Carrying out a job search in Malawi is a daunting task, even for experienced professionals. There are a number of pieces to the puzzle, and each piece plays its own critical role in the process. The most crucial element for your success is knowing the pieces of the process.
There is a basic guide to follow, there is no such thing as doing too much. The guide has five simple steps that will outline your work ahead. These steps put together, form the basics of a job hunt that will generate exceptional results.
1. Put together a great resume.
Before you even start the job search, you need a resume. The first contact you will have with any prospective employer is your resume. It is a summary of your accomplishments and an extension of your life. This is how an employer will select you out of hundreds or thousands of applicants. It can mean you being invited to an exciting job interview or never receiving a phone call from potential employers.
For this task you need at-least a maximum of two pages. That’s right, two pages only to talk about your job experience, education, awards, accomplishments ,special skills, professional experience, trainings and so on. Basically, you need to make your life interesting and summarize it in two pages.
There are quite a number of websites that can help with writing a good resume. Some give examples you can follow as well as free information, and others will write the resume for you, but the service is not free. Careerbuilder.com is a good example of a website for writing and posting your resume.
Professional resume writing, can give you a major edge over the competition when done by a human resource expert. You definitely have to pay a significant amount for this service, but it is worth the money. However, make sure to check their credentials before you hire anyone.
2. Determine the locations you may want to live.
Once you are done with your resume and it is polished, now is the time to think about where you want to live depending on your qualifications. A number of jobs are concentrated in certain areas. For instance, the vast majority of jobs advertised in newspapers and online in Malawi are in Lilongwe and Blantyre. Jobs there can pay more than other parts of the country.
Pay isn’t everything, unfortunately. Other factors must come into play, so your situation is assessed accurately. For example the cost of living, can be dramatically different from one city to another.
Other factors, such as real estate, quality of schools, quality of life, environmental quality,and proximity to family and friends should also be evaluated. The cost of living is easier to measure than these factors. Not having say your young sister watch the kids can cost you thousands of kwachas a year and must be a part of your decision. Write down pros and cons for each factor and have a look at the entire picture.
3. Put Out the Word.
Its time for the hustle to start once you have decided your desired location and your resume is also ready. The best place to start is your network, but its the most overlooked place. Your network is the group of friends, family, acquaintances and coworkers that make up your life. They are the pillar of your search and a great source of leads and information.
The best thing about your network is that it is composed of people who already know you. Depending on your relationship, a number of people in your network will feel duty bound to make sure you are successful and will go out of their way to help. If they come in contact with a hiring manager, they can vouch for your work ethic as well as your character on the spot and this will help you go to the top of the prospect pool.
4. Look Online
With the coming of the internet, it is the first place a number of job seekers look to when searching for a job. Many jobs are now posted online on the internet. There are quite a number of job search websites and each one claims they are the best. The truth is they actually are.
Jobsearchmalawi.com is an excellent job search website. They have good tips on how to write your cover letter and resume, and get you job hunting in no time.
You can find more jobs in Malawi by going to Google.com and doing a search for “jobs in malawi”. Being systematic is the key to successfully using these websites. Chose a time when you can spend time working online (example: from 3pm to 6pm everyday).
5. Search Offline
Do not neglect the tried and tested ways of finding a job in Malawi. Buy the daily newspapers as well as other classified periodicals to look for job listings. Let new contacts know you are job hunting and be mindful of conversations and signs everywhere you go.