Dear Unemployed Rookie,
In May we shared a few tips to help with your job search. Guess what?! This month we have Ms. Natasha Chiumya a brilliant Rock-star Advocate of almost 20 years experience weighing in on this pressing topic.
She is the Managing Partner of Folotiya & Chiumya Legal Practitioners and former Deputy Chairperson of the Lands Tribunal. She is the founder and director of Diaspora Connect, an online business that’s revolutionising the way Zambians abroad buy property at home. In true Rock-star style she is a firm believer in using business to impact social change. She is part of a social network of professional women that supports community initiatives, including providing scholarships for academically gifted under privileged girls.
Here are her ‘two ngwees’:
“The other day I was talking to a smart young lawyer only two years at the bar. I asked her what its like to be a young lawyer these days (I’ll be 20 years this November 😮), she said its very competitive and tough with so many new lawyers on the market.
Our firm gets so many unsolicited applications by lawyers looking for jobs. As someone who has been in the game longer I wanted to offer my two ngwees worth to young lawyers battling it out on the job front.
One Ngwee – Offer Value
When applying for a job, don’t go on about how getting that job will help you pass ZIALE or fulfill your life long dreams. No one started their law firm to help you pass ZIALE. They started it to make a living by being of service to their clients. So how can you help them to help their clients? Your focus should be on – how you can add value to their business or organisation.
Two Ngwee – Stop job hunting and start networking
Networking is simply building relationships. Don’t just sit at home emailing out your CV. Attend public events and functions – start conversations and get to know people! Show a genuine interest in who they are and what they do. When it’s appropriate, mention you’re job hunting. So many jobs are filled not through adverts but through relationships!”
So there you go, a ‘two ngwee’ ticket to a priceless journey!
Best wishes,
Emmanuela
0 thoughts on “Young, learned and unemployed 😫”
This applies to every one seeking employment and interestingly those busy hunting for business opportunities. I completed my Hons Degree in 2014 and my Level 6 Graduate in 2017 but the mistake I made was just to sit back and relax as I applied from one organization to another. A friend then advised me to write an article in the Zambia Daily Mail a move I warm heartedly did and contributed not less than 15 in six months. I marketed myself by so doing and the rest is history because I was head hunted, promoted and transferred thereafter. Networking is the key