As a young Rwandan or any Rwandan that wants to create a financially stable life, you need to get a job. But there is that one question that every job seeker always asks themselves, what ways can I use to get a job? Much as there are tips and skills outlined for one to secure a job, things don’t always flow effectively, to the extent that one can spend years searching but in vain, especially if one doesn’t want to use depraved ‘shortcuts’ like bribes, offering or receiving sexual favours, among others. But narrowing this down to Rwanda, what effective ways can someone use to land a job? According to Irma Ihumure, a professional coach, designer, and talk show host, in a country where a lot of young people are having access to education, the competition is high, and finding a job is becoming harder. “One of the ways I would mention is acquiring power skills. Power skills will set you apart from the rest. It is the new and improved name for soft skills, and they don’t relate to what work you do, but how you work,” she says. Current times no longer demand for someone with a lot of knowledge or hard skills on a specific job that you would be hired to do. There are changes and it is no longer just about hard skills, it’s about the breadth of an individual’s capacity, Ihumure adds. She explains that the most sought-after power skills are creativity, resilience, adaptability, leading through change, emotional intelligence, collaboration, time management, communication, dealing with stress, and being mindful. Resilience and adaptability are deemed the most sought-after power skills that CEOs want to have on their teams, power skills are what will set you apart and what will set organisations apart in the future. They are what makes you different and what gets you promoted. Nevertheless, she advises young people looking for a job to consider their own values and skills; consider what they love, and their uniqueness then search for companies that match that. Joshua Tahinduka, a soft skills trainer and coach, believes that while looking for effective ways to get a job, the focus should be on working on oneself and making sure to polish one’s skills. “It’s so difficult to ignore quality, if one person doesn’t accept someone with quality; another person is going to because at the end of the day it is business. There’s no way a functional business will for a long time continue to hire ineffective people and expect to have better results in the name of ‘we are doing what you want’,” he notes. “Business is not emotional and I am saying this in a general sense. You could be in the civil service or in an enterprise, and even in international development but the industry of labour work requires competence,” Tahinduka adds. He also advises that, “work on yourself because when you get at a certain level, people are going to start looking for you. Work on new skills, do your due diligence, do everything that you have to do, and if someone comes and asks you to do something you cannot do in the name of giving a job, just say no and pass it and keep applying because one thing for sure, it’s not going to be long before you get a job”. According to Catchyz Rwanda, an online selling and buying platform and blog, successfully getting a job in Rwanda requires studying yourself. Take your time to think about what you want to do, and what career you are interested in. The truth about job searching is first, knowing yourself, and what you can and cannot do. Recognise your strengths and weaknesses.
