RCCG and the APC desperation

 The desperation of the two major political parties leading to the 2015 general elections in Nigeria is such that may have not been witnessed in the democratic history of our nation. From bickering to name-calling, massive propaganda and even leveraging on brands and religious institutions such as the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and even, the personality of its General Overseer, Pastor E. A Adeboye the parties have ensured that they stop at nothing in swaying the electorate to their side.

One co-incidence too many is that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been at the fore-front of manipulating pictures, videos and stories relating to the G.O to suit their agenda. Recently, Pastor Adeboye had to put out a disclaimer via his facebook page stating that the church does not have any political alignment and would not use its platforms to portray such for any candidate or party despite one of his pastors being the vice-presidential candidate for the APC.

Recent developments beyond the phone call allegations leveled against same party is the desperation being exhibited by impersonators claiming to be senior Pastors of the RCCG, meeting with several pastors across the country and claiming Pastor Adeboye sent them informing them to embrace “change” and vote APC. However, an attendee at one of such meetings was wise enough to verify from the leadership of the church in one of such states and was informed there was no such directive in fact, there can NEVER be such directive given the earlier disclaimer put out by the G.O himself.

It is evident the APC are “not afraid” of soiling the person, character and brand of Pastor Adeboye and the RCCG all in a desperate bid to get to power. If the church has intentionally stayed out of politics leading to the 2015 general elections, I wonder why this party is employing deceit and other forms of propaganda, smearing the church and her G.O because if someone is so desperate and negates the fear of God in the process, I wonder if/she he can be trusted.  

How Your Online Profile Gets You a Job!

 When Timi Audu first read about Social Recruiting: The Future of Recruitment in October 2012, he didn't take the write up seriously and went about his business, wondering why he should have an online presence let alone, search jobs on the internet. Few days later, he reads yet another post; 3 Reasons Why Corporate Nigeria Need To Embrace Social Recruiting. However, almost a year after goofing at an interview (read about it ), Timi can be found on all major social media platforms. He now actively looks for job opportunities on the internet.

A few days ago, Timi saw a job opening online and applied for it. 24hrs later, he gets this email "...you are hereby requested to please link up with our Human Resource Unit on BBM Pin 2AE5A00E or whatsapp Phone Number +2348077765655 as soon as possible. Please ensure that the name displayed on your device is as contained in your application. Also reply this mail with the links to your profile on the social media platforms where present including your LinkedIn profile for us to have a view of your professional experience and qualifications".

Full of joy that his long wait for a job might finally be over, Timi does exactly as he is told. He immediately changes the display name on his blackberry phone and later goes through an almost 2-hour multi-chat with the HR guys. At the end of the interview, he is told to 'follow' the company's Twitter handle, add them to his circles on Google plus and 'like' their page on Facebook all of which he immediately does.

Exactly, 3 days after the initial interview, Timi gets this mail from the HR unit at Bellsz Inc, the company where he applied for the job:

Mr Timi Audu,

Having gone through your curriculum vitae on LinkedIn we are not in doubt of your professional qualifications for this position. Your pictures on Instagram also portray you as a serious minded corporate gentleman who will have no problems fitting in and reflecting our organizational style. A look at your followers on twitter tells us a great deal about your sphere of influence and what kind of influence you will be bringing to our organization. 

However,  there is this picture you 'liked' on Facebook where a subject was groping a woman's bosom in an office setting. We are afraid that passes you as one who may either condone work-place sexual harassment or indecent public exposure and Bellsz Inc. has a strict work ethic which condemns such behaviour as none of our members of staff must be seen to promote, condone or even engage in such act. The HR unit made this observation and the board believes you have some explaining to do if you must get this job.

Kindly 'unlike' and 'untag' yourself from the said picture and come equipped on Monday with a plausible explanation after which if satisfactory, you will be issued your letter of appointment.

Regards

Olufemi Bellos

Bellsz Inc.     

JUST TAKE 30 MINUTES TO REVIEW YOUR PROFILE(S)/ACTIVITY ACROSS THE DIFFERENT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS WHERE YOU ARE VISIBLE

[Photo: www.recruitmentbuzz.co.uk]

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The Business of Volunteering (Part 2)

The first part of this series highlighted the skills that one can acquire from volunteering via the real-life experience of a volunteer. However, it has come to my notice that not everyone knows all that volunteering entails and some of us may be misinformed about it so we would be discussing that here.

• Scene #1: Amina, 57 years old, spends two hours a day, three days a week, at a local school, helping to teach extra-moral (evening) classes.

• Scene #2: John, a 15 year old, goes roller skating at his estate park on a Saturday only to find that the park is a wreck. He could wait for the local cleaners to clean it up but instead texts some friends who show up with their boots and some garbage bags.

• Scene #3: Titi is a 43 year old lawyer who spends her days (and most evenings) as a partner at a high profile corporate law firm. One of her family's favorite weekend activities is gardening so they occasionally spend a Saturday afternoon at a community garden that provides fresh fruits and vegetables to local schools.

• Scene #4: Tanko is a 62 year old retired accountant. In addition to travel and other personal pursuits, he gives professional advice on the financial plans of a handful of nonprofit organizations. This is mostly done by email so he's found that he can get feedback to them whether he is at home or around the globe.

• Scene #5: Chinedu is a 24 year old recent University graduate who is in the process of looking for paid work in the nonprofit sector, preferably with an organization that focuses on public health. While he spends much of his time researching and applying for jobs, he also serves on the board of a local free clinic in Lagos.

From the above cases, we have an idea what volunteering is about. Common to all cases are; the people cut across different genders, ages and career stages. The time commitments range from impromptu to regularly scheduled work and it may include office-like work.

So volunteering means an interest, desire, or willingness to do good while contributing time, skills, and energy towards something that is not of direct benefit only to one's self, friends, or family and in the process, not expecting any sort of reimbursement or payment in return for one's efforts however with the option of choosing how, where, why, and when to get involved.

The United Nations has a volunteer programme called the United Nations Volunteers and has December 5 set aside every year for the International Volunteer Day. Volunteerism has evolved with society hence there are now virtual or online volunteers who can volunteer across the online space.

The many benefits of volunteering include meeting people whether for professional networking (in addition to making invaluable contacts, volunteering with a nonprofit is a great way to learn more about potentially working in the sector or a particular field), to make new friends, or to just understand a little more about others' ways of life. As stated in the previous post, volunteering also provides opportunities to gain new skills, practice existing skills in new ways, and learn more about complex issues like hunger, health care, and the environment especially when you volunteer for the United Nations and other international organizations. 

So, get online and look for the next comfortable volunteering opportunity next to you! You can start here!

[photo source: www.facebook.com]

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THE BUSINESS OF VOLUNTEERING (part1)

This is the first in a series of discussions that we will be having on The Business of Volunteering (TBV).

A few months ago when I signed up for an international event as a volunteer, the first thing I told myself was "don't expect to get paid". Of course volunteering means offering your services toward a cause without necessarily getting paid for it however, you may sometimes have the privilege of being given an allowance.

My first day on the job, I had high expectations on the level of organization as such I expected everything to be and fall in place. Little did I know that for my hub, a lot of initiative would be required from the part of the volunteers? Firstly, my hub manager appeared more of a project person than an events person and this was evident from the day before when we went for the volunteers meeting and there was no volunteer brief nor anything until a different hub manager came to the rescue. Interacting with her taught me that it is important to know each person's abilities in the event chain and assign roles to individuals based on that. While she is a more detailed person, my hub manager is a more pragmatic manager and this showed when an event partner did not show up for their event for which there were already guests. If my manager had followed-up with them, he would have been able to monitor them and know if and when they would be coming.

Other areas of the event at my hub showed gaps for example, the guest list was not provided which meant guests came in anonymously but for the creativity adopted on the part of my team and I at the registration point. I was assigned there because, after interacting with me, she ascertained that I would be the ideal person for that team and was she right! Though the day ended well, I never stopped wishing I had worked with the other lady instead. Though we might have to do more work and be on our toes for most of the period, it would have sharpened us however, where I thought my lessons would be wasn't where I found them.

The major lessons I learnt today have to do with first identifying skills and abilities of people you are working with or assigning duties to; being detailed in your work and planning yet, flexible enough to adapt to change while being pragmatic on a solid foundation of proper planning is not a bad idea in itself. Also, I learnt to identify opportunities for tutelage and encourage same though I admit I must learn to be more patient with people under tutelage. Finally, I learnt that different personality types exist and human resource is the most difficult and dynamic of all resources to be managed thus, wisdom is profitable to direct.

What exactly is volunteering and what does it entail? Look out for TBV2!

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