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Let me start with one small amebo and I will go back to business. I was at a friend’s place of work earlier this week and sat close to a light skinned complexion girl who happened to be there for a job interview and beside me the girl was blasting August Alsina’s benediction. I didn’t even know she was there for the interview, from her appearance which slightly revealed her huge crossed tattoo to her exposed midriff and I felt she was here to see someone. Not until she was called and baby girl kept humming to the song like someone who care less about what anyone have to say. Instantly I concluded that she is not the right person for the vacant position. She was called even without getting to know about her person or her credentials because that action sent a hundred and one messages across. Let me share this to also buttress my point; a friend of mine had just recently hyped me to a lady who needed ushers for her event, during university days and I appeared looking dirty. ...

Over the weekend, a mini-survey  was conducted on the popular micro-blogging site, Twitter. The Survey was designed to get feedback from unemployed graduates on the minimum starting wage they thought they deserved to earn. At the end of the Part one of the survey, about five respondents tweeted that they hoped to be paid nothing less than a hundred thousand naira. Another five replied that they wanted a figure above a hundred thousand naira while three others did not mind being paid less than a hundred thousand naira. The Second section of the survey sought to ascertain the level of skills the respondents (unemployed graduates) have that may be of added advantage to any organisation. Six respondents relied on the theoretical skills taught in schools. Four respondents added that they had acquired at least one professional certificate in their respective field of study. An additional three respondents said that they possess professional skills including months of experience ...

As human beings, we are naturally social and over the course of our lives, find ourselves at countless events and gatherings. Despite this inherent human trait, a lot of us usually fail to recognize the networking opportunities we stand to gain. Being prepared and able to leverage on these opportunities is key. Opportunities don’t come at fixed times or when we expect, they usually come at times we least expect or are prepared. An opportunity to network with a potential business client may present itself on a weekend in a most informal setting when we are least prepared. In essence, we should always be prepared to meet every opportunity regardless of the timing with our very best. Having this “it’s a weekend and I’m not at work” attitude has cost lots of businesses high paying clients. The skill to be learnt is how to balance business with pleasure or relaxation. The long-time phrase “all work and no play makes jack a dull boy” still holds true today; while it is important...

Having properly analysed and discussed on how employees should relate with one another;  I have decided to also get more opinions and thoughts on the best way for an employer to relate with his/her employees for a strong and better working relationship. It is quite important that an employer should know how best to relate with his/her employees for a strong working relationship which will lead to more productive results. A regular visit to some corporate bodies, witnessing their less formal staff interaction would make one wonder how they get things done. A cordial, warm and almost playful environment with everyone on a first name basis even executive level staff seems almost counterproductive depending on how you look at it. How do successful leaders and entrepreneurs relate with their employees to ensure achievement of organizational goals? Looking closer at the perceived work policy of multinationals like Shell, Exxonmobil, Google, Facebook, KPMG. Do they radiate a ...

Congratulations on your new job; and I hope you’re having a great time in your respective organisations. Now that you’re so much eager and excited, having spread the good news, it is important you grasp the proper way to relate with colleagues at work. One of the most important things is the ability to work as a team player but there are many who don’t play by this rule or prefer working solo.  “If you have one bad apple in the bunch, it can really hurt the morale and enthusiasm of an entire department.   A department or company that works well together has the most success together. When you enjoy working with colleagues and look forward to interacting with them, everyone benefits. “-Andy Taech, author of From Graduation to Corporation. Asides from other equally important reasons, for personal career advancement and growth it is necessary to foster a great working relationship with your colleagues at work. Asides from the fact that no one is an island of knowle...

Ever been called for a job interview where even before you had been interviewed you could see yourself resuming the following Monday? Better put, the best candidate for the Job? Sure you had to read and research about the organisation prior to the interview day. You even brought out that special suit you bought for a 5-figure sum, starched and ironed knowing fully well that you were overly prepared to dazzle them with your intelligence, qualifications and competence. You were so sure that you had landed the job because you had all the requirements for the position and just when you walked into the reception room of the organisation, you see yourself face to face with about forty different faces of young unemployed graduates just as articulate and well dressed as you are. Young men and women who also applied for the job and stood an equal chance with you of getting employed for that single position with better experience. In another time or era, that kind of situation wo...

This is one of the major issues facing some employees; and some have probably compared their last place of work to the present and felt pushed to opt out. But no, you can’t! You may feel that I do not understand the situation, but trust me I do and probably been through worst. But the main thing is that you should not allow your emotions to overcloud your sense of reasoning. A Real man is best known based on how he was able to handle situations and comport himself during difficult times and that include having to drink several cups of patience because if you decide to opt out based on the treatment in your recent organisation; then you may be heading for the worst. The situation therefore calls for more wisdom; first of all, ask God to help you. Human beings will come up with different issues that you may not understand. Some may spring out of jealousy; hatred and what have you. There may even be cases when your boss just wants to be bossy and another employer controls like ...

It is often heard among youths that they would rather go for a job that will fetch them more money than to be passion-driven. Most youths would jump at a job vacancy not because they are not passionate about the job but rather due to the ‘big pay’ involved. Often times, a graduate of a particular course would prefer to establish on another field of study as long as such job would cater for his needs. Can we really blame them? These set of people give several reasons why money should come first and one out of many reasons given include catering for their immediate needs. They often say that such is more important to pursuing a career that may likely not yield money. Some are lucky that they job they love is paying them much to cater and take care of themselves and family while others are really not that lucky. Nevertheless, going for a job you love would make you an expert in such field in no time than forcing yourself to love the ‘money-driven job’. Your love for a job ...

I posted a question on my twitter page on the reasons for high rate of unemployment and several young people were quick to reply the tweet. Some of the replies include: “No access to start-up capital and people don’t want to take risk.”; “We have more job seekers to job creators. Our graduates lacks creativity.”; “People hate entrepreneurship.”; “The Nigerian government wants us to be entrepreneurs by force.”; “Few or no manufacturing companies.”, “Less jobs, more graduates.” But that which caught my attention was about being forced to be an entrepreneur and about three people had the same reply.  I interrogated these three people further by engaging them in a discussion and here is what they have say: “I don’t have any business idea and I don’t think I can force myself into coming up with one. I need a job and that involves working for others; but starting a business is out of it. Starting a business is not a small thing; you will need big money before you can plu...

I recently had an argument with my cousin on the same issue and he categorically told me that no man wants to date a virgin. I strongly disagreed with him and he told me to find out which I did. I went all out and spoke to seven guys to hear their opinion on it. Why would someone not want to date a virgin? Well, It’s not about my opinion but do guys have to say about this? “I wish my future wife would be a virgin but if it happens she's not, then I'll screen her on other basis because virginity is not the criteria for a good wife.” “I met my wife a virgin and you cannot imagine how much I cherish that. When you’re still on the street, virgins are abominable but when you need to settle down, we look for virgins. Nothing satisfies a man like knowing that everything a lady knows about sex was taught by him; to her, he will remain a god. Only a naïve man will say he does not like a virgin, it is like choosing a rotten apple and a fresh one. Though the issue of bedmathics/e...

“It is not enough to make the product, you also have to get it known and approved by doctors and the general public. You have to fight ingrained habits and prejudices and that’s no small thing.”- Henri Nestlé Walking through the offices of Nestle Nigeria and seeing the team efforts of workers, their passion and energetic spirit made us review the life of its founder. What lessons can we emulate from this great Man? A man who founded the world's leading Food, Nutrition, Health and Wellness Company, Nestle Nigeria. Nestle Nigeria’s history begins back in 1866, when the first European condensed milk factory was opened in Cham, Switzerland, by the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company. In 187, the founder Henri Nestlé, a German pharmacist, launched his Farine lactée in Switzerland, a combination of cow’s milk, wheat flour and sugar, saving the life of a neighbour’s child and since then nutrition has been the cornerstone of our company ever since. “Henri Nestlé, himself a...

The above is a major debate that has taken over several platforms with no final conclusion as to whether leaders are born or made. Many have argued that leadership qualities have been imbued in some humans right from birth and only manifest as they grow while others have argued that leadership qualities come out from attending several leadership programs and trainings. A child who exhibits leadership traits from childhood would gladly be on the side of those who have argued that leaders are born while the timid child who went through several leadership trainings would promptly object to this. We spoke to five young business leaders to hear their view on this and here is what they have to say: “I strongly believe that leaders are made based on the following: the concept of leadership is such that demands evidence of track records and as such, qualities that typifies one must be evident. To say that leaders are born is to outrightly draw a line of segregation and declare...

According to an online dictionary, “Community service is a voluntary work intended to help people in a particular area. It can also be defined as an unpaid work, intended to be of social use.” Wikipedia says that, “Community service is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions.” The question that may likely occur in your mind would probably be, “and why should I read this? Does it really concern me as an individual?” of course it does. Many of us probably forgot or last hear the word during the one year compulsory national Youth service Corp where every corp member belongs to a community service group and are urged to carry out group community service or an individual project. As an individual, or a corporate entity, we should imbibe the culture of giving back to the society. Remember, these are the people who directly or indirectly contribute one way or the other to the success of your business. How? They might not...

Job Interview Etiquettes Most job seekers do not pay attention to proper interview etiquettes, they get overly excited when called upon and immediately ironed their shirts and trousers/skirts just to look good for the interview. Now that is good, but a lot needs to be involved in sending across the proper message which gives you the right image. Proper interview etiquettes is listed and explained below: ·                Arrive early Arrive early for interview, ask for proper directions before the d-day or do a trial run of the route before the interview to familiarise yourself with the route. Leave home early to avoid traffic, constructions delays and that means you have to plan ahead. No one wants to hire a late comer.   Switch off your mobile phones I would have suggested that you put your mobile phone on vibration but that may distract you during the course of the interview. It is safe to switch it off before e...