work programme, I actually realised that there is much more expected of me than what I thought. I do believe that I have some skills which I acquired from my qualifications and from my work experience but I also learnt that there are much more skills which I will acquire from this programme, and will be crucial for me in the workplace. It was appealing to me to learn that I can be creative enough to create a job for myself using my skills. Andrew Hofmeyer talked about the demand and supply side of business. All companies and organisations are in business and they are after making profit and whoever they recruit into their organisation must add value to the company. When I present myself to an organisation they need to know if I will be able to contribute and be profitable to their organisation.
This is where Hofmeyer said I need to apply my marketing skills. It will be a good idea to research about the company to get a sense of what goes on in the company and what kind of my skills can contribute to their profit making. What I need to know is what is in demand for the company I am wishing to work for and if I have valuable skills to offer. There after, I can confidently recapitulate my skills and market them to the company, tell them what I can offer, and what contributions my skills can add to their organisation.

I find Andrew Hofmeyer’s sessions very helpful and it made me realise that I have more opportunities than I can imagine.