Sohrab Vazir
Consultant | Founder | Global Citizen | Writer
Category Archives: Job Hunting
The unemployable entrepreneur: why founders become unemployable?
The tail of the unemployable entrepreneur is less often discussed. Many business owners believe that they have the option of employment if their business fails or they simply decide to shift their careers. If you are considering starting a business or are already an entrepreneur, you should be aware that you may be or become an unemployable entrepreneur. There are multiple reasons behind why entrepreneurs become unemployable and I will highlight some of them in this article. Many entrepreneurs believe that starting and growing a business equips them with skills that will assist them in employment, should they choose to pursue it at a later stage. And this is true in principle, however, the reality is that as an entrepreneur you are likely to become unemployable. Let’s look at some of the reasons why. Your skills are not the only factor As an entrepreneur, you will develop a multi-dimensional set of skills. These may help you excel in employment. However, employers often consider other factors and do not exclusively focus on your abilities alone. Long-term commitment Being a former or current entrepreneur undermines the prospects of your long-term commitment to a company. Many employers will assume that you are seeking a role for the short-term and will not commit to the company on a long-term basis. This translates to further costs incurred to the employer to re-hire and replace you as an employee. Obedience Yes, I used the word “obedience”. And please do not get me wrong: there are many employers who are great and do not expect “obedient” people in the strict definition of the term. However, being an entrepreneur undermines your ability to take orders and not be the “one in charge”. In an employer’s view, this raises the possibility of workplace conflict and ultimately having to let you go. The latter also comes with financial and legal liabilities for the employer. Conflict of interest And lastly, an employer may believe that you are seeking to work for them for the sole purpose of accessing their trade secrets, client base and internal protocols to start a competing business at a later stage. I do not need to explain this any further as there is no single company that would willingly assist a potential future competitor. If you are considering entrepreneurship, you must understand and accept the reality that you may become an unemployable entrepreneur if you consider a career shift in the future. Therefore, you must balance all probabilities and accept that this path may be permanent. I have also made a YouTube video on this topic with reference to my own example, make sure to check it out. If you need help with either entrepreneurship or employment. Feel free to reach out to me to discover how I can help. About | My name is Sohrab Vazir. I’m a UK-based entrepreneur and business consultant. At the age of 22, and while I was an international graduate, I started my own Property Technology (PropTech) business. Now I help aspiring business owners and job seekers fulfil their potential.
Remote jobs: 3 things to know
Remote jobs are the ultimate dream for many. And that means that they are harder to find and secure. I will share 3 things you must know about remote jobs to help you get on track. Remote jobs have become very popular in the post-COVID world. The perks speak for themselves: more autonomy, no time/money spent on transportation and sometimes the ability to travel the world while working. However, they are far harder to come by now that it’s been over four years since the global lockdowns. Let me share 3 key things that you must know about remote working. 1. Being a specialist in your field is helpful, and somewhat necessary The key principle with specialism is that you have more bargaining power and advantage, including the ability to work remotely. More specialisation in your field correlates with less competition, meaning that there are fewer people to fill that role. For instance, a software engineer is more specialised than a marketing manager. As long as it’s practically possible to perform your role remotely, more specialisation increases your chances of landing remote jobs. 2. Remote jobs are harder to come by now As I stated in the beginning, remote jobs are popular and desired by many. Thus, they are more competitive. Additionally, let me tell you something that you may already know: many employers are not so keen on remote workers. They’d much prefer to be able to observe you and your work. 3. You need to offer something that other candidates don’t Building on the previous points, remote jobs (and life in general) are about competition. If you are simply on par with a wide pool of other candidates, your chances of landing a remote job are minimal. Therefore, ask yourself: what can you offer an employer that other candidates do not? These tips should give you a head-start for searching (and hopefully securing) remote jobs. About | My name is Sohrab Vazir. I’m a UK-based entrepreneur and business consultant. At the age of 22, and while I was an international student (graduate), I started my own Property Technology (PropTech) business. Now I help aspiring business owners and job seekers fulfil their potential.
Why I hate LinkedIn?
Over the years, I’ve come to hate LinkedIn with a passion. Sadly, a platform meant to foster connections, learning and employment opportunities has become the total opposite of its original purpose. I didn’t always hate LinkedIn. I used it for over 10 years and was active on the platform. However, starting my consultancy business shed some light on how useless (and irritating) it’s become. Plus, as my audience may be aware, I am an authentic individual and have adopted the same approach towards my work. Authenticity somehow conflicts with the way people use LinkedIn in the present day. And this is not the only reason that I hate LinkedIn. Allow me to list my reasons for growing to hate LinkedIn with a passion. 1. Mostly useless for business I’m a business person. Therefore, how I feel about a certain platform, individual or issue is not the sole determinant of my decision-making. However, what bugs me with LinkedIn is that it proved to be extremely useless for my business growth. I rarely, if ever, got a client from LinkedIn. I did have people expressing interest in my services, yet they all turned out to be dead-end prospects. The issue is that LinkedIn is filled with people/businesses trying to sell their services, and this makes you just another “salesperson”. There is hardly anything unique about you or your business seeking to gain prospects. For reference, I’m partially talking about those sales DMs that most of us receive in our inboxes. 2. Fakeness Fakeness and inauthenticity are essentially the core of most social media and networking platforms. Not only is LinkedIn not an exception, but it has become a champion of BS content and posts. And the worst part is that most people on LinkedIn believe they are unique, yet they are mimicking what everybody else is doing. 3. Virtue signalling Building on the last point, the virtue signalling on LinkedIn is beyond the scale. Let’s look at the immigration industry, one which I am familiar with. Most “professionals” in this sector are quick to post content on migrants’ rights and cultural sensitivities. I saw a post from an individual stressing the importance of getting foreign names right. Yet, this very same person ironically misspelt my name in a direct message to me. This made me think: “I’ll make a post about this just to demonstrate the fakeness of these people” and perhaps to emphasise the importance of getting other people’s names right as basic courtesy. And oh boy, I had these leaches jumping under the post condemning me. Not to mention that one of these people worked in the immigration sector too. 4. Constant sales messages Not a single day went by without me receiving some form of sales message on LinkedIn. And the worst part is that these messages are so generic and not personalised. 5. LinkedIn “influencers” Lastly, let’s talk about these “Top Voices” on LinkedIn who for the most part provide little to no value. I’m talking about those who share generic posts such as “pay your people more”, and “be kind” and having 10,000 people reacting to such posts as if they have paved the way for living on Mars. LinkedIn may be beneficial for some, but I grew to hate it more and more in the last few years. Perhaps it’s time for a new platform? One that is not centred around BS and vanity. About | My name is Sohrab Vazir. I’m a UK-based entrepreneur and business consultant. At the age of 22, and while I was an international student (graduate), I started my own Property Technology (PropTech) business. Now I help aspiring business owners with starting and scaling the ventures.
3 Red Flags in Job Applications
Job applications these days are not for the faint-hearted. An oversupply of job applicants, shady recruitment practices and hostile immigration policies in the case of immigrant jobseekers are some examples of the challenges that applicants have to navigate. There are certain red flags that you should never ignore in job applications. Job searching can be tricky, overwhelming and exhausting. The current job market dynamics, at least in the UK, are also not in the jobseeker’s favour. Securing a role can be difficult, and it takes time, and effort as well as facing rejections. However, there are certain times that a job applicant should not ignore certain red flags and potentially consider an alternative employer. It’s important to understand that your career and time are integral to how your life turns out in the future. Additionally, you must also be aware of your rights as a job seeker and potential employee. I have had the painful experience of the job market myself. Moreover, I hired a team of four for my startup, StudyFlats, back in 2019. To put it simply: I have reviewed thousands of CVs, as well as job postings. During my days of browsing job applications, I was less experienced and therefore was not aware of these red flags. In this article, I’ll highlight 3 which are relatively common but sadly many applicants tend to ignore these which only indicates further problems down the line. 1. Asking for free work through assessments/tasks I truly detest this practice of getting free work out of job applicants. Yes, there may be certain careers where practical tasks are essential to candidate selection. However, in many roles such as digital marketing jobs, these are not only unnecessary but a potential misuse by employers. Let’s consider this example: you apply for a copywriting job. The job asks you to write an article for them on a selected topic. The employer then rejects you after this task. However, now they have a free sample of work from you that they can use themselves for their gain. Instead, this employer could have looked at your previous work/writing portfolio, as well as qualifications. Some suggest that you put a copyright notice on the work. Maybe, but what sort of impression and atmosphere does this create? In the case of other roles, it could be your ideas that the employer is after. Thus, in reality, there is no way for you to legally protect your work. These are realities that you will only realise once you navigate the professional world for years. 2. Unclear selection process This is another red flag to look out for in job applications. Having a clear candidate selection process, and clarifying this to job applicants early on is a good sign. On the other hand, if the selection process is vague, or changes on short notice, be wary. 3. Negative employer reviews Check out sites such as Glassdoor or Indeed to look for reviews by former job applicants or employees of the company that you are applying to. Of course, take negative reviews with a pinch of salt, especially if there are not too many. However, a large number of negative reviews, especially if they highlight a specific problem is a red flag. These are 3 common red flags in job applications to be aware of when searching for roles. If you need help with your job search, check out my services for job seekers, students and graduates. About | My name is Sohrab Vazir. I’m a UK-based entrepreneur and business consultant. At the age of 22, and while I was an international student (graduate), I started my own Property Technology (PropTech) business, StudyFlats. I grew my business to over 30 UK cities, and a team of four internally.
5 reasons why you are getting job rejections
Do you keep getting job rejections? You’re not alone. It’s a tough market out there & sometimes it simply isn’t your fault. However, it could also be you and something that you need to fix or improve. In this post, I will highlight 5 common reasons why people get job rejections. I remember the painful feeling of getting rejected after job interviews. It was even worse when I assumed that the interview had gone extremely well and the “professional chemistry” was there. However, rejection is a normal part of life, whether it’s job interviews, entrepreneurship, close relationships and so on. In fact, rejection can, to some extent, be used as constructive feedback and a tool for improvement. Hence, it’s important to be modest and have an open mind about how you’re performing in job interviews. Personally, I have applied to a lot of jobs in my early days when I just graduated. Plus, when I did grow a team for my startup, StudyFlats, I went through 1000s of CVs. Therefore, I can hopefully offer a double-sided perspective on the issue of job rejection. Here are 5 common reasons why you keep getting job rejections. The job did not exist Yes, sometimes there are fake jobs being advertised. The motives behind these could vary, and include (but are not limited to): You were simply not good enough Harsh truth, but it must be said. Sometimes, you are simply not good enough for something at a certain time of your life. And that’s okay! Take it as a sign that it was not meant to be and there are better options laid down for you down the road. So long as you make an active effort to improve yourself at all times. You were “too” good for the job The opposite of the previous scenario can be applicable too. And I am sure that most readers have heard the term “overqualified”. Believe me, it’s a real issue (speaking from personal experience). This is a truth that many do not speak about: employers do not always prioritise “competency” in candidate selection. There are other factors that an employer considers when hiring a new candidate, such as: Being overly skilled for a role goes directly against the spirit of the two points mentioned above. You have poor communication skills You may have the skills and qualifications for the job. However, job applications are inherently centred around rapport and personal impressions. Therefore, having poor communication skills is a high-risk factor for job rejection. Poor CV and/or cover letter And lastly, a poorly written or formatted CV/cover letter can be detrimental to a job application. Your CV and cover letter are the first impressions that you give to a potential employer. Therefore, any negative attributes may result in a job rejection. These are some common reasons why you may be getting job rejections. If you need help with your CV or cover letter, check out my services for job seekers. About | My name is Sohrab Vazir. I’m a UK-based entrepreneur and business consultant. At the age of 22, and while I was an international student (graduate), I started my own Property Technology (PropTech) business, StudyFlats. As a solo founder, I grew my business to 30+ UK cities, with a global client base across 100+ countries. Following the Pandemic killing my precious work/business, I now work as business and vocational consultant.
Why SEO is more than just a marketing strategy?
The consensus around SEO is viewing it as another marketing tool and strategy. However, this view is thoroughly incorrect; SEO’s function and impact go far beyond mere marketing. Okay so before I explain the vast functions of SEO, let’s go over what is and entails. What is SEO? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process and practices that aim to increase a specific webpage and/or website’s presence and exposure within internet search engines. As you may be aware, the most popular search engine in the world is Google. Therefore a considerable number of services and literature around SEO revolve specifically around Google. SEO as a marketing strategy In the modern age, our first source of information online is Google/search engines. Hence, it is not a surprise that plenty of marketing campaigns are based on search marketing. First of all, It is important to distinguish between SEO and SMO (social media optimization). Secondly, for the sake of clarity, this article will primarily focus on SEO and the role of search engines. SEO enables businesses to gain exposure to local and international audiences, using a range of metrics in doing so. SEO | brand identity and reputational factor What others say about a business is important, unless you are dealing with an organized smear campaign. Note that in the heading I used the word “identity”. SEO is closely aligned with the “identity” factor both in an individual and corporate context. As I stated before, the main method through which we obtain information about a person or company is by Google/search engines. What appears about you and your business online is the first “picture” that portrays your individual and/or corporate identity. SEO demonstrates competence In line with the previous point about brand identity, SEO reveals more than elementary information about an entity. For instance, say you are looking for a specific service and/or product. Most individuals do not look beyond page 1 of Google’s search results. Why? You can partly blame it on laziness. However, I argue that it’s the principle of ‘trust” involved in this scenario. When an individual or company has a strong SEO presence, it (correctly) creates an indirect reflection of its competence. SEO is integral to inbound marketing I recently wrote an article highlighting the importance of inbound marketing. To keep it brief, I argued that today’s world is hyper-competitive, and therefore you require innovative approaches to marketing. As such, inbound marketing and specifically industry/subject knowledge is an efficient activity within the inbound marketing domain. SEO is the bridge between thought leadership and prospects becoming aware of the thought leader. If you need help with SEO, content writing, or online reputation management, get in touch with me today. About | My name is Sohrab Vazir. I’m a UK-based entrepreneur and business consultant. At the age of 22, and while I was an international student (graduate), I started my own Property Technology (PropTech) business, StudyFlats. As a solo founder, I grew my business to 30+ UK cities, with a global client base across 100+ countries. Following the Pandemic killing my precious work/business, I now transfer my knowledge to other entrepreneurs.