On 3 November 2018, Liyema Consulting hosted the last quarterly Career Readiness workshop of the year. In partnership with New Habits, a full-day seminar was held at the Liyema offices in Parktown, and the workshop covered everything from CV formats and interview communication to utilising social media for personal branding.
Leadership Coach and Brand Consultant Safiyyah Boolay began the day’s programme by highlighting the importance of self-awareness. The self-proclaimed shift stirrer shared that professionals need to define their key skills and abilities, naturally, in order to successfully relay this on their resumes and during interviews. Safiyyah gave some basic pointers on how professionals can do so.
Having enjoyed a successful career in corporate, retail, banking and law industries, the New Habits Senior Consultant drew from personal and professional experiences to encourage living purposeful lives. “Safiyyah ran an entire session about knowing yourself and your skills,” Lerato Erasmus of Liyema recounted.
After lunch, Lerato gave all attendees basic training on how they can embody their personal brand when networking and interviewing for work. “As recruiters, we know when someone is BS-ing us. We can smell it a mile away,” the honorary life guru of Liyema shared; which is why pairing your personality with your capabilities is imperative when job searching. Though, that’s not where it ends. “You need to be able to communicate that you are a hardworking, open individual who has a positive personality and is open to learning,” the Recruitment Manager explained because, as she put it, “we don’t get hired by office buildings or company logos. We are hired by people. We need to learn how to cultivate interpersonal skills and connections.”
Jenali Skuse, from LinkedIn, ended the workshop by sharing her advice on how to best utilise the social network to find work. The experienced Relationship Manager spent time explaining how our online presence can be regarded as a kind of extended branding. Jenali said that if we learn to successfully curate personal content, it can become a kind of business card that will work in our favour. On the other hand, if we are reckless about how we present yourself online, it has the potential to harm our personal branding – which could cost us professional opportunities in the future.
The Ireland-based professional gave all the attendees basic training on how to best utilise LinkedIn, and she highlighted the importance of being intentional with every post as it all speaks to who you are as an individual and as a professional.
For the past two years, New Habits and Liyema Consulting have worked together to plan and host workshops similar to this one. Unemployed graduates and middle-management resources wanting to gain insight and acquire certain corporate skills are given training and advice at no cost to them. “We don’t want people to break the bank to have access to our workshops,” Lerato began, “no one should be excluded because their finances are tied up in student loans or because they’re a low-income employees at the moment,” the HR solutions staffer said.
The workshops hosted at Liyema Consulting are aimed at equipping professionals with skills that will serve both themselves and their companies of employment. And this isn’t where the assistance ends. Liyema staff are always open to working with professionals that are seeking help whether it’s a matter of restructuring a resume or identifying what behaviour is appropriate for an interview. “Attendees like to stay in touch because we leave our doors open in that regard; they often tell us when they’ve landed interviews and even been offered positions,” Lerato said.
“People walk away understanding how to put their best professional foot forward,” Lerato explained about the workshops that are held every three months. Liyema is committed to identifying the gaps in the HR market and collaborating with both employers and employees to find workable solutions. Keep an eye out for the next workshop, and come ready to learn.