The Disguise of Opportunity

Timi had just closed from the office, tired and famished after a hard day’s job, he walked out of the office compound, bidding his colleagues that had their cars ‘see you tomorrow’. Strutting towards the bus stop from where he’d take the first vehicle before connecting the next, he reminisced on how he got this job READ IT HERE. 

The blaring horns aimed at another driver who didn’t notice the green light at the traffic junction brought him back to happenings around and looking up, he could only sigh at the crowd that waited at the bus stop, all waiting on tricycles, vehicles, buses, anything (moving that is) that could take them from this first point to where they’ll eventually connect to their destinations. The existing fuel scarcity in town didn’t help matters as this meant fewer vehicles were on the road.

Tiredly, Timi trudged towards the bus stop and took his place among the commuters with some, having that ‘I’ve been here for 30 minutes and counting’ look. Barely taking his place, a bus came along and because of the scarcity of vehicles, everyone paid no attention to order as they all broke and rushed towards the bus. How unlucky was tired Timi for as he made to enter the bus, someone else outsmarted him. 

“God, this was my best chance of getting a vehicle else I’ll have to wait for at least, thirty long minutes!” Timi thought to himself. At this time, even more people who had just closed from work tiredly walked towards the bus stop, filling every space available to stand. With despair of heart, Timi walked slowly back to the bus stop, back from where he had just chased the previous bus and while walking back, he saw this taxi slow down to drop someone and the taxi driver, not wanting a rush from the stranded commuters decided to move a little after the bus stop, dropping one of his passengers and swiftly, whilst others were trying to come in through the side where the passenger alighted, Timi quietly and comfortably entered through the other side of the car, an advantage he only had because he was coming from the opposite direction! Thankful to his stars, Timi enjoyed the ride and reminisced again on what had just transpired and it hit him; Many times in life we are faced with disappointments and we sometimes feel we’ve come to the end of the road. Truth is, without some of these disappointments, some of us may never attain that height, which we desire. Sometimes, you lose something smaller only to get a bigger and better of it. Whether you believe in God or in fate (life) of which life is from God, when things happen, always think of it as ‘it can only get better and never for worse’. 

Haven’t you wondered why after that break-up which you felt would bring the world to an end, you later met someone who is only better and unique in his/her own way and you wonder if you would have met this person if there wasn’t a break up with the previous? Ever wondered why after that deal went bad, it propelled you to do something bigger and even better? I once heard someone say it was when he was fired due to the banking industry restructuring many years ago that he was able to go after his passion and today, he is one of the household names in the Nigerian fashion industry. Every disappointment they say, is an opportunity in disguise!

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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Why You’ve Never Aced Any Interview

Timi, a first class graduate of Banking and Finance found luck in his quest for employment when he got a call for an interview.
And this conversation ensued:
Company: Hello, Mr. Timi please?
Timi: Hello, who are you?
Company: I am calling from Bellsz Inc.
Timi: yes what’s the problem?
Company: please be informed that you have been shortlisted for an interview at our head office by 10am tomorrow…
Timi: (cuts in) yes! I made it!
Company: Hello Mr Timi…
Timi: Yes, thank you bye!

The following day, Timi went for the interview, missed his way and eventually got to the venue at 10:27am. He spotted on a black pair of shoes with a brown striped trouser and a brown belt to match; a striped orange-coloured shirt on top, a brown-strapped wrist-watch and oh! I almost forgot,Timi couldn’t shave because he had no plans to go out the previous day save the call he received late; by which time the barber shop had closed.

“Timi Audu”, the receptionist beckoned on him and directed him through a door into the room where the interviewers sat at a table with an empty chair opposite them. Timi went in,exchanged pleasantries and took his seat. After making himself comfortable, a series of questions followed, to which he gave vapid responses. Timi avoided any eye contact – showing he lacked confidence. And when one of the interviewers asked what the time was by his watch, alas! he had put on a dead watch.
Timi was also asked (with his permission of course) to bring out his wallet, the interviewers went through it and returned it to him.

As the interview drew to a close, they passed on a document to Timi and asked him to append his signature; Timi did without a second thought. Finally, the interviewers asked for his e-mail address to ensure he gets feedback from them and Timi dropped the bomb: dontimosky4life@yahoo.com

Bellsz Inc. later contacted Timi via e-mail as promised. The mail read thus:

Dear Timi,
We are sorry you do not fit into our organizational se at the moment. Indeed you have a good certificate; however, you were impolite when you first received our call inviting you for the interview, you ended the call without asking for the address or any other detail as regards the interview.

On the day of the interview, we expected you to be seated at least 15-30 minutes before the scheduled time but you came in 27 minutes after. You were rather unprofessionally dressed with your belt and shoe having unmatched colours and patterns.All these gave the impression we would make a bad hiring choice if we selected you as the qualified candidate for the open role. Our organisation can’t afford having its corporate image smeared by a careless representative and your performance in the interview showed that you would project our brand in bad light to our clients and the public.

Quick advice: offering yourself a seat during an interview shows you lack manners and etiquette; this you confidently displayed while we were still forming a first impression of you in our minds.
Your answers to most of the questions asked during the interview were ambiguous and curt, this showed you lacked listening and communication skills and perhaps your preparation for the interview was very poor.

Bellsz inc. is a proud brand that stays true to its promises and we look out for candidates who’d successfully relay our core message to our clients and customers; either through their roles, words or body language but your obvious lack of eye-contact showed you have a low self-esteem, making us question your ability to represent our brand in the best way possible. Although, we won’t fail to commend you for acquiring a good degree, your lack of business-sense and professionalism (unkempt hair, lateness to the interview, disorganised wallet, cutesy email address) proved you  unfit for a financial role that you interviewed for.

And lastly, the document you signed tells us you can sell off our company without knowing it. As opposed to what was hinted in your CV, you lack attention to detail because you didn’t read the document but you signed immediately.

Please note that the education of life goes beyond your certificate. We regret to inform you that your job search with us ends here.

we hope this feedback helps you in your next interview.

Yours faithfully,
Olufemi Bellos
for: Bellsz Inc.
 SILLY, BUT DRAWN FROM EXPERIENCES OF INTERVIEWERS AND INTERVIEWEES ALIKE!!!

(image from kelleyundergrad.blogspot.com)

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