By Tanaka G. Muromo,
Greetings to you all and compliments of the new season. We as the ETC would like to usher you all into an exciting year ahead, which is going to be filled with a lot of activities for your Continuous Professional Development needs.
Before we go any further, l would like to share a personal story that happened to me 2 years ago.
So there was this construction project that was going on near where l lived. Back then, l was still job hunting as a recent graduate. One day I got bored from just being a a passive job seeker who relied on emails alone that were not being responded to and decided to take action. So I went to the project site offices and asked to see the Survey Manager in charge of the surveyors, and l was let in by the security after l told them that the SM was expecting me. Then I went straight to his office and told him my story, that every graduate l am sure has used in one way or another (the famous story – I am willing to work for experience and not money – NOT TRUE trust me no one wants to work for free). The Survey Manager then asked about my attachment experience and so forth the discussion quickly turned into sort of an interview. After the mini interview he then requested to see my certificates which at that time l had left at home. But I had copies in my phone which he simply refused to see. So this is how l lost the job opportunity. The Survey Manager then asked me a question, how are you looking for something when you’re not carrying around the papers that support your story? I felt bad at that moment and kindly asked for his number so that l would forward the papers on WhatsApp. Later that day, I did forward the papers on WhatsApp, but sadly l did not get the job on that project but l learnt a lot of valuable lessons which l would later on use on future job applications.
So what am l trying to teach you, whether you are looking for attachment or a job you should always be prepared and ready to submit anything whenever asked to. Be active in your job search as well do not be passive or lazy. Visit project sites and company headquarters to hand deliver your applications. Look for contacts and connections amongst your networks. Always bear in mind that, “Success occurs when opportunity meets preparation. – Zig Ziglar” Be aggressive and relentless in your job hunting pursuit.
This year as ETC we are going to implement a lot of activities to help you become better professionals. We seek your participation at all levels of membership, student to honorary members. We are going to be issuing out attendance certificates for each activity you attend.
Looking forward to exciting times ahead. And assisting you so that you will be prepared at all times whenever opportunities present themselves.
For and on behalf of the:
Education and Training Committee
Zimbabwe Institute of Geomatics
Email: etc@zigeomatics.org.zw
