Mark AdamsYour friends are seeing you off, you are in Nepal… I feel better. But you wonder why all those people you are bidding farewell are still there, why they don’t leave as well. If that’s not enough, your flight is delayed by two hours. You start losing your self-control. That means you are not business-oriented. That’s a pity because you can lose a good business opportunity. That’s why people claim that preparation is key to success both for your interview and your trip to the company.
As you know, people usually make interview calls on short notice. They explain this by the fact that they are under pressure and they don’t have enough time. That’s why you need to be prepared so that you are ready to come at once.
There are five steps to follow to avoid losing good opportunities.
- It’s better to prepare and not need it than to need it and not prepare.
If the interview call comes from the company, then you should have been prepared for a while. Your potential employer has probably checked your resume and you seem to suit their needs.
To be ready, you have to make sure that your CV has no mistakes and that it is written according to the company’s needs. It should not be too long or too short, it should be formatted and it should invite the potential employer to initiate an interview call.
Make sure that your phone works and that you will have Internet connection during your stay in the capital.
Prepare the clothes and other items that you may take with you. If you tend to travel light, you should see to your luggage.
If you are staying in the capital for a while, make sure that the hotel you are staying at is up to standard.
Finally, try to learn something about the operating system they use. You may be asked to play a video game or solve a problem. This will make you have a competitive advantage.
- Prior preparation is the key to success.
If you receive an interview call, and you realize that you have not been prepared, don’t worry.
Use the time between you and the interview to go back to the company’s website and watch the information videos that they may publish. These can be videos of their working process, of their interviews, or other funny events.
Also, read some articles you can find on the Internet or on the company’s website. This will make you be familiar with the brand. You can then ask your friends about the company if you want.
While you are doing your homework, make a list of questions. After you watch the information videos, you will know what questions you have.
Before you ask questions, think about it. Don’t ask questions just because you want to, but because you truly need to know.
If you decide to fire questions, be sure you will get answers to them.
- You should be aware of the company’s expectations.
You should find out what the company expects from its employees. Maybe you are supposed to have certain skills, experiences or a degree. The company can also require that you issue a document stating you do not have any criminal record and that you are not sick.
Talking about the company’s needs, it’s always necessary to gather information about their competitors. Maybe the competition fired a few employees and you could be an advantageous candidate.
The above paragraphs represent the most important information you must gather before going to the company. Now you should work on getting a full picture.
Ask yourself if the company is really interested in you, if they are ready to hire, and if they have an office in the country you are from.
- For you to be hired, you must be pleasant.
You must be pleasant and ready to work. And that may be really hard, especially if you are nervous.
Ask yourself a question, what could you say that will make your interviewer put a check mark next to your name? It may be a chocolate or a pack of cherrys.
If you want to give a present, it’s good to do it before your interview. Be prepared, because you will probably meet your interviewer before the interview and it would be awkward if you give him/her a present then.
You can’t be somebody else, you have to be you. But don’t worry, there are many free templates you can use, even if you want to show you are in a good shape.
It’s good to prepare your favorite jokes before the interview.
Don’t forget, you may be asked some tricky questions and you need to give a good answer. I recommend you to take a look at the job interview sample and template.
- Before you decide to go to the company, look at it from different angles.
Let’s say that you have found a job that seems interesting, but there is still something that doesn’t feel right. You feel that there is something the company is hiding from you, or they want you to do something that is not safe. You can’t catch the reason why you feel uncomfortable.
If that’s the case, my recommendation for you is not to take the job. You can ask the company some questions and you can take some time to think about it.
If the company doesn’t have a good reputation, you can find out about it. Just Google it and when you read its reviews, then you’ll know if you’ll take the job or not.
Business Law in Kenya
There is a saying that goes: ‘a square is a rectangle, and no more than that’. Meaning, there are no legal or business definitions for that. This is true for every single industrial sector you can find in the world.
However, this is not the case with business law. It’s a big and complicated matter that covers many important points. In today’s article I will try to sum up some of those elements.
In many countries, business law consists of the Corporate law, Banking law, Antitrust law, Labor law, and Tax law. Of course, there are more, but these are crucial. Let’s see some examples:
In Kenya, in order to do business, you need an official registration. Even if your business only consists of a website, such registration is necessary.
Corporate law defines the structure of a business. Therefore, you must make sure that your business has a corporation structure. This is an important element because it is a way of protecting yourself and your business. Additionally, you need a board of directors to have an official status.
In Kenya, the law allows a business to have only one board of directors. They must have at least two members, a president and a treasurer. If your business has several members, then you can add some members in order to form a board.
Banking law consists of the rules that you have to follow if you want to open a business with a bank. It may have several issues. For example, there is a saying that goes ‘those who have no deposit, don’t need a loan’. This is the main point of banking law and it has an influence on the annual interest rate. This is why it’s so important to follow the banking law.
Business law also consists of anti-trust laws. The antitrust law is there to protect the fair competition in a business sector. The truth is that this law protects the business owners the most. It ensures that no matter what business you are in, another business won’t be able to put you out, not even if you are the one that is creating some troubles.
Finally, tax law is also a part of business law that protects businesses from crazy taxations. Of course, taxation is very important for any business, but excess taxation can damage your business.
When I was a child, I used to love fruits very much. So it happened that I was known by a neighbor in my neighborhood for being a fruit eater! One day, as I was begging my grandmother to buy me some fresh fruits, she gave me a big gray apple.
That was one of the worst days of my childhood. I had difficulties swallowing that fruit, because I was accustomed to eating fruits of different tastes and colors. I tried to convince myself that I liked this apple very much and that the gray color was good for my health. However, it even didn’t taste the same as the fruits I used to eat, so I gave up! Trust me, I never ate or bought this type of fruit ever again for the rest of my life.
Having vivid experience with my own opinion, I can only say: people are crazy about fruit! I noticed that marketing works on many people quite well. It makes them buy things they don’t need. It makes them believe in things that don’t exist. It makes them buy because they think they will be happy if they do so.
Therefore, if we are talking about branding and marketing, and we are looking for the cornerstones to be connected with, fruit is a very good choice. What applies to such relation applies to the way people buy things they don’t need is somehow a way to rephrase the title of this article.
Let’s remember that fruit is very colorful! It has many flavors and appearances. It can be red, it can be yellow, it can be green, it can be purple or orange. However, this variety of shapes, colors and tastes is not created to satisfy people’s needs. That’s not it. I would like to believe that people buy fruits because they are healthy. In my case, I buy them if I’m hungry.
Unfortunately, many times companies forget the fact that marketing can influence people too much. All you need to do is just look at the billboards, or the TV commercials. Chances are you will see a bunch of fruits of different shapes and colors. This is exactly what Marketing is concerned about these days. Very often, marketers focus their attention just on the look of a product. This is surely not the case!
that come and go around in your head. I know for sure it’s the same with you. There are tons of things you can, and want to, do. However, you don’t always do them. Why? because you don’t always have enough motivation or time to act upon them. That’s understandable.
The curious thing is that you can have a lot of ideas and make a lot of plans, but sometimes you just don’t want to do it. This doesn’t make sense because you say that you want to be successful. However, it doesn’t matter how many plans you have in front of you, if you don’t pursue them, nothing will happen.
It’s funny how your plans can make you feel nice. As a matter of fact, you can feel that you are well protected and safe if everything is planned. Nevertheless, don’t get carried away! My advice is to go beyond this stage and think carefully what you really want to do in business.
If I am honest with you, I can say that most of the entrepreneurs in Kenya plan their business to death. Until they make a blueprint that says exactly what to sell, and to whom. They plan to the point that they forget the most important thing about any entrepreneurship.
There is a whole world out there that is waiting for your products and services. In order to accomplish this, you need to wake up and just do it! Don’t forget that if you don’t act and you don’t carry out your idea, you’ll never succeed in this business.
When you stop thinking for a while, maybe it is about time that you do something. Sometimes we get entrenched in the planning and the idea generation phase for so long, we forget to do something useful.
In the end, remember that if your plan isn’t worth the paper it’s written on, it’s another form of fruit.
Business law in Kenya
When you are thinking about a new business, you have to consider the fact that you might be underpaid. You have to realize that your business is valuable, but it’s not that easy to get what you can deal all the time.
Every business has to be well-organized if you want to have any hope of success. If you don’t do your job, and don’t work in your business, not even one cent of return will come to your business.
In order to cope with this issue, you should follow the law! In a sense, the law is the basic element of every business. It gives the opportunity to every business to get what it deserves!
The important question here is: do you want to live in a world where everything is very distorted? Most of the people can’t cooperate in a business environment because they don’t have common rules to follow. With the right rules in place, people can get along much better than they can with no rules.
Rules and regulations are the most important points in order to make any business better. If there aren’t any rules, no one can know what to do at any moment.
Greetings in Kenya
When you can greet people well, you can distinguish yourself from the group. This is one of the best ways to be remembered from more people to you. They may even see you as a friend that they want to get along with.
Greetings are a very important part of human life. However, they aren’t the same in various countries. It is worth to check the greetings in Kenya because it consists of words that are a bit different as other countries.
This article is written to allow you to learn the greetings in Kenya and learn how to use them properly.
Habari Shalom – Hello (This is common to inform someone that you are well)
Mzungu – An individual who isn’t Kenyan (The meaning of this word depends on the context)
Salam – The words used as term of good luck or peace (This is used by Muslims)
Shikamoo – Be well (This is used by people who aren’t situated in Kenya)
Mzunyango – May you live a hundred years (This is used as an expression of hope for a person’s future)
Hakuna Matata – There won’t be any problems (This is used in the movie of the same name)
Asante – Thank you (This is used when you are on your way to see someone)
Karibu sana – Welcome (This is used either when you are on your way to someone or when you are greeting someone)
Nandi – You are so beautiful (This is used when expressing your love for someone who is close to you)
May we add something to this list?
Well, it is about time we take a look at the words that people in Kenya use in order to greet each other. Many times, people just don’t know the greetings in Kenya.
Every time you don’t know what to say to the person that you love, you can just use this short list. Better yet, remember the greetings in Kenya. If you say them regularly, you will never have problems with people in Kenya.
If you want to express your feelings with the person that you like a lot, you might think about adding some words to this list. There won’t be any problems if you feel closer to the person.
