Confidence is necessary as you scale up the corporate stepladder, your success is always determined not so much by your technical ability but by your people skills in Kenya. Your success depends upon the support of others. You cannot succeed alone; you require their good will to lift you up to success. Please note that I did not mention that you climb on them on your way to the top. That means you have to make yourself lighter to lift. Kenyans either support you willingly or they do not support you at all.

Your people skills determine two critical aspects of your career in Kenya. One is how ‘promotable’ you are and the second is your success. Often times when employers are discussing on someone’s promotion, the question regarding the ability to relate with people is key. Interestingly, it is not the people above you that pull you upwards; rather it is the people below you who push you up.

I would like to share with you a few fundamental principles which I believe will empower you to increase your leadership confidence in Kenya’s context. Leadership is all about the fuzzy intangibles; the way you speak, the metaphors you use, and the relationships you nature.

1) First as a leader, you have to spread some love around within your circles. What I mean by love here is the selfless promotion of the growth of others. The act of intelligently and sensibly sharing your intangibles with your business partners. What are these intangibles: Our knowledge, our networks, and most importantly our compassion? That human ability to reach out to others in warmth; may be through eye to eye contact, smile, touch or words. I would like to suggest to you to consider doing the following:
 

a) Practice liking people until you learn to do so genuinely. How? I am glad you are asking. Cultivate the quality of being interested in knowing more about the people you influence beyond what they do in your organization. Learn to remember people names, anniversaries, birthdays, and their children’s names.

b) Make people like you: Become a people magnet. Don’t be egotistical; guard against the impression that you know it well and never miss an opportunity to say congratulations upon anyone’s achievement. Remember that your smile is the messenger of your good will to others.

2) Develop your communication skills. Communication is a vital tool in leadership. Most Kenyans actually don’t know what exactly is required of them. Why do you need to develop your communication skills? I will tell you. It is because it is through communication that you as a leader or manager get your thinking across to the people you lead and also get to know what they are up to. Two important things I would like to bring to your attention under communication:

a) Communicate people’s worth until they come to see it in themselves.

b) Learn how to listen to people: Most people think that listening is just keeping quiet while the other person is talking waiting for them to finish so that you can begin.

3) Treat people as special: The psychologists say that every human being regardless of their gender, age, skin color, or level of education has among other psychological needs:

a) The need to feel important

b) The need to feel appreciated

c) And the need to feel admired.

Good leaders in Kenya treat people as human beings. They make them feel needed and heeded. They make people feel measured and not monitored. Leadership an affair. Leadership is not an affair of the mind but of the heart. Leadership is a love affair; staying in love with the people that you influence. Leadership development is in essence self development.

MARTHA KARUA

She represents many women by taking a leading role in the field of politics. The woman is very confident and truly believes in herself and her ambitions. Karua has grown at a very fast rate in the political field and it is of no doubt that the growing trend gave her the courage to become a presidential aspirant in the 2013elections.

WANGARI MATHAI

The late Wangari was popularly known for being concerned with matters relates to the environment. She went ahead to plant a lot of trees something that propelled her to win the Nobel Prize. In Kenya, she becomes not only the first woman to win the prize but also the first Kenyan. By taking good care of the environment, her role will always be remembered by many Kenyans.

NJOKI NDUNG’U

She has grown and based her career in matters relating to law. Being a top and recognized judge, Njoki is very respectable in the law field something that saw her be selected among the judges that would hear the electoral petition formerly forwarded to court by Raila Odinga. Her approach towards issues regarding life has been very essential for the past few years.

MARGRET KENYATTA

Currently the first lady, Margret is very hard working and has joined hands with other hardworking women in high efforts to try advocate for the rights of women in society. Margret is the first ever in Africa amongst the many first ladies’s to take part in the London marathon and eventually finishing it successfully.

CAROLINE MUTOKO

Represents the many number of women in the field of journalism. She is popularly known for her confidence and does not entertain jokes on the part of many guys that try to disturb her peace. Caroline Mutoko has grown in the field and no one can argue that she has moved a lot of Kenyans by influencing how they think and approach certain matters regarding life.

Kenya remuneration system is one of the poorest in the world. This is because majority of public civil servants in Kenya are poorly paid and yet they are involved in a lot of risks while at work. Due to lack of jobs in Kenya, many Kenyans are just forced by situation to train those courses so that Kenyans can easily get employed. For instance the case of teachers in Kenya, they are not adequate in the country and therefore many people train in this course so that they can be easily employed once they finish college yet they are paid low amount of money.

Sometimes we do not know whom to blame because as far as some careers are not paying well, people still go and pursue them because of the passion they have towards such career. Therefore, the following are the most worst paid jobs in Kenya:

Majority of those employed are form four leavers (KCSE) holders. It involves a lot of risks yet they are paid less.

This is one of the frequently advertised jobs in Kenya but still paid little amount of money and sometimes it depends on the commission.

We have seen teachers demonstrating on the streets every now and then for increment of salaries but still the government does not increase their salaries that much.

Customer care.

This receptionist job does not also pay much unless you are employed by big companies in Kenya such as Safaricom and Airtel companies.

Since the establishment of CPA (certified public accountant) course in Kenya, there are many trained accountants and this has led to availability of cheap labour but once you are employed by a big company then you will be lucky.

Majority of people mistake those who work in banks as those who have money. They are wrong because majority of those people employed in banks are paid less.

Majority of nurses trained in Kenya are diploma and certificate holders and therefore the government takes advantage of them by paying them less as opposed to the kind of responsibilities and work shifts they are involved in.

Business administration.

This is a course that is most pursued in Kenya and therefore they are many in the job market leading to low pay.

Creation of networks is as important as making investments!

It may interest you to note that there are more job openings today than there were awhile ago. As a matter of fact, there are more job varieties than has ever been in the history of human evolution.

Quite interestingly, there are employers out there who are currently frustrated because they don’t seem to get the right candidates for the job openings in their organizations. This is contrary to a popular opinion that job seekers are frustrated because they cannot get suitable job placements. Nowadays many jobs are not advertised in the newspapers.

What does this tell you? You may have to wait for too long if you hope to secure a job through the adverts in the mainstream print media. As a job-seeker you need to be a little aggressive in your search for your dream job. Make sure that every day, you are building on your network of professionals who are already in the field that you would like to explore. Volunteer your skills and expertise to assist them in their projects without even expecting any sort of reward. You will be surprised that they will be more than willing to introduce you to the people who have the power and authority to hire.

Your CV is therefore a very crucial document. It is like (and indeed) a sales brochure and should be a selling document, as opposed to a ‘telling document’. The work of a CV is not to get you a job; it is meant to get you an interview for you to sell yourself. It should not be a list of duties and responsibilities from your previous employment. It should capture the reader’s attention with the profile highlighting on your skills, experiences and relevant qualifications. An average recruitment manager spends only about 30 seconds glancing at a CV. This means that your profile should be loaded with powerful ammunition that will make the prospecting employer want to meet with you. I cannot exhaustively explain to you here how to create a winning CV, but I have to underscore the fact that you need to give it much of your attention. Each one of us must have a DREAM which is an acronym for:

D- Distinct: Differentiate yourself uniquely or else you will become extinct

R- Relevant: Make your skills and yourself relevant to the work environment

E- Esteem: Build a very healthy self-esteem. Your self-confidence speaks a lot about yourself. Self-confidence is the hinge upon which turns the door of individual achievements in your professional and personal life.

A – Awareness: Must be alert and totally in sync with what is happening in different sectors.

M- Mind’s eye: keep your mind’s eye to the right networks to know what is likely to happen even before it happens.

Money in Kenya is as important as water and air from birth to death!! I know you may be thinking of criticizing my statement but I still think this is the case especially among the students. We always come to realize we have our own personal obligation to take care of while in campus in Kenya, now I think you trust me.

This is the reason why you find many campus students in Kenya engaging in malicious business, if you allow me to term them so. Ladies find themselves having sex for cash which has been a major problem in our Kenya campuses as many rich men are seen driving in and out of major campus institutions in search for these “desperate for cash chics”. Ladies are not only the culprits of this ungodly misconduct, young men also tend to look for ‘sweet mamas’ to cater for their bills and get handouts for upkeep.

Many young people in Colleges and Universities in Kenya nowadays involve themselves in illegal businesses like drug trafficking. We complain as a society but again whose responsibility is it to take care of them? As I earlier quoted, we all have our personal responsibility as Kenyans to take care of our own desires and obligations. Many campus students find themselves losing focus on studies and even dropping out of the campus, others may make it to the end but attain nothing to celebrate.

Okay, it’s clear that I care about my society and here is some advice on how students in Kenya can earn money while studying;

Part time jobs for students in Kenya

Many companies are now looking for part time job employee in Kenya to work for them. Yours is just to keep on checking for those companies or even creating your own links which can lead you to such opportunities.

Online jobs for students in Kenya

As the Kenya is going digital, even the work force has been digitalized and many companies are still hiring people who can work online from their own homes. This is because some companies are avoiding some fixed cost such as renting offices!! Now that makes sense and now students can finally get an opportunity to work while still attending classes. Some of these online jobs require only few hours which is convinient.

Entrepreneurship

I’m glad many young ladies and men in campus are starting their own initiatives like making mats, selling earrings to their friends, and even clothes. Some business ideas in Kenya do not require a lot of capital to start, it will only take you a little amount to start and from their get 50% profit. Believe me some even make double profits depending on your level of aggressiveness.

There are many more opportunities and activities which can make you earn as you study. My advice to Kenyans is simple, don’t expect a lot from the very first days because persistence is also key to any successful business and you may also find yourself expanding the same.

This article is only made to open your mind, be creative, think on how you can multitask and get an extra coin as you study. Among the above mentioned example are other many ways to get cash and also get the real experience as you employ the theoretical part in class!!!!

Always provide all the information requested in the tender application form.Tax clearing certificate and shareholding certificate should never be forgotten at any cost.Out-dated tax clearance certificate are not allowed.

Calculations of tender prices must alwats be correct.

Incase you are not sure of anything in the tender, ASK so as to avoid misinterpretation.

Always sign your bid document to avoid disqualification incase of unsigned documents.

If you are an HDI,remember to claim your points.Points unclaimed are points lost.

Ensure that you drop the the tender into the right box on time.Not even a second late bid by law will be accepted past the closing time.

Sufficient amounts of samples must be supplied if requested to enable the item to be evaluated under the appropriate technical or clinical conditions.Ensure that any requirements related to compliance with SABS specifications are met.

 TIPS FROM THE PROCUREMENT OFFICIALS

Always through the bid documents carefully.

Complete the document in full.

Do a proper cost analysis when calculating your bid prices.Bids calculated too high or too low are considered unresponsive.

Inquire about the bid and obtain all the relevant information before completing the tender document.

Feel free to ask why you were unsuccessful so that you maylearn from mistakes made.

Make sure that you are able to meet all the requirements within the specified time and are able to honour your offer in the event that your bid is successful.

Do not make any misinterpretations or false statements in your bid documentation.It is a legal document and therefore enforceable by law.

Quality services and products will improve your track record and good standing with the department.Poor delivery creates a negative impression not only for your business but for all small businesses in general.

 HOW TO COMPLETE A TENDER OR BID

Each tender or bid advert indicates where you can collect the documents you will need to fill in to submit your tender and where they should be submitted.The advert also indicates a closing date.This is a very firm deadline,no late tenders can be accepted.

 

 

 

Internship programs in Kenya are programs where students or graduates are engaged in through organizations or institutions where the supervisors in the organization scrutinize the progress of the students as they work. The graduates or students get a specified term of working with an organization in Kenya, mostly three months or more. The Kenyan students or graduates therefore have a chance to get involved in the practical aspects of the discipline they major in.

Internship programs in most of the institutions in Kenya usually have the aim of familiarizing the students or graduates with the knowledge they need to know in their field. Internships are the only way a graduate or a student can get a boost in the job world. For graduates in Kenya who have completed school, you don’t have to wait until you get a job to start accounting for the time, be wise enough to familiarize yourself in the world of work through internship.

The most employers in Kenya want to employ a person who has had experience in some things. It’s expensive to provide training for a person who has completely no experience as comparing to a graduate who has experience through an internship program. In fact, most employers assimilate their interns to do work in their institutions. This only happens, however in cases where the interns in Kenya show that they are capable of achieving higher in the organization and can easily adapt to the working conditions present. An employer will always aim at taking aboard the candidates who will benefit the organization best.

Hence, interns in Kenya should put their best in the tasks allocated in the field they choose to take. How do the internship programs work? A student or a graduate seeking to be considered as an intern in an organization should do research on the organization they are targeting. Knowing about the aims, vision, mission, objectives, projects and all about an organization gives a potential intern advantage of showing their interest in the organization.

A person should then make contact with the organization they wish to be enrolled in. In cases where some organizations take interns at particular times of the year, a person seeking an internship in Kenya should follow the schedule of the organization. Once a person becomes an intern with the institution, the rules and regulations guiding the organization should be held to the last day.

Internship programs in Kenya give the students or graduates an entry point to the job world. Therefore, the interns in institutions are engaged in the activities for the experience they need. A recommendation letter is drafted by the supervisor at the end of the program. You will need the recommendation from organizations in Kenya to serve as a show of your experience.  Students or graduates in Kenya are therefore encouraged to behave well while in the internship program.

Some organizations in Kenya also accept foreign interns. There are so many places where interns from Norway, Australia and the like are accepted in organizations for internship. The foreign interns in Kenya get to learn from especially our environment, and this expands their knowledge and experience. In Kenya, some organizations offer interns stipends for the period they do the internship. However, other organizations do not offer anything at all. You should get to know the organization you are wishing to join prior the internship.

Are you interested in writing articles? Do you have passion for writing articles? Or are you unemployed in Kenya and wants some money for upkeep? Then, if you are the person who has interest or passion for writing articles and you are not employed, you can earn through writing articles to a website in Kenya hence you will be able to share your educative articles to other Kenyans through a website called Zakenya.

Zakenya is a freelance website in Kenya where people share, learn and earn money by submitting articles to the site. These articles will be viewed once they have been approved and uploaded in Zakenya website. The articles which are posted by people are usually paid once they have been uploaded to the site.

If you wish to join the site (Zakenya), it is free of charge and joining is very simple. What you need to do is have a phone or computer that access internet. Then punch in the website address of Zakenya – https://www.zakenya.com/. You will be directed to home page of Zakenya. Once you are there, click “login” from the menu. Then scroll downward until you find a login and information “new to Zakenya?” Because you are a new person, you need to signup (open an account with Zakenya).

The requirement for opening an account with Zakenya is your email address, full names and password. Once your fill the form provided, confirm your password and then click submit and you will have registered with Zakenya. You will now be directed to your email so as to validate your account to a fully functional one.

Once you have created Zakenya account, you will only be required to login daily using your username and password and then you can send articles by clicking the “add article”. The categories of articles accepted in Zakenya include; sports, transportation, travel and leisure, agriculture, software, social networking, services, self-improvement, relations and marriage, property, product review, politics, office, jobs, housing and estates, home improvement, health and fitness, food and beverages, finance, fashion, environment, education, communication, careers, business and arts and entertainment.

The amount of money paid in any given article ranges from Kshs.100 to Kshs.150 and should be a minimum of 350 words. The time taken to edit articles in Zakenya once they have been send and update is one day. Once an article has been rejected, they communicate with comments written under it.

The Public Service Commission has the responsibility of recruiting public servants. The commission has the believe of getting high performing ethical and dynamic public service, it transforms the public service to be professional and effective, the core values are transparency, team spirit, accountability, creativity, continual improvement, professionalism and integrity. The commission coordinates with the county board members for the induction programs for Chairpersons and County Service Boards in all the forty seven counties. In the current address of County Public Service Board members of Nairobi, Isiolo, Kiambu, Meru and Muranga. The Chairperson Public Service Commission Hon. Margaret Kobia encouraged the coordination dialogue between the County Service Boards, Service Commission, Transition, Devolution and Planning of Ministry to get a way forward on how to address the challenges of employment and recall the emoluments of all the employees at the County level. Apart from count jobs there a lot of casual jobs offered by the commission; make a visit to the offices of Public Service Commission and enquire about any openings.

  

The public service commission has the duty to

• Establish or abolish offices in the public service.
• Appoint of persons to hold and work in those offices, to confirm the appointments of the relevant offices.
• To discipline the employees through removing persons committing crimes or acting unsatisfactory in the offices.
• Promoting of Kenyan values and processes of governance and public service commission.
• Conducting Investigation, monitoring and evaluation of the administration, organization and employee practices of the service.
• It ensures that the public service is effective and efficient.
• Develop human resources in the public service.
• Making recommendations and reviewing the government in terms of service, professional ethics and code of conduct and of officers’ qualifications in the public service.
• Reporting to the President and Parliament after evaluation on how the values and principles mentioned in Articles 10 and 232 are complied with in the public service.
• Hearing appeals and determining the consequences in respect of county governments’ service.

 

Structure

The structure of Public Service Commission is made up of a chairperson, a deputy chairperson and fifteen other members. Appointment of the members is done by the President. The secretariat supports the commission and the Commission Secretary heads it. The Secretariat consist of the office of the Secretary and several departments, namely, Recruitment and Selection, Administration, Agenda, Human Resource, Examinations and Discipline .

 

The bonding between the Commission and the service is established by the office of the Secretary it processes requests from ministries, local authorities and different departments hence conveying, decisions of the Commission Service. The Administration Department delivers administrative services to the Commission. These include administrative duties and planning, accounts and finance, procurement services, human resource, Information Technology, relating with the public, legal and library services.

 

The Recruitment and Selection Department has the role of Facilitating recruitment which includes selection, appointing office holders and promoting staff. The Agenda Department has the role of Scrutinizing and processing requests from the Ministries, Human resources audit section has the role of Monitoring and evaluating the exercise delegation of powers.

The discipline department has the role of preparing discipline cases applications of appeals for further review by the Commission. The officers appear as witnesses during court cases.

In the examinations Department the section undertakes administrative and promotions of examination and vacancy position tests

Every year, the scouting movement faithfuls in Kenya convene in a small in town at the foot of Mt. Kenya, Nyeri Town in Kenya, to commemorate the life of Robert Powell. Robert Powell, popularly known as Lord Baden Powell, was the founder of the scouting movement worldwide.

Baden Powell was also the first chief scout of the Boy Scouts Association in the world. Lord Baden Powell had served in the British army before leaving to begin the scouting movement in the world. Baden Powell’s wife Lady Olave Powell followed in her husband`s shoes to found the Girl Guides movement in the world. Both Baden and Olave were native English speakers born in London. However, the founders of the scouting movement traversed many parts of the world preaching the scouting gospel and that is how they ended up being in Kenya.

Bade Powell has gained worldwide recognition and respect as a man who acted selflessly in regard to his country as a soldier and humanity as a whole. Lord Baden Powell wrote and published over forty books and 16 pamphlets on the Scouts Movement during his lifetime. Lord Baden Powell travelled to Nyeri town in Kenya in 1938, ailing of ill health until his death in 1941. Lord Baden Powell was buried in a small graveyard at the ACK church in Nyeri town in Kenya. Lady Olave Powell later died while in Europe but her remains were also flown to Nyeri town in Kenya and interred besides her husbands grave in Kenya.

Scouts all over the world celebrate the life and times of both Lady Olave and Lord Baden Powell on 22nd February every year. 22nd February is the birth date of Lord Baden Powell. The scouts and guides travel from all over the world to this small town in Kenya, Nyeri, in the heart of Central province to pay tribute to their fallen hero and heroine. Business in Nyeri town in Kenya booms around this period of commemorating Lord Baden Powell by scouts and guides in the world, as the rather dormant town gets to life and receives worldwide recognition.

The graves of both Lord Baden and Lady Olave in Nyeri town are interred within the compound of the St. Peters A.C.K church in Kenya. St Peters ACK church in Nyeri town in Kenya is located at the periphery of the Nyeri town along the Nyeri- King`ong`o Road. The graves of Lord Baden Powell and Lady Olave in Kenya have been marked as national monuments in Kenya.

Since its 22nd February, 2014 all scouts and girl guides are convening in Nyeri to show their respect for Lord Baden Powell.