The world of job hunting is changing dramatically right now, primarily because of social media. If you haven’t been paying attention to social media, and particularly to LinkedIn, you have some catching up to do. You cannot afford to ignore LinkedIn today.
I find many job seekers confuse the intelligent use of social media with a loss of privacy. This is a serious mistake:
An “invisible” job seeker today is one often viewed by recruiters and potential employers with some suspicion. It is rare to find no signs of online activity for someone, and lack of visibility is particularly concerning when a job seeker is not present online. Often such invisibility is a bad sign: are you out of touch, behind the times, or using a false name?
In addition, you can be mistaken for someone else with the same name who has done something bad that is visible when a recruiter or potential employer researches your name online.
People often reveal far to much in sites like Facebook and Twitter. It is even possible with LinkedIn if you try hard enough, getting carried away with the fun of meeting new people, sharing your opinion with your peers, and making jokes.
A growing number of recruiters indicate that they are likely to look at a candidate’s social profile, and most of the recruiters would reconsider a candidate based on what they found – both positive and negative. With over 500 million members in over 200 countries (in Q3, 2017), LinkedIn is the most “grown-up” and professional of the social media network venues currently available. In comparison with Facebook, LinkedIn is also the most respectful of member privacy.
The use of social media for recruiting has been expanding, and the trend is expected to continue.
LinkedIn is clearly in the lead in many ways.
Hiring: When it comes to hiring, 78% of recruiters have hired through a social network, and the leading network for hiring is LinkedIn by a very wide margin (see the image on the left). While 92% of recruiters have hired through LinkedIn, only 24% have hired through Facebook, and 14% have hired through Twitter.
Recruiting: Most of the 94% of recruiters who use (or will use) social networks for recruiting will be using LinkedIn, and the preference for LinkedIn is significant with 94% of the “social” recruiters using it vs. 65% of social recruiters using Facebook and 55% of social recruiters using Twitter. Globally, LinkedIn is the most popular site for recruiters by far, as the data below reveals and that trend is spreading to Kenya. Of the social recruiters, LinkedIn clearly dominates in key uses, according to a recent JobVite survey:
95% of recruiters use LinkedIn to search for candidates.
95% use LinkedIn to contact candidates
93% use LinkedIn to “keep tabs on” potential candidates.
93% use LinkedIn to “vet candidates pre-interview” (vs. 32% on Facebook and 18% on Twitter).
92% posted jobs on LinkedIn (vs. 48% on Facebook and 39% on Twitter).
Recruiters indicated that they checked a candidates LinkedIn Profile for:
Professional experience
Length of professional tenure
Specific hard skills
So, investing time in learning how to leverage social media for your job search, and to leverage LinkedIn, in particular, will be time well spent for you.
Do remember that social networks are only another method for people to connect. You will need more than a LinkedIn Profile. You will need to participate intelligently and carefully in LinkedIn Groups to establish a business-like online presence for yourself. Then, you’ll need to connect with other human beings, off-line, usually to close the deal and land the job. As with all the social media, technology and the best methods of leveraging technology changes often. This section of Job-Hunt will help you stay current with LinkedIn.
Your Solid Base: An All-Star LinkedIn Profile
An “All-Star Profile” (a.k.a. “complete Profile”) is unavoidable for successful visibility and credibility on LinkedIn. A complete LinkedIn Profile gives you the capability to include the keywords that are essential for your job search. An All-Star Profile has these elements:
A Profile photo — This photo should be only you (no kids, friends, or pets), looking friendly, and dressed appropriately for your profession. Do NOT avoid including this photo! Without a photo on your Profile, it is invisible.
Your Professional Headline — The Headline for your Profile should be accurate, descriptive, and more than simply your job title and employer name (the default). The Headline is an essential element of a successful LinkedIn Profile. Read Fast Formula for a Powerful LinkedIn Headline for more information.
Your location — For LinkedIn, your location is a city and state or region, not your address!
An up-to-date current position — LinkedIn gives you 2,000 spaces, so you can and should describe the position in as much detail as possible. Focus on your accomplishments, which are much more than a bulleted list of “responsible for” items. Also describe your employer unless it is an extremely well-known organization.
Two past positions — Again, describe each position in detail. Like the current position, you have 2,000 spaces to use for each of your other jobs, too. Highlight your successes as well as those of your employer.
Your education — Include college degrees (or years in college), certifications, and other relevant professional training. Read Hidden LinkedIn Networking Tool: Education to learn more about leveraging your schools for your job search.
Your skills (minimum of 3) — Choose the ones most relevant to you and your profession.
At least 50 connections — And more are better, of course, because you become more visible in LinkedIn search results based on the size of your LinkedIn network. If you are not in someone’s network (first, second, or third degree connection), you won’t be visible to them unless they have a premium/paid account.
Once your Profile is completed, focus on keeping it up-to-date. Tweak your keywords to be current, reflecting your accomplishments and focus on the job you want next.
Stay Active: Visible and Reachable
What you share is visible on your LinkedIn Profile in a section near the top of your Profile titled, “[your first name] Articles & Activity.” People who are considering hiring you may look to see what you are publishing and sharing on LinkedIn. Keep those folks in mind when you write an article and publish it on LinkedIn. Also, remember them when you hit the “Like” button on someone’s post.
Being active on LinkedIn tells recruiters that you are reachable and, probably, responsive if they do reach out. Hopefully, your activity also demonstrates your written communications skills and proves that you are a knowledgeable and intelligent person who is up-to-date in your field. For more information, read How to Leverage LinkedIn Status Updates for Your Job Search.
When you are visible, also be easily contacted. Carefully, make contact information visible on your Profile. This allows recruiters, who are always in a hurry, to quickly reach out to you, whether or not they pay LinkedIn for a premium account. Read Optimizing Your LinkedIn Contact Information for a way to be easier to reach without putting your job or your privacy at risk.
You can search and apply for job opportunities based on keyword, title, or location. You can also save your search and access it later. To search for a job:
Click the Jobs icon at the top of your LinkedIn homepage.
In the Search jobs field, type a job title, keyword, or company name.
You can use the Search location field to type a city name, state/province/territory name, or country name.
Click Search.
Use the filters at the top of the page to further refine your search by Date Posted, LinkedIn Features (including In Your Network, Under 10 Applicants, and Easy Apply), Company, Experience Level, and more. Click All filters to view additional filter options.
You can click the Sort by dropdown at the top of the your search results to sort your search results by Relevance or Post Date.
The number of days the job has been posted for is listed at the bottom of each job summary.
Click a job title to view the job details.
Click Easy Apply or Apply (options may vary).
Getting Email Alerts for New Job Postings
You can receive email alerts for new jobs posted on LinkedIn that match your general search criteria or that are recommended to you from the Jobs You May Be Interested In feature.
An email alert can be created through the Job Alerts feature on the Jobs results page of LinkedIn.com:
Search for a job on LinkedIn.
To the right of LinkedIn’s job search results page, click Set a job alert.
Select how often you’d like to receive an email alert about new jobs on LinkedIn.com that fit those specific search parameters.
Alerts can be sent daily or weekly.
Check the boxes next to Email and Mobile and desktop, if you would also like to be notified of new jobs via LinkedIn.com and the LinkedIn Job Search app, if applicable.
Click Save.
You can also set up a Job Alert if you search for jobs through a search engine and land on a LinkedIn jobs page, even if you don’t have a LinkedIn profile. To set up a Job Alert as a guest:
At the bottom of LinkedIn’s job search results page, enter your email address and click Create job alert. You can also enter your email address and click the Create job alert button in the upper left corner of the page.
Click Create job alert to save. Once activated, you’ll begin to receive daily emails for that job search.
For years now, we have come across various reasons why Youth Unemployment in Kenya has been on the rise despite Government Measures to ensure every young person has access to education. The results are obvious for anyone to see, year on year, graduands, like clockwork, are released into the job market. With that, the pressure for the job market to absorb them grew, and with that, complaints about half-baked graduates increased. Who would blame them when there is a total breakdown between what’s in the curriculum and what is needed in factories, board rooms and the streets?
According to the Kenya Youth Survey 2016, unemployment is the top concern for the youth at 63%. About 1 in 2 university graduates are out of full-time employment; youth aged between 18 and 25 are twice more likely to be unemployed; and unemployment among rural women aged 18 to 35 is about 62%.
It’s no secret that employers measure their KPI in numbers, can be sales, new customers, profit, market penetration, etc and with the current economy, they will always demands a holistic set of skills and competencies from employees. Your Degree, Diploma or Certificate on it’s own won’t hack it. In addition to relevant technical skills, employers need an injection of marketing skills, life skills and core values, from their recruits to stay competitive.
The Agha Khan University East African Institute did a survey of employers and employees in the formal and informal sectors to determine entry-level skills among youth (18-30 yrs) in employment Kenya. The survey was conducted in 24 counties, which are home to over 85% of Kenya’s formal sector business establishments. The aim was to generate evidence to support reliable assessment of the skills and competences possessed by youth in entry-level jobs (the supply), and the skills and competences needed by employers (the demand). Fifteen sectors, comprising agriculture, wholesale & retail, construction, health and ICT, which account for 90% of jobs in both formal and informal sector, were included in the survey.
The study revealed that Kenya’s labour markets are shaped by the dominance of sectors such as wholesale and retail, food and accommodation services and transport, which account for most jobs created in the economy. Consequently, it appears that there is less demand for hard, technical skills compared to skills such as marketing and sales and entrepreneurship.
The study also found that there is very little collaboration or coordination between employers and training/skills development institutions. Hence, according to employers, most of the youth hired at entry-level lack relevant skills and competences needed for the work place.
This post breaks down the study to better understand Entry-Level Job Search and Recruitment.
The Key Stats…
An estimated 78% of Kenya’s population is aged below 35 years (NCPD, 2017) with a median age of 19 years (World Population Review, 2019).
A survey conducted by the British Council on Youth Employment in Kenya, revealed that the proportion of youth is steadily increasing and is currently estimated at 9.5 million – more than 20% of all Kenyans (Hall, 2017).
36% of 138,190 formal sector (public and private) businesses are in Nairobi; five counties (Nairobi, Mombasa, Kiambu, Nakuru and Uasin Gishu) account for 50% of businesses; 20 counties account for 75% of businesses.
71% of businesses employ less than 10 people; 26% of businesses employ 10-49 people and 3% of businesses employ more than 50 people.
The Service industry accounted for 82.2% of all the employment opportunities, Manufacturing contributed to 14.6% of jobs, and Production absorbed a paltry 3.2% of the workforce.
84% of businesses are in the tertiary or services sector, 13% are in the secondary sector, 3% are in the primary sector. 32% of businesses are in wholesale/retail and 21% are in education; 94% of wholesale/retail businesses employ less than 10 people.
Tertiary or service sector; retail, wholesale, accommodation, transport, finance, education, and food services employed 82% of those interviewed. Primary and secondary sectors accounted for about 18% of entry-level jobs held by youth. Wholesale and retail accounted for 31% of entry-level jobs held by youth.
Service sector is the largest contributor to Kenya’s GDP accounting for approximately 42.5% of the annual GDP; Production at 37%; while the Manufacturing sector accounted for 15.6% of the country’s GDP (KNBS, 2019a).
About 50% and 60% of youth in formal and informal sector entry-level jobs respectively, were recruited through referrals and social networks. Only 25% and 8% of youth in formal and informal sector respectively, were recruited through advertising. This means that if you don’t have a robust network, be it online or offline, your chances of landing an entry-level job are so low.
Youth aged between 18 and 25 are twice more likely to be unemployed; and unemployment among rural women aged 18 to 35 is about 62%.
Over 30% of youth cited low pay as a barrier to entry level jobs; 47% said lack of experience was a barrier; 50% cited corruption as a barrier to finding entry-level jobs.
Only about 2 % and 10% of informal and formal sector employers reported any involvement with TVET and other training institutions on training or curriculum development or internship placement. That means that there’s a high probability whatever you’re being taught in the lecture halls won’t be needed in your dream job.
The Problem…
The Kenyan labour market is associated with slow growth in the Manufacturing industry leading to low job creation and non-permanence of jobs.
Also, over the years, there has been concerns regarding inadequate preparation of youth for the workplace. Employers attribute this inadequacy to lack of soft skills among youth – despite having academic qualifications and technical training.
Skill gaps and mismatches can be associated with lack of accessibility to tertiary education as well as the inability to provide the necessary technical and soft skills needed in the job market. A recent study conducted by CAP- YEI on “what employers think about soft skills”, reveals that; according to the majority of the employers (42.8%), lack of soft skills in potential employees is the key factor influencing the skills mismatch problem in Kenya, followed by negative attitudes (22.4%) and lack of technical skills (12.6%).
Industry players attribute this lack of adequate preparation of the youth for the job market, to lack of conversations between training institutions and employers, outdated training facilities, incompetent trainers and institutions offering programs without conducting a job-market skills analysis.
72.4% and 60.9% of surveyed entry-level staff in the formal and informal sectors agreed with the statement that their skills matched the job they were recruited to perform, while 13.9% and 20.3% in the formal and informal sector respectively disagreed with that statement. This implies that skills mismatch exists to a certain extent in the job market especially in the informal sector.
For the self-employed youth, 31% and 40% in the formal and informal sectors respectively, have experienced skill gaps in their businesses.
This raises concerns on the integration of Whole Youth Development (WYD) –The range of capabilities needed for youth to access, create and retain jobs, lead fulfilled lives and contribute to the common good of society – in the education system and in preparation for the labour market. WYD entails spirituality, life skills, values, academic knowledge and social & emotional learning. The study explored the WYD gap among entry-level employees in the labour market.
According to KNBS 2019 Census report, 35.7 million Kenyans (75.1%) are below 35 years. The youth population increase has an adverse effect on available employment opportunities resulting in inadequate means of earning a living.
What Employers Need…
The study found that Employers look out for: education qualifications, soft skills, minimum work experience, technical skills, attitude and values, in that order, as they recruit their entry level staff.
Employers in the formal and informal sectors demanded for life skills, core values, social-emotional skills and technical skills. In addition, employers in the formal sector demanded for marketing and sales while those in the informal sector demanded for literacy skills.
Core work skills including learning to learn, communication, problem solving and teamwork, are of critical importance to both workers and the enterprises that employ them.
A report by CAP-YEI on soft skills reveals that the five most valued soft skills by employers are communication, integrity, discipline, teamwork and leadership (Ondieki, Kahihu & Muthoni, 2019). However, the skill sets and aspirations of Kenya’s young generation are disconnected from the realities and demands of the actual labour market (Ndayambaje, Ntawiha, Ngigi & Ampofo, 2016).
Wholesale & Retail industry mainly demanded entrepreneurship skills; Education demanded literacy skills; Construction demanded technical skills; while Finance and Insurance activities demanded for financial planning & management as well as literacy skills.
Information & Communications Technology (ICT) and Accommodation & Food services did not demand for highly specialized skills. Soft skills such as life skills, core values and social-emotional skills were demanded in equal measure across all the industries.
What Youths Lack…
From the Study, Marketing and sales, financial planning and management , life skills, and entrepreneurial skills were the top four skills identified by employers as lacking among youth in entry-level positions.
Marketing and sales, core values, life skills, numeracy, basic computing and social-emotional skills were lacking across all the industries.
Employers expressed facing challenges when trying to get the right person to do a job efficiently and productively. Some of the skill gaps encountered by most employers were attributed to soft skills such as basic communication skills and presentation, integrity and attitude towards the duties allocated. Stakeholders were keen to point out that the current education system syllabus lacked some core skills such as integrity and communication hence some institutions had HR Manuals that required every new staff to undergo the induction program and management courses along the way.
What Youth Want…
The survey reveals that more than 50% of the youth interviewed attributed an ideal job to good income and stability/job security.
Additional skills demanded by the youth to remain competitive in future in the formal and informal sector were sales and marketing, financial planning, technical skills, entrepreneurship and life skills (formal sector) in addition to basic computing skills (informal sector). Majority of entry-level employees in both the formal (41%) and informal (51%) sectors, pointed out that they would like to acquire these skills mainly through self-sponsored courses.
Additional skills demanded by the self-employed youth to remain competitive in the future were life skills, marketing and sales, financial planning & management, core values and entrepreneurship.
Further probing on why marketing and sales was highly demanded revealed four main reasons;
Marketing and sales is very critical for entrepreneurship and hence a fall back plan in the dire situation of unemployment
There is a lot of money (commission) in sales and marketing
More people want to get into digital marketing, which is an easy space to get into
Training institutions do not offer practical marketing and sales skills.
Notably, those who had completed TVET/ colleges reported that they would like to acquire entrepreneurship (34%) and financial planning and management (35%) in the future.
This shows that despite having technical training from TVET, Entrepreneurship, financial planning and management are critical skills that graduates felt they would need to acquire to remain competitive. This was replicated in the University graduates, with 29% of the graduates saying that they would like to acquire entrepreneurship skills in the future.
Where do I get an entry-level job with my qualification…
The Kenyan economy is only able to create 800,000 jobs per year, against the 1,000,000 young people joining the job market in the same period. And if you thought your degree is enough to stand out from the crowd, 32% of the unemployed youth have post-secondary education.
71.2% of entry-level staff in the informal sector have either secondary education (38.1%) or tertiary education i.e. TVET/college (33.1%) as their highest level of education attained; whereas 50% of employees in the formal sector had tertiary education as their highest level of education. University graduates on the other hand were a smaller proportion at 19.1% in the formal and 4.9% in the informal sectors.
Technical Training: The Kenyan workforce reveals a homogenous sequence in the level of technical training across the formal and informal sectors. The formal sector consists of 88.4% skilled and 11.6% unskilled workforce whilst the informal sector has 70.2% skilled and 29.8% unskilled workforce. Among the skilled employees, 51% of formal and 40% of informal entry-level staff have attained either a diploma or a certificate as the highest level of professional training.
How to find entry-level job…
How big is your circle, both online and offline? How active are you in your social networks? Who are you following? The study found that, in the current job market, referrals and social networks (friends and family) were cited to be the most common forms of recruitment in both the formal and informal sector, standing at 87% in the formal and 81% in the informal sector.
Where the entry-level job are…
The formal sector mostly employs the youth in:
Management – as assistants (44%), junior executives (38%), graduate trainees (18%), software/web developers (18%), service attendants (3%) e.g. waiters, laundry etc. and others (13%);
Non-management- as support staff (57%) e.g. receptionists, administrative assistant, office messengers, drivers etc., cashiers (36%), customer care (32%), sales executives (31%), clerks (26%), artisans (15%), technicians (12%), crafts (9%), teachers/trainers (8%), call centre agents (7%), trainer of trainers (5%), community nurses (4%), researchers (3%), others (5%).
The informal sector mostly employs youth as/in;
Wholesale & Retail in agro-vets, chemists, hardware shops, supermarkets, M-Pesa shops etc. as salespersons and cashiers (28%)
Informal Services and Transport & Storage as matatu conductors and drivers, taxi drivers, boda-boda riders (22%)
Construction as technicians, engineers, mechanics, electrical technicians, draughtsman, builders, brick makers, plumbers (17%)
Artisans & craftsmen e.g. woodworkers, potters (17%)
Food and Beverage as bakers, cooks, food kiosks attendants (14%)
Teacher/trainer (9%)
Subsistence farmers, graders (4%),
Street traders (2%)
Small-scale miners (1%),
Others (6%)
What is the entry-level job pay like…
The study showed that 74% of entry level staff in the formal sector earn between KES 10,001 – 50,000 (USD 100 – 500) per month; whereas 81% in the informal sector earn a monthly income of KES 5,001- 25,000 (USD 50 – 250) from their entry level jobs. This may thereby explain the unwillingness of educated youth to work in the informal sector. Notably, less than 0.5% of employees in both the formal and informal sectors earn above KES 100,000 (USD 1000).
Those who were self-employed had a higher income than the employed youth with 7% earning between KES 50,000 – 100,000 (USD 500 – 1000) and 1% earning above KES 100,000 (USD 1000).
In addition, 22% of employees in the formal and 15% in the informal sectors supplement their incomes through side jobs, such as their own businesses, part time jobs, family businesses or consultancy.
Entry-Level Professionals Profile…
Mobility: It’s no news that the current generation of young adults don’t like to settle unless their biggest need is fulfilled. We are always in search on a job or workplace the best suits our needs and societal rank. The study found out that, the higher the education level attained, the higher the chances of one switching jobs more often. University graduates between the ages of 27 – 30 years had held two jobs prior to the survey, whereas most of those who had completed secondary school were in their first entry-level job. Most TVET/college graduates between the ages of 23 – 26 years had only one previous employer.
Gender: The study found out that, among the surveyed employees, there were 41.5% females and 58.5% males. Employers had an even bigger gender gap with 31.1 % females and 68.9 % males. The KNBS Census 2019 report painted a different picture though, with women accounting for 50.2 per cent of the working population.
Pertaining to Gender distribution in the workplace, the study found out that, as the size of the organization increases, the proportion of females to males decreases.
What’s stopping Youth from Getting a Job or starting a Business…
From an employer and employee’s perspective, the study showed that, the two main factors preventing the youth from acquiring jobs were corruption and lack of required experience by employers among others. Self-employed youth cited lack of capital, lack of required experience and corruption as the top three barriers to starting their own businesses.
Lack easily accessible training institutions was also a barrier to acquiring skills with majority of all the graduates who had completed TVET and college education having studied outside their home county. The opposite was true for job distribution with majority working in their home county.
So what are the findings…
Regardless of whether you are a Student, Recent Graduate, Employer or Policy Maker, this study showed that
Kenya is a service driven economy: Given the distribution of jobs and the skills that employers and youth need, this study confirms that Kenya’s economy is predominantly driven by the service industry; skills of a technical nature are less demanded.
High demand for marketing and sales skills in the labour market: This trend reiterates the above finding that the economy is not generating sufficient demand for technical-oriented jobs such as Manufacturing despite the drive towards growing this industry. This trend is supported by economic data (KNBS, 2019a), showing that Manufacturing growth is out-paced by sectors such as Wholesale & Retail, Financial, Accommodation & Food, and Construction & Real Estate. For example, Accommodation & Food grew at 16.6% in 2018, as opposed to Manufacturing which grew by 4.2%; compounded by factors such as heavy imports favouring manufactured goods.
Skills mismatch: The gap between the skills possessed by youth entering the workforce and the job market has widened due to the growing dominance of the Service industry. This indicates that attention needs to be paid to the trends driving the future of work and to re- examine national priorities on training and skills development. For example, in the case of TVET, is it informed by reliable evidence of current job trends and future workforce needs? This study and other economic data suggest that technical skills may be necessary but not critical in enabling youth to find relevant jobs in a service-dominated economy.
Responding to trends in the job market: The fastest growing sectors in the economy are:
i) Wholesale & Retail, ii) Accommodation & Food, iii) Financial & Insurance, and iv) Construction & Real Estate.
Trends indicate that these jobs and those that are manual and routine will be replaced by automation and technology, systems that require less human capital (Chui, Manyika & Miremadi, 2016), these are condiserations that have little traction in the assement made by this survey. Manufacturing jobs for the future will demand social and emotional skills as well as cognitive capacity, in addition to technical and technology-based skills. The implication of this is highly tied to the courses available and accessible to the workforce, especially at a technical and vocational level. Traction must be given to motivate dialogue between industry and training organizations to respond to the future of work.
Sector distribution across the counties is homogenous: The top sectors (Wholesale & Retail, Education, Construction, Accommodation & Food & Other Service Activities) employing the most youth are similar across the counties/regions. This accentuates the need for:
a. Earnest dialogue on the implementation of the Kenya National Spatial Plan to drive both regional specialization and diversification of enterprises and growth drivers;
b. Expansion of TVET and skills development should be informed by regional specialization and diversification plans.
Ajira Digital Progamme, a government initiative to enable the youth seeking employment earn decent income through online work, with an ambitious goal of impacting over 1 million youth to be able to earn above minimum wage from the digital platform annually, was set rolling this week with the five-day Public Service Commission Ajira Digital Interns Induction program workshop at the University of Nairobi
The 250 interns will be dispatched to over 150 Constituency Innovation Hubs across the country supplied with broadband connectivity and digital devices.
The plan is to have four constituency innovation hubs in every constituency by the end of the programme and this will increase the number to 1,160 innovation hubs countrywide.
The induction exercise is spearheaded by the Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology. Principal Secretary for ICT Jerome Ochieng said the interns will be posted to County Information offices countrywide, where they are expected to help facilitate the success of the program by providing technical support services.
Ochieng further observed that the formal sector is already and continues to get stretched following a large number of entrants into the workforce and therefore, Ajira Digital program will assist in equipping the interns with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed in the informal through technology.
The world was stunned earlier this week when it was confirmed that the NBA Legend Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter accident along with his daughter Gianna, and seven others.
The Life of Kobe, AKA Black Mamba
Kobe Bryant lived in the Italy from the age of 6 into his teens after his father, former NBA player Joe “Jellybean” Bryant transitioned to the Italian league. Kobe left Italy in 1991 at 13, moving to Southern California where he not only made a career and a life, but where he also met his death.
Kobe was the first guard to be drafted directly from high school to the NBA in 1996 as the 13th overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets.
Kobe goes down as one of the greatest to ever play the basketball game, winning five championships, two NBA Finals MVPs and two Olympic gold medals, and currently ranking fourth in career scoring after Lebron James surpassed him on Saturday, 25th Jan 2020, a few hours before his untimely death.
A multilingual, Kobe spoke Italian, Spanish and English effortlessly. Outside the basketball court, his other obsession were family, -him being a father of four daughters-, a lifelong soccer fan supporting AC Milan and Barcelona, and business.
Bryant became the first player in NBA history to see two jerseys — the No. 8, which he wore from his rookie 1996-97 season to 2005-06, and No. 24, which he wore from 2006-07 till his final 2015-16 season — retired by the same team, LA Lakers.
About the Mamba Mentality…
In Kobe’s own words;
I came up with it during one of our tours, because I put the kids through so many drills and clinics and I just thought to myself ‘mamba mentality.’ I actually said it. This is what embodies the brand of what we stand for. To sum up what mamba mentality is, it means to be able to constantly try to be the best version of yourself, That is what the mentality is. It’s a constant quest to try to better today than you were yesterday. Mamba mentality is all about focusing on the process and trusting in the hard work when it matters most, it’s the ultimate mantra for the competitive spirit. It started just as a hashtag that came to me one day, and it’s grown into something athletes — and even non-athletes — embrace as a mindset. Hard work outweighs talent — every time. Mamba mentality is about 4 a.m. workouts, doing more than the next guy and then trusting in the work you’ve put in when it’s time to perform. Without studying, preparation and practice, you’re leaving the outcome to fate. I don’t do fate.
Bryant goes up for a shot between the Boston Celtics’ Paul Pierce, left, and Al Jefferson during a 2006 game in Los Angeles.
Here are 24 Quotes from Kobe Bryant to enforce the Mamba Mentality.
Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.
I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.
I don’t want to be the next Michael Jordan, I only want to be Kobe Bryant.
Dedication sees dreams come true.
I’ve shot too much from the time I was 8 years old. But ‘too much’ is a matter of perspective. Some people thought Mozart had too many notes in his compositions. Let me put it this way: I entertain people who say I shoot too much. I find it very interesting. Going back to Mozart, he responded to critics by saying there were neither too many notes or too few. There were as many as necessary.
Be sad. Be mad. Be frustrated. Scream. Cry. Sulk. When you wake up you will think it was just a nightmare only to realize it’s all too real. You will be angry and wish for the day back, the game back THAT play back. But reality gives nothing back and nor should you.
Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No excuses.
Have a good time. Life is too short to get bogged down and be discouraged. You have to keep moving. You have to keep going. Put one foot in front of the other, smile and just keep on rolling.
When we are saying this cannot be accomplished, this cannot be done, then we are short-changing ourselves. My brain, it cannot process failure. It will not process failure. Because if I have to sit there and face myself and tell myself ‘you are a failure,’ I think that is almost worse than dying.
The important thing is that your teammates have to know you’re pulling for them and you really want them to be successful.
When you make a choice and say, ‘Come hell or high water, I am going to be this,’ then you should not be surprised when you are that. It should not be something that is intoxicating or out of character because you have seen this moment for so long that … when that moment comes, of course it is here because it has been here the whole time, because it has been [in your mind] the whole time.
I see the beauty in getting up in the morning and being in pain because I know all the hard work that it took to get to this point. So, I’m not, I’m not sad about [retiring]. I’m very appreciative of what I’ve had.
The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great at whatever they want to do.
The last time I was intimidated was when I was 6 years old in karate class. I was an orange belt and the instructor ordered me to fight a black belt who was a couple years older and a lot bigger. I was scared s–less. I mean, I was terrified and he kicked my ass. But then I realized he didn’t kick my ass as bad as I thought he was going to and that there was nothing really to be afraid of. That was around the time I realized that intimidation didn’t really exist if you’re in the right frame of mind.
I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I’m like, ‘My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don’t have it. I just want to chill.’ We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it.
We all can be masters at our craft, but you have to make a choice. What I mean by that is, there are inherent sacrifices that come along with that. Family time, hanging out with friends, being a great friend, being a great son, nephew, whatever the case may be. There are sacrifices that come along with making that decision.
Winning takes precedence over all. There’s no gray area. No almosts.
I’m reflective only in the sense that I learn to move forward. I reflect with a purpose.
A lot of leaders fail because they don’t have the bravery to touch that nerve or strike that chord.
I create my own path. It was straight and narrow. I looked at it this way: you were either in my way, or out of it.
Pain doesn’t tell you when you ought to stop. Pain is the little voice in your head that tries to hold you back because it knows if you continue you will change.
There’s a big misconception where people thinking winning or success comes from everybody putting their arms around each other and singing kumbaya and patting them on the back when they mess up, and that’s just not reality. If you are going to be a leader, you are not going to please everybody. You have to hold people accountable. Even if you have that moment of being uncomfortable.
We can always kind of be average and do what’s normal. I’m not in this to do what’s normal.
It’s the one thing you can control. You are responsible for how people remember you—or don’t. So don’t take it lightly.
Eighteen students will be trained by Huawei Technologies and partner companies under an internship programme, the technology firm has announced.
The beneficiaries who were selected during this year’s National Final of the Huawei ICT Competition will be posted at Huawei Kenya, Sybyl, BCK, China Mobile International, China Telecom Kenya, Smoothtel and Data Solutions, Cloud Productivity Solutions, Opticom and Percap among others.Also awarded by the tech firm were 20 top students from various local universities.Maluki Mathusi of University of Nairobi and Kabarak University’s Ngetich Kimaiyo received Huawei Matebook Pros after emerging the 2019-2020 ICT competition winners.Multimedia University took Best ICT Academy Award, with JKUAT, Laikipia University and Strathmore producing other winning students.The top three students from each Track will have the opportunity to proceed to the Regional Final in South Africa in February 2020 to represent Kenya and compete with teams from eight other African countries.Speaking during the award ceremony, Huawei Kenya deputy CEO acknowledged the hard work of the students.
“Over 6,000 of you applied, 100 of you got to the final, and just a few of you have made it this far as winners. It has taken you a lot of hard work to get this far and this is important. In our experience, if you work hard and invest in education then you can achieve your goals in life,” he said. “Huawei has been here for over 20 years already, investing in this country and its people; we are here for you and will always be here for you, to help you further your skills and join the ICT industry in this country or even globally; to help you use your skills and our technologies to transform Kenya.”While handing out the prizes for the students, ICT Principal Secretary Jerome Ochieng thanked Huawei for their initiative.“Skills development is a critical element in a digital economy, hence the partnership with Huawei in Innovation and training on ICTs. Congratulations to all the winners,” he said.The 2019-2020 Huawei ICT Competition was announced in June 2019 and saw over 6,400 students from 40 universities in Kenya register to take part.The competition gave students the option to compete in either a Network Track or a Cloud Track based on their career interests with Network Track featuring Security, Networking and WLAN while Cloud Track featured newer technologies such as Cloud Service, Big Data and AI.
Due to Huawei’s leading technology, strong position in the Kenya market, and significant presence on campus through multiple skills programmes, a record number of students registered.BootcampThey were given access to the latest training materials through an online learning platform with e-learning videos and mock practice questions to learn as they prepared to sit for the Preliminary round of the competition from where only the top 100 students would proceed to the National Final Round.From November 11 to 15, 100 top students selected from the Preliminary round were invited for a bootcamp training in Cloud and Networking at University of Nairobi and Zetech University respectively.The bootcamp provided students with more hands on training from Huawei Certified Academy Instructors.These top students also received Huawei Certification Vouchers to sit for Huawei Certified ICT Associate (HCIA) Certification in Networking, Security and Cloud Service. The students sat for the National Final on November 27 in a four-hour Lab Exam that featured Network configuration on a simulated network environment and configuration and deployment of cloud services on Huawei Cloud Platform.The Huawei ICT Skills Competition was started in 2015 by Huawei and has grown to be one of the largest and highly anticipated ICT Skills Competitions globally.In 2018, the competition attracted over 100,000 students from 600 universities globally.Huawei has strengthened its partnership with Universities and Colleges globally to grow ICT Talents and provide relevant ICT Skills to students through its global not-for profit initiative, Huawei ICT Academy.In Kenya, Huawei has partnered with 30 Universities and Colleges since 2017. These institutions are now authorised to provide Huawei industry standard Certification training in Networking, Cloud Computing and AI.
Strathmore University Students won this years I&M Bank inter-UniChallenge.
I&M bank launched their first hackathon contest with an inter campus capture the flag cybersecurity contest whereby different universities were invited to compete.
The six universities that participated in the competition were Strathmore University, USIU, Daystar, Meru University, JKUAT and KCA.
The contest was launched by the CEO of I&M bank Mr. Kihara Maina who explained the importance of cybersecurity in Kenya especially in the corporate sector and how I&M Bank is working to ensure that online threats are curbed in the banking industry.
The team members from Strathmore for the Competition ; Jayson Waigwa – @iLab Africa Student Associate, Florence Kithinji – BBIT 4th year and Hilda Kiriga – BBIT 4th year
The contest was divided into two parts: Local server and External Server, in both parts we were working individually. Both parts were timed and after the time elapsed, participants were given the scores and corrections on areas of improvements.
“It was an interesting contest because even though we did the hackathon individually, we still managed to learn from each other and overall learn some new ways and hacks.” mentioned Jayson Waigwa – @iLab Africa Student Associate
The hackathon had a session with the I&M bank manager for learning and development department Mr. Christopher Mwirigi, who advised the participants on job applications to different corporates, giving them pointers on what to do and not to do when applying for jobs. He also advised them on the many challenges corporate organizations face when interviewing fresh graduates and the high expectations graduates have right after university.
At the Awarding ceremony for individual category Meru university took the 1st position, the second position went to JKUAT and the third position was attained by Jayson from @iLabAfrica-Strathmore university. They combined the results of each individual and calculated the average of students per university. In the Overall competition, University Category Strathmore University attained the first position where JKUAT and KCA attained the second and third position respectively
In any professional role across the globe, there is always one key attribute that sets apart one prospect from the next when there qualification cannot set them apart. That attribute is experience.
Experience is the globally accepted currency to getting any job. In the current job market, experience is a hot cake, the more you have and in the right field, the better your chances of you being picked on a job you are eyeing.
Experience is everything, even when starting a business you need basic experience to know what and how you will mitigate risks and maximize your profits.
The problem is that most fresh graduates do not have any experience. Most graduates are thrown into the job market without even the basic knowledge and experience on how to get a job or even the basic etiquette of writing a proper email. It’s regrettable but often true when some companies out here term graduates half-baked and not ready for the work scene.
Most of the us spend our time in university parting, gaming, and just living large with no worries whatsoever, all that life largely financed by our parents finances or loans without a thought about what lies ahead. As a student whether first or fifth year, how can you cut above the rest and still have fun?
The big question now is how to gain this precious commodity called experience and walk into an interview oozing with confidence knowing you are way above your competitors.
Here are a few pointers how:
1. Pick a course that works for you
Let’s begin from the start. The days of picking a course because it’s marketable are long gone because everyone has been doing that and now, the bubble is bursting. Education is not just so that you can earn a certificate but to equip you with knowledge on how to better the world around you , and in the process better your own life. Pick a course that, even if you won’t land a job on day one after graduation, you can pick something up on day two as you wait for you break. Than something can be volunteering, a business, a partnership or even a part-time role.
So here are quick questions to ask before picking a course;
Does it have ways for you to expand on your own without employment
Does it complement your strongest aspects in terms of academic?
How’s the current job market for that course?
How does the future market look like?
2. Start shortlisting potential employers
From day 1 in college or university, start scouting for places that may offer you a role when you’ll need it. This makes it easier to approach them or know when they have an opening that might interest you. On Campoe Career sites, you can create alerts for certain keywords, say a company name, and when they publish a vacancy, you get an alert. We all know it’s much more fun to spend time travelling and having fun rather than working. But at the end, the experience, the network and the recommendation letter will come in handy.
3. Make your hobbies count
As from you first day in Campus, maybe even before, whenever you can, even if it’s a couple hours a day or week, find something that interest you and aligns with you career. Learn a new skill, try putting the knowledge you’ve gained so far to use. You might have a thing for sports, music or art, if you devote even 10 hours a week for one of those, a month is 30+ hours, enough to master a skill. Be in the know of the new trends making waves in your industry. And that can only be achieved if you work. Looking for the right places to attach yourself can be very tricky. try consulting from your lecturers on the places that will give you the best learning experience.
4. No job is too little.
They say Attitude determines one’s altitude. Whenever you get a chance to practice or learn a skill, leave your ego, class and know-it-all mentality at the door. Learn to be patient and tolerant. Fetch those coffees, deliver the mails and be punctual always. Respect is earned. So learn to earn yours. From serving coffee, you might meet your mentor. There is always a lesson to learn, if you’re open-minded. Do not let your pride override your judgment and ruin your chances of learning and making new connections.
5. Make volunteering a habit
This is one of the best and easiest ways to gain experience, especially in big organizations and company. Apply for volunteering in various companies and work diligently on it. Do not treat your volunteering job any different than a real paying one. Most people have earned more technical expertise in volunteering other than working. By volunteering, you get to do much of the job at, generally speaking, you own terms. Volunteer opportunities are everywhere, your department in University, Student bodies and organizations, your family’s or neighbor’s business, the nearest NGO, you name it. You’ll never go wrong with volunteering.
“All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.”
As per Webometrics, University of Nairobi ranks as the best of institution in Kenya, followed by Kenyatta and then Moi. Globally, these three universities rank position 987, 1565 and 2088 respectively. This list is based on the rankings from Webometrics, a website specializing on Ranking Universities globally.
The Metrics used to determine a university rank include Presence, Impact Rank, Openness Rank and Excellence.
The United Nations and Mount Kenya University (MKU) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that allows MKU students to directly deploy its students as volunteers within the UN system.
UN Volunteers officials led by Executive coordinator, Olivier Adam and the MKU fraternity led by Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof Peter Wanderi signed the deal at the MKU main campus in Thika last week. “MKU will be the first university in Africa to deploy its students as volunteers to the UN,” Adam said.
“The formalization of our engagement with United Nations volunteers today creates yet another opportunity for our students to gain practical experience by becoming volunteers in United Nations entities and activities,” said Prof Wanderi.
The main goal of the partnership is to enhance the capacity and engagement of youths from the region as the key actors of change in global development issues.
Through this partnership, the best and brightest students of MKU will for up to six months, be deployed in various UN agencies in Kenya- as UN University Volunteers to apply their knowledge and skills in several areas of UN peace and development work.
Sponsored by the MKU Foundation, every year a selected number of students will serve as UN Volunteers in Kenya. Adam said there is a global consensus that the engagement of youth as leaders and active solution finders was key in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. “In Kenya, SDGs have been captured in the Big Four Agenda aimed at tackling food security, affordable housing, manufacturing and health care,” he said.
The partnership will give students a six months opportunity to be at the epicentre of the UN activities. Currently, 117 Kenyans are serving as UN Volunteers in Kenya and many more outside. “You can potentially become part of the UN personnel deployed in Kenya to foster the implementation of the SDGs while gaining the professional skills needed to boost you into the next chapter of your lives,” Adam said.
“Besides its reputation in academic excellence, MKU has become a beacon of innovative research in promoting development solutions in this region,” he added.
MKU founder and chairman Prof Simon Gicharu said the college would support five students to undertake the volunteer programme for six months at a cost of Sh4 million. “This demonstrates the conviction we have that the UNV programme is good for our students and the university,” he added.
He challenged MKU managers to seek partnerships and funding from other organisations so that more students can be sponsored to volunteer at UN.
Prof Wanderi emphasised the key role of partnerships in promotion of higher education and encouraged students and community at large to participate in volunteerism. “The formalisation of our engagement with UN creates yet another opportunity for our students to gain practical experience,” he added.
The students will be exposed to resources at UN organisations such as libraries. Volunteering will give the students an advantage when applying for jobs or when they want to advance career opportunities.
So far, a total of 486 UN youth volunteers have served in the region since the perception of the programme, with Kenya leading as host country over the years.
Among them, 37 were universities youth volunteers. The volunteers serve in different areas of development, humanitarian and peace-building initiatives.
Kisii University has collaborated with Huawei Inc. through the prestigious Huawei ICT Academy program to provide the students with hands-on skills and market-ready skills. Kisii University students can now register and train in all the Huawei Certifications including the Huawei Certified Network Associates.
Speaking during the launch, Ms. Teresa Abuya underscored the need to establish Huawei ICT Academy at Kisii University which puts the University on the radar in the Huawei Global Academy Network. The academy opens doors for the students to get first hand training from Huawei on Networking and Cloud Computing. Students will also benefit from the free resources provided to the University as a training center.
During the launch of this initiative, Students were encouraged to register for Huawei ICT Skills competition 2019/2020.
