She Leads Africa

WEBINAR WITH VUMILE MSWELI: WORKING TOWARDS YOUR DREAM CAREER (OCTOBER 31)

Don’t have a career growth plan? Well, girl, you need one! When we were younger, our career plans were much more exciting! We wanted to be so many things. Now that we’re older, are we really focused on our career goals with as much excitement? Or are we just all about the Benjamins? Sometimes, we get so busy on the job and running the businesses that we don’t take the time to focus on our personal development. But remember, you owe it to yourself. The smarter you get; the more skills and valuable contacts you have, the more your company will benefit and the more schmoney will come in!!! [bctt tweet=”Tired of your current career status? Join us for a webinar with @vumilemsweli on Wed, October 31st at 3 pm WAT to get all the tips you need to take your career to the next level.” via=”no”] Join us on Wednesday, October 31st, for a Webinar with Vumile Msweli, founder of Hesed Consulting, who will be giving advice on how to reach the next level in your career. Vumile has had experience working with individuals and entrepreneurs to accelerate their careers and businesses, and she’ll be helping you too! Some of the topics we’ll cover How to design your career Positioning yourself for your career Finding your Ikigai (the source of value in your life) Re-discovering your career passion How to maximize your career for success Register below to access this opportunity and submit questions that you would like Vumile to answer. Webinar Details: Date: Wednesday, October 31st, 2018 Time: 3pm Lagos // 4pm Joburg // 5pm Nairobi Location: We’ll send you the link to watch once you register Watch the webinar here: About Vumile Vumile Msweli is an international speaker, renowned career coach, columnist, and the Chief Executive officer for Hesed Consulting. Hesed is a consulting firm specializing in commerce acceleration; career coaching; women empowerment; facilitation and training on the African continent with a presence in Nigeria and South Africa. Vumile has worked in Europe; Asia and across the African continent for reputable multinational institutions including Barclays, Investec, Nedbank, First National Bank, and Vodafone. Vumi is a regular contributor to the Guardian Nigeria and Destiny South Africa, she has spoken at the African Union, Women’s Economic Forum and USAID to mention a few. She is an award-winning businesswoman who has received honours such as the Women’s’ Economic Forum’s Woman of Excellence Award, being named 34th Most Influential Young South African by Avance Media, the Mail and Guardian Top 200 most influential Young South Africans and awarded the Elle Boss of the Year in the Corporate Category and the Black Management Forum’s Young Professional of the Year.

FACEBOOK LIVE WITH ANULI OLA-OLANYI: CAREER HACKS FOR MILLENIALS (JUNE 26)

Hello, millennials! You’ve probably received advice on how you can “build a more successful career” from a handful of people. However, very few people give a break down of how you can advance yourself, or what to do when you face a challenge, like when your boss is not paying you what you’re worth – sounds familiar? Designing a career you’re passionate about or deciding on a career path can be challenging, and the chances of getting a good class that can really teach you how to do that are slim. Well, with a few career hacks, you can take small steps every day that will bring you success in the long run and that’s why you don’t want to miss this discussion! Join us on Tuesday, June 26th, for a Facebook Live chat with Añuli Ola-Olaniyi, founder of HEIR Women Development, who will be giving advice on how to achieve the ultimate career for yourself. Añuli believes women are strategizing to become empowered and rule the world alongside men. She has effectively delivered cutting edge training that has elevated people both in their professional and personal life. [bctt tweet=”Design the ultimate career with @anuliolaolaniyi, founder of @heirwoman on June 26th at 1PM WAT! Click here for more: bit.ly/AnuliOla” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Some of the topics we’ll cover So you got the job, now what? Career habits to avoid How to maintain career capacity How to handle job rejection Facebook LIVE details: Date: Tuesday, June 26th, 2018 Time: 1PM Lagos // 2PM Joburg// 3PM Nairobi Watch Facebook Live with Anuli: https://www.facebook.com/sheleadsafrica/videos/2092897934266849/ About Anuli Añuli Ola-Olaniyi is the founder of HEIR Women Development, an enterprise created to support young women in capacity and skills building in a career. Prior to this, Anuli began her career at John Lewis Partnership UK and she is currently the Deputy Managing Director of HM Ltd, ED of DV Solutions NG and an Advisory Board Member of the Women in Leadership Institute (WLI). With a wide range of experience across a number of different sectors and having completed tasks for high profile companies, Anuli graduated from the University of Ibadan with a BSc in Psychology and holds a Masters in Human Resource Management from Middlesex University UK. A believer in continuous professional and personal development, Anuli is a CIPD certified Human Resource Professional as well as a qualified Prince2 Practitioner in Project Management. She also holds certifications for Gender studies from the UN Women Training Centre. PMP trained, Anuli is currently working towards her certification from PMI Institute.  

5 career development hacks you should know

Have you ever felt like you have been stuck in the same job or subjected to the same career circumstances with no progression? Perhaps you got your first job during the compulsory Nigerian National Youth Service and your Primary Place of Assignment (sponsoring institution) deemed you a good fit for the time-being. If you feel unfulfilled or have not encountered some excitement in your career, the next question to ask yourself is, “Do I really like where I am?” and “Do I have a career development plan?”. If you answered ‘no’ to both questions then this article is for you. Career development is an intentional plan to achieve successive milestones over the duration of your working years and applies to people in paid employment as well as business owners. Here are five career development hacks you should actively take advantage of: Join industry groups Joining industry or trade groups that provide opportunities to learn from people with years of experience will expose you to larger opportunities in the course of your career. Volunteering in such associations will inevitably cause you to liaise with the movers and shakers while receiving the inside scoop on industry happenings. Such groups often host member events or may have a website with limitless resources.Whether you are an accountant or media professional, no woman is an island so start networking! [bctt tweet=”Whether you are an accountant or media professional, no woman is an island so start networking!” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Attend seminars and conferences in your area of interest This may be in an area of specialisation or one you wish to be educated in while organically expanding your knowledge without investing too much on a more elaborate educational arrangement. For example, a business lawyer may regularly attend seminars organised by the Nigerian Bar Association’s Section on Business Law but may wish to attend Oil and Gas conferences organised by the key players in the Oil and Gas industry. This will enable the lawyer to obtain first-hand knowledge of current affairs. Most seminars and conferences may be strictly by invitation or will be accessible at a reduced cost for members of an association. Why pay full price for such an event when you can get it at a cheaper cost while milking the benefits of being part of a knowledgeable network? Fill those membership forms today! [bctt tweet=”“Being anti-social is good for your career” said no one ever.” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Attend social gatherings “Being anti-social is good for your career,” said no one ever. There are no rules guiding where you can or should network; it’s possible to meet someone who may be the missing link to that big deal or even your future boss in the company you’ve been planning to make career moves to since Christmas 2016. Managers or career influencers also like to observe how “network savvy” you are in crowds and how well you act as the face of the company outside. If you are an introvert in a profession that requires a lot of networking, you may be faced with the dilemma of stepping outside your comfort zone or potentially jeopardising your career development. Speaking to people at weddings, at a Church social or even a jazz bar may unfold unlikely discoveries. Just take that plunge for your career! Develop mentoring relationships In the course of your working career, a few people will inevitably stand out because of their network and industry experience. Building key relationships with such people may steer your thoughts and influence your actions towards career growth and development. The presence of a mentor does not equate to having a personal therapist from whom you would seek advice for every unfortunate case of office politics. Rather, set career goals and ask these mentors for advice on your long-term plans and how they affect your progression. [bctt tweet=”It is possible to have a mentoring relationship with one or two other people” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”]. Although many people identify with one mentor, it is possible to have a similarly beneficial relationship with one or two other people. For example, a wedding photographer and one who focuses on nature may have different techniques so it may be worth shadowing both photographers. Keep in touch Even if you do not develop a mentor-mentee relationship with senior colleagues or peers, it’s pertinent to keep in touch and maintain relationships with a few people. This doesn’t mean you should call them all the time but sending an email to find out how your fellow stockbroker is handling the latest Securities and Exchange Commission’s directive will fall within the scope of reasonable contact. It’s not very nice to reach out to people only when you need something as nobody wants to feel used; if you maintain a good relationship with people via email or phone calls, you may have a higher chance of getting ‘help’ when you ask for favours. The significance of these five hacks is that immersing yourself in one will ultimately lead to involvement in another which will allow you apply simultaneous effort to your career development. Developing your career amidst short courses, professional exams, attending seminars and being social is very tasking but is totally worth it once a mastery of time management is achieved.

Wana Udobang’s guide to balancing side and main hustles

Wana Udobang

[bctt tweet=”Working in full-time employment helped in many ways – @MissWanaWana” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Wana Udobang is a producer and director of the documentaries; “Sensitive Skin” a documentary film about the skin condition Psoriasis; “Nylon” a short documentary on memory, trauma, and loss; and the documentaries-series “Warriors” exploring the lives of people with sickle cell disease. She also is the creator of the poetry series “Words and Inspirations” and the interview series “Culture Diaries”. Wana wrote and directed the web series “Room313” and the short film “Shrink”. She plays Visha in the award winning Burkinabe film “Frontiéres”. Wana has worked with the BBC Radio4, BBC world service, 92.3 Inspiration FM and Resonance FM. Her work has appeared on Aljazeera, Guardian UK, Guardian Nigeria, Index on Censorship, and Brittle Paper. She graduated from the University for The Creative Arts with a first class degree in Journalism. Wana is creative director of WanaWana productions and hosts the television show Airtel Touching Lives. Interested to know how this media lady keeps all her creative work in equilibrium, SLA contributor Anuli interviewed Wana for some insider tips. [bctt tweet=”I don’t think I ever saw myself as a celebrity and I still don’t. I have always focused on the work and that is what I continue to do” via=”no”] Tell us how your journey began? I wrote poetry as a teenager. It became a source of catharsis for me. I studied journalism at university and I always enjoyed cinema and documentary so I decided to try my hand at it as opposed to talking about it so much You have been in employment before launching out to create your own niche. Would you say employment helped hone some, if not most of your skills? Working in full-time employment helped in many ways. Whether it was pitching ideas or having a 360 view of how the media worked and of course the general discipline of managing your time. On Air Personalities (OAP) in Nigeria are seen or celebrated as celebrities. How do you keep evolving and stay relevant? I don’t think I ever saw myself as a celebrity and I still don’t. I have always focused on the work and that is what I continue to do. Make sure that my work is getting better, I learn more interesting ways to engage and connect with audiences but I think what drives me stays the same. Which is how I can tell powerful and meaningful stories that can make an impact. While working as an OAP on Inspiration FM, where you also doing other gigs? Please tell us what they are. I was mostly writing and performing poetry. So I was a columnist at NEXT newspapers, wrote for Bella Naija and other platforms. I was also hosting events and moderating panels and discussions at conferences. Also, I worked with brands on marketing campaigns as an influencer. I did a bit of TV presenting but none of it was a conflict of interest to my full-time job You currently host Airtel Touching Lives. Were you holding down a day job when this opportunity came? What would you say was the x-factor that made you the preferred choice to host this show? Yes, I still worked on the radio whilst I shot both the first and second season. I really can’t tell you if there was anything special but I hope that my genuine interest, commitment and need to connect came through and fingers crossed that was something that stood out So which of your roles or jobs would you say are main and side hustles? I think hosting events are a side hustle but everything else is part and parcel of my career. I think when you see things as a side hustle then they become that. [bctt tweet=”I think when you see things as a side hustle then they become that – @MissWanaWana ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] How do you give your all to your hustles and still deliver top quality work? I don’t really approach anything as important from the other. I see it all as one entity with myself as project manager. This for me means that adequate planning, time management with expectations and deliverables go into everything that I do. You just aired a Youtube Series called Warriors. Before that, you aired Culture Diaries and Room 313. Tell us about any challenges or obstacles in shooting these series and how you overcame them, please? Money is the main obstacle. These projects have all been self-funded which means a lot of the time, you are pulling in favours so you have to work around other people’s time as they are helping you out. So you don’t have as much control as you would like because you are working around other people’s schedules and dependent on their goodwill. Now, let’s talk finance. How have you been able to get your work (side and main hustles) out to the world without going bankrupt? I really take advantage of the internet and social media. It has been quite revolutionary in helping to not just share my work but in building a community and audience for the work. And most of that takes my work than money. I literally live online. Please share 3 quick rules in ensuring one stays on top of their hustles I would say Planning, Time Management and Create value (be the best at it) If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.