ODEKUNLE IFEMIDAYO: Avoid These Rookie Interview Mistakes

ODEKUNLE IFEMIDAYO: Avoid These Rookie Interview Mistakes: I recently had a conversation with a hiring manager who personally interviewed 300+ people in the last 2 years. We discussed how uncomfort...

ODEKUNLE IFEMIDAYO: 3 Things That Make Your Resume Less Effective

If you are not receiving a response back from employers about the resume you submitted, there could be a variety of reasons. Perhaps you do not have the particular qualifications the employer is seeking. Or, perhaps you are not properly communicating your strengths, experience, and skills.
Related: The Worst Resume Advice I’ve EVER Heard

Take a hard look at your resume and revamp it for effectiveness. Imagine you’re in the elevator with Donald Trump (or another CEO) heading up to the 18^th floor and you had only 30 seconds to make your pitch, what would you say? If an employer cannot see what you have to offer or understand how your particular experience and skills are applicable to the job, you are not going to receive that callback to come in for an interview.
Common culprits that make a resume less effective include:

1. Poor Opening

If your resume starts with an “Objective” indicating what you are looking for rather than what you have to offer to an employer, you have already lost points right there. Even if your resume does start with a “Summary of Qualifications” or something similar to that effect, you have to ask, “Does it immediately and clearly tell the employer why I’m the right fit for the job?” An effective opening creates a theme that says, “Here is what I am best at.” Then, prove it by showcasing your accomplishments in your various jobs.

2. Not Using It As A Marketing Tool

A resume is used to help get your foot in the door with an employer. It is not a legal document and there is no need to include information that is irrelevant. The more irrelevant information you put on your resume, the easier it will be for an employer to come to the conclusion that you are not an appropriate candidate for the job. Use your resume to help demonstrate particular accomplishments, experiences, and skills that the employer can benefit from. Your mission is to simply put out a sufficient amount of information to garner the employer’s interest. Save details for the interview.

It is similar to when you view a movie trailer – it contains highlights of just enough information to entice you to want to view the movie, but it doesn’t tell the full story. Adding information that does not provide impact immediately on a resume is like viewing dull scenes in the movie trailer, making the overall package less effective.

3. Inappropriate Personal Information

Some personal information, such as hobbies, may be explicitly placed on the resume to help tell the employer more about your character. However, if what you list is unprofessional and inappropriate for the profession, it can ruin your shot at making a good impression with the employer. At the same time, there are instances when personal information is included without you fully realizing it. For instance, be cautious of your e-mail address. Your username or domain for the e-mail address can give off the wrong impression if it reads something similar to, “partyanimal@…” or “… @peoplehater.”

If you are including a website or blog address, make sure the information you have on it is appropriate and relevant for the job. Also, even if you are not publicizing digital information, employers may be screening your activity on sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, so check your privacy settings or make sure what’s on your public profile is appropriate for a potential employer to see.

Securing an employer’s attention is more challenging today. There are many qualified candidates available on the market for employers to select from. Make sure your resume shows impact from the start by telling the employer why you are the right fit for the job. Demonstrate what you have accomplished to show for it, and present a clean digital trail on the Internet for an appropriate impression.


culled from http://www.odekunleifemidayo.com

RAPE!!! A passionate outcry

Whispers

Hmm… why are my people so silent about the things they should speak of? Why are my people just not speaking of the truth?

Again like you will ask, why should I speak of such?

Years ago, after some sad events that happened to me, I was in great need of love and affection, was so lost in the fears of the unknown. Uncle was all I had, uncle was always there for me, uncle always spoke to me about the need for courage and focus and so my heart was always drawing near to him because those words gave me comfort and relief. Little did I know that something was hidden in his subconscious? 

On this faithful day at the age of 12, I was in my room, taking a rest for the day as only I was left in the house. Knock… knock… knock… Who is there? I asked. It is Uncle T. Oh really! I jerked up, went straight to the door  to open it, welcomed him cheerfully, took him into the sitting room and made him comfortable, I then told him I wanted to pick up something form my room, then I took my leave.  I really never knew he was unsettled. Well, I went into the room, was searching for what I needed when he came in. Bammn, the door slammed behind me. Uncle! What are you doing here? Just before I finished the statement, he grabbed my young succulent arms, caressed it as though he meant to console me again, but it felt a little different this time. I shouted Uncle! Then he laid his finger on my lip and said “STOP”. Don’t you understand? Let me take care of you, you know I really like you! Yes Uncle I replied, but never knew what he was driving at because I was young and innocent. Because of the Yes I said, he threw me to the bed, then I tried getting up, but he held me down, I started out struggling for breathe and shouting as there was no one in the house, nobody could hear me out. To avoid the noise, he laid his hands tight over my mouth and touched me below, took his hands down and started touching me without regards, at that moment tears filled my eyes, my eyes boiled with pains, tears gushed out without holding back the pains. I struggled to leave but I could not, then still placing his weight on me, he pulled out something I had never seen before, all I knew was that it was used by the male folks when they want to let out the unwanted water off their body. Fear gripped everything in me, as it was so large, I struggled to find my way out of this, it was so hard and difficult for me, he then thrust the rod on my private and started forcing his way in, UNCLE!!! Please, I cried and shouted but he just didn't listen, UNCLE, uncle!!! He tore me in, the pains were like a rock forced into the eyes of a needle. Please, uncle, please sir, I begged. I shouted Loud in pains, the pains grew, it was so bad, wished someone could come home, I begged, struggled but his strength superseded mine, finally. He let me be. Tears gushed out like heavy rain drops.

The bed was soaked in the tears, in sweat and in blood, ah in tears I shouted “BUT WHY UNCLE”. He rather wasn't interested in what I had said but said: “YOU MUST NOT TELL ANYONE, IF YOU DO, I WILL DO ANOTHER ONE, SO IF YOU LOVE YOUR SELF TELL NO ONE”. Ah!  My heart was torn in fear and did beat very fast. I was scared of the pains he would again put me through and decided not to tell anyone.

Why did my mum never say anything to me about SEX? Why was there nobody at HOME? Why did the people all leave me to the pains of finding LOVE all by myself? Why did I not speak when I ought to? Why UNCLE? Why didn't I tell my MUM? WHY this, WHY that was all the questions I ask in pains each time I think of the incidence as I grew older.

Why is nobody talking about Rape? Why are the law agencies treating such cases with Levity? Everyone seems only interested in corruption or corruption. The only thing they say is they want to fight corruption. What about the other vices in the society? What about the inhumanity to man?

The number of Rape cases in Nigeria is at an ever increasing number and people are just keeping quiet about it. WHY?

Why are the youths not talking, why are they all quiet and silent when they should lead the vanguard for change? When will they talk?

Recent reports say in Ekiti state a man of 34 years was arrested for raping a 13 years old lady, in Plateau state, five men were arrested for raping a 9 years old lady, and a native doctor for raping a 14 years old female patient. In yenagoa, Bayelsa state, an 18 years old Lady committed suicide a few days after she was raped by 3 young men at gun point. (Punch Newspaper, Tuesday, November 5, 2013 pg 24)

The list is endless, you can hardly go through the papers in a week and would not read a report of a rape case, and yet nobody seems concerned.

Hmm! WHY ARE MY PEOPLE SO SILENT?

“May my hands hunt me if I fail to write the truth”

written by Whispers 

tchijoys@gmail.com

YOU ARE GREAT, AVOID EXCUSES

AVOID EXCUSE

A roadblock that stands between you and success – and you felt compelled to retreat or, even worse, give up? At one point or another, everyone has found
themselves without motivation or with no strive to keep going. However, we’re privileged to be in a generation where excuses are no longer interesting stories.

Excuses are good reasons for bad results. Dear, do you think generations unborn will reckon
with your “good reasons” for not making headway? If men and women of preceding generations could etch their names boldly across the pages of history, what
then is your excuse?

Poor Background?

Looking at her today, you’d never imagine that Oprah Winfrey was born to a teenage single mother in
impoverished rural Mississippi, or that she gave birth to a son at 14. As a child, Oprah often had to wear
dresses made of potato sacks – that’s all her family could afford. Today, Oprah is one of the most
influential women on earth. Dear, wake up to the reality of your dreams and never let your background put your back on the ground.

Little or No Formal Education?

Before drawing conclusions that your success has been truncated because you don’t have a University degree, remember that Benjamin Franklin’s schooling ended when he was ten (after two years of formal education).
Yet, Ben rose to become one of the most prominent figures in American history.
You remember Nelson Mandela? Serving under several masters didn’t earn him a Master’s Degree. Yet, he played a critical role in
bringing an end to apartheid in Africa. Dear, formal education is good, but never allow schooling interferewith your learning.

Gender?

J.K Rowling became the world’s bestselling children’s author, despite managing on benefits as a single mother. Being a female writer, her manuscript for Harry Potter was rejected by several publishers. If that doesn’t make sense, remember the likes of Margaret Thatcher, Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton, Rosa Parks,
Angela Merkel, Joan of Arc, Catherine the Great, Marie
Curie, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Louisa Diogo, Florence
Nightingale, Elizabeth Fry, and many others. Dear, if these ones weren’t limited by gender; you shouldn’t be.

Physically Challenged?

This is probably the commonest excuse of our generation. Listen, for a musician to lose his hearing is the greatest possible misfortune. Yet, the inevitable
frustration didn’t stop Ludwig van Beethoven from composing some of the most sublime pieces of music in the history of man. Perhaps that didn’t sound
impressive, Hellen Keller became deaf-blind before her second birthday. Despite this debilitating disability, she learned to read and write, and became the first deaf-
blind person to gain a Bachelor’s degree. One more!

Franklin D. Roosevelt is often regarded as one of the greatest American presidents. He contracted an illness at 39 that left him paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his life. Dear, the wheelchair didn’t stop him from being elected to office four times making him the only American president to be elected more than twice.

Past Failures?

Apart from the likes of Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Edison, almost every other great achievers encountered one or more setbacks in their journeys in life. I believe
this quotation from the great basketball player, Michael
Jordan, will convey the point I’m trying to drive out here; “ I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I
have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed it. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

Rejection?

If you had told the people who rejected Einstein from college for failing the entrance exam that he would go on to write important scientific theories, they would
have laughed you out of the room. Einstein didn’t give up after not getting into college the first time. Have you ever given up on something because of rejection?
Learn from Stephen King. After his first book was rejected 30 times, he threw it in the trash. His wife
fished it out and encouraged him to resubmit it. Dear, the rest is history, with King now having hundreds of books published.

Poor Childhood?

As a child, Richard Branson performed poorly on tests
in school and go struggled with dyslexia. Teachers and authority figures assumed he wouldn’t go very far, but Branson defied the odds. Today, he is one of the richest persons in the United Kingdom.

Dear, let me leave you with the words of Tom Hopkins:
“The single most important difference between champion achievers and average people is their ability to handle rejection and failure.”

Whenever you fall, remember to pick something up

written by - Obi Anthony Uchenna

Anambra Poll: APC rejects INEC’s plan to hold supplementary election

source : vanguard

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the announcement by INEC that it will hold a supplementary election after declaring last Saturday’s governorship poll in Anambra inconclusive, insisting that only the total cancellation of the election will be acceptable.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Monday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party also called on INEC to come clear on how the election was sabotaged.

APC accused INEC of not taking seriously the opinions of Anambra residents as well as local and foreign observers that most of the registered voters in the state were disenfranchised during the election.

”First, the electoral commission proposed make-up election in only 65 polling units in Obosi before scaling things up to a supplementary election ‘in those areas where election was cancelled’. But we say, without equivocating, that a total cancellation of the election and the organization of a fresh poll, under the supervision of a credible Resident Electoral Commissioner, will be acceptable to our party,” it said.

”It is not enough for INEC’s Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, to tell the nation that an INEC official sabotaged the election in a certain part of the state, he must tell the nation who this fellow is, who he/she is working for, what is the extent of the damage he/she has done to this and previous elections, and whether or not he/she has access to the commission’s database of voters’ register, which was apparently tampered with for Saturday’s election.

”Prof. Jega must also tell Nigerians why 16 Electoral Commissioners, who migrated to Anambra days before the election ostensibly to supervise things, could not ensure the success of an election in a single state, when even a polling unit behind the INEC office in Awka did not get voting materials till after 9 am on election day,” it said.

Meanwhile, the APC has accused the PDP of being an accessory to the election anormaly in Anambra, going by the statement credited to the party that the election was free and fair.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/11/anambra-poll-apc-rejects-inecs-plan-hold-supplementary-election/#sthash.ZPYRwDxT.dpuf

Anambra: INEC orders supplementary election in 208 poling units

source : vanguard

AWKA- THE Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Monday declared the November 16, 2013 governorship election in Anambra State inconclusive and ordered supplementary election in 208 polling units which have registered voters strength of 113,113, in parts of the state.

The highest number of the repeat exercise would be held in Idemili North local government area, which is the stronghold of the APC candidate, Senator Chris Ngige where the election would be held in 160 polling units. The affected areas in the local government have combined registered voters’ population of 89,997.

INEC returning officer for the governorship election, Professor James Epoke, who is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar, said the decision to order for supplementary election in such areas was informed by the inability of the commission to conduct the exercise there due to alleged electoral malpractices.

Other areas where the supplementary election would hold include three poling units in Ayamelum local government (1247 voters), one poling unit in Anambra East (250 voters), six units in Anambra West (2000 voters), one unit in Anaocha (276 voters), two units in Awka North (1356 voters), one unit in Aguata (310 voters) and one unit in Awka South (249 voters).

Others are three units in Ekwusigo (884 voters), two units in Idemili South (800 voters), one unit in Onitsha North (484 voters), 17 units in Onitsha South (12299 voters), four units in Orumba North (588 voters) and four units in Oyi (1202 voters).

According to Epoke, the supplementary election became necessary because the number of registered voters in the cancelled polling units would significantly affect the final scores of the candidates if election was conducted in the affected areas. He, however, did not give the date for the supplementary election.

Before taking the decision, the 21 collation officers for all the local government areas of the state, who were all from the University of Calabar, had announced the results of their assignment which showed that the APGA candidate, Chief Willie Obiano scored a total of 174, 710 votes to place first, followed by the PDP candidate, Comrade Tony Nwoye who polled 94,856 votes, while Senator Chris Ngige of APC polled 93,300 votes to place third.

Obiano also won in 16 of the 21 local government areas, while Nwoye and Ngige won in two local government areas each.

The APGA candidate won in Aguata, Ayamelum, Anambra East, Anambra West, Anaocha, Awka North, Awka South, and Ekwusigo. He also won in Ihiala, Njikoka, Nnewi South, Ogbaru, Onitsha North, Onitsha South, Orumba North and Orumba South.

The PDP candidate won in Dunukofia and Oyi, while the APC candidate won in Idemili North and Idemili South.

Umeh insists Obiano would win

The national chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, who was Obiano’s agent at the collation center, expressed optimism that his party would ultimately carry the day, describing the development as a mere delayed victory.

According to him, it would be difficult for any other candidate to upstate APGA in view of the gap already given the other parties,

He said: “Some of the places affected by the supplementary election were places where APGA won, adding that while other candidates would be striving to meet his party, the party would also be garnering more votes.”

He also said that the supplementary election would prove whether the number of voters often claimed to be in the register of voters is actually authentic.

Vanguard recalls that the candidates of PDP, APC and LP had, at a joint statement in Awka before the release of the result of the election, called for total cancellation of the November 16, 2013 polls in view of alleged massive irregularities that marred it.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/11/anambra-inec-orders-supplementary-election-208-poling-units/#sthash.4ZreAv4x.dpuf

My First Job: HOW IMPORTANT IS YOUR INTERNSHIP?

many of the fortunate young undergraduates often misuse this golden key being handed to them called "internship". do they do this as a result of lack of knowledge or is it just a case of youthful exuberance?.

 Mr Bill Mccomb, Chief Executive Officer at Fifth & Pacific Companies, Inc. lets us into his experience with his first job

I had no idea how lucky I was when, back at age 15, I took a job with Walker Research in my hometown in Indiana. It was my first job, and they were one of the few places that hired “kids” under 16, although most of my colleagues were full time adults. The company — today one of the most respected research houses – conducted market research for clients around the US. At this office, there was one client, the local telephone company, GTE. Unwittingly, I landed in a place that taught me about good management, client services, marketing, research, and consumer behavior — the very basis of my career.

I was one of the many telephone survey “operators” who called and interviewed GTE customers around the country to measure their satisfaction with the services they received. While sitting on the telephone for long shifts was neither pleasant nor stimulating, it was clearly better than most of the alternatives out there. They also paid a good wage.

Very quickly I learned that market research had scientific elements to it. We were trained to deliver questions without introducing bias via our delivery. We had to perfect a certain monotone rhythm, especially when prompting the consumer with the rating scale. I can still recite it: “poor—fair—good—excellent” spoken in deadpan. Supervisors monitored our calls and promptly provided feedback on our delivery — all the time. I had plenty of humiliating sessions with the supervisor. Invariably, I was trying too hard to make the calls interesting for the respondents. I learned that market research isn’t supposed to be interesting; it has to be objective.

We were also trained in taking what they called “action comments,” which is when an interview shifted from market research to customer service, as an irate customer would demand help with an egregious problem. This is where I really soared — during these times, we were allowed to turn back on our personalities, and be empathetic and assuring, while also inquisitive and probing. There were times when people screamed so hard at me it actually became scary. Back then people hated the phone company, so we were targets for some of their rudest behavior. But right then and there I learned first hand the cardinal rule of retailing — the customer is always right.

In fact, I learned a lot from this part-time job. The company was grade A: excellent training, strong shift supervisors and managers, unwavering quality control, and a serious environment where the customer and the client were respected and even revered.

And even though it was, for me, “just an after school and weekend job,” it actually helped foster a lifelong interest in consumer behavior, market research, marketing, and ultimately, branding. Some of the mottos they had printed on posters in their break room forged strong values in me as an impressionable 15 year old: messages about active listening, about the customer being first, about workplace norms, about leadership, about accountability. When I reflect on that job, I realize how much old world wisdom I got from the experience, and I realize I was lucky at 15.

" I realize how much old world wisdom I got from the experience"- that was Mr Bill's words, what can you say about yours???