Who says there are no jobs?

ANXIETY, frustration and despondence are only few of the words that haunt job seekers in the nation’s challenging economic clime. While many are shocked at the realisation that having enough degrees to plaster a wall is not necessarily a ticket to securing a placement, others are mystified at how colleagues clinch niche positions in the very establishments from which they themselves had been turned away.
“One of the greatest barriers to job search is the incompetence of most job seekers about techniques,” writes Olu Oyeniran in his Job-hunting Manual: Strategies and Tactics for Effective Search in Nigeria’s Competitive Job Market”.
Like the proverbial hunting dog that never barks for unjustifiable reasons, Oyeniran mouths his skill acquiring lessons with substantial credentials. Popularly known as ‘Job Search Guru’, the expert has gained a large follower-base through the years with his writings on the subject in The Guardian, The Independent and HR Guide. He currently writes a weekly Job Search and Career Management column for The Nation newspaper. He is also a blogger (.ng) on skills, information, strategies and resources for effective job search.
In 199 pages, the author does a little more than just give another ‘talk talk’— what most job seekers have, unfortunately, become used to. His new perspective is a step-by-step outlay that makes provision for progress assessment. Oyeniran, it seems, is not just interested in teaching; he actually wants the reader to get the job.
“The reader must realise that for it (manual) to be effectively utilised,” he writes, “it cannot just be read through. There are a lot of worksheets that require active participation. As a matter of fact, always have your pencil at hand. Besides, there are action plans that must be immediately implemented or scheduled for implementation, and principles to reflect on.”
In style akin to a doctor seeking a multi-faceted assault on job-search ‘infections, Oyeniran prescribes 10 ‘capsules’, “having recognised that the exigencies of time, inclination and immediate need often preclude going through the manual at once.”
He, accordingly, suggests relevant chapters for corresponding situations– no job or interview in view (Read all chapters); don’t know what to do? (Read chapters 2, 3); about to write an application (chapter 5); having an impending interview (7, 8); need another job (2, 3); just offered a job (9); failed many interviews (3, 7, 8); no response to applications (3, 5); no invitation for interviews (3, 4, 5), and problems with job aptitude test (6).
Oyeniran strikes an unpretentious note and clarifies the scope of his work when he says: “This manual will not create jobs. Our concern is to make it easier for you to get a job of your choice. Therefore, good understanding and diligent application of the strategies and techniques contained in this manual will make it easier for you to get your dream job.”
The author, among several revelations, highlights the importance of self-discovery by every job seeker. For Oyeniran, the searcher is much more than skills, education and experiences. He or she is also a person and a personality. Personal qualities, he notes, are, therefore, as important as learned skills in fetching success out of the employment world. He teaches how these additional qualifications may be discovered and harnessed to bolster the job seeker’s marketability.
It must be added that visitors to Oyeniran’s Job-hunting Manual are suitably positioned to harvest nuggets of wise counsel on job search situations.
And at whatever rung of the job search ladder a reader finds him or herself, a careful study of the Manual would remain an exercise worth all the while.

Author of this article: Femi Alabi Onikeku of The Guardian Newspapers.( It was published in the Guardian of 7/12/12, page 28)