Harnessing an opportunity

Everyone says opportunities come by luck, well i believe with luck there is also a factor involved which is called willingness. If you are committed then opportunities will come by itself. Talking about opportunity i am taking it in general terms whether its a job opportunity, a project opportunity or opportunity given to complete any task.

An example which i have tried myself many times works brilliantly. This also involves the willingness factor as well. I called it "critigation" which is combination of word critique and suggestion/solution. What involves here is to find a gap and then suggesting the solution in filling it. Let me provide you a good example.

As most people apply for job, what they do is pretty same what company ask them to do, fill an application form provide documents and all the other blah's...Now what the job seeker do is fulfilling the requirements that are put against them by filling up the open holes. So far so good, but in the end what company gets is a solution provider, not innovator.

In real world scenarios the problem isn't the same because sometimes you need to identity the problem and then propose a solution. So why always asking for a solution for a problem which is already identified? So will you hire an identifier and a filler both?

Now talking about "Critgation" my self invented term ( patents pending :) ) the approach should be a different one wherever applicable. What i suggest is to build up some willingness to grab the opportunity. By explaining this i will say if you find a problem somewhere ( not necessarily related to you ) but if you can identify the problem and have a solution to it then don't ever hesitate to share it with the concerned person, i am 110% sure the opposite side will be willing to give you an opportunity to solve it, because after all you are the one who have identified the problem, it was not a pre-written task, right?

If you take this case from a different perspective i would suggest that from an employer's perspective the hiring procedures should not concentrate entirely on how a candidate provides a solution to a task, but instead it should concentrate on encouraging the candidates to identify the problem first and then providing a solution. This can be engaged without writing anything on a paper nor it requires a degree. Simple willingness to work and in depth information of the system is enough you need to figure out by talking about it with the employee.

From an employee's point of view ( considering he see his career as a brand visualizer ), lets say if he see an ad campaign for a company by an ad and branding agency and see a potential problem in the branding strategy of the company or any element which it lacks then he can grab this task and turn it into opportunity by moving forward this problem along with a concrete idea to rectify this issue with a valid solution and execution sample backed by solid examples to justify it. I bet this person don't even have to ask the company to employ him, they will make the offer themselves.

The only thing important is to never hesitate in making a proactive approach. Its not necessary that you only apply to companies which ask you to apply. With your abilities you can turn a proactive approach into an opportunity. The only need is to identity one!