SELF REBRANDING

BRO. SAMUEL OSHO

(HR AND ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT CONSUTLANT)
© MAY 2021

CHRIST APOSTOLIC CHURCH YOUTH FELLOWSHIP

ADEGBOYEGA DISTRICT,
ODI-OLOWO DCC
2 CONTENT

 CV Writing
 Cover Letter
 Job Application
 Employers’ Expectations of Applicants
 Interview Tips
 Academic Progression to Help Career
 Scholarship Applications / Post-Graduate Studies
 How Do You Brand Yourself?
 Conclusion
3 CV Writing

 Your CV is a tool that helps you in your job search. Your CV shows how you compare to
other job seekers competing for the same position.
 You must remember that your CV is your marketing tool. It is the first impression a
potential employer has of you.
 Your CV must contain compelling language that would bring your work to life.
 It is hard for anyone to get a good job without a viable/marketable CV.
 Ensure that there are no grammatical or spelling errors on your CV.
 If at all you will use abbreviations on your CV, spell out the full meaning first.
 Use a font that’s easy to read, such as Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, or Times New Roman.
 Do not lie on your CV.
4 Sections in a CV
• Name: Use size 20 - 24 to write your first name and surname only.
• Address, Email and Telephone: Use size 14 to write these in that order.
• Font name/size: Use size 11 – 12 in other sections of your CV.
• Section headings: Ensure you write section headings in bold, underline them if possible.
• Biodata: Do not include any detail not asked by the employer.
• Picture: Don’t use image on your CV except you’re applying for a modeling job.
• Key words: Insert key words from the vacancy advertisement.
• Bullet: Use the same bullet throughout your CV.
• Table: Never use table in your CV.
• Order your education and work experience chronologically with the most recent at the top.
• CV Name: Save your CV with your name (preferably first name and surname only)
5 Sections in a CV
• Career Objective/Summary: Objectives are primary for recent graduates or individuals who are just
starting their careers. A career summary is a critical element of your CV and it should be designed to
compel the hiring manager to continue reading. The purpose of this section is to define you as a
professional and highlight areas that are most relevant to both your career level and job target.
• Skills: Your skills should come after your objective or summary.
• Work Experience: Your work experience should come after your skills. Note to include your
achievements as part of your work experience. Avoid the use of passive words and non-action verbs.
Strong action verbs, used with compelling language are what is needed to outline exemplary
achievements. Your CV should be results-based rather than task-based. A strong CV helps the hiring
manager envisage you delivering similar results (achievements) at her company.
• Education: Include the start year and end year for each education level.
• Professional Memberships: Add the year you joined any professional association.
• Training and Certifications: Add the year you acquired a training and certification.
• References: Do not include your references on your CV until you are advised.
6 Cover Letter
• An attention-grabbing cover letter is an important document for any job seeker. Your cover
letter should be used as part of your job application. Always write your cover letter to suit
each job application.
• The style, presentation and content of your cover letter could have a strong bearing on the
decisions of any potential employer. It needs to be polished, thorough, and capture who you
are in just a few sentences. Try only to include information which is relevant to the job for
which you are applying.
In your first paragraph, state why you are applying for the job, express your interest for the job
and where you saw the advert.
In your second paragraph, highlight the key words or phrases in the advertisement. Highlight
your skills, knowledge, experience and achievements. Describe how they meet the requirements
for the position.
Round off your application letter in the third paragraph, drawing attention to your attached CV.
Say you are looking forward to hearing from the company.
7 Basic Rules To Observe
1. Keep your application short and consistent with the information required.
2. Study the content of the job advertisement carefully because from it, you can gather
information about the advertiser.
3. You must read the requirements for the post closely and in your reply must show keenness
for the post.
4. Your letter must be short and clear with a few sentences.
If you know the name of the recruiting manager, mention their name in the salutation, e.g.
“Dear Mr. Lekan”; when closing, use “Yours sincerely”. If you do not know the name of the
recruiter, use “Dear Sir/Madam; when closing, use “Yours faithfully”.
8 Employers’ Expectations of Applicants

 Employers want to know about your previous contributions and more specifically, how
you made a difference at your last position. More importantly, they want to know how
you are going to make a significant difference at their company. By changing the language
of your CV, you can improve your perception. See below comparison:
 Passive language / Doing: Negotiated contracts with vendors
 Action language / Achieving: Slashed payroll/benefits administration costs 30% by
negotiating pricing and fees, while ensuring the continuation and enhancements of
services.
 By all means, avoid awkward phrases and grammatical errors on your CV. These are
unforgiveable errors.
9 Employers’ Expectations of Applicants

Personality
• 70%

Education
• 18%

Appearance
• 7%

Others
• 5%

Source: Top Interview

10 Interview Tips
1. Time management: Ensure all you want for the interview is in place a night before. Arrive
early enough at the venue.
2. Know the organization: Know the organization’s VISION, MISSION and CORE
VALUES.
3. Show an attitude of wanting to grow and succeed with the organization.
4. Align what you say at the interview with what is written on your CV.
5. Show how your acquired knowledge is valuable to the organization and how your
personality is valuable.
6. Act professionally by being courteous and respectful.
7. Practise major common interview questions.
8. Avoid anxiety.
9. Follow instructions.
10. Dress appropriately: Dress the part and dress corporate with your shoes well polished.
11 Academic Progression to Help Career

 Your academic success is quite pivotal to your career success. Securing your first graduate
job is one life milestone you should take seriously.
 Having a degree is the starting point for you to land the job of your dreams. Hence, it’s
always good to plan ahead.
 Industry placements help you to gain relevant experience and are a great way to discover
whether a particular career path is good for you.
 Volunteering shows not just your commitment to a cause, but your excellent time
management skills too.
 Get a career mentor to help you prepare for the job market and get an insight into the
industry you intend to work in.
 Network with your colleagues, room mates and lecturers.
12 Academic Progression to Help Career

 Attend a recruitment event or careers workshop: Career fairs provide an excellent

opportunity to meet potential employers face-to-face.
 Engage in continuing professional development. Get certified in the career you intend to
pursue.
 Publishing matters and it is about both quantity and quality. Have a look at successful
professionals in your field and compare where you are to where they are. To get to where
they are, you need to become a voice. Writing about what you know shows that you value
personal development.
 Make yourself visible by being active when duty calls. Use your social media to sell
yourself starting from your WhatsApp profile name and picture. Update all your social
media profiles to show that you are career-ready.
13 Scholarship Applications / Post-Graduate
Studies
 All scholarship applications come with their own instructions and uniqueness. You must study the
criteria. Most often than not, institutions offering scholarship do not accept anything less than a
second-class upper.
 Virtually all scholarship application requires a Personal Statement, which must detail your
achievements, interest and qualifications. It is also referred to as Your Statement of Purpose.
 All your scholarship application documents must be checked for spelling and grammatical errors.
Your scholarship essay may take two forms:
 A one-page essay answering a general question. E.g. Essay question: Describe your past contributions
to a community or non-profit based organization. How will your experience add value to your peers,
classroom, and the W. P. Carey community?
 Several short answers to more specific questions. E.g. How you intend to apply your new skills and
qualification when you return home? (100 words), Career Plans in the five years following the award
(250 words), etc.
14 Tips for Successful Application
 Read the instructions carefully: Make sure you follow page and word limits exactly.
 Do some research before you start writing: Think about The field, The programme, Yourself and Your
Audience.
 The Field: Think about why you particularly want to enter that field. What are the benefits and what
are the limitations? When did you become interested in the field and why?
 The Programme: Why is this the programme you want to be admitted to? What is special about the
faculty, or the course or the facilities you might be using?
 Yourself: What makes you special? Is there something about your family, your education, your
work/life experience, or your values that has shaped you and brought you to this career field?
 Your Audience: Do assure your audience that you understand and look forward to the challenges of
the programme and the field, not just the benefits. Your audience will be more impressed with your
having learned from setbacks or having a unique approach than your failure to address those issues.
Assure your audience that you are capable academically, willing to stick to the programme’s demands
and interesting to have around.
15 How Do You Brand Yourself?

 The concept of self branding is strategic to the perception of your personality. You are your
own brand. The steps below help you to brand yourself:
1. Identify YOURSELF: Your own Self-Awareness is the greatest service that you can render
to the world. Identify your interests and your passion.
2. Create an AWESOME PROFILE: An awesome profile is your key to accessing that next
job interview. Engage the use of technology and internet more.
3. Ensure to MAKE IMPACT: Your impact goes a long way to create a positive impression
about you. What do you want to be remembered for?
4. Position YOURSELF RIGHT: If you are a job seeker and you are not on LinkedIn, don’t
blame anyone but YOURSELF.
5. Be VISIBLE: You don’t keep quiet when you are too loaded. Your cannot HIDE your
content and be noticed.
16 Conclusion

 You need beyond skills to stand out from the crowd. You are not going to find any suitable
place for yourself amidst the crowd if you remain at ground zero. You need to put in your
mind and talent to brand yourself in the career/business world.
 Building a personal brand is a lifelong project that constantly evolves and you cannot
remain static.
 To become more valuable, you must add value to yourself.
 The fact that you are jobless does not mean you are useless. Ecclesiastes 9:10
17 Opportunities Groups

 https://tinyurl.com/5xymkjke
 https://tinyurl.com/zxnmfs28
 https://tinyurl.com/fz5dxeez
 https://tinyurl.com/8st96rjm
 https://tinyurl.com/2ftukzk2
 https://tinyurl.com/a4vmraax
 https://tinyurl.com/dx9jebnk
18 Contact Me

 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/visionaryoshosam/
 Twitter: https://twitter.com/Oshosam
 Phone: 07062709351
 Email: osholla38@gmail.com
 Website: https://about.me/ayodeleosho
19