“This program’s going to be a game changer!”

Why did you choose to seek for career advice?

After a couple of years abroad, I decided to return home to Norway and try to find work again. I was very active at finn.no; and in a disciplined manner, I applied for all possible jobs. This resulted in a number of interviews in both private and public sectors – but still without any success. I possess work experiences from some of the most sought-after technology companies within the petroleum industry and with that branding, I was called to attend interviews but then, they still stopped midway through the process somehow. It’s a very unusual situation for me because I’d never before experienced difficulties in finding a job. That’s when I was tipped off by someone in my network that career guidance courses might be something for me.

To be honest, I’d say that I was a bit skeptical at first about how much more new things that I needed to learn through the program because I was already eager enough and had initiated a lot of literature readings from various career guides and done my research online. At the end, I was really wrong, because this program turned out to be a game changer!

What was the most non-traditional or “different thinking” thing you learned?

Although I must say that I was a very active job seeker and job searching seems as though it’s my “full-time job”, I’d never seen the job search process as a form of sales process or “competence sales” as Vigdis calls it. It’s completely unique and not least a very important perspective I learned from the course. Basically it’s all about analyzing the situation just like in a sales process. First, as a job seeker, you need to map out what’re the challenges and needs of a job advertiser, and he/she wants to solve with the employment. It’s only then that you’re in the best position to bring out your competence and experience in a convincing way. Which is also referred to as your selling point or USP (unique selling point).

How did the knowledge and methods you gained influence your further professional life?

I’d like to claim that the course has provide me to be a better and more matured version of myself in professional life. In my everyday work, it’s very often that I’ve to sell my ideas either to colleagues, customers or partners. And I feel that most of what I’d learned on the course is also applicable in such contexts. Because if you’re going to sell either your competence or your idea to someone, both parts mean that you must make it clear to your counterparty: “What’s in it for you?”. It’s therefore only when someone sees it’s benefits that they’d buy the competence or the idea from you.

What have you benefited the most from afterwards?

It’s difficult to single out one thing, as the totality of this career course has generally helped to broaden my horizons. I’m now able to put my competence, experiences and knowledge into a greater perspective – this had led me to discover completely new possibilities that I couldn’t see before. After finishing the course, I actually succeeded in landing my first job as a business developer in a global manufacturing company despite having no previous commercial experience and having only worked in purely operational and technical roles. In fact, after the course I’d helped many jobseekers in my network with career advice on a voluntary basis; especially those from a minority background who possess higher education. It warms my heart to say that several of them have secured good jobs in attractive companies, and in return they’re eternally grateful to me.