 |
Employment on the
other hand deals with having the job and being able to make a difference in the
workplace. The difference is subject to interpretation depending on which field
one is in. As a blogger, I am at making a difference through writing. What
about you?
So far, I have
been applying to mainstream angel entry jobs, low cadre jobs an middle-level
positions. The response from employers has been quite skeptical. Am even
planning to call a truce with one of the employers. I don’t believe in
employment bureaus. I have not signed on any up until now. Yes they might help
me find a job, or the very minimum secure me an interview. But I am still
reluctant. One of the reasons I have not used fee-based bureaus is because I
hate to think of a person ‘eating my money’ just to find me a job. Secondly, I
believe that I should fight for the chance like everybody else. Those favoured
and those who are not. Thirdly getting a job is not currently my raison maître.
I want to test the system. Which I am having a futile debut at ever since I
quit to concentrate on studies.
One thing I learnt
about studies while being employed is that they greatly improve on one’s
employability. They make you be regarded as able to take up more
responsibilities and be seen as an effective time manager. There are also
intrinsic gains to a part-time student that he or she knows while going through
the process. The challenges are pecuniary and both peculiar. Pecuniary because
you have to forego some luxuries an pecuniary because of the opportunity cost
of the time one spends in ensuring they never fail.
Allow me to
surmise on some aspects that I have learnt over the years as I prepare myself
for employment. Last year, I prepared only for an interview (Read it here).
Then, I thought that what mattered was how to impress a panel or an interviewer
while undergoing a scrutiny. Now, I have a broader perspective. The key lies in
preparing the self continuously. If you have limited entrepreneurship ambitions
in the meantime like yours truly. You may impress today, but that does not mean
you will still have your verve in the near future when contemplating to switch
careers if that happens. Anyway, if you have a pusher, why should you mind? But
even pushers have to shove that which they are sure about. Competency is such a
required tenet that if you fail in meeting the minimum standards, then you are
as good as obsolete unless the pusher will shoulder the baggage.
I have learnt that
everything boils down to communication.
If you can accurately convince the other party into buying your
argument, then you are good to go. Watching the movie ‘Moonwalkers’, probably
one of the reasons why Johnny Thorpe was able to convince Kidman into bringing
him film director Stanley Kubrick was because he did not falter in his communication
skills. Even his body language never betrayed him. He took a phoney to Kidman,
received the pay and scripts and went to offset his other debts.
Communication is
paramount. Whether you want to get employed, strike a deal, present a proposal
or be in business which has a perpetuity. If you can tacitly express yourself
through other leveraged ways, well and good. You have communicated.
Being able to
express yourself in a comprehensible way, concisely and driving the point home
counts for 80% of striking a deal. Knowledge counts for 5% and Skills 15%. It’s
palpable to convincing a lady, which I rank very low at. You always need that
third eye and ear, an extra tongue a flair for being well versed with the
surrounding. However, in my case, I must confess that due to my botched ability
in mustering the skill to effectively and efficiently express my ideas in black
and white, I have not been able to be called for even a single interview. Let
me not lie, I have never gone to an interview I applied to, most of them have
been referrals. Most are a result of the
former and come without financial
constraints on my side.
Perhaps I have
wrongly written my CV for the right job. My resume is a two page document. I
call it a bikini CV. Once someone said that a bikini is brief enough to reveal
all details but covers the really essential details one wants to get acquainted
to. I love the brevity because it gives the prospective employer room to gauge
whether am competent for the job or not. Consequently, it reduces the time she
needs to make a decision as she can easily flip through the document. You
guessed it right, its pithiness has probably contributed in employers finding
my credentials below par or of no value towards contributing in ameliorating
the returns or contributing towards the goals and objectives of the firm in the
long run. Pole Musa!
Hitherto, I
thought that I would easily transition to another job having quit my former
employer who made it clear that it would be in contradictory to company policy
if I was going to be studying part-time. Even while working, I knew it was not
going to be easy getting another job. I had tried and know the numerous futile
attempts I made. Employers hate rookies. They take long to adjust to the
workplace, are incompetent in their view and lack panache. They however will
give an ear to an amateur with validated experience. So, internships,
attachments or related jobs experience is as important as having done the job.
Relating to the
employability course, I realized that participation in other aspects like
sports, voluntary work, travelling and lots other engagement is important. All jobs
have a skill you can always take to the new job. Cooking can help in being a
watchman. Only a HR professional knows how.
Because of the
enormity of the studies I am undertaking, I preferred staying out of
employment. I cannot dispute that learning has no rewards. Time is the most
important factor. If you easily find your life’s passion, then you know what is
right. But with our increasingly competitive world, having an edge in terms of
skills gives one an operational advantage. I no longer want an employer who
will look at my transcripts then conclude that I am not worthy of the position.
Irrespective of the paper qualification, I still work towards my employability.
Whether it is through perusal or daily life experiences, at the end of the day,
what matters is that God added me another day that I heavily invested on. How I
use it in adding value to my eventual career boils down to the management of
hours I have at hand.
The other day, I
was flicking over the pages of a daily looking at the job segment. Who did I
see? A certain campus mate appearing as model for their company’s newspaper
advert. I remember holding my horses in applying to the said company. Even a
certain lady who was ‘spit’ by my first year roommate was now plying her trade
with the prestigious auditing firm. However, as a consolation, I can say I have
never loved auditing. Just as you may abhor being a house maid, shamba boy or a
toilet cleaner. However, the rewards and benefits the company bestows its
employees, you cannot fail to reconsider a profession in that field. Plus you
may find other befitting roles once in.
Seeing those guys
on newspaper did remind me of one Greg Smith. He was once a vice president at
Goldman Sachs, where he earned over $500K a year. Greg was even in the advert
showcased to budding employees on how pleasurable it was to work for the
investment bank. He depicted the role model who transitions from campus, then
into the workplace seamlessly. However, in what appeared to be a complete
icebreaker in the industry, he wrote an op ed in Times Newspaper signalling his
resignation. Colleagues and the firm woke up to find out that he had resigned.
As a student, I find the mechanism he used to tender his resignation very
unethical. He also wrote a book which industry analysts studied carefully and
vindicated his former employer of any wrongdoing. The fact that he was also
engaging in ‘whistle-blowing’ instead of seeking the advise of independent
counsel, or his supervisor or better still the compliance department was enough
to also hold him accountable. To cut he
long story short, those two pictures of my former campus colleagues did stir
something very crucial. I am challenged. I did ask myself, ‘What misdeed did I
commit?’ Nevertheless, I am writing about it now. Yes I am also into writing.
For there is a whole lot of life ahead. The only difference made is when the
grim reaper ascends or otherwise.
In that case,
allow me to introduce you to investments. It is said that the best investment
is to invest in yourself. With that regard, I am envisioning myself being a
C-suite professional in this angle, or a portfolio asset-manager or research
analyst. The list is endless. Whichever comes my way, I am welcoming it with
open arms. If something more appealing comes my way after the rigorous studies.
You know what I will do.
In our investment
profession, there is being passively involved and being actively involved. Like
I chose to be actively involved in my studies. Even though my old man paid for
my tuition fee, I found it was not enough. I felt like I needed to get out of
the passenger mentality. I remember watching a certain lady on an investment
channel I have subscribed to on YouTube. She decided to take the bull by its
horns by enrolling for a PhD program aimed at equipping her with investment
skills. That way, she could be able to analyze investments, select securities
and construct an investment portfolio. That way she could be able to chart her
own destiny with her money while investing. Obviously she lost when starting.
Did she give up? No. Initially she relied on the advice of an asset manager in
an investment bank to guide her on how to invest. But she was not getting
results. After the studies, she moved from investing in mainstream equities to
investing in derivatives (options to be precise). I know that is jargon. But
you can always google the terms, right. She studied while working on a fulltime
basis, as opposed to I who resigned. With $10000, she was able to make over
$100 million in three years. Through active participation. If she invested
without knowledge, she would have lost everything. Hard she taken a passive
approach in investing, she would have ended up either getting a return of 10%
to 20% a year. Does that ring the bell? She did risk investing for herself and
the returns were a boom. And you know what? The asset manager who was to invest
her money is now her partner.
I introduced the
word risk and return. I am increasing the probability of my returns by hedging
on the risk of failure by dedicating more time to study. I am a full-time
student till I get a fulltime job. My rote is flexible, reason why I can take
any form of employment that will aid in me getting credit points in my career
of choice. I am not vitiating the role of the tutors who play an instrumental
role in my studies. Only that I am taking an active role. In that regard, I am
improving on my employability even though I am not employed. If I will not end
up being employed, I will resort to entrepreneurship. That way I will have taken
advantage of my employability.
Studying my
ethical and professional standards notes, I realized that I could not mark as
important sections I felt were weighty. Lesson learnt? All ethics and
professional standards conduct is important. Am studying via a computer. Slow,
tasking and loathsome. But I realized one thing. If I am professionally
competent and can return the best results to a client without observing ethical
standards, does it really matter? Yes. We all want to be associated with
success. That is why a code of ethics and standards of professional conduct is
critical. When we acquire knowledge over time, we can use it to societal
detriment or benefit. That is why guidance is necessary even if you think you
are the most moral of all persons. Maybe the Son of Man is the only being who
can be exempt. But other mortal beings are not. Reason why we have a code that
guides our profession.
Reading through
the fiasco that led to the collapse of Imperial Bank. A bank whose logo
signified royalty. As such it should have treated clients with reverence only
given to a queen or king. I did bemoan the death of ethics and lack of
standards of professional conduct in a profession that is at the centre stage
of man’s interest. Money. We surely are beholden to money. I am not a morality
evangelist though. If I was one, EACC would have probably hired me based on the
track record which I don’t have.
Anyway.
I am only
paraphrasing on the vices I read about. Whether true or the converse. Those
that the common man finds too complex to understand. Especially when they do
not innately affect them but macro economically contribute to poor credit
rating of the country, collapse of the shilling against the dollar and serious
integrity issues on holders of such institutions that affect the fiscal and
economic policy of our beloved country.
In my opine, there
is only one thing that should have prevented the collapse of such a bank. A
code of Ethics and Professional Standard of Conduct. If only the employees
acted at the interests of the beneficiaries (bank account holders) and the
probable compromise of the Central Bank Governor through his better half, who
should have acted with authority. If only such people knew about ethics, and
acted with veracity. Probably the bank would have not been placed under
receivership and clients loss their money due to the requirement of debt
service before other financial obligations have been ratified. Is another
scandal in the offing? This is Kenya.
Away from matters
financials. Do you find anything that makes me tick? I think I am not a
hustler. Not that a go-getter who is nimble when it comes to employment. But
hey! I now know the genesis as to the reason why I had to fork out more for my
professional course. I read about it and there is something called mosaic
theory, I was able to piece up things. You see, I also don’t have a mentor.
That someone I look up to. Is it because of my big ego? I am ready to kill it.
Like I killed my conscience to become a teacher for a few months knowing full
well the pay is wishy-washy.
Now piecing up all
that information, you realize that my employability has not gone to the dogs.
It’s only time before I get the right employer. But you see how things are
related. A bank is imprudently run, it uses a gifts and benefits to influence
the decision of the Central Bank Governor. The bank collapses, share prices of
other banks also plummet, the number of investment bankers being employed thins
and I am now here griping at my probable cause of lack of an opportunity in the
investment industry.
This is a matter
of conjecture. It is best left to the pundits and naysayers and haters to
debate about. And on that note allow me to end with my signature of
Hasta La Vista,
Baby.
[Picture Source:
Google Images]
