I sadly ended my two and half year column in December 2008 amidst increased work pressure and pending studies. The day I wrote what was to be my last article was one of the saddest days I have ever experienced. I received emails, calls, visits from people who had gotten accustomed to reading about matters that affect people in the workplace every Tuesday. Over the past few months I have pondered about the many readers who had found the articles useful. These thoughts increasing led me to say what I always tell to people when they say they were unable to do something because they ‘had no time’. My response is always that, if something is important to you, you will find the time to do it. Because people matter to me, whether job seekers, employers, employees, they are my business, I will make the time to write every week as I have done in the past years about the many unending issues that affect people within any work environment.

We have noticed in the past few months the unprecedented number of people losing their jobs and their livelihood. We have witnessed companies scale down, shut down and every one talking about the ‘credit crunch’. As a recruiter I can confirm that the job market is favoring the employer. This is because of the many skilled people that are jobless and are willing to avail their skills for much less than what they are worth. Companies are beginning to offer salaries that are less than what the market is offering because job seekers are willing to accept whatever companies are offering because they simply need to be employed. This scenario means that the competition to get noticed has increased, the time has come for job seekers to ‘up their game’ to remain competitive.

Many times job seekers ask why is it that one person will receive 4 invitations to attend interviews while another will apply everywhere they can think of over a long period of time and still fail to receive a single invitation to attend an interview. Why is it that one person will attend an interview once and will receive an offer letter while another will attend several interviews and still fail to receive a single offer letter? Why is it that one person is always headhunted by potential employers or recruitment consultants while another has never been head hunted? Why is it that one person is able to easily negotiate and increased salary on an offer letter while another person will be told by a potential employer to ‘take the offer or leave it’. Why are some job seekers just more successful than others?

In this and the next article I will unlock the secrets of successful job seekers. One of the secrets of successful job seekers is that they care about their appearance, personality, attitude and the image they portray. Ask yourself if your appearance or image is up to date. Look in the mirror and rate yourself honestly on a scale of 1 to 10.

Every day of my life I speak to job seekers in an effort to assist them find employment and it saddens me that a person for example looking for a position of a Personal Assistant or secretary will approaches me to try and help them find a job and I take one look at their appearance and I know that they will are not serious. Image, appearance, attitude and personality is critical for any job seeker. Always remember that you only ever have just 30 seconds in which to create the best first impression and just under 60 seconds to build interest in what you are going to say. As a certified Image consultant and Fashion stylist I try the best I can to advise job seekers of the importance of image, you send a message on who you are on the inside by the way you dress, behave and carry yourself.

The business environment will accept you if you present a professional image that is required for your career or field. Having and maintaining a sharp up to date image does not consist of spending money buying expensive clothes. You can create out of just seven items enough combinations to last you 20 days and be able to look sharp on every single one of those 20 days. You want to feel confident when you walk into any situation and you want to know that you are presenting yourself appropriately.

When you feel good about the way you look and sound professionally and personally, and know how to conduct yourself in any situation, it allows you the freedom to relax, be clear about your purpose and pursue your goals. It does not matter what shape or size you are, you can still make an excellent positive first impression. When you walk into a room full of people, or into an interview or about to make a presentation, do people stop talking or what they are doing because they are mesmerized by your entrance, image, confidence and personality. When you start to speak do people look at you and follow your every movement and gestures? When you conclude your presentation why you think they should hire you, does the panel start to ask you when you are available to start work? It all starts with your image, your attitude, your appearance and your personality. Your image must always enhance your message and establish that you are polished, capable, confident, capable and credible. I always say that you must always dress for the job you want and not the one you have.

If you are going to drop off your CV at the offices of a potential employer or a recruitment company, dress well, it is your appearance that gets noticed first. Remember the task of a recruitment consultant is to convince potential clients that you are the right candidate in terms of skills, experience, qualifications, image, personality and attitude. If you fail to convince a recruiter that you posses all these qualities, it is impossible to them to find you employment. Next week we will unlock many more secrets that will help put you ahead of other job seekers, the competition for the limited vacancies is very high. You have what it takes to get the job that you want, job seeking is a serious process and only those that take the process seriously will succeed in receiving job offers.

As part of our community service I offer to speak to students in colleges, universities, schools, and churches about the making the right career choices and the reality of the job search process. Email your request and I will be more than happy to speak to your students for free. Thank you all and God bless.