How well do you market yourself?
Job Board +Marketing Campaign + Sweden + Omicron
This week we cover top jobs in the IT and Policy sector, marketing your job profiles, resignation and re-election of Sweden’s Prime Minister and the new variant.
Job Board
Social Sector Policy Expert, Ekayana Advisory.
Location- New Delhi
Public Policy Specialist, Quality Council of India
Location- New Delhi
Prep up a “marketing campaign” for yourself
Unemployment is/can be stressful, accepting a job that might not be what you envisioned can be harsh as well. To find a job that aligns well with your goals and interests, think of the process as launching an application or a product. Develop a marketing campaign for yourself.
Set an objective: It is essential to understand what kind of role are you looking for and what is your perspective towards working hours, work-life balance, are you looking for collaborative workspace or intent to work alone, is the job offering what you good at or like doing and would like to explore, lastly the work culture.
Start your market research: It is important to “test the waters”, do some research in this endeavour. Once you are clear about the kind of job you are seeking, find a mentor who is in a similar role as you seeking, ask questions like- “With the experience and expertise I have, would you hire me for the [name of position] role? Why, or why not? And if not, what would you say I’d be better suited for?”
SWOT Analysis: Do a strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats analysis. Identifying these four elements in the context of your job search will similarly help you take advantage of your opportunities and protect yourself from competitors and threats.
Build your brand: Showcase who you are, what values you stand for, what is your ‘product’ i.e your potential.
Ready To Go: t’s helpful to set milestones from the start: Who will you network with first? How many roles will you apply to? When do you want to land a job? Give yourself daily, weekly and monthly goals, and commit to measuring your achievements to help you stay on track. No matter where you are in your career journey, there’s always an opportunity to launch, or re-launch, your plan.
(Sources: Harvard Business Review)
The Political Mismatched Tale
Recently, Sweden elected its first-ever female Prime Minister- Magdalena Andersson. This event was marked by drama, resignations, and politics of one own kind. Andersson resigned within 12 hours of appointment pushing the country to political uncertainty but was re-appointed in the same week.
She became the head of the Social Democratic Party on November 4, 2021. She is the second woman leader of the Social Democratic Party.
The reason for resignation-
The Budget Crisis- Andersson claimed she was forced to resign after her budget bill failed in the parliament and the Green Party called quits to their coalition. Instead, the lawmakers who supported the bill voted in favour of a budget tabled by the opposition that includes the anti-immigration right-wing party of the Sweden Democrats.
As the opposition’s budget was accepted in the parliament, the Green co-leader Märta Stenevi described the approved budget as “differentiating between people, butchering the environmental budget, and increasing emissions”, referring to the new budget’s lowered petrol and diesel tax.
Yet a Political Milestone
As per Sweden’s constitution, the Prime Minister can come to power with a parliamentary majority- which is a minimum of 175 lawmakers in the 349-member Riksdag. The 54-year-old secured her role as prime minister after 117 members of parliament supported her candidacy, with a further 59 abstentions.
A total of 179 members of parliament had voted against her, meaning Andersson became the country’s first-ever female prime minister by just a single vote.
Current scenario- Andersson on 30th November 2021 announced the Cabinet having a female majority and appointed the country's first transgender minister.
(Sources: CNBC, Guardian, NPR, Al Jazeera)
The New Variant
As the world has been adjusting to a new normal, the news of yet another variant has resurfaced.
What is the new variant?
In the initial days of November, one of the provinces of South Africa reported patients with symptoms like fatigue and headaches and soon it was shared on 25th November 2021 to the world about the new variant named ‘Omicron’ also known as B.1.1.529.
World Health Organization’s response
WHO scientist Soumya Swaminathan emphasised that the situation is very different from a year ago. The world should not panic about Omicron but should be prepared. The variant is highly transmissible. It can become the dominant strain but it is hard to predict that as Delta currently accounts for 99% of cases globally.
What the Indian Government has said?
The Government has said that Omicron is expected to cause infections of less severity because of the vaccination status of India as it achieved the 1 billion mark in October and the exposure to the Delta variant which had infected nearly 70 per cent of the population during the second wave of the pandemic.
Moreover, The government is also taking into account the process of giving booster doses to citizens above 40 years of age based on the direction of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genetics Consortium.
Reinforcing Precautionary Measures:
Wear masks
Complete your vaccination status. (Take both the doses)
Maintain social distancing