Dear Candidate

In today’s dose of the Dear Candidate Podcast (or radio, if you like 😉), I share a practical and powerful way to properly use AI to prepare for your interviews. From researching the company to simulating a full mock interview with ratings and feedback, I walk you through how to get quality, unbiased insights that can help you focus your energy where it truly matters.

Don’t forget to share with your network, subscribe for more, and grab a copy of my book Dear Candidate (a practical guide to navigating the highs and the lows of the job search journey) on Amazon or Selar.

And as always, dear candidates, don’t give up. That one yes will surely come. It might just be around the corner.

A lot of candidates do what I call spra-pplying so basically you spray your CV like a water from a sprinkler system and you pray and hope that one of them will convert.

This is not a Job search strategy, in actual fact, it is an action layered on a lack of information and sometimes Laziness, sorry to say but it’s the truth in most cases

Now I know that applying to jobs can be time consuming, tiring and even annoying particularly when you are not getting any call backs, I completely understand.

Another issue: some candidates even apply to different unrelated roles within the same company without considering the fact that companies have a system through which your applications are processed and when I say system think : connectivity meaning everything is linked because you are the same applicant.

So just randomly applying doesn’t really work.

Please read the Job description and the requirements for the role and ensure your CV clearly showcases the value you bring to the table.

My book clearly helps you with that so you should grab a copy if you haven’t done that yet.

Till next time,

Apply Smart

And remember all you need is just one yes

Ready…..Set…..Wait ✋

About Chasing Career Trends📍

The more I speak with candidates, the more I see the danger of always wanting to follow career trends.

A while back, it was software development.

Then came the big push toward data-oriented careers, data was called the new oil.

Fast forward to today, and it’s all about AI and, in some circles, cybersecurity.

It takes time to develop real expertise in any field.

Instead of constantly chasing trends, have you considered focusing on a particular area of interest? It doesn’t matter whether you’re drawn to it because you enjoy it or because you expect it to pay the bills, you’re the decision-maker, so it’s critical that the choice is yours.

Commit to developing the skills required in that area, and position yourself to truly stand out as a candidate.

And yes of course it’s important to be aware of how the landscape is changing and the impact it has on your area of interest so you can stay relevant; because think about it;

- Are software engineers still relevant? Of course yes

- Is Data still producing oil? 😀, of course yes

- Do we need AI & Cyber security experts? Yes we do, in fact more than ever before if you ask me. 😎

Guest Speaker at TCN EU NCG

Guest Speaker with TCN EU NCG

After an avalanche of rejections over a 2 year period, what did Yemi do differently?

Episode 19 of the Dear Candidate podcast is out!

This episode features my interview with Adeyemi who was able to successfully land a tech job in Europe from Nigeria.

What did Yemi do?

How was he able to position himself?

How did he catch the eye of his recruiters and convince his potential employer that he had what it took to deliver the required value they were looking for?

‘My favourite phrase from our conversation: See Recruiters as your best friends! Oh Yeah Yemi, thank you for that! We are your best friends, Dear Candidate, we want you to nail that interview much more than you can imagine.

I’ll leave you to it!

Have fun listening!

God’s speed!

Welcome to episode 18! The Very First Episode for 2022........whoop whoop 🥳

Salary Negotiation everyone: Such a hot topic right now!

There is a lot of false information about this topic. Now I know this is a pretty controversial topic but it’s one I’m willing to get on because as a recruiter, negotiating and aligning on offers is part of what I do in my 9 to 5 Job.

Additionally, as one who supports candidates outside my 9-5, with their Job search journey, I also have the privilege of having them come to me to say, look Tosin, I’ve been offered this but I think I’m being lowballed and I want to ask for more. So basically I have the advantage to see both sides of the table in a sense and I see how these false narratives are affecting how people approach this topic.

Now make no mistake, some of these things are real and true. Recently we saw a viral post about a recruiter that boasted on social media about low bowling a candidate and these days we see recruiters who also come on social media to announce how they offered 20k+ on top of what candidates asked for and all of that. So for sure some of these things are the reality of the world we live in.

I just recalled a post from someone who by the way is not a recruiter who was publicly announcing to people that if you don’t negotiate any offer you receive, then you are doing yourself a disservice because there is more on the table and they are just waiting for you to ask for it. Does this apply in all cases?

I will like to debunk some myths!

Have fun listening.

This is my last episode for 2021 and I'll like to say thank you to everyone who has listened, shared, sent feedback or offered one support or the other. I'm very grateful and that has inspired me in many ways. So I'll like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy new year in advance!

How do you convince someone who has little or no interest in meeting or talking to you to talk to you? Think of that for 5 seconds while I count down

Ok, were you able to think of anything? Maybe or maybe not.

The point here is that you need something or someone to pave the way for that to happen. I hope you agree with that?

Now, allow me to make this question a little more relatable.

As a candidate, how do you convince a recruiter or the person reviewing your application documents to invite you to that very first call particularly when your experience and your skillset are not well aligned to the position but you however believe that you can do the job.

Picture this, as the candidate you know in your heart that all you need is just one interview to convince your potential employer of your ability to do the job.

However, on the flip side as a recruiter, I’m staring at your cv, shaking my head and wondering if you sent that cv just to pull my legs because everything in the cv screams wrong wrong wrong. Actually, at this point, I’m wondering if you mistakenly sent in your application because it just seems so out of place.

As a candidate, you need to be proactive. Your voice needs to be heard even when you are not in the room. Now does this work all the time? No but if there is a slight chance that this could work, then one of the biggest questions on my mind is why are candidates not employing this strategy?

Alright people, grab a seat don’t go anywhere as we unpack this further.

Question 6 says: I’m of African descent and I currently live in Europe. I have applied to several Jobs but so far all I get are rejections. I remotely suspect that my colour may be an issue here. Am I being discriminated against because of the colour of my skin? Would like to hear your thoughts.

According to a popular quote, ''Assumption is the lowest form of knowledge" When in doubt, always ask questions. Now, I think that’s a fantastic quote.

Why? Someone might ask, well, here is my take.

It’s super important to avoid making assumptions because there might be many reasons why you may not be seeing the results you want.

However, running off with an assumption in most cases is always counterproductive. Particularly when it relates to something you cannot do anything about. Case in point, your nationality or the colour of your skin.

Now this assumption (and please permit me to call it that) about not landing Jobs because of your nationality or the colour of your skin: dear candidate is fast becoming a thing of the past.

Companies these days are more open to setting up diverse teams and data also shows that diverse teams have the potential to do better in business.

So Dear Candidate, I want your focus to shift to this reality and by this reality, I mean the fact that organisations these days are now actively promoting the concept of having diverse teams.

Today’s episode would be focused on discussing this in more detail to answer the aforementioned question.

Have fun listening! 

I like the popular quote that says, 'Until it’s my turn, I’ll keep clapping for others'.

I know that in practical terms, this may be very difficult for some people particularly if all you see all day, every day on LinkedIn for example, are

announcements about all the big wins happening in different parts of the globe. Usually accompanied with fancy pictures of people having the time of their life with all those fancy office gears.

Yeh! And then on your own side of the universe, the rejection letters or emails are pouring like an avalanche. 

These days, you even get some rejections and you are like, what? Did I actually apply for that, what was I thinking? Lol, I’m speaking from experience so I feel you, Dear candidate :).

Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it, that’s a fantastic quote by John C Maxwell.

Nobody, dear candidate, can intimidate you without your consent so if you feel intimidated, I’m sorry to say (but not sorry really) because it’s the truth, you allowed it to happen. One of the things I don’t get tired of talking about is telling you how valuable you are as a human being. Understanding your value is so important to your existence because it will help you deal with this issue.

Today, I'd like to share 4 quick tips that can keep you from being intimidated by Linkedin success stories.

Have fun listening ✌️