There is no specific place through which employment is guaranteed. Job opportunities abounds through many unlikely places. Building networks is one most important aspect of job search. To start with, scan through your community; build relationships with those who have been gainfully employed. Also, take advantage of formal gatherings; church meetings, mosque prayers or even parties make new friends and don’t be in a haste to inquire about job opportunities right away. But, as time goes on be subtle in asking them about any information of hiring.
Reach out to acquaintances of your friends or old school colleagues, a lot of such people have some knowledge of the ‘hidden’ job opportunities.
My first internship at the then Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) happened through networking with an acquaintance who happened to be a staff who visits a colleague in my area. I unapologetically approached him for an internship opportunity. He helped me by offering me the attachment position that period.
Don’t be shy to approach anyone in network building, its most of the time a great option.
The resume or curriculum vitae (CV) is your most important tool to showcase your preparedness for the current job position. Make it handy, let it be so accessible, just like your cover letter. Cover letter is important because, according to reports hiring manager spend less than 10 seconds in reviewing your resume. Hence, the cover letter gives precision about your suitability to the job.
One important thing, let the resume be focus and specific to the job you apply for. Update the resume to highlight the experiences and capabilities well suited for the market trends or position. In many instances, preparing a cv as a marketer should be updated when applying for a secretary position with the market trends. Don’t entertain all-purpose resume. This will increase your opportunity to be considered for an interview and successfully to be hired.
Before sending your resume or asking for job opportunity, assess yourself. Find out which job position you will fit most considering your skills and aptitude. Don’t be like “I need any job”, this is wrong and makes your job search very atrociously long. This could cause you to gain employment in unfulfilling position. Rather, take time to ascertain the type of job position that will maximize your skills and bring the best out of you. Every staff spends more time at work done with their family. You don’t want to be bored easily, you might be fired or lose your job for poor performance. Also, take into consideration; the job needs, time schedule, payment structure and employment level.
However, in your assessment, keep your expectations about salary very moderate, don’t expect to start with higher demands, it might put employers off from giving you an opportunity to work.
There is no harm in trying government jobs in Ghana or mostly, attempting to with well–established bigger companies; MTN Ghana, Vodafone Ghana, Barclays Bank Ghana, Tema Oil Refinery etc. However, the competition to get hired in such institutions are much higher with a lot of paid contractors. This might demoralize your application for job search if you are not selected.
Most importantly, spread your net wider to small and medium size companies or firms in Ghana. Such businesses have much higher accessibility to the boss or CEO. This will give you the opportunity to present your CVs or resume direct to them. This is a huge boost, as you will be assessed immediately for the position possibly. Also, consider starting with internship, that shows your zeal to get into the company.Also, these smaller businesses direct approach to recruiting and they have less bureaucratic process to hiring.
There are a few job marketplaces in Ghana which offers job opportunities, they are jobberman, tonaton, Oxglow Trader and olx among a few to be mentioned. You can search on these platforms and also you can signup and post your job search queries. Some of them are free others are paid service.
Underrating social media to finding a job isn’t a good idea. Signup on Linkedin a very great platform with enormous recruiters. The comparatively lesser platforms are Facebook and Twitter. Users do sometimes post job opportunities as well.
The job market in Ghana is dynamic. Your inability to be informed of the extra skills which is required by the job market could prolong your search for jobs in Ghana. Finding out about what added skills is needed in your field is very crucial to help you stay ahead of the job search competition.
A clear example is to be knowledgeable in basic IT skills, especially Microsoft Office Word, Excel, Powerpoint etc. If you are a computer science person, after learning PHP, add more skills in Python, Javascript and among others. You can also find out more, by reading and asking colleagues about how they got employed.
Be ever ready for job interviews, it could happen anytime, but most often, you might be sent an email on the day for interview. The most prepared person will be employed. Have full knowledge of details in your resume, don’t contradict yourself, this is the last thing you should do. Be straight to the point and answer the queries.
After the interview, kindly follow up, send a thank you email to the boss or CEO or the firm and indicate how pleasurable it was to speak or apply to work for them with clear cut intents. Don’t relent on asking for the status of your application or interview. This is very vital. Likewise, don’t be overbearing or pressuring.
Finally, searching for jobs in Ghana might take longer than you anticipate, be patient, iterate on these few tips and without much hesitation you will be the lucky one.