TODAY's WOMAN SHOW;ESSENTIALS FOR JOB SEEKING GRADUATES

Very few programs/shows on Ghanaian television enlighten me as much as "The Today's Woman Show"on TV3.Well,there are a couple more programs that get me adding a few things to my knowledge bag,I have to say.

However,today's edition of the show blew me away.GOOD JOB! Audrey and the ladies!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is what you get when a very intelligent and eloquent host in the adorable Audrey Selormey meets two other equally brilliant and "accomplished"ladies in one studio.

Of course,Dzigbordi Dosoo as you know is the founder and C.E.O of Allure Africa,lifestyle coach,consultant and talk show host.When it comes to anything image,think Dzigbordi.
Edem Adzaho is also the founder and C.E.O of SPEC consult limited,an international training consultant,and an Author.

These two excellent ladies were on the show to discuss basically essentials graduates need to be relevant and gain employment in the hugely choked job market;white or blue collar specifically with the case of an unemployed HND graduate turned head potter as reference.



Trust me when I say it was a the best show I have watched in months on national television.
Everything the ladies discussed was worth my while,inspiring,informative,educative and indeed an eye-opener,so I decided to highlight a few points so you share in it,if you missed the show,are we cool??? OK

Preparing a CV and prepping up for a job interview

Dzigbordi calls something the ABC of an interview session,what she looks out for,even before your competences and all of that.......

°°°A-Appearance (outward look,physical postures and image as in what you wear and how you wear them)
°°°B-Behaviour (Attitudes;basic courtesies,mannerisms etc)

°°°C-Communication ([verbal and non-verbal] flow and command
over language,near-flawless presentation of ones thought processes and ideas)
She calls them ESSENTIALS for employer consideration on the first interaction,and I totally agree!!!!!!!

You don't want to walk into an interview looking confused inward and outward,do you??
Our educational system has over the years received a lot of flack for being overly grammar-type instead of being skills,and talent oriented.And so many people think their degree is all it takes to land a job,but Dzigbordi says,it's fine to have a job,but in this competitive world,you have to identify your talent,hone it,and get it developed to make some money aside from your salaried job.

Add value to yourself,and ensure you're prepared for the job;the degree alone is not enough.......attempt voluntary internships while after school,learn on jobs,build your personal belief.

Few tips:

Your CV is your selling document,should not have on top of it,CURRICULUM VITAE,everyone knows it is your CV
Do not go on and on about
NAME:
DATE OF BIRTH:
RELIGION:
and on and on.....NOP!!!!!

Simply do your name on top KINGSLEY KOMLA ADOM,because it's your document.YOU,and YOU only.
And then your simple address,phone number (use the +233 thing when
you're actually applying for a job outside of Ghana,if within,do your normal
0242156697).

Your educational status and background must come next if you're a new
graduate..Don't go on and on till kindergarten,and all,maybe Senior High School is enough.........
If you held some big positions,obviously you must include them (school prefect,assistant,etc) not red section leader,senior on duty,cupboard boy etc.
Before you come to professional levels.

If you had tasks at a previous workplace,QUANTIFY them,don't write your duties;

I TALKED TO CLIENTS
I DID PHOTOCOPIES
I DID PRESENTATIONS
I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR ARRANGING FILES

Write instead that;

I TALKED 500 CLIENTS INTO DOING BUSINESS WITH US OVER TWO WEEKS,results were that,the company recorded so so and so amount of revenue!
I RUN over a 1,000 PHOTOCOPIES IN TWO DAYS for project A or B ,bla bla bla

And your hobbies must be exciting,and worthwhile....don't say swimming,watching movies when the last time you even did any of these was a year ago...
Remember Employers consider persons with adventurous hobbies,exciting ones,and you must be as regular with them as possible..

COMPETENCIES:
Don't just write sweeping statements,
Don't write EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS,give examples,two or three
instances what do you do let the panel stop you on that (like ok that's enough).
Do you write articles,do you prepare quarterly reports,do you do Public speaking,do you do media relations etc
ABLE TO USE MICROSOFT TOOLS and DO PRESENTATIONS:
actually demonstrate it..

If there's space,do the referencing,give as many as you have them and their contacts...
In all the CV must sell you,sell sell sell....
Should not be long and boring..Two pages maximum isn't bad.Ensure grammar is good,and presentation is super.

Remember,you'll have to prove/defend everything you put in the CV during the
interview,so if your CV is as good,you should match it......

They (Dzigbordi and Edem)add that,as a lady,you have to get all your hair off your face for an interview,braids are beautiful,they're cool but the interviewer needs to make contact with your eyes and mouth..
The hair flying all over your face,is an unnecessary distraction.......so are colorful hair bands.

Also the job interview is not your time to exhibit excess creativity and your bubbly self with three or four earrings....NO NO NO
That's a turnoff and a distraction too,keep it simple; decent hairdo,one cool earring,and you'll be fine...Not too much flesh showing,bright smile,that's enough.

Your dress speaks volumes on an interview panel..even the colours mean
a thing or two to the panel...
Blue,Grey,Black,White,Orange,all have what they stand for....and may tell the prospective employer what you're communicating non verbally.....take note,and make sure the dress colour is communicating the right things in the right ways.........

You should keep regular eye contacts with all members on the panel.
You should be confident enough,and be prepared for tricky situations,where your ability to think on the butt would be tested....

You must actually listen very well during an interview session,and take charge of your space.
Request a seat if you are not given one,and remember you're matching
what's on your CV,so you must be excellent...!!!!!!

Thanks Dzigbordi,Edem and Audrey,you ladies made my morning!!!!!!!!!!
Guys guys,I hope you've learnt as much as I have from all of these.Its like I've just participated in a seminar................the power of TV!!!!

ARE YOU USING THE "CORRECT" HAND SANITIZERS???????

"As of beginning of August 2014,the brands of hand sanitizers
that had valid registration with the FDA were Sanigel, Clean
Touch, Dial Hand, Samocid,Forever Hand, Steri-7, Carex,Fruiser, Purell, Bremed and High Baby"-excerpted from www.graphic.com.gh's story on Ebola and sanitizers

Aside from the FDA issues,health experts have said that not all the sanitizers can kill germs.Some are specifically anti-bacterial,so cannot obviously deal with viruses,Protozoa and fungi.

They are recommending that we purchase those that can actually work on all germs.

Meanwhile,the sale and purchase of the product has skyrocketed in the past weeks,obviously due to apprehensions people have towards the disease described as "deadly" that has claimed over 1,000 lives in the past few months.

And as you know,people have cashed in on the situation and are indeed making money outta the product.

If you thought any hand sanitizer is that powerful to kill all germs,then you might want to rethink your position;because the experts say,many of these products are largely alcohol-based with either little or no truly disinfecting ingredients.

We are advised that alcohol sanitizers do not control the spread of Ebola virus,since it's a stubborn virus (coated)

Health officials say we should buy sanitizers that are;

1) Approved by the FDA (met the quality control standards)

2) generally germ disinfecting;that's they can kill nearly all manner of germs (bacteria,fungi,Protozoa,viruses etc)

3) Chemically composed of didecydimethyl,ammonium and chloride and not only alcohol

Upon hearing and reading all of these,I quickly looked to check the sanitizer I have been using and OH! It's only anti- bacterial,contains Ethyl Alcohol (62%) which is the active ingredient and the brand was not mentioned among the FDA approved and validly registered hand sanitizers.

Maybe I'd have to go find another.You have too?

THE REGULAR GHANAIAN or THE DISCERNED GHANAIAN,where do you fall???????

#ThereRegularGhanaian according to yours truly,is one who is passive about a lot of things,largely unconcerned about societies negatives,grinds with the everyday flow;that which has become our informal culture owing in part to the kinds of socialization we get from those in our circles-closed or open as well as our "laid back responses to any and everything.

Occasionally,you'll find few standout persons,who despite everything will rise for what they stand for,what they need-and deserve,what ought to be ideal,in an attempt to make society generally better in more ways than one, in their own small corners.These select group,I call #TheDiscernedGhanaian.

They demand their monies' worth at the grocery store,detect and return counterfeit coins to the "trotro" mate on the bus,ask the speeding commercial vehicle driver to hang up on the phone and drive on,impress upon same to reduce speeding on the road,demand that,their local authorities provide their basic amenities,notice expired drugs on the chemical seller's shelf,tell off vehicle occupants who throw refuse through the windows,call unscrupulous persons who throw sputum about town indiscriminately to order.

And OH ! these group of Ghanaians call the ECG and it's allied institutions,to seek answers to why their power is taken without notice,make inquisitions into why water has not run through their taps for weeks,et al.......
What do the regular ones do?,Tell you what,the regular Ghanaian does exactly the opposite and more of what the others do.

# TheRegularGhanaian sits in a troski,and waits until it's full and about taking off,before calling for 

the sachet water or chips vendor to come over so they buy.And guess what,they buy with huge
denominations of currency notes...Annoying,isn't it?          

In as much as we all need employment,# TheRegularGhanaian reports to work later than official times,and blames it on traffic congestion in the City,meanwhile he expects his salary intact at month's end.Certainly not good enough excuse.If you live far off,just wake up earlier than you do,and you'd be fine,nobody wants to have a nagging individual for an employee,OR? 

# TheRegularGhanaian votes along colour lines,other than issues +policies.This particular one has been with us since Adam.You even have people making illiterate utterances like,even if a "goat"is on the ticket of PARTY A,B or C,I would still vote for them.How on earth are we going to make progress if people think along such lame lines.I'm still struggling to figure out how we got to this point,really!

Everyone lives in a community,bordered obviously by people.And as you'd know,wherever a group of people live,there requires some agreed upon standards and codes by which they must live else pathologies may occur and society may fall.For some reason,these same community members show a careless attitude to anything concerning the area in which they live. # TheRegularGhanaian   

doesn't attend community meetings when invited to deliberate on issues to contribute to the development of the area,socially and economically.When this happens,the few "discerned"Ghanaians go and make the decisions for them!What do they do next?-They whine
and whine over these very decisions,but who cares,really?

# TheRegularGhanaian fails to report unscrupulous persons who engage in illegal electricity and
water connections in the neighborhood     

# TheRegularGhanaian remains totally unconcerned when his neighbor turns on the volume of
the music to deafening decibels.He doesn't say jack!

# TheRegularGhanaian front desk exec wears a visage like she's been forced to do the work. Hostile,Non-smiling,Get off if you can't do the job,sod!.The last thing anybody wants to have is to get to a company with loads of trouble on their head only to have a front desk exec add hers too,instead of helping de-burden the client.

If only they knew what a simple smile can do to people,they would perhaps turn for the better.
# TheRegularGhanaian lecturer comes to class and everything he teaches,literally can be found word for word on the first google search!
Yet,for some weird reason they are quickest to demand book and research allowances from government,and would strike if these fees are not forth-coming.
Maybe we should be looking at the concept of equal pay for equal work done ;just saying.

Meanwhile,# TheRegularGhanaian student also waits till it's a week to the exam before he starts reading his damn books,but expect to pass the exams.Where does this ever work???

And following the introduction of Web 2.0 and the invention of the internet,# TheRegularGhanaian spends half the day or more on social media,even while at work.
(Facebook,twitter,instagram,Pinterest,google+,vobolo,whatsApp,tango,viber,et al).Maybe employers must have a policy on social media in their workplaces to check some of these lousy attitudes.If the time spent on social media were to enhance the company's production and profile cry,maybe good enough,but when it's spent talking the latest fashion trend,gossip in town,entertainment spoof,and all,then it's totally out of place-abhorrent!!!

On our roads,# TheRegularGhanaian driver throws on his seatbelt only when approaching a police stop.
But how difficult,a task is to wear a seatbelt?and even more,when it's supposed to do you good? It appears a lot of work to have a seatbelt on for most drivers,this beats me!

In our communities,# TheRegularGhanaian builds in the waterway.why?That portion of land is cheapest.The ripple effect of these are disastrous.Whenever it pours,life,property and livelihoods of others are lost.Wondering when we'll get responsible in our thought processes sometimes.As if that is not enough trouble,# TheRegularGhanaian mason steals your materials in bits from your work site, for his own underground works cement,blocks,sand,chippings etc

Everybody wants to take advantage of the next person.So much hate in our living.
Road accidents are mainly caused by driver error.Though many of these crashes are avoidable,it appears adhering the basic road markings,and signs are an awful lot of work for some drivers and road users generally.# TheRegularGhanaian driver stops not to allow pedestrians cross the road at the various pedes-crossings.

So he knocks down pedestrians almost all of the time,and even worse,speeds away,how sad!!!!!!!

# TheRegularGhanaian Crosses the road even when a footbridge is hanging just above it.
Guess what;it's time wasting to go over all of that,before getting to the other side.they think.If they valued life a bit more than they currently do,maybe they'll never risk it on the roads,especially the highways.

Values and beliefs are integral to every living being.The least anybody can have are beliefs and values which guide them in their everyday lives.For many,religion is 50% of their lives!the other 50 is distributed among work,marriage,social activities,school,among others.Though religion borders on a person's belief in an object of worship,many people demonstrate their core religious beliefs outwardly.

But # TheRegularGhanaian goes to church every Sunday,but returns every time unchanged,in attitude,deed,and thoughts.This leaves me to believe we're living in a great deception.The mere presence or otherwise at a worship centre says very little about us,our deeds and actions are the amplifiers of what is within.

Governance,they say is a shared responsibility between leaders and followers.Despite the fact that majority of the tasks need leadership direction to succeed,citizens also play an active role if society is to remain progressive,but # TheRegularGhanaian blames governments for the mess he creates in his house,culminating in tonnes of refuse left uncollected.

How on earth,do we expect government to descend to our doorsteps to collect refuse created by "us"???where is this heard?

Still in our immediate communities,#TheRegularGhanaian has water not running through his tap for weeks,what does he do?Everything except contacting the GWCL,GWA,and the other water distribution agencies.
If we don't ask the service providers questions,obviously nothing would change.They'll assume all is well with us.In any case,we pay for these services and have the right to demand our due of the bargain.

Furthermore,#TheRegularGhanaian has been living in Accra all his life,but doesn't know the national theatre,airport,the stadium,indece square,etc. But can you blame them?They have nothing doing there,so...Certainly not good enough.

#TheRegularGhanaian sits in a troski and can't tell the driver to hang up on the call,and drive them safely to their destination.One of the primary reasons road car ages occur.In these parts,the more you speak up,the more you are branded "too knowing".I think that's one of the reasons we've adopted the worse option of silence.
What if you fail to speak up,and the feared happens,who would we blame?????

#TheRegularGhanaian doesn't do any followups when they are given awfully poor service by the telecom operators.
Call them,alert them of their failings,let them sit up.It is only by doing these that we can bring the best out of them,and get ourselves satisfied while having our monies-worth.If service remains terrible after these,you can always change managers,or???

#TheRegularGhanaian looks on in a troski while a fellow passenger throws refuse through the window.
Then afterwards,we blame governments for our dirty surroundings.We are our own enemies,and until we mend our ways,we'll remain here.And when we contract the diseases,we'll pay good money to get medication,and those that cannot afford May die!

After contracting the diseases,#TheRegularGhanaian purchases expired drugs from the chemical seller and fails to return them,neither does he alert the attendants.
He'll take it and suffer the repercussions,which are sometimes dire.

There are a million and one more things the regular Ghanaian does on a daily basis.This piece cannot obviously capture all of these,the whole idea is to establish the fact that,many of us live passively in our space,like it's just us in the world.

This however is a not-too-good attitude,if we are to grow together,we have to do the exact opposite of what #TheRegularGhanaian does.

Take charge of your space,know your boundaries,know what you ought to do to make society an even better place.

Be that #DiscernedGhanaian,and lead the way,everyone would find a place in own small circle to do same!!!
The lethargic attitude,lukewarm and carefree posture never won anybody a Nobel peace price,or an Oscar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHY I THINK PETR CECH WILL LEAVE CHELSEA

Thibaut Courtois trains with the Chelsea first team @ cobham

EXCLUSIVE:According to goal.com,chelsea fc has told Petr Cech he
can find a new club in order to
make Thibaut Courtois the No. 1,says Akpi Roland on Facebook,this is b**ls*t,he adds....


My response:
I don't know if it's factual the way it's stated,but the truth of the matter is that,petr cech will leave Chelsea before the close of the off season.why do I say so?

Long before Thibaut Courtois joined this summer,he stated clearly that,he's not coming to Chelsea to warm the bench,the only reason he'll join the team is,if he's guaranteed first team starts,that's regular action.

And so he's joined the first team,it' means some kind of agreement has been reached that he'll play games regularly,correct?OK

Now the conundrum: Thibaut Courtois has been the best goal keeper in Spain for the past two or more seasons.

Granted,he had to dislodge long-standing real Madrid goal keeper,who's been one of the best if not the best for over a decade,that's no mean feat.

It would therefore be a complete waste of talent,for such a player to BE a second choice keeper at Chelsea,especially judging from his consistent performances for Atletico Madrid over the past three seasons.

Meanwhile,Petr Cech has also been first choice at Chelsea for a long time,and has remained consistent over the years for the team.He even won the golden glove in the premier league last season.

Chelsea's long serving goal keeper,Petr Cech,

An outstanding goal keeper and faithful servant at Chelsea since his arrival at the club.

He (Cech) has stated that he'll not also be second choice,and will fight to remain Chelsea's top glovesman,the coming season.

The confusion arises as Mark Schwarzer is given a one year deal to his expired contract,at the club (renewal).

Following this one year extension,Jose Mourinho sang his praise,and confirmed Mark was going to be his second choice goal keeper.

OK,so if Mark is second choice,which of the two top keepers (Cech & Courtois) will be first choice,and which of them,will give up that position?

Considering Mourinho's recent comments about Courtois,it looks like he would be first choice,and he  has said also that,the Belgian is the future of Chelsea.

So if Thibaut Courtois is first choice,and Mark Schwarzer is second choice,where does Cech fall?

Meanwhile, as regards to the premier league's rules of a homegrown quota for every team,that's 8 homegrown players at least,and not more than 17 foreign players out of the 25-man squad to be named before the commencement of the league season,Mourinho said we have,one more than the official minimum of foreign players(17) following the arrivals of Drogba,Costa,Filipe Luis,,hence,one must not be registered for the season.

He subsequently named three players,one of whom has to leave (of the foreign players), to trim the squad down,and possibly reduce the foreign player ( minimum) to 17.

The players he listed were Petr Cech,Fernando Torres,and John Obi Mikel.

Out of these three,two are not considered homegrown,and are also described as foreign,that's  Cech,and Torres.

So even if Mikel leaves,there's still a foreign player that has to make way.

After all,Mikel is considered homegrown because he's been playing in England since he was seventeen or eighteen (he's now 27).

Following the departure of Romelu Lukaku to Everton,however,the team appears short on striking options,aside Diego Costa,and he's not leaving also considering Mou recently confirmed he (Torres) has a future at Chelsea,which leaves only one player,Cech,to the axe.

Even without all.of these,personally,cech being relegated to bit-part roles will be disrespectful,considering he's still at the peak of his game.

He would walk into the first team of any club (maybe except Bayern), so if he'll not be first choice,why not leave to a team where he'll get regular action,?

Amidst all of these,Petr Cech is not short of suitors.The likes of Monaco,Paris St Germain,and recently,Real Madrid are thought to have made enquiries and some tabling initial bids for the Chelsea man.

•  "The sale of Cech would allow Mourinho to use Englishmen Jamal Blackman or Mitchell Beeney as his third-choice goalkeeper, behind Belgian Thibaut Courtois and Mark Schwarzer of Australia, and bring Chelsea’s foreign quota down to the permitted level".-excerpted from the telegraph story on this subject...

  
  

MY TAKE; Upon all the above arguments (that's if they are at all),it's best for Cech to leave to play games week in,week out,because the arrival of the Belgian,spells a new era,or dynasty at Chelsea which will not have Cech as a part.

That notwithstanding,I think he's still an excellent keeper,and one of the best around momentarily..............

Full credit to him,he's a good man,an excellent professional,and one who is phenomenal at his game,methinks.