Why "Pursuing Your Dream" Is Still Important

In deciding what you want to do with your life, or what you want to do next with your life, there are only three questions to ask yourself: WHAT, WHERE, and HOW.

1. WHAT do you most love to do?

2. WHERE would you most love to do it? and

3. HOW do you name such jobs, and how do you find such jobs?

That word Love is important. You want to look for your passions (what you'd most love to do), rather than just your competencies (what you can do).Oh, some "experts" will claim that it's hard enough to find any work during this long slow financial recovery from the 2008 Recession, so this is no time to be picky. Don't believe them. It's always time to be picky. Here are five reasons why:

1. In this imperfect world, odds are you'll only find part—not all—of what you're looking for, at least in the beginning. So if you aim for all of your dream, and at first find only half of your target, good news: you've found 50% of your dream job, right off. On the other hand if, out of fear, or the desire "to be realistic", from the beginning you aim for only half of your dream, and end up with half of that, you've found only 25% of your dream.

2. If your job-hunt drags on, as is the case more often since the 2008 Recession, you need something that will keep you at it! Pursuing what you'd most love to do will give you the determination to keep on going with your job-hunt or career-change, even during rough patches. "If I get this, or even something close to this, it will all be worth it."

3. If your job-hunt drags on, you need to replenish your energy along the way. Pursuing what you'd most love to do will give you the energy to keep on going, even during rough patches. (Notice, in other situations, when you're talking to a loved one, and you get on some topic you're enthusiastic about, how your energy level rises. You feel renewed. So, here.)

4. You need another way to find organizations than just waiting for them to announce a vacancy. If you first identify what you'd love most to do, it's relatively easy then to identify and research places that might have such jobs. And you can then approach them through your contacts, before they ever announce their next vacancy.

5. Once you get a job interview at places of your choice, you need to stand out from the other (say) nineteen people they're interviewing there. It is the enthusiastic job-seeker rather than the one who can just do the job, that stands out in any interviewing process. If it's your whole dream you're after, you will be enthusiastic, without even trying, because you're about to get closer to your dream. Not so enthusiastic, if it's only one quarter of your dream.

The art of elevator pitching

By James Caan

Famously, the elevator pitch is that big chance you get to sell your company, product, service or even yourself in just one or two minutes.

This kind of opportunity won’t always arise - the biggest organisations in particular tend to use strict selection processes and procedures to choose their clients.

But that does not mean that the principle of the elevator pitch should be completely ignored or discarded. Thinking about how to deliver your message in an effective way that goes straight to the heart of the matter can be a very useful and rewarding exercise. Whether you’re going for a job interview or a client pitch, this can be of great value to you.

Here are a few principles to keep in mind.

Simplicity

In my experience too many pitches – whether they are ‘elevator’ style or presentations - get bogged down in overly complicated language or rely far too heavily on eye-catching graphics. There have been times when entrepreneurs pitched to me for investment and I had to stop them after a while because what they were saying wasn't making any real sense. Some investors may let them continue in this manner and then turn them down, but I always believe in giving entrepreneurs a chance to show what they can do. Therefore I tell them to cut out the unnecessary jargon and tell me things in a business-like yet simple way. You want to sound professional but there are ways to do this without boring people.

Do your research

Keeping it simple should not be an excuse for not doing your research. Even if your elevator pitch is supposed to be short and snappy, you don’t want to get caught out afterwards with a question you don’t know the answer to. Be prepared and know who you are pitching to. As well as ensuring you are ready for any questions you may be asked afterwards, this means you can tailor your pitch to suit the audience.

Sell with subtlety

Remember that whilst an elevator pitch is a tool to sell the best aspects of you or your business, it doesn't need to be aggressive or over the top. All you want to do is generate enough interest to pique their interest. Explain the essence of what you are pitching and then clearly demonstrate the differentiator. There should always be a unique selling point, or if you are going for a job interview, a clear value-add. This is basically your hook which will make or break the success of your elevator pitch.

Some people don’t really think about the concept of an elevator pitch until the opportunity comes along. But if you can set aside half an hour at some point and just think about what you would include in your elevator pitch, it can have huge benefits. If nothing else, it will allow you to take a step away and think about what sets you apart from the competition and what sort of image you want to project.

What is self management?

By Racheal Kiiza

There is a common assumption that people know themselves. This is a falsity although it is very important for people to know themselves and also learn how to manage themselves. Therefore self management helps people embark on a self discovery journey.

Self management in lay man’s language is the ability to be in charge of one’s life. The art of knowing who you are; you’re strengths and weaknesses, your emotional self and the goals you have set.

The aim of self management is for people to better understand themselves through the use of SWOT analysis and setting SMART goals. SWOT stands for Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. SMART is a mnemonic acronym, giving criteria to guide us in the setting of objectives. SMART in full: Specific, Measurable, Attainable/Achievable, Realistic and Time bound.

SWOT analysis enables people to assess and evaluate themselves genuinely and also capitalize on their strengths once identified; which helps them fight off inner criticism. Inner criticism is basically watering yourself down or belittling yourself.  As humans we crave affirmation and this erases the foundation for inner criticism.  People need to be nice to themselves, believe in themselves, their dreams and reward themselves.

African Traditional Society puts emphasis on togetherness and ignores the individuality aspect which in the self management segment falls under ‘ME TIME’. The essence of ‘ME TIME’   is to carry out a self analysis, self evaluation and awareness.  The  tables turn from people to an individual and some of the questions asked are : what goals have been  achieved,  what value have I added to myself, what weakness do I need to improve?, among others questions  with a personal touch .The Rotary clubs have a very interesting motto” service above self “ which  emphasizes social responsibility.  As much as ‘ME TIME’ is a priority, social responsibility must not be forsaken.

In life people go through challenges but resilience is the attitude to wear, for life possesses valleys, mountains, hills, rivers which all pose as threats. A resilient person possesses optimism which is having hope that something pleasant is going to happen.

Kyusa participants were given a series of exercises and tasks which helped them to gain a deeper understanding of the topic and how they can practically apply these principles to their personal lives. It was an eye opener and an enriching experience that challenged and inspired them to aim at being the best that they can be in every aspect of their lives.

Youth Employ-ability and Entrepreneurship Training

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

Youth Employability and Entrepreneurship Training

Application deadline:             15th August 2014

Program Duration:                3 months

Program commences:            5th September

Kyusa is a registered NGO that focuses on empowering youth to reach their full potential through talent development, mentoring, apprenticeship and skills training. Kyusa is a non denominational organisation and offers its services both to men and women who meet the required criteria for enrollment.

Our mission is to offer learning approach that ensure every young person finds a path to their educational and career goals in a way that recognizes their strengths and values. This we do by seeking and providing the best available options to enable each person succeed and be proactive.

The program targets school dropouts and other youth who have a desire to develop sustainable careers through self paced learning and coaching. The twelve weeks program will equip participants with employable skills, entrepreneurship skills, ICT skills, exposure to career mentoring, apprenticeship and a platform to prototype their business initiatives and ideas. 

By the end of the program, participants will be able to;

• Launch out into their own businesses
• Pitch before investors
• Meet employability requirements for the labour market
• Continue developing their careers through lifelong learners
• Use ICT tools for work and employment purposes

Requirements for applicants:

• Between 16 - 25 years
• Minimum of secondary education
• Able to effectively communicate in English
• Applicants should also be highly motivated, team minded and able to work interdependently.
• Able to commit to a three months non residential program

Fees & Scholarships:

The program has been subsidized to a fee of 200,000/= (Ush) per applicant for the entire program payable in installments. This fee covers the training cost and training materials as well as a certificate at the end of the program. Participants will have to cater for their own transport and meals during the course of the program.

The program offers five scholarships to the most outstanding applicants who meet the criteria but are unable to raise the required fees. To apply for a scholarship, you must fill in a scholarship application form after being admitted into the program.

Application procedure:

Applicants must send us an expression of interest at connect.kyusa@gmail.com and should include;

• why they would like to apply for the program
• how the program will benefit them
• their bio data

This information will be reviewed and if approved, you will be sent an application form and the payment procedures.

For further information, please contact us at:

connect.kyusa@gmail.com

kyusa.uganda@gmail.com

Mob: +256 712 877208

The art of public speaking & presentation

By: Racheal Kiiza 

There is a common saying that, ‘the first impression lasts longer” and I totally agree with this statement. This week at Kyusa the participants were enlightened on presentation skills. The aim of the module was to enable the participants to articulate the communication process, understand and use the different listening styles, prepare speeches and presentations adequately and also confidently make public presentations.

How we present ourselves before people speaks volumes about who we are and more so when pitching and networking with people. As people pitch and network there is always need to make an impression in the way they present themselves; in the handshake, body language, tone used, posture, et cetera.

 We learnt that communication forms include small group discussion, public speaking, dyadic and mass communication but the main focus was on public speaking which goes hand in hand with presentation skills. Public speaking is where a speaker delivers a message with a specific purpose to an audience of people who are present at the delivery of the speech. Public speaking shares many characteristics with the other forms of communication; however in public speaking listeners expect a more systematic presentation.

Communication can be one –way or two-way depending on the context. If two –way communication is carried out then the sender of the message must ensure that the receiver understands the message; because how a message is perceived is very important. Feedback is vital just like the bible says iron sharpens iron. Through constructive criticism, the speaker is given an opportunity to change the weak areas and enhance the strong areas. It is also important to note that as constructive criticism is given, the positive message must come first before the negative feedback. People crave affirmation and hate negative criticism. As feedback is given, it is important that the speaker listens and does not interrupt, ask for clarification if needed, but do not defend yourself or argue and also evaluate feedback given for yourself.

Public speakers ought to be sensitive in spheres of culture, religion and beliefs just like the saying goes, when in Rome do as the Romans do.” The speakers must be culturally intelligent, skilled and flexible toward understanding a culture and learn to reshape their thinking so as to develop appropriate responses to different cultures.

Speech anxiety is a common occurrence and can be in form of lack of confidence, popularity, knowledge, preparation, fear of the public respectively; these hinder effective delivery of public speaking.  Speech anxiety can be overcome through boosting one’s confidence and this entails preparing, practice, adopting relaxation techniques, learning from criticism.

During the course of the training, participants were tasked to carry out group and personal presentation assignments. After this three days training, I can confidently say the participants at Kyusa can ably present themselves and also carry out critical thinking and evaluation.

The Importance of Research in the 21st Century

By: Racheal Kiiza

Knowledge is power in the 21st century, the world is moving to a place where it is a mandate to know how to read and write, be computer literate, know how to use social media among other things.

Research plays a key role in the world today and many firms, organisations; hospitals invest a lot in research.  For a law to be passed in any country it is mandatory to carry out research on that particular law and this is aimed at getting as much information on the law at hand as possible.

In Kyusa the participants were privileged to acquire research skills. Not everyone can do research; many universities teach research methods but students know it theoretically but cannot carry it out practically.

To research is to purposely and methodologically search for new knowledge and practical solutions in the form of answers to questions formulated beforehand.  Research methods are ways through which information is attained and the most common are literature searches, talking with people, focus groups, personal interviews, telephone, mail, email and internet surveys respectively.

Under research methods, there is data collection, data analysis, types of research and participants were adequately taught on each one of these. As research is carried out its findings must be documented either through writing, diagrams, and graphs. The style and tone of writing must be evident as the research is presented since tone conveys feelings of the writer on a particular subject.

CNN and other media networks  strive to provide  credible and valid information and they usually report live in whichever  country a breaking story is being covered. As research is carried out, it is important for the information sources to be credible and must not be based on hearsay. How to determine authenticity of a source, a source can be a book, internet source, et cetera, there are three things that can be used to determine how credible and valid an information source is and these are authority, currency and purpose. Authority is in terms of who published the source? Is the source current or outdated? What was the intention of the author?

Every source of information will encounter factual material and a test of whether something is a fact, it must answer one of the following questions; who? What? When? Where? If it does, it is likely a fact. When you assess a source’s credibility, you try to determine how believable it is. There are two sources of information; primary and secondary sources. Primary sources are collections of raw data requiring interpretation and they contain factual material like personal narratives, government documents. Secondary sources contain interpretations of raw data like scholarly books, journal articles.

Research is vital and when acquired as a skill, it becomes an indispensable asset.