Category: Career Basics

The Boss-Level Talk From The Confidence in Action Summit Nigeria

by Elvira Dias

Have you ever started a new job and realized you hate it? Are you finding it hard to get your dream job or even a job? Would you like to know how to position yourself as the best job candidate? 

 

The Confidence in Action Summit helped the Nigerian Motherland Moguls discover how to build their professional brands and answer the questions above. It was juiced up with the boss-level talk that elevates careers and took place on the 12th of February 2022. 

 

SLA partnered with Darling Nigeria to bring the summit to 3 African countries. It kicked off in South Africa, came to Nigeria and now is headed to Kenya. 

 

More than 2,900 Nigerian queens showed up to the free, 3hrs of masterclasses, workshops, networking sessions and the keynote speech ‘Bouncing Back From Rejection’ given by Dr Chinny Ogunro.

 

All attendees had direct access to some of Nigeria’s high profile career experts, and it was epic. 

The career expert speakers and coaches included Isioma Coker, an HR Advisor Team Lead at Shell. Nwamaka Okey-Aguorun, Senior HR Manager at Diageo – Guinness Nigeria. Toun Tunde-Anjous, founder & CEO of The People Practice. Tiwalola Ogunlesi, international speaker, author and founder of Confident and Killing it. 

 

If you missed the South African and Nigerian summits, register for the Kenyan summit taking place on the 19th of February 2022. You wouldn’t want to miss out on another chance to build the professional brand of your dreams and grow your network.

 

Here are the Boss-Lady Conversations You’ve Missed

 

We learnt how to revamp our professional profile, make a strategic career plan and build our network.  

 

The attendees had the option to be in a masterclass or networking session each hour before the keynote speaker. They were also coached on how to harness communication skills needed to negotiate job offers, ace job interviews and gain strategies to propel their career forward. 

 

Masterclass 1:  Getting Unstuck When You Feel Trapped In A Job with Isioma Coker.

 

Masterclass 2:  How to Position Yourself As The Best Candidate For The Job with Nwamaka Okey-Aguoru. 

 

Workshop 1: Do Things & Tell People: Develop Your Professional Brand to Land Your Dream Job with Tiwalola Ogunlesi.

 

Workshop 2:  How To Find A Job That You Actually Care About with Toun Tunde-Anjous.

 

We lit things up with Confidence in Action and showed our boss ladies how to launch powerful professional brands!

 

We were captivated by world-class information, tips and advice on owning our careers and being intentional about our career moves, from the beginning to the end.

 

Here’s to raising a glass to all our boss ladies who showed up for the Nigerian summit. They came out in numbers to take in the career gems we had prepared for them, and it was an experience worth watching again. You can watch the masterclasses and keynote speeches on YouTube to get a snippet of how the summit was. 

Motherland Moguls, here’s what you missed from the Confidence In Action Summit South Africa 2022

by Elvira Dias
Confidence In Action Summit Banner

As a young ambitious woman, your career choice is one of the most significant decisions you’ll ever make. It is important that you equip yourself with the right information to build the professional career of your dreams.

Think about it, would you rather spend your days at a job that leaves you feeling empty? Or where you are fulfilled for the better part of your life? 

This is why we at SLA partnered with Darling Nigeria to bring you the Confidence In Action Summits. That will take place in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. The summit series kicked off in South Africa, on February 5th and it was a BLAST! 

More than 1200 Mzansi queens came together to attend a free learning and networking experience. There were masterclasses, workshops and networking sessions where we saw our SA boss ladies make new connections, and then our Keynote Speaker Nicolette Mashile, made her entrance and taught us all about navigating career turbulence.

All attendees had direct access to some of South Africa’s high profile career experts, including Talent Acquisition & Employer Branding Lead at PepsiCo SSA Candice Martin, Market HR Cluster Head at Google SSA Avanti Maharaj, Talent Acquisitions Specialist at Nestlé Lebogang Mashabela and founder of Pam Cherry Coaching and Consulting Pamela Cherry.

It was 3hrs of interesting talks, coaching and loads of digital connection fun. Our Mzansi mogul ladies showed up, and showed out!

So whether you missed the event, or you want to relive the Confidence In Action Summit experience, you can also attend the Nigerian summit on February 12 and Kenyan summit on  February 19.

 

Here is how we took over the digital streets in SA

 

We learnt about career/ personal development, professional networking and practical advice on building a professional career of your dreams. 

The attendees had the opportunity to pick one masterclass or networking session each hour.

They were also coached on how to harness communication skills needed to negotiate job offers, ace job interviews and gain strategies to propel their career forward. 

Masterclass 1:  How To Find A Job That You Actually Care About Speaker with Candice Martin.

Masterclass 2: How To Position Yourself As The Best Candidate For The Job Speaker with Avanthi Maharaj.  

Workshop 1: How to Find A Job That Suits You Coach with Pamela Cherry.

Workshop 2: How To Position Yourself As The Best Candidate For The Job Coach with Lebogang Mashabela.

 

We Came, put our Confidence In Action and gave out formulas to elevate careers!

 

The summit had a vibe and more. The moment we went live on Zoom, Google Meet, Youtube and Facebook, we learned, unlearned and relearned, while having an unforgettable experience. 

So here’s raising a glass to all our SA boss ladies who made the time, energy and resources that went into planning the Confidence In Action Summit South Africa totally worth it.

The Winning Resume By Veronica Alfred

by Veronica Alfred

Writing a resume can be frustrating, especially when there are a zillion contradicting opinions about what works and doesn’t work. I recently figured why it was tough to write a resume by testing out resume types and personally applying to some companies. This gave me a huge opportunity to measure, analyze, and test the effectiveness of different resume types.

In this article, I’ll share what I have learned as well as provide some valuable tips on the best ways to write a winning resume.

Over the years, I have read various “how to write a resume” blogs, attended several employability workshops and I realized that most of the advice out there has not been proven against the actual end goal of getting a job. It’s easy to say “one page works best” when you’ve seen it happen a few times, but how does this hold up when we look at 100 theories against resumes from different industries, experience levels, and job titles.

Based on my research, here’s what works and what doesn’t work:

  • Quantitative Results/Achievements 

Most resumes lack them. The goal is to give the recruiter a solid reason to not only look over the full resume but also move you through to the next stage of the interview process. Many of us tend to flood our resumes with a list of job responsibilities/duties forgetting that the recruiter knows what you should have been doing every day on the job. Think about it, the reason for a role is to meet a need, your resume should speak to your knowledge of the need and how you have tackled these challenges successfully. This has been tried and tested by yours truly and I must say, the invitations came within hours of applying. 

Here’s an example:
Executed in-house marketing strategy that resulted in a 15% increase in monthly leads along with a 5% drop in the cost per lead
  • Simple Design

These days, it’s easy to get carried away with our mission to “stand out.” I’ve seen colourful Canva resumes from graphic designers, video resumes, and even resumes with images of candidates in very unprofessional outfits. While those can work in very specific situations, we want to aim for a strategy that consistently gets results. The format I saw the most success with was a black and white template with sections in this format:

Professional Summary/Objective
Skills/Interests Education Experience- focus on achievements) References (Available on request)

According to research, hiring managers scan resumes for an average of 6 seconds. If your resume is in an unfamiliar format, those 6 seconds won’t be very comfortable for the hiring manager. Our brains prefer things we can easily recognize and digest so you want to make sure that a hiring manager can get the full scope just by glancing at your resume.

  • Short and Concise Resume 

As times change, processes change too. Back in the day, we had 3-4 pages of resumes to prove that we had been successful or good enough for a role. We would even go as far as including volunteer, industrial attachments, and summer jobs just to make our resumes lengthy. Today it is the opposite with the introduction of ATS software and focus being on accomplishments and not job duties. As much as possible, you want to make your CV short, simple, straight to the point, and specific to the role you are applying for. 

Here’s what did not work:

  • Grammatical Issues (typos, spelling errors, & grammatical mistakes)  

In my research and years of reviewing resumes, I found that close to 60% of resumes have some sort of typo or grammatical issue. Have your resume reviewed on three separate occasions – by spell-checking software, like Grammarly, by a friend and by a professional. Spell check should be covered if you’re using Microsoft Word or Google Docs to create your resume.

  • Lengthy Resumes 

As earlier stated, recruiters spend an average of six seconds reviewing your resume and if it’s more than one or two pages, it probably isn’t going to be read. Increase your margins, decrease your font, and cut down your experience to highlight the most relevant pieces for the role. When you’re dealing with recruiters who see hundreds of resumes every day, you want to make their lives as easy as possible.

  • Buzzwords 

It is important to not use too many buzzwords. Yes, you’re a hard-working innovator with excellent communication skills but so is nearly every job applicant you’re competing with – at least according to their resumes. Instead of using buzzwords, write naturally, use bullets, and include quantitative results whenever possible. Think about it, would you rather hire a salesperson who “is responsible for driving new business across various sectors to help companies achieve their goals” or “drove $15M of new business last quarter, including the largest deal in company history”? 

An example:
‘Creative,’ ‘outside the box,’ ‘innovative’

What you think it says: “I come up with good, new ideas.”

“If you could think ‘outside the box,’ you’d be able to phrase it less blandly,” Scherwin says. These trite descriptors can undermine your case if you don’t back them up with specifics.

In addition to the above, I have also found that resumes with a link to a comprehensive LinkedIn profile have a 71% better chance of hearing back, 76% of resumes are discarded for an unprofessional email address. Resumes with a photo have an 88% rejection rate. 58% of resumes have typos. Applicant tracking software typically eliminates 75% of resumes due to a lack of keywords and phrases being present.

Now that you know every mistake you need to avoid, the first item on your to-do list is to comb through your current resume and make sure it doesn’t violate anything mentioned above. This experiment led me to understand that If you don’t know what consistently works, you can’t lay out a system to get there.

2021 Workplace Superpowers – The Musthaves

by Veronica Alfred

If I was asked what my special skills were a year ago, it would definitely differ from now. 2020 came with a twist and remote work forced every one of us to learn how to Do It Yourself (and I don’t mean cooking).

Here are some of the must-have skills for 2021 that will make you more sellable to recruiters, and an asset in your current workplace.

The requirements for success in the workplace are changing and what matters most is your ability to adapt to change/trends as they come.- Nneka Alfred, Head of HR, She Leads Africa Click To Tweet

Hard Skills for the Workplace


1. Data Analytics: The workplace today requires us to think in data. This requires us to do a bit more research, crunch those numbers, understand raw data and drive business growth based on concrete analysis.

2. Content Creation: Your ability to produce entertaining or educational material that not only caters to the interests and challenges of a target audience but increases engagement and conversions definitely sets you apart from others in your field.

The content you produce can take many forms, including blog posts, videos, graphic design and newsletters. 

3. Marketing: Businesses worldwide need analytical people who understand what sort of tools are available in the growing digital toolbox, and know how to dig in through trusted channels.

4. Sales: This can pass for both a hard skill and a soft skill as sales involves persuasion, but with a specific commercial end in mind. Your ability to convert leads to revenue would give you a spot in any workplace.

5. Video production: The average person will watch 25 continuous days of video in 2021. Video content is quickly becoming the dominant form of all communication and companies are fighting to create effective digital video assets.

6. Product Development: This involves managing the process of developing a product or enhancing existing products in order to meet customer expectations effectively. If you haven’t noticed, times are changing and the direction of products being developed is too. 

Soft Skills for the Workplace

1. Creativity: Developing new ideas, applying new solutions to address existing problems.  Some people are naturally creative on their own, but a lot of us need to bounce ideas off others to get the creative juices flowing.

An ability to learn continuously and willingness to adapt to change is essential to boost your creativity.

2. Communication skills: Interpreting information through speaking, listening and observing is a must-have skill for 2021. Organizing thoughts and data points into a comprehensive, holistic narrative will get you where you need to be in your career.

3. Collaboration: Collaboration suffers when roles and goals are not defined. The next time you take on a group project, strike up a conversation about what success looks like, and who’s doing what. This simple act can get everyone rowing together faster and more effectively. 

The next time you take on a group project, strike up a conversation about what success looks like, and who's doing what.- Nneka Alfred, Head of HR, She Leads Africa Click To Tweet

4. Adaptability: Manage your mindset. The ability to adapt to changing circumstances starts with a mindset that’s willing to adapt to changing circumstances. If you tend to balk at change, reflect on the reasons why — and then see if you can reframe your perspective to help you see things differently.

5. Emotional intelligence: Practicing control, knowing when to push, expressing yourself and observation of interpersonal relationships among people in a workplace is very important when working with people.

6. Leadership: Leadership in the 21st century is much more about influence than authority, learning to appreciate and adapt to people with different perspectives, priorities, and personalities is a key skill to develop.

Having a difficult time figuring out your superpowers? 

2021 workplace skills

Here are three questions you can answer to guide you:

  • What unique contribution do you bring to projects, conversations, and meetings you attend?
  • Why do team members come to you for help?
  • What would be missing if you were to leave your current place of work?

If you are unable to answer these questions yourself, ask a colleague or friend. If your answers do not reflect the skills listed above, don’t relent or give up. The internet is packed with so much information, take some short courses, seek guidance from a work buddy, mentor or your boss. 

A superpower isn’t just a skill but a perspective, a mindset and a way of working that enhances everything you touch. The requirements for success in the workplace are changing and what matters most is your ability to adapt to change/trends as they come.

An HR Executive’s Tips for finding a job during COVID-19

by Veronica Alfred

This is by far one of the most challenging times in history. Businesses are shutting down, people have lost jobs and finding a job is even more challenging than ever.

As we adjust to life during a global health pandemic, operations departments all over the world are looking for ways to stay lean to weather the storm. While this might seem scary as hell if you are trying to find a job now, the good news is that there are still a lot of opportunities out there.

As you try to find a job to help you move on to the next phase of your career during COVID-19, here are some smart things you should do.

1. Restrategize

When it comes to finding a job, it might be time for you to go back to the drawing board. Be open to roles outside of your current career path. Think about what you can do today, or in the next 30, 60, and 90 days. It’s fine to take a job outside of your field for a little while, especially if it means it’ll help your personal finances.

Expanding your scope of work may even make you more marketable when the crisis is over. Use this time to explore jobs you may have not considered in the past, and perhaps you’ll find opportunities you’d never have thought of.

finding a job

2. Pick and Choose Your Targets

I cannot overemphasize the importance of research. It is very important to keep up with the latest news on companies hit by the crisis. This may not be the best time to be targeting a job in the oil and gas sector or the aviation sector, for instance.

Find out which companies and industries are still in operation and may not have been hit as much by the pandemic. Top picks to focus on for me would be logistics, technology, food, entertainment and telecommunication industries.

It doesn’t matter how many jobs are or aren’t out there, you must focus on looking for the right one for you- Nneka Alfred, HR Manager at She Leads Africa Click To Tweet

3. Work Your Network

There is no better time to reach out to your network. You may have been in contact with a recruiter, co-founder, or business owner in the past but slowed down on conversations.

Now is the time to rummage through those business social media contacts and let them know you’re available. As a recruiter, I can tell you that during these unprecedented times, what matters is value. More than ever, we rely on referrals and direct candidate sourcing versus investing time/resources on probability.

finding a job

4. Consider Freelancing

Freelancing does not mean that you are not good enough or that you stop chasing a full-time job but you need to keep an open mind. Most companies would rather not commit to long term funded projects as there is no clear or specific timeline for when this pandemic will phase out.

You can get freelance gigs on African focused sites like NoSweat, Jobvine, CediJob, Hausbuddy. You can also check out global freelance sites like Upwork, Fiverr, and Solidgigs. You never know, your first paid gig could be one click away.

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5. Know the job description of the position you are applying for

Knowing more about the role helps you recall past achievements in previous jobs that align with the job description Click To Tweet


It is important that you study the job description to truly understand what the employer is looking for. This is extremely important. While the primary purpose of the job description is to detail the role and entice you to apply, there’s so much more you can do with it.

Knowing more about the role helps you come up with possible interview questions and recall past achievements in previous jobs that align with the job description. This is one of the easiest ways to ace your job interview.

6. Sell Yourself

Selling yourself involves you doing more than learning about the company. You’ll also need to also focus on the employer’s needs.

Learn how to talk about yourself in a meaningful and powerful way. Include testimonials or proof of past achievements to your resume, application, or professional profile. Your resume inspires any recruiter’s first guess, so you want to make sure it’s a compelling portrait of your strengths and skills.

The recruiter should not only see what you were responsible for but how well you did it and how you can make that success happen for them.

7. Ask for advice

We are humans, not robots. And when things don’t go as planned, we feel very sad. Reach out to colleagues, friends, mentors in similar sectors for moral support and practical advice on the best ways to land that job you seek. Be specific about the ways you want them to help you. Do not be afraid to ask for help.

8. Stay Positive

The most important thing when searching for a job in tough economic times is to keep a positive attitude. No matter how hard or how gut-wrenching these times are, my first order of business is to smack myself across the head with the simple message, “I will not give up. Caving in is not an option.”

Focus your energy instead on what you can control. Call that person at your dream company who is friends with your friend. Figure out how to use LinkedIn to your advantage. Take an online Excel course to shore up a required skill. Celebrate after each milestone to keep you energised.

Developing resilience isn’t easy, especially in these tough times. Pause, take a few deep breaths, meditate if you need to. But strap on your boots afterwards and find some new ways to muck your way to victory. You’ll find a job in no time!

Want access to more resources and articles to get you ahead in your career? Visit SheLeadsAfrica.org!

How to find a job on LinkedIn

by She Leads Africa

Need a new job?  Well in case you didn’t know, LinkedIn can be one of the best places to start. This is why we’ll be taking you through 5 major tips for how to find the job of your dreams on LinkedIn. Play your cards right and you’d be surprised when potential recruiters are the ones reaching out to you! 

Update your profile

Think of LinkedIn as an online CV but with more. Don’t hold back, use this opportunity to detail the work you’ve done and the skills you have. Apart from a brief summary of your work experience, have a LinkedIn bio that’s interesting enough to read through with hobbies and a bit of what you’re passionate about. 

Set up job alerts

You can set up job alerts on your career interests dashboard so that LinkedIn notifies you when a new job is open. With this feature, you can be one of the first to apply for jobs you’re interested in.

Build your connections

Be sure to connect and engage with things and people that interest you on LinkedIn. Following companies that you’re interested in and connecting with their employees and recruiters is always a good idea. 

If you have a list of emails of people that you have connections with offline, all you need to do is upload a CSV file of those contacts and LinkedIn will automatically send connection requests to all of them. This can also help to give your LinkedIn profile a little boost. 

Reach out

When you’re looking for a job on LinkedIn, you’ll need to reach out to recruiters in your choice organisations. One way to make this easy is to have a message template that you can tweak

Here’s a good example: 

“Hello Ms. Archer

My name is Lerato. My background is in software engineering. I’m exploring job possibilities and at this stage, am thinking that Maverick could be a fit for me because I can design systems exceptionally well. Can we meet for 15 minutes to discuss?

Recruiters are busy people so you want to make sure you give at least a week for a reply. 

Let Recruiters Know You’re Open

Showing your profile to recruiters is another great way LinkedIn helps you find a job. To do this, enable the open to job opportunities feature on your LinkedIn profile. You can also choose to opt in to appear in recruiter searches that match your career interests.

LinkedIn tries to protect your privacy by not showing your preferences to recruiters in your current organisation but you need to know that it’s not a 100% guarantee that you will not be visible.

That’s it! You’re now on your way to applying for the job of your dreams!

Molped Feature on Odunayo Eweniyi: Co-Founder, PiggyVest

by She Leads Africa

Molped sanitary pad is a product from Hayat Kimya Limited (manufacturers of Molfix diapers), and is a skin-friendly, ultra-soft, sanitary pad, designed to make young girls feel as comfortable, soft, and secure as they feel beside their best friends.

Molped’s breathable layer keeps young women fresh, and it’s skin-friendly, cottony soft layer does not cause irritation. Molped sanitary pad is every girl’s best friend, helping them be more confident, and supporting them through their periods.

Molped has partnered with She Leads Africa to highlight the beauty and importance of valuable female connections. 

About Odunayo Eweniyi

Odunayo Eweniyi is the co-founder and Chief Operations Officer of PiggyVest. She previously co-founded pushcv.com, one of the largest job sites in Africa with the largest database of pre-screened candidates. She has 5 years’ experience in Business Analysis and Operations and is a First-Class graduate of Computer Engineering, Covenant University, Nigeria.

She was named one of Forbes Africa 30 under 30 Technology in 2019 and one of 30 QuartzAfrica Innovators 2019. She sits on the advisory board of TrainFuture, an education technology company based in Switzerland, as well as the Gender Lens Acceleration Best Practices Initiative, a collaborative effort of Village Capital, US and the International Finance Corporation (IFC)’s Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (WeFi). 

In 2019, she was named SME Entrepreneur of the Year West Africa by The Asian Banker’s Wealth and Society and she is the youngest Nigerian on Forbes Africa list of 20 New Wealth Creators in Africa 2019.

Odunayo was also one of the featured speakers at the World Bank-IMF Annual Meeting in 2019. She is one of Business Day’s Spark 2019 Women to Watch and made the World Women in Fintech Power List for 2017; the YNaija Most Influential People in Technology 2017 and 2018. She is a 2018 Westerwelle Young Entrepreneurs fellow; and she is a recipient of The Future Africa Awards Prize in Technology 2018.

In honour of her work, she was named one of 100 most inspiring women in Nigeria 2019 by Leading Ladies Africa, one of 50 most visible women in Tech by Tech Cabal in 2019. She is also included on the #YTech100 2019 list of the brightest Nigerian technocrats. She is the Her Network Technology Woman of The Year 2019. She was also voted The Most Influential Young Nigerian in Science and Technology 2019.

She works to support the inclusion of women in technology by working with hubs and female-focused networks like For Creative Girls, GreenHouse Labs, She Leads Africa, Itanna etc. She is also the cofounder of the women’s community, Wine and Whine Nigeria.

You can connect with Odunayo on LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.

What does friendship mean to you?

Well to me, friendship means mutual understanding and reciprocity. I like to think of all my friendships as safe spaces that are characterized by genuineness, shared values and free of ignorance and discrimination.

Can you tell us of a time when any of your girlfriends connected you with a career or business opportunity?

Yes actually, in a previous life I was a part-time tech journalist and my friend, Dami, connected me with a well-paying, writing gig at an international magazine. I even ended up working there for well over a year.

Is there a time when your friend(s) helped you through a difficult situation in your career?

I have a  young career, so no difficult situations have stood out there, but my friends are constantly helping me out of sticky situations, and outside of work, they always come through for me.

How many women do you have in your power circle, and why did you choose them?

I have five women in my power circle and the thing is, I wouldn’t say I chose them, as much as they accepted me for who I am. As a person with Asperger’s syndrome, I am definitely an acquired taste.

So these five women, who are actually angels really, have moved through life with me with an understanding of who I am and I, them. But in addition to that, we share values, and despite having varied and many different goals, we work towards it together by supporting each other.

How do you think young women can network with other women to achieve career success?

To be honest, I think that would be much the same as they network with anyone else. There’s really no special way to relate with women. I think if you just treat people in general with empathy and respect, then you’re well on your way.

What is your fondest memory of you and your girlfriends, from when you first began your careers?

I actually started having girlfriends, or friends at all, after I started my career. So the memories we built, were built after we all started working and were at many different points in our lives.

Finally, what advice/tips do you have for young career women, to help them build and maintain valuable relationships with other women?

I think this is really general advice to maintain valuable relationships with everyone. It’s this simple, have empathy, have respect and always pay it forward. 

To add a caveat though, I 100% believe that female friendships save lives, so I definitely encourage young women to have specifically female support systems. But just overall, move through the world treating people fairly, whether you want from them or you’re giving to them.

#MyGrowthSquad series is powered by Molped (@MolpedNigeria). Connect with them on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube.

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How To Position Yourself For The Job Market

by Isioma Ononye

Entering the job market can be an exciting and daunting experience. It’s a different stage in one’s life.

You realize the same rules and orders you abide by during your school days are different after school. To become part of the workforce, you’ve got to be tactical and intentional, especially with your network.

Use these tips to position yourself for the job market and kick off your career.

Have A Professional Online Presence

In case you haven’t gotten the memo yet, adulting means social media is not just for fun anymore.

Prospective employers are constantly looking to find out about the best candidate for a job. That means yes, employers will Google search on you.

Share posts that highlight your skills and talents. The more people are aware of your capabilities, the better positioned you are. Employers need to know that you could be their best hire. Give them all the evidence to believe so.

Build Work Experience

It’s the age-old dilemma – how can you enter the workforce for the first time and be expected to have some experience already?

Before you can get your first official job, your resume does not have to be empty. You can build work experience by interning, volunteering, joining school clubs, and having applicable hobbies. For example, if you want to write for a magazine, list that personal blog you’ve spent 3 years on.

Attend Networking Events

Networking is essential especially if you want to get employed. By attending networking events, you put yourself right in the position to meet people who could be the contacts needed for the dream job.

JOIN THE MOTHERLAND MOGUL INSIDER PROGRAM TO NETWORK WITH OTHER WOMEN

Who you know matters. Having the best grade is not enough to get you the job. Having someone who can vouch for you is an invaluable asset to your job search.

Be Able To Tell Your Story

To best prepare yourself for the workforce, you have to get ready to talk about yourself.

Get comfortable with discussing your strengths before you get to the interview. Write down your accomplishments, challenges you have been able to manage, and failures you’ve overcome.

When you have your points, put them together like an elevator pitch and test it out at networking events.

Remember that for all the NOs you’ll get, you only need one YES. Stay intentional and find a job that will help you get to the next stage of your career.

Need help with your career? Join the Motherland Mogul Insider program for courses to get you started. Sign up here.

The Millionaire Housewife’s rules for every side hustler

by Temi Ajibewa

Whether you are looking to make some extra income or start a business while working, side hustling is no small feat. You must learn to balance your commitments, stay consistent and grow while you’re at it.

Temi Ajibewa, founder of The Millionaire Housewife Academy – an online platform that has helped over 5,000 women start their online businesses, shares her golden rules for side hustle success.

Rule 1: Discover Your Passion

Your passion could be an issue you feel strongly about or something you do effortlessly.

Side hustles based on passion tend to be more sustainable because you are self-motivated to go on even when things get tough.

If you are not sure what your passion is, here are 3 ways to get started:

  1. Look out for things you do well without incentives and recognition.
  2. Ask people who know you what they think you are passionate about.
  3. Consider problems people often ask you to solve because you find them easy to solve.

Rule 2: Turn Your Passion into Profit

Doing what you are passionate about is one thing. Knowing how to make money from your passion is a whole different ball game.

Here are 5 basic steps I teach my clients to monetize their passion.

1. Find the problem your passion solves

Your passion cannot bring you money unless it solves a specific human problem.

People may not pay you to get into heaven, but they will pay you to get out of hell – @temi_ajibewa Click To Tweet

For you to monetize your passion, you have to discover the hell your passion can get people out of. If you cannot find a hell, you might not have a monetizable passion. It is best as a hobby.

2. Find your money tribe

The next step to monetizing your passion is finding people who are willing and able to spend money on solutions to their problems. These people are your money tribe.

If you are not sure how to identify your money tribe, ask yourself this question – If I throw a concert, who will be first in line for tickets?

3. Turn your passion into a skill

To have a passion valued by other people, you must be able to do it competitively well. When this happens, your passion becomes a skill.

You can prune your passion by volunteering, learning through a mentor or taking online classes.

4. Create a product from your passion

Your passion must become a product or service for you to make money from it.

A great way to turn your passion into a product is by teaching people what you know for a fee. When I started to monetize The Millionaire Housewife Academy, I created e-books, DVDs and online classes to teach people what I knew about starting and growing an online business.

I always recommend starting off with digital products because they are easier to maintain and become lifelong assets people all over the world can buy.

People pay for products and services, not passions.

5. Promote your hustle

You must shamelessly promote your passion if you want to make money from it. 

You can’t afford to be shy if you want your passion to be more than a hobby. If you are nervous, start off by promoting your hustle to people in your network.

Price is only an issue where value is in dispute. Once people realize the value they’re getting from you, paying you becomes non-negotiable. It all starts with finding and monetizing your passion.

Learn more about how to start a successful online side hustle at The Millionaire Housewife Academy.

5 Simple Tips To Improving Your Career in Any Sector

by Zimkhitha Mathunjwa

The fourth industrial revolution (4th IR) has many of us in a bit of a tizzy! Because we either do not know how we can keep our skills up to date in our various industry.

Or we are not sure whether we will have jobs once the full-on 4th IR movement takes over.

I would like to zone in on the financial sector, as we have seen cases of some big banks letting staff go in a bid to drive up efficiencies.

They also do this to give a customer-centric offering to their clientele and to meet their shifting expectations.

Gone are the days when your study designation has to be finance-related before you can get a job in the financial sector,

You can acquire both soft and critical skills in various other disciplines such as digital innovation, social media, digital marketing, communications, and PR.

In fact, the list is relatively exhaustive, a simple Google search should have myriad options pop out for you.

We are moving away from the era of traditional disciplines and working in jobs that require only one thing from you.

Now more than before, it works to your advantage to be savvy and knowledgeable in systems outside your focus area.

This not only makes you invaluable as an employee but challenges you to grow sis.

The form you have selected does not exist.

We are right on the cusp of digitization and the move for a business to be tech or digital-first, as more customers want to services rendered at the customer’s convenience.

Technological developments in the 4th IR do not necessarily have to translate into job losses and retrenchments in the financial sector, but rather encourage us to think about how we can collaborate and create better solutions to marry human activity with artificial intelligence.

As individuals, the following tips will ensure that not only do you remain competitive in your sector but that you are agile enough to move along with your organization as it expands and moves away from traditional modes of conducting business.

1. Never Stop Learning

You know that saying that says if you’re the most intelligent person in the room, move to another one?

You can never reach the point of ‘knowing it all’ continue advancing yourself and applying your knowledge base, even if it is through short courses. Stay learning, stay on top of your A-Game

2. Identify and Connect with Influencers in your Industry

Nothing beats learning from titans of industry. Identify someone within your business unit that you can shadow or learn on-the-job capabilities from.

This will put you in good stead should you want to take your shot at a different position within the team.

3. Show up for yourself.

Sis, be on time and put in the work. Most importantly, when you have gotten a seat at the table, make your voice heard, do not cower behind self-doubt or allow the dreadful imposter syndrome to cripple you.

Show up for yourself sis, be on time, put in the work. And most importantly, when you have gotten a seat at the table, make your voice heard, do not cower behind self-doubt or allow the dreadful imposter syndrome to cripple you.

4. Create a personal and professional development plan.

Ensure that you have your PBOB (personal board of directors) holding you accountable to keep on smashing those goals out the park!

5. Remember to self-care.

Everybody knows that fatigue ain’t one bit cute. Take time out to do things that rejuvenate your soul and genuinely bring you joy.

You can never underestimate the importance of rebooting in this fast-paced world that we live in.

Go out there babe, and be the corporate maven (or entrepreneurial queen) you know you are and secure the bag! Join the SLA #SecureTheBag challenge.