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Oh is this TRUE?
Ouch No 5

A study found that 25 percent of men will commit even if there's no love or attraction.

Just when you think the world is full of love and sunshine and rainbows, yet another study comes along and smacks you in the face to prove otherwise. Turns out that a lot of men don't enter into commitments like marriage out of a genuine bond toward a woman — they seem to do it just because. Let's explore, shall we?

According to the study, it seems that both single men and women — although men more so — are looking for companionship, rather than completion. So forget about that scene in Jerry Maguire and accept that you may never hear those words: "You complete me." You're more likely to hear, "Honey, what's for dinner?"

Here are some reasons men walk down the aisle even if they're not feelin' it.

1. Dinner.
You may think the woman making dinner for her man is something out the 1950s, but it's still very much a thing. I know way more women than men who rush home to make dinner for their sweetie every day. Men like to be fed.

2. Laundry.
Some men will never learn that you can't put red socks in with white pants. If a woman does your laundry, you're spending less money on white shirts.

3. Comfort.
There is something very comfortable about coming home to someone at the end of a long day.

4. Everyone else is doing it.
As we mentioned, peer pressure goes a long way with men. No one wants to be the last man standing at the bar at 3 a.m. because all his buddies went home a long time ago with their wives or girlfriends.

5. Guilt.
I once had a guy friend admit, after proposing to his girlfriend, that he wasn't in love with her anymore but she had "done her time" and stayed with him. Sounds really romantic, right?

6. Fear.
Most people fear not only aging, but also dying alone. Men are no exception to this; in fact, men fear it more than women. I've learned this one from my dad.

7. The settling factor.
Sometimes it's just easier to go with what you know than trying something different. This goes for both relationships and ice cream flavors.

8. Sex.
Yes, even if there aren't exactly fireworks, he can probably still get it up. Sex whenever you want it? How can you go wrong?

9. Growing up.
Society has taught us that the next step in a relationship is marriage, then babies. If you opt for a lifestyle that differs from this, then people start wondering what's wrong with you. Sometimes it's better to just succumb to society's standards.

10. The ultimatum.
Sometimes it's easier to say "okay" than put up a fight. But ladies, please don't give him ultimatums about commitment. Ever. You're just asking for a world of hurt later.

Hi, saw this and decided to post it.

1. Modesty is a virtue.

Get noticed for your great work, not your tight pants, overdone makeup, short skirt or cleavage-revealing shirt.

"Nothing undermines how you are perceived in business as leaving nothing to the imagination," says Chris Hauri, founder of Mirror Image, a Chicago-based image and identity consultancy.

2. Keep holy the casual Friday.

Yes, the workweek is almost done -- the key word being almost. "Casual Fridays are a recipe for fashion disasters," says Lizandra Vega, author of "The Image of Success: Make a Great Impression and Land the Job You Want." Don't jump the gun by wearing your weekend plans, whether that be catching some rays in a halter top and short shorts or cleaning out the garage in your college sweatshirt and cut-offs.

3. Thou shalt wear the right shoes.

Your feet should look prepared for work. Vega suggests skipping flip-flops and other open-toe shoes, while Hauri notes, "High high heels may be fashionable, but not for actually working. Image conveyed: I can't pitch in and do any work because I really can't walk in these things. Want to be a team player? Wear flats."

4. Honor thy leaders.

Not sure what is appropriate for casual Friday or a client meeting? Look around. "The wisest employees often observe and take cues from the most respected individuals within their organization on what is appropriate workplace attire," Randall says.

5. Thou shalt not steal thy boss's tie.

Keep in mind that taking cues from those above does not mean replicating their wardrobe piece for piece. Instead of coming off as a lemming, find comparable styles, colors and accessories that work for you.

6. Control thy festiveness.

Wearing seasonal colors is one thing, looking like Santa's elf is another. Randall recalls a story about a co-worker who exuberantly over-accessorized her outfits to fit the holidays. "Her overzealousness caused her co-workers to snicker, and she became unofficially known as 'the walking calendar.' Moral of the story: Your workplace wardrobe should enhance your professional skills and qualities, not detract from them."

7. Remember the good book.

Whether you are questioning what constitutes an acceptable variation of a uniform or wondering about the company's stance on jeans, chances are the employee handbook has the answer. Still trying to decide if you should cover up a tattoo? Seek the advice of a trusted mentor, human resources representative or immediate supervisor.

8. Thou shalt notice what year it is.

Congratulations on taking such good care of your clothing that items from 1983 are still "fine" today. Now put these relics in the Goodwill box where they should have landed years ago. While one need not be a fashionista, looking outdated can give the impression that you lack fresh ideas.

9. Err on the side of caution.

Worried that your casual Friday outfit might be too relaxed or that a bright orange shirt might not be received well by a new client? Avoid the guesswork -- and the corresponding nervousness -- by making safer choices when in doubt.

10. Dress for the job thou want.

A final tidbit: "My advice for everyone, no matter what age or gender, is to dress for the job you want, not the one you're in.

The challenge that small businesses often face is how to improve productivity and attract more customers, yet control costs. Often the solution for SMEs (small and medium enterprises) lies in the successful utilization of technologies that will improve businesses processing and create new opportunities. Yet they may only be interested in harnessing a new technology if it has been proven to be effective and cost efficient, which is why SMS online messaging makes such good sense for SMEs.

Whether a small business is looking to improve business communications or customer loyalty, linking to staff and clients through text messages can help them to become more efficient and boost sales.

With the right software in place, a business can send text messages to staff and clientele just as easily as sending an email. However, these SMS messages instantly link with the receiver via their mobile phone in their pocket. Plus, a text message it is much more likely to be read and acted upon than an email. More importantly, it is a surprisingly affordable method of communication, with it generally just costing a few cents.

As many small businesses are unaware of how they can benefit from SMS technology here are ten ways that business can use online messaging to help improve their business.

1. Staff rotas

By sending staff the weekly rota or schedule by text message, small businesses can co-ordinate their staffing levels. This is particularly useful for firms with remote mobile workers, such as delivery drivers.

2. Sales force reporting

Online messaging will enable small businesses with remote sales staff to provide real-time information and sales reporting.

3. Staff communications

From project updates to an incentive scheme, and even the Christmas get together, staff communications via text is both fast and cost-effective.

4. Debt collection

Many businesses have found that outstanding payments and invoices are dealt with much faster with an SMS reminder.

5. Appointment notification and reminders

From doctors and dentists to hairdressers and beauticians, if your business relies upon schedule appointments, you may want to consider sending your clientele an appointment reminder by text.

6. Collection notifications

SMS is a highly effective way to let your customers know that their item is ready for collection.

7. Stock notification to customers

Small business can use online messaging to let customers know that a particular item is in stock. You could incorporate a 'reply to text' feature in your text message which would allow your customers to text you back to reserve the product.

8. New product promotion

A mobile campaign promoting a new product or service is a great way to spread the word to your customers. You could also use it to invite them to a special event or to offer a discount on the new offering.

9. Sales and discount vouchers

Offering discount vouchers and sales promotions via SMS are a great way to boost sales or draw customers in during slack periods.

10. Account information

Keep your customers informed about their account with alerts and notifications sent via text message. You can also use SMS for renewal notifications.

Online messaging will allow small businesses to send and receive real-time communication to members of staff and customers alike. It is a highly cost-effective communication tool for SMEs facilitating business processes, customer relations and product marketing.

You might be familiar with common traits of husbands from different countries in Europe, or even different states in the United States. But do you know much about how men with African roots are raised to treat their partners? Family and marital dynamics in African cultures are varied and interesting, and the relationship between a husband and wife is sacred.
Here are 10 reasons a man with African roots would make a great husband.

He'll do anything to protect your family: In most African tribes and cultures, anything that threaten or offends a man’s family is immediately a threat or offense to him. You’ll never feel alone in your battles—your husband will fight them like they’re his own.

Your relationship is a building block to him: In many African cultures, the marriage between a man and a woman is a crucial building block for a man’s life. After being married, in many African cultures, a man is then able to go after other pursuits. Your relationship won’t just be as something “fun” or seen as an accessory: it will be seen as crucial.

He has a good relationship with his parents: In African cultures, men take care of not only their wives and children, but also their parents and even grandparents. If you’re tired of meeting men who don’t have good relationships with their parents, that probably won’t be an issue with an African man.

You’ll get a big family: African families stay very close. An African man feels as obligated to help his third cousin as he does his immediate siblings. When you marry an African man you’ll instantly inherit a large, close-knit and supportive community.
He feels responsible for the wellbeing of your family: In African cultures, the man is the provider of the family. There is no doubt in the mind of an African man that he is directly responsible for the wellbeing and happiness of his family. He’ll think about how all of his decisions affect you, not just himself.
He is proud to be a husband: Whereas in many western cultures, men are taught to see marriage as some sort or prison— something that takes away their freedom — African men see it as a means to new freedom. Others see him as a man now instead of a boy. He is proud to say he has a wife and children, rather than sheepish about it. In African cultures, your success is measured more by how strong and happy your family is than anything else.

He’ll be shunned if he gets out of line: In African cultures, if a man mistreats his wife, the rest of the community tends to shun him and considers him useless. Since one of his most important roles is as husband and father, if he does something bad for the family, his community truly does see him as a failure.

He appreciates a home cooked meal: Western cultures have learned to appreciate endless pasta cards from chain restaurants, great deals on ready-made chicken from the deli and celebrity-run restaurants. And that has turned the homemade meal into something second rate and boring. But an African man really values a good homemade meal.

He’s open to learning: If a man moved directly from Africa to the United States, he already accepts that life will be very different and there will be a lot to become accustomed to, so he will be open to learning from you!

Nurturing doesn’t look needy: Many women from the western world have been taught that being nurturing to a man can look needy—like taking care of him when he’s sick or just being particularly affectionate. But African men are very comfortable with being nurtured, and in fact crave it!

1. Love yourself First

Many people don’t realize that their feelings toward other people are largely determined by their feelings about themselves. Learning to love yourself will not only benefit yourself, but also your partner.

A couple of ways to start loving yourself in action:

The mirror exercise: Stand in front of the mirror, look yourself in the eye, and say, “I love you. I really, really love you!” Don’t just say the words; try to feel them. It may take some practice, but if you do this two or three times a day for a couple of minutes, you will feel the results!

Practice self-acceptance. You are a magnificent human being. You may have some flaws, but that’s okay. Everybody has flaws and we all make mistakes. You can learn from them, accept them, and even be grateful for them, because they have helped form the person you are today.

2. Choose to be happy.

True happiness comes from within. Nothing or no one can “make” you happy. When you are a happy person because you choose to be, this will rub off on your partner, or attract more potential partners if you are single. Being happy feels good on the inside and looks good on the outside!

A few ways to choose happiness every day:

-Practice gratitude and optimism. People who see the world optimistically see opportunities and love everywhere they go. There’s truth in the saying “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change.” Make a habit out of gratitude. When the sun shines on your face, when someone lets you cut in line, when someone smiles at you, say “thank you.” You don’t even have to say it out loud; thinking it will do just fine.

-Don’t let others determine how you feel. Try not to worry about what others say, think, or do—even if they talk badly about you. You can still respond to them, but don’t let it affect your level of happiness. The moment you get emotionally involved you have lost your inner peace.

-Accept your circumstances. You cannot control everything that happens in life. Sometimes, bad things happen. We cannot escape from this; we can only accept it. Choose to accept the circumstances you can’t change instead of causing yourself to suffer.

-Have fun! Find something you love to do and do it on a regular basis. For me, it’s snowboarding. Even though I’m physically exhausted after a day of snowboarding, mentally, I’m fully recharged.

-Meditate. Meditation was the foundation of my whole transformation process. I still meditate two hours a day. But if you are just starting out, fifteen minutes will do. Meditation will help you with all the points above; it will give you focus, mental clarity, and inner peace. It takes some practice, but if you put in the effort, the results will astound you.

3. Fall in love when you are ready, not when you are lonely.

Don’t compromise or get into a relationship for the wrong reasons. Being alone isn’t the same as being lonely. When you love yourself, you don’t mind being alone sometimes because you are spending time with your best friend. Ironically, being in a bad relationship can make you feel like the loneliest person in the world.

4. Do not lose yourself in a relationship.

Make time for yourself, pursue your own goals, and do things without your partner. Maintain a healthy balance between your personal time and your time together.

Putting yourself first in a relationship might seem strange at first, but it makes perfect sense. If you go into a relationship expecting your partner to make you happy, your partner might expect the same from you. Do you really want to be responsible for your partner’s happiness? That’s quite a responsibility to take on.

Wouldn’t it be much better if you and your partner entered a relationship and committed to becoming the best people you both can be while sharing your love with each other? No needs, no expectations, no obligations. Do you see how in a relationship like that, love has the freedom to grow into something truly amazing?

Food for Thought

The quotation 'money makes the world go round' was first used in a musical play ' Cabaret', it was written in the 1960's. the play was a melancholy one, in one of the songs the female lead expresses her wish for love, the male protagonist replies with this line in the song. The main aim of this line was to say that it is money that makes the world turn, not nobility or love. It highlights the fact that our society is heavily dependent on money.[1] Charles Dickens further stresses this point in his novel ' Dombey and Son' where Paul asks his father about the powers of money. Hisfather replies it can do everything, little Paul then intelligently questions his dad as to why money did not save his mother. Charles Dickens very clearly portrays both sides of the argument.
The phrase basically means that everything in this world would stop without money. To some extent this statement is true because without money you cannot afford a shelter on your head, have food, go from point A to point B, etc. It is often said that money can take you places, in many instances it proves true because money can and often does open up many doors for a person.
However, in today's world we are all too preoccupied with the notion of acquiring wealth, so much so that other aspects of life that are equally important are neglected. The main reason behind this is our distorted view of success. The word 'success' is usually taken to mean material success; the more the money the more successful one is. This includes the amount of money one earns, the type of car he drives or the size of his house.
The importance of money becomes very clear when a person has no money, Money for a poor person is everything, it becomes very important for him to earn so that he can fulfill his basic needs. However, recently everyone has become consumption oriented. We want to buy anything that is new on the market and catches our interest and we are falling prey to the attractive packaging and advertisiments of a product. Thus we buy things that we have little need for which in turn makes us want more money.
Money enables us to afford a better quality of life; more money means bigger and better houses and cars, better quality products, better entertainment etc. Another advantage is less stress in paying bills and other household expenses. Money may also allow a person to persue his dreams, for example a person who wants to attain higher education may not be able to without money. Literature also supports this in many places, one such example is where Charles Dickens in another Novel 'A Christmas Carol'[2] shows how love is pushed aside for money. This happens when young Ebenzer Scrooge had made a promise to a girl Belle to provide for her, however Belle chooses a crooked businessman Jacob as he offers her a quick gain of fortune to the girl.
A number of quotations from the book 'the great Gatsby' by F.Scott Fitzgerald[3] also highlight the importance of money. One such quote mentioned the effect that money has on Gatsby when he is unable to even speak in front of Daisy Buchnan as he gets intimidated by her wealth.
This shows how wealth encompasses every aspect of our lives, so much so that it even reflects in the voice and mannerisms of a person. Another description from the same book is about a character Tom whose wealth has given him a lot of power. It allows him to treat others how ever he likes and his elitist nature also makes him condescending towards other people. Thus another thought is that wealth gives one power.
Money may be a motivator it influences human activity from geological exploration to politics. Money itself may not be evil, it is the greed for money that becomes the root of evil. Despite popular arguments I believe that money does not make the world go around. 'we have created the monster and allowed it to take over and control our lives'. [4]Even though money does have some importance in our lives as every aspect of our lives revolves around money, but if we tried to be content with less we may not face such dependency. The variety of products that we are faced with makes it very difficult for us to be content with what we have.
We have made money so central to our lives that we place it above life and even happiness. This never ending pursuit of money has made the society a selfish one. People forget that there are many things that money can't buy. A Chinese proverb summarizes this argument very well by saying that money can buy a house but it cannot make a home, that it can not buy time, sleep knowledge, health, respect and a good life only the material aspects can be bought but not ones that come from within. Stephen R. Covey in his book ' seven habits of highly effective people also mentions that some of us tend to be centered around money and so our sense of security and happiness is directly related to how much money we have and since its human nature to never be satisfied with what one has he is likely to remain unhappy most of the time. Even a huge increase in wealth is unlikely to satisfy such a person. For this purpose we need to alter our centres to what we really want at the end of our lives.
Money can buy a lot of things but it cannot buy good health, respect, love, inner peace etc as these only come from good principles. A person can have million in his bank account but still feel poor because he is not content with his life, more money gives him only minimal satisfaction. Security come from within from knowing that what you have is enough for you to be happy, it comes from believing in your self. All of us tend to think that happiness comes from outside i.e. through money. A short story that supports this notion is "A Christmas Memory' by Truman Capote it is the story of a child who does not get anything for Christmas except handed down and worn out except for a kite but he is still satisfied and goes out to fly it. In another instance was when the family was offered money for a new Christmas tree but they refused it believing that their old tree was more precious and nothing could replace it. Both these examples reflect the importance of contentment and satisfaction over money.
One important error that we make is that we equate money with success, this is not true. Success can be divided into 8 categories, these are: health, personal needs, family, career, spiritual, financial and community. To be truly successful you need to be more than just financially successful.
There have been many cases whereby a rich man was unable to spend all his fortune due to his health and died despite his accumulated wealth. Such a man cannot be called wealthy as all that he accumulated was left behind, and it was not able to help him when he needed help the most. Thus a rich person who lacks in other aspect of life is as good as being poor. Let us not get carried away with the idea of acquiring wealth and money and fail to consider other aspects of our life.

In the world of job hunting, there is nothing more daunting than the job interview. Everyone gets nervous when faced with being put on the spot. With all the build up to an interview, many people go in feeling like one misplaced word will be enough to lose them the opportunity. It doesn’t need to be so hard.

Here are seven things you can do to improve the impression you give in an interview situation. These apply equally to agency interviews and interviews with the potential employer.

Be prepared, but not over-prepared

There is often a lot of emphasis placed on the need for interview preparation: research the company, research the people, research the favourite colour of the boss. In truth, while some research is a good idea, going to excess can be detrimental. The interviewer is more interested in you than in what you know about the organisation, so consider spending more research time reminding yourself of your own background, and particularly achievements you may have forgotten about.

Get the simple stuff right

There is no point doing any research if you don’t do the simple stuff right. Present yourself smartly – with clean shoes. (I’m amazed how often the shoes are overlooked.) Be on time. Introduce yourself with a confident handshake and look the interviewer in the eyes. And smile! A smile can really set the interview off on the right track.

Listen to the questions

This is one area where over-preparation can be a trap. It is easy start waffling on in answer to a question you anticipated rather than the question that was actually asked. This has the same effect on the interviewer as sending a form letter: it leaves them wondering if you really want this particular job or would be happy with anything.

Pause. Think before you answer

There is nothing wrong with taking your time to answer. Again, in preparation, we can convince ourselves that unless we have the right answer on the tip of our tongues, we will look unprofessional. In fact, taking the time to think looks far more professional than shooting with the first thing that comes to mind. After all, in most cases, the ability to think will be a requirement of the job.

Treat the interview as a conversation

It will be easier all around if you can play your part in making the interview a conversation rather than an interrogation. So think about it as that – a conversation – before you go into the interview room. Remember that an interview should be about you testing the suitability of the job to you as much as it is them testing the suitability of you to the job. It’s a two-way street.

Be yourself

We sometimes get so caught up trying to present ourselves as what we think the interviewer is looking for that we forget to be ourselves. Don’t fool yourself: interviewers can see through this and they will quickly discount you if they don’t feel they are getting to see the real you. In the end, if you can’t get the job by being yourself, why would you want the job in the first place?

Forget the opposition

Another trap is worrying too much about the other applicants, especially towards the end of the interview process when you know you’re down to the last two or three. This can be hard to avoid but it is essential. If there is a better candidate than you, there is nothing you can do about it. On the other hand, if you are the best candidate, the only way you’ll miss out is if you don’t make that clear. So focus on your own achievements: not the achievements you imagine others might have.

Interviewers see a lot of people every day. They are often disappointed by well-qualified people who forget some of these basics in a vain attempt to present as the perfectly prepared candidate. This makes these people very hard to consider seriously. Don’t make the same mistake yourself.

Your resume is the first opportunity you get to make an impression on a potential employer. It is also the most crucial one. So, all job seekers must use it to the best of their capabilities. Make sure you try to avoid mistakes that can send your resume straight to the trash bin. The following are the most common mistakes job seekers make while creating their CVs. These mistakes often become the reason for candidates to get rejected.

1. Exaggerating Achievements and Fibbing

Stay honest when you are talking about your work history, skills and achievements. Amplifying these may come back at you when the recruiter runs a background check or wants you to do a certain task that you fibbed about. It takes very little time for the HR professionals to find out the truth. So stop bragging about things you don’t know or are aren’t experienced with as this may be the first and the last time you communicate with this company. Stick to facts that can be validated.

2. Mentioning Non-Contextual Work Experience and Hobbies

Only highlight work experience that is relevant for the profile in question. If you are seeking a graphic designing job, do not mention your stint as a ski instructor from five
 years ago. It may convey a message that you do not hold adequate relevant experience. Stay focused on the profile you are applying to and site past duties that can prove useful for the role in hand.

3. Self-Praise Without Quantified Proof

If your resume’s professional summary starts with “A dedicated professional…,’ the recruiters will lose interest and you lose credibility. Applicants must establish objective facts with the presence of figures, and not just boring clichés. The key is not to say it, but show it. Quantify professional achievements, for instance if you have enhanced client retention by 20% over the last one year, say so explicitly, rather than plainly saying you have excelled as a sales professional.

4. Over-The-Top Beautification

Your resume document must be light and quick to open. Use a font style that is common and do not add heavy images as that can make the file heavy. Using photographs is irrelevant, unless you are an actor or model. They also irk the recruiters because they unnecessarily consume extra ink and take away the focus from your skills. Also, stop designing the CV with borders otherwise a part of it may get cropped when it is printed. Keep it simple yet smart.

5. Using Different Job Titles

Make sure you use job titles that are common and widely-used. These must also be searchable as applicant tracking systems use them as keywords to screen several CVs. Complex words and flowery language may cause the ATS to forego some important information that could have otherwise been useful for your candidature. Even if your resume is in the hands of a human recruiter, uncommon words and unique phrases can alienate you and your application.

6. Generalizing the Content of the CV

As a job seeker, you cannot afford to have a fixed resume that works for all employers. Your CV must be customized each time you wish to apply to a new company. When you find an opening, take some time to carefully read the job description and then edit and personalize your CV before sending it out. You must also visit the company website to get a better idea of their line of businesses and requirements. And double-check the document so that you don’t mistakenly send the CV for Company A to Company B. You can name all resume versions differently.

7. Non-Serious Email Address

Always make sure the email address you use to mail your resume appears non-casual. It must not have numbers or adjectives, else it may seem like you lack professionalism. An address like sarah.cook@gmail.com is way better than coolestengineer@yahoo.com . Whether it is IT or media, a professional-looking ID can help you score more job interviews. If you don’t have such an account, make sure you make one before mailing the resume.

8. Typos and Grammatical Errors

Spelling mistakes can seem highly unprofessional. So make sure you do not make any typos or grammatical mistakes as this can hamper your chances of landing an interview. Also, avoid writing slang or SMS lingo. Shortcuts like ‘ur’ and ‘b4’ can cause trouble.

Hope the above points can warn you against some major blunders and help improve your resume. Happy job hunting!




http://blog.ngcareers.com/3300/biggest-cv-and-resume-blunders-made-by-job-seekers-and-how-to-avoid-them/

Which would you rather be?

An ongoing debate in academic circles over the past 50-odd years relates to the correlation between leadership and management. Does a manager have to be a great leader? Does a leader need to have good management skills? What is the difference between leadership and management?


Definition: Leadership means "the ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are members."
Management comprises directing and controlling a group of one or more people or entities for the purpose of coordinating and harmonizing that group towards accomplishing a goal.

Personality Styles: Leaders are often called brilliant and mercurial, with great charisma. Yet, they are also often seen as loners and private people. They are comfortable taking risks, sometimes seemingly wild and crazy risks. Almost all leaders have high levels of imagination. Managers tend to be rational, under control problem solvers. They often focus on goals, structures, personnel, and availability of resources. Managers’ personalities lean toward persistence, strong will, analysis, and intelligence.

Focus: Leading people Managing work

Orientation: People-oriented
Manager- Task-oriented

Outcomes: Achievements
Manager- Results

Approach to tasks: Simply look at problems and devise new, creative solutions. Using their charisma and commitment, they excite, motivate, and focus others to solve problems and excel.
Managers Create strategies, policies, and methods to create teams and ideas that combine to operate smoothly. They empower people by soliciting their views, values, and principles. They believe that this combination reduces inherent risk and generates success.

Approach to risk: Risk-taking
Manager- Risk-averse

Role in decision-making: Facilitative
Manager- Involved

Styles: Transformational, Consultative & Participative
Manager- Dictatorial, Authoritative,Transactional, Autocratic, Consultative and Democratic.

Power through: Charisma & Influence
Manager- Formal authority & Position

Organization: Leaders have followers Managers have subordinates

Appeal to: Heart
Manager- Head

You may have a few relatives working for blue chip companies and government parastatals and have wondered why they cannot help secure you a job in those organisations.

It is worth noting that the primary responsibility for your job search lies squarely on your shoulder. You may seek help from close friends and family but ultimately it lies on you. In many cases your friends and relations can only do so much and below are some reasons why it may be difficult to expect a relative working somewhere good to help you get in the door.

1. Strict and Formal Recruitment Procedures

No matter how highly placed your relative may be in some companies there are laid down recruitment procedures which involve several people in the decision making process of who to hire or not. In such cases that uncle of yours can hardly convince the hiring manager to consider your application ahead of others unless he owns or runs the organisations. Even at that for many big firms the MD cannot unilaterally hire someone; it must still be through the laid down procedure.

What most can do for you is provide insider information on when the organisation has vacancies to fill to enable you at least take advantage and get called for interview. From the interview test onwards they can do very little to help you especially if your performance is not a strong one that can catch the attention of the hiring team.

2. No Entry Level Jobs

For graduates it is always scarce to find openings that do not require at least 1 year of experience. Organisations do not wish to invest time and financial resources teaching the trade to bleary eyed fresh graduates so the option for zero level experience jobs (aside the occasional trainee opportunities) are narrow.

So when the organisation your relative works for has no opening for people of no experience there is nothing she can do to help bring you in the door.

3. Outsourcing

To improve impartially and strengthen their hiring process many multinationals and big organisations outsource their recruitment to external HR agencies and consultants. Most times the company management or HR team only scrutinizes and confirms the candidates sent in by their HR consultants. So the processes are almost always not something a relative in the organisation can influence as the entire process is outsourced.

While there may be other reasons (especially selfish and wrong) this article is about the limitations that can hinder one’s relative from helping secure them a job in their place of work.

In all the onus of the work needed to get a better job lies on the individual. The labour market of today makes it a complete no-brainer that you should never rely totally on someone else (relative or not) for employment.

If you are starting a new job it is important that you try to commence work in the best possible conditions and frame of mind. This includes ensuring that you are note stressed up with the demands of your new workplace and with the desire to make the right starting impressions.

There are several reasons to be stressed in a new job. They include; learning new routines, learning new systems, striving to impress superiors, learning to cope with new and sometimes difficult personalities.

You obviously cannot control everything in your environment or at the workplace still you do have some role to play in ensuring you start with best possible conditions and emotional stability.

No matter the demands of your new job here are a few actions and steps you can take to ensure you remain in good condition and keep your overall stress levels down.

1. Try to Communicate

Many may not know that communication gaps end up creating lots of stress and issues for colleagues at the workplace and between superiors and their juniors. One of the ways to limit and remove unnecessary stress is to strive to convey exactly what you mean and also always ensure to get the expectations of your employer from you clearly spelt out.

2. Listen More and Talk Less

The early days of working at your new job are very important for you to understand as much as possible about your co-workers. Those days should be spent doing as much of your job as you can while being very observant and not inquisitive.

It’s a time worn advice by the ‘Mafia’ for beginners to always talk less and pay more attention to how things work around them. Doing this will save you more trouble and stress than you know.

3. Be Organised

It’s not a coincidence that organised people produce and achieve more. Being disoriented and unorganised about what your day will be like is an invitation to chaos induced stress. When you are sure of your daily work schedule it is important to draw up your daily to do list and work plan.

Capture the most important, impactful things to do and try not to clutter too much to do for the day. Organise each day as much as possible the previous night so the morning doesn’t turn chaotic.

4. Always Seek for Help

Instead of assuming things wrongly and making unnecessary mistakes, bringing undue pressure on yourself, don’t hesitate to ask questions on stuff you are not sure about. If you are new you are welcome to ask questions about aspects of your job you do not grasp. Doing this is much better than steamrolling your way and getting yourself worked up trying to solve issues you could easily get help on.

5. All Work and No Play

One recipe to ensure you end up getting worked up at your new job is to ignore relaxation, sleep and play. Your employer will definitely have some time set aside for breaks. You can ensure you relax a bit after doing great work. Engaging in light banters at work helps in no small way to cope with the work load you are saddled with.

A workplace filled with friendly banter helps staff relax and work better.

6. Get Your Workstation to Be as Comfortable as Possible

You may have spend a fortune designing and keeping your living space cosy but your work desk is where you’ll be spending much of your waking time at. Little things like choosing the right seat, getting sufficient lighting etc can go some way to helping you get less stressed while doing your work.

7. Look After Yourself

That you have a new job doesn’t mean you overlook your personal wellbeing, abandon your daily exercises and resorting to unhealthy eating.

People underestimate how much a job can make them fall out of shape; from starting to eat junk food to doing less and less exercise they soon realise they have fallen out of shape and become more stressed.

DO you have any more ideas on how to cope and overcome stress at a new job? Please share them via the comments

Switching careers is never a small feat not to talk of doing it successfully. Just what does it take to decide you no longer want to be a banker for instance and instead pursue a life long desire in human resources?

Difficult I can tell you.

The level of difficulty depends on the person involved.

Man naturally has so much inertia; we really would avoid leaving a decent career to go into something new all over again with all the uncertainties that come with it.

However as with most human endeavours you can switch careers successfully if you are truly determined and willing to do what it takes for a smooth transition.

While I cannot give a 100 percent fail proof plan to switching careers the below tips will help you get the transition safely done. And when you finally set up on your new career you can come back for the thanksgiving.

Be Sure of What You Really Want to Do

Before you decide to leave your current career path it’s very essential to know exactly what else you intend to move into. The importance of knowing cannot be over-emphasized as at this stage you do not need to act on hunches.

Find out All You Can About the New Path

Dig into researching your new and intended career path. What opportunities are available?

Do the SWOT

At your current status are you adequately equipped to make a successful switch? If not what skills and knowledge do you require to be able to compete very well when you make the step over.

Start the Upgrade

When you have done the basic analysis of what you have versus what is required that you may be lacking the next is to allocate some time to preparing and upgrading your professional arsenal to the required level. When you achieve this it not only makes your transition smoother you can actually start at a level maybe higher than where you currently are.

What’s Your Entry Point

Now the qualifications thing brings us to evaluating your possible entry points. Especially when you are switching between two different career and profession paths you will need to be realistic about where you can get in. The level you currently occupy as an accounting professional may not be comparable to what you will expect if you switch to something like investment banking for instance.

Chances are that given your experience and knowledge level you may realistically have to enter the investment banking world at a level lower than what you occupied as an accounting or audit professional.

So the key here is to be realistic and explore the various entry points possible for your unique situation.

Searching for Opportunities (Revamping your CV)

At this level you will have to position your profile and conduct your job search in two ways; active and passive job search. Whereas actively searching will require you to sign up to job sites, go through various industry sources of vacancies regularly for passive search you might want to create a very compelling profile/resume and sign up for Ngcareers premium job match service. The essence of the passive search is that while you may not have to search and apply to job adverts regularly your resume is visible to employers and companies on talent databases and thus when searches for candidates with similar requirements which your profile matches you can get invites or contacted by head hunters.

Strategic networking is the other third way you can start looking for opportunities.

When to Make the Leap

In these harsh economic times you simply should not wake up one morning and leave your current job because you are hopeful of making a switch. For instance resign your current job only when you have agreed terms with at least one organisation with an offer letter to prove you have something concrete.

Gone are the days when applying for and securing jobs was totally a paperwork and offline thing. More and more people now use available technologies to get informed on and take advantage of job opportunities.

Whether you are looking for full time gigs, contract work or freelance jobs you can take advantage of these four technologies in getting updates on opportunities you might be interested in;

Email

You may be familiar with email as it’s a well known means of online communication. However you can use email more effectively in your job search especially in filtering out unwanted job opportunities and ensuring you get only updates on the areas you are interested in.

Signing up for email alerts on Ngcareers for example you choose the specific specialisations and keywords. You may want to set up email alerts from at least 2 or 3 reputable sources.

Online Resumes

Many recruiters and employers prefer to search resume/CV databases to get candidates whose profiles meet their requirements. Increasingly having visible online resume that appears in searches by employers can increase your chances of getting a phone call for interviews.

Recently Ngcareers launched its talent search engine and already there are 100,000+ working individuals, jobseekers etc with complete resume profiles on the talent platform. Ngcareers gives access to top recruiters and employers who can search for suitable candidates for their jobs based on keywords. Just as Linkedin is an online professional platform for business people and professionals to showcase their profile online and make meaningful connections Ngcareers also enables career individuals create instantly a captivating online resume that they can use to enhance their chances of getting hired.

Twitter

The micro-blogging site has become more than just a communication and news sharing platform. Using the right strategy like following relevant handles, finding the right hastags etc can lead you to various job opportunities including lots of part time or freelance work.

Everyday people and organisations tweet about work opportunities they want to fill and if you are active on Twitter and know your way to finding these information you can soon be onto a good paying job.

Are there any new ideas or means you think people can take advantage of to increase their chances of getting job opportunities? You can share them.................

I saw this and decided to share.

The country is certainly not for the faint hearted; the citizens living within the country will tell you that much. For so many down here it sounds crazy that a fellow Nigerian would contemplate leaving the better conditions in their European or American base to come down here and join in the ‘ever worsening jungle race’

So if you are a returning Nigerian primary on your mind could be getting a decent job and settling down to build a career. Some harsh realities will help you steel yourself and prepare for a potentially rough ride on the way to getting a decent job;

The Real Well Paying Jobs Are Not Easy to Come By

As someone coming back from a sojourn of years abroad probably in a country where the economy is far better off and the average better good enough to take one home you have to be prepared for lots of low paying work and very few jobs that can match the expectations of your lofty certificates. Knowing this will help you set in motion ideas on how to get hold of a pretty decent job even before you board the plane down to Africa’s most populous country.

Your Educational Qualifications May Not Mean Much

How many times have we come across a completely dejected and angry Nigerian who came back home armed with several degree level and post graduate educational qualifications from some fine European or US colleges thinking they would work right into a job paying 8 figures per annum? Boy do they get shocked and confused when they realise things are actually tougher than that!

Depending on your educational qualifications alone will not cut it for you. Start your networking and try to build up useful connections along the industry of your interest.

Some Otherwise Basic Things Are Luxuries Here

You spent years in an European country and took stuff like electricity, trains, good roads etc for granted. Welcome home to Nigeria where having steady electricity is a huge luxury and only happens because you can afford a stand-by, costly-to-maintain generating set.

The Job Market is Crowded: You Are Not Alone

Don’t ever think your qualifications stand you apart; No sir, they don’t. There are millions of graduates, trained here and in various schools abroad so you have good company.

Your Accent Can Be a Hindrance

Good thing you have acquired a decent accent from your overseas sojourn but you might want to speak clearly and with less accent. If people feel your ‘oyibo formings’ are too much you could find assistance hard to come by. Weird it sounds!

deni7:
Whether you finish the test at 11:59pm feb 8th has nothing to do with the outcome as far as you take the test by the deadline. Last year, the bro to a frnd did the test by the deadline and got the job. They were probably looking for a reason to justify their outcome. Why shld shl penalize one for taking the test late.

I totally agree with you, of which its not late till its past the deadline. So if people that took the test closeto the deadline are penalized, then we will know that shl bleeped up and thats their way of cutting people off.

Thank you to that person who spoke about the water surface tension, God made my test very peaceful, i had done all of the questions, so all i had to do was to just pick answers. I wish everyone success. Those that dint think theirs went well God works in mysterious ways. Lets all be positive.

liza207:
FH- read it somewhere I tink its laura and verdugo but can't remember again.
Are we really sure that JM took part in d wipping fetish game with Laura or is it just a game so dat he will do it wit her next time

Yeah its Laura and Verdugo, i really dont know how that happened.

I dnt think he did jare, cuz all the girls were acting funy the next morning, so i think it was planned.

Came across this, and its sooooo true.
Recurring career themes you'll encounter when choosing a career, changing careers or building a career:

Career development is a lifelong process that encompasses everything from choosing a career and selecting your work place to building your career and changing careers. It really never ends. There are even executive coaches out there who help those at the top of the corporate ladder to navigate the sometimes choppy career waters! No matter where you are in the process, whether you're researching careers or moving through your career, you'll find that certain themes pop up again and again. We'll be digging in to each of these themes over time here at Careers Out There. For now, I'll give you a brief overview of some of the themes that pop up a lot. To provide examples of each theme in action, I'll share my personal experiences below. Please share yours in the Comments section!

1. WHAT INTERESTS YOU?
You definitely want to look in the mirror and ask yourself this question. Also ask your friends and family what they think interests you. This is something that can change a lot over time so keep asking the question. Work can feel more like play if your career path matches your interests – and I always say success is when you don't know whether you're working or playing. .

2. SKILL ASSESSMENT
Napoleon Dynamite knew he was good with a bow staff but wasn't otherwise aware of his skills. What are your skills? Recognizing what you’re good at is key to finding the right career fit. It took me a few years of working to realize that my strengths included being a persistent, detail-oriented, trustworthy good listener who could effectively meet and connect with new people and help them. When I learned that that combination of skills makes a good salesperson, I pursued a sales-related path. That fit helped me both enjoy my work and make money – always a nice combination.

3. FOLLOWING YOUR DREAMS
You'll have to balance this route by making many sacrifices but it can be done and achieved! Life is short…do you want to look back one day and say, "if only……"? The "if only" way of thinking can take over your mind. Starting in college I wanted to be in the music business, work with my rock star heroes and manage bands that I loved. I went for it. By the age of 25, I was managing one of my favorite bands and working on a Rolling Stones tour!

4. NETWORKING
Always necessary no matter what you do for a living. Networking is technically meeting with people and establishing a mutually beneficial relationship. I look at it as just keeping a high profile, always letting people know what you're looking for, and helping to connect others to what they're looking for. Careers are grown this way. Businesses are built this way. Friendships are founded this way. If you don't do this, you will suffer. For some, it's a skill that needs to be learned. Musicians, other artists and introverts typically need a major push to embrace this. For extroverts like me, it comes naturally – I never think "I'm networking now." I just like connecting people to other people and/or opportunities and hope that karma (and a little push) leads them to do the same for me.

5. INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEWING
This is an amazing way for you to meet new people and learn about the different careers out there. There is no job opening – you're meeting with someone to learn about his or her particular profession. I've gone on tons of these – first with music industry executives and later with professionals in other fields in the course of career change research. I've actually been hired and met some of my friends this way. The relationships you build through informational interviewing can get you access to job openings before they're even made public!

6. INTERVIEWING
Be yourself. Be the best you that you can be. Be prepared. Ask questions. As a recruiter, I coached hundreds of people on their interviewing. I'll have lots to share with you on this topic. For now, check out this video featuring job interviewing tips and don't miss this article on how to interview with confidence.

7. SECONDARY EDUCATION
Formal education beyond high school is often needed to get the career path you want. This might mean visiting a skills center or attending community college, college and/or grad school. I've seen people limit their own career growth potential because they never got that license or certification for the path they wanted….or that college or grad school degree. Only because I was told that a law degree would be the best background for the music business, I decided to go to law school and get licensed as an attorney. Over the years, I've added additional skills to my repertoire by taking night classes at local community colleges (TV production, TV ad sales and solar power). Take advantage of that resource to learn new tricks!

8. SALARY ISSUES
Sometimes you have to choose whether to go for the high-paying job and the sacrifices that come with that (long hours, tons of pressure) or the job that better fits your passions and lifestyle but pays less. I chose to follow my passions after graduation by joining the music industry – I definitely sacrificed a fat paycheck. My law grad peers were making double to triple what I was making. But I knew what I was signing up for – and I was really happy – I was psyched to be enjoying the moment and have priceless memories of feeling like William Miller in ALMOST FAMOUS.

9. PAYING YOUR DUES
You can't avoid this. We all know people who got incredibly lucky and barely had to pay any dues….but that's the exception. Just as many lounge around waiting for lucky lightning to strike. As a kid, my mom always told me that "nobody in life owes you anything." It's true. When you're new to the working world, whether working for someone else or trying to build your own thing, you should be prepared to start from ground zero and get your hands dirty. Sure, being paid poorly and filling the bottom rung on the ladder isn't much fun. But if you spend that time working hard, acting like a sponge and staying focused, you'll be happy later when you've got a strong foundation of knowledge and skills to build on. To break into the music business, I took some internships where I wasn't paid a dime. I even took one after law school! That one led to my job with the Rolling Stones and my job at the record label, as well as some great friendships. Don't miss this article on paying your dues.

10. ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Working for yourself can be an amazing experience on many levels. I’ve gone back and forth between working for myself and for others. I believe both routes have their merits. I’ve pursued my own ventures that were fun (band management), went nowhere (a music TV program for university cable channels; a music business education service), and were both gratifying and lucrative (attorney recruiting). We'll cover many entrepreneurial paths here on Careers Out There. If you know you are focused on being an entrepreneur, I highly recommend checking out Andrew Warner's Mixergy site, which has nothing but great interviews with entrepreneurs.

11. PUTTING FAMILY FIRST
Sometimes you have to choose between career growth and taking care of personal business. This might mean debating whether to accept a promotion that would give you less time to spend with your spouse or kids. In my case, in the same week the music dot com I worked for went under, my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Rather than keeping my career going by jumping to the next opportunity, I moved back to Chicago to be a caregiver and help my mom fight for her life.

12. CAREER CHANGE | CHOOSING A NEW CAREER PATH
Pursuing new interests and reinventing yourself can be a great feeling. Don't let it scare you! Change is your friend. I was in an industry (music) that changed, as did my goals and interests. The time came when I thought it was important to find a new path that fit my new goals and interests. That led to my joining the attorney recruiting/career industry which led to having my own successful business and earning the kind of money I felt I was worth. Embrace change! You can start by checking out this video on making a career change.

13. GETTING LAID OFF
A risk you always take when working for others. Thanks to working in the ever-shrinking music industry, I have experienced more layoffs than most people! “We’ve decided to eliminate your division of 85 people.” “We’re being acquired by a giant conglomerate and they only want to keep 10% of us.” Been there, done that….and I’m still standing and laughing about it. So can you. (See Networking…or Reinventing yourself).

14. CAREER TESTS
After my mom died and I decided not to return to the music industry, I took the Myers-Briggs® MBTI® personality type assessment. I found it really empowering to get that perspective about myself. I advise everyone to take reputable career tests.

Hi guys, kindly click on this link. Thank you.

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RikoduoSennin:
JM asked Laura why she broke up with Gustavo, he also asked if she will tell him everything about her. She told him, she will be right back. The next thing we see is Laura in her S&M costume. JM was shocked beyond belief, at last he now understands the mystery called Laura. Afraid of being Laura's pervert victim of Bondage Bleep, he talked his way out of the situation with ease. But now he is afraid of Gustavo being the master of Angela (Angela in Fetish costume being spanked by whips, fulfilling Every twisted/perverted Fantasies of Gustavo) but Gustavo codedly told him that "it was not his style". If only Gustavo told Angela what the fuss was about- the look on her face would have priceless just as much as JM's face made my day up till now.

Lmao, thank you. I just knew there was always something aggressive about her.

Jopac:
I am just fed up with their scenes. Can u imagine two lovers in danger of been killed still av time to kiss and makeout? So irritating.
i dnt know why i don't like this Juan Marcus new babe. She is too wild. The only thing she tinks about is making out. She doesn't even have time to bond with his children.

I swear i dont get them, that Laura is too wild. JM should stop fighting for that stupid Angela, shes soooooooo annoying.

I love Willy always. Cant get enough

Everyone wants more money. But finding a job can be hard and time consuming. So instead of filling out applications and going through entire interview processes, try one of these easy ways to make money fast without a job!

1) Selling Items

"Dress designing or stitching. By starting a little business of dress designing you can earn money, by getting orders from boutiques or from common people.

Paint or craft. If you are creatively inclined, making and selling artwork and craft items can be a fun and rewarding way to make some extra money. Paintings, pottery, photographs, glass work, needlecraft and handmade jewelry are some good examples of artistic creations that can be sold for a profit.

Sell used books. If you have a large pile of college textbooks gathering dust since graduation or just need to make room on your bookshelf, selling your used books is a great option to make some fast cash. You can get rid of your books the old fashioned way, using garage sales and book fairs, or you can sell your books online.

2) Making Money Online

Open an online store or use an online auction website. It's easier than ever to sell stuff online these days. You can set up your own website and start your own small-scale business or you can go through an online auction website like eBay. Which option you go for all depends on whether you're looking for a long-term money-spinner or a quick fix.

Write online reviews. There are many websites which offer payment for good quality, original reviews of products, services, restaurants, websites, books, films etc. Some websites will pay you upfront for your reviews, others will pay you a certain amount of money based on the number of times your reviews are read. There are other websites that will give you a percentage of the ad revenues generated by your review.

Make money through blogging. There are many ways to earn money through blogging, from advertising, sponsorship, affiliate programs, to selling your own products. How much money you can make depends on a lot of factors, including how much time you are willing to invest in your blog and how much traffic your blog gets.

3) Doing What You Know

Identify your skills. Make a list of all of your skills. List everything from speaking a foreign language, to computer programming to solving complex mathematical equations. Once you know where your strengths lie you can begin to figure out how to use these skills to your financial advantage.

Search for people who need help. Everyone needs a helping hand from time to time. Why not take advantage of that fact and offer your services to those in need?

Clean. Advertise your cleaning services to those who are too busy/lazy to do it themselves.
Cook. If you're a whiz in the cuisine, put those culinary skills to good use and cook up a money-making scheme.
Tutor. If you're a math whiz or fluent foreign language speaker, take advantage of your skills and become a tutor. Advertise on community bulletin boards, local newspapers and nearby schools.
Invest. Investing can be a good option for someone who is currently jobless but still has a decent amount of money stashed away. Make sure to do your research and aim to find an investment opportunity with low risk and guaranteed returns.

Hope this helps someone.

RikoduoSennin:
Payback to Mariano I guess. Take away the one thing that is most important to him.

FH: JM is really in trouble with Laura. Now I see why Gustavo left her without thinking twice. Kinky BDSM is a serious turn off for cool guys. JM better run away from that Fetish Mistress else he will do so after being ass-whipped till he can't seat anymore..... I can imagine Angela's and Fernanda's face when they find out.

Hi, please can you explain what your comment means, im sooooo lost, missed the last two episodes.

Please for those of us that have not done, is there any particular material we should focus on majorly that is quite similar to the test format cuz there are alot of materials and i have almost died trying to finish all of them.

PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kachisbarbie:
Chaiii.
Lols @ he never surprise me for once.
My hubby buys sha, last week he bought me this sizzling hot gown! Damn!

He said I'm gonna wear it on Feb 14 to a dinner with his colleagues. I can't wait babe.

This is soooo cute, boys, hear now oo, these are the things we like.

Today is my birthday and i dont even know what to expect.

rokiatu:
All so on point but sad thing is that African men hardly buy gifts for their women.

I use to tell my ex over and over how much I adore flowers but he never surprise me once.

Asin, boys ehn, they just dont understaand that these are the things that make us happy on days like this. I hope they learn sha.

Norstrademus:
[url][/url]well,don't mean any disrespect. The dude needs to self develop to avoid a repeat of what he got served.handling him with kid gloves won't do him any good rather the blunt truth will suffice.thank u sir

Lool im not a dude oo, buh its all good. I get your point.

Brymo:
what about love items for the guys

Guys dont like all the loveydovey stuff naa.

So i think Perfume

Pink and Red Boxers

Bottle of Wine

The most recent Jersey

A nice pair of shoes.

A nice wristwatch.

Oga aono again oo.

makazona:
These ideas are too foreign.what about African yet romantic ideas?

They are foreign inspired naa. Oya the gown should be made of ankara.