If you have just completed your studies, it is time to sit down and think of jobs and a long-term career strategy, we have some tips to help.
1. Your first career plan-of-action is to identify jobs where locals are preferred. Such jobs usually combine some technical expertise (known in HR jargon as “domain knowledge”) and lots of leadership and people-relationship skill.
An example is IT Project Management, such as upgrading all the computers in institutions or building a Web portal for a shopping mall. For that matter, any project management career is highly desirable.
Other areas where it would be much preferable to hire locals include:
- Managing IT security, Web and social media and computer-based creative tasks
- Working in the creative and media industries – publishing, Web content design writing and production, mass media communication, and of course good old fashion journalism
- Training and teaching, counselling, human resource development and social work.
2. Next, identify your own skills and inclinations, which would include those outside of your current school studies. Think of all the things you would dearly love to do even if you have no idea how to do them.
3. Do research on those skill sets that you don’t have, but like to, and find out where you can acquire them. Set out a timeline on how and when you intend to accomplish it.
Note that your timeline is not cast in concrete. It is an evolving plan, and it will have to be amended continually after you’ve graduated and started on your first job.
There are many more tasks and challenges ahead in your career strategy planning. The one key message you must remember is to avoid setting out on a career path where the available jobs are often outsourced to foreign talents who may be asking only a fraction of what you expect.
