When a Prospective Employer asks for your twitter, facebook, LinkedIn Page

Recently, I got an invitation on LinkedIn to connect with one ‘Geornny Walker’ (pardon me if you read this Geornny) but it was a bit surprising. Why would one have such a name on such a professional site? If it was a social platform like Facebook or Twitter, it’s completely understandable. While Facebook is known to foster personal relationships (never mind that I don’t know a sixth of the people in my friends list), LinkedIn focuses on professional networks and twitter is a bit of both.

Ever filled in an online job application form that prompted you to give your twitter/ Facebook/ LinkedIn profile? I have, severally. Before I do so, I always try to mentally go through my head hoping I did not post something incriminatory. Recruiters are constantly shifting from normal paradigms of official interviews and contacting referees as a form of background check. Many recruiters opt for going through your social profiles to get a better feel of who one is because frankly speaking, we can all pretend during interviews with pleasant behavior, calculated answers and a courteousness that we normally don’t possess.

So, is someone really who they portray to be on online social circles? Everyone has that one friend who cleaned up their profile so that they may specifically appeal to their professional colleagues.  I know of people who constantly update being in fancy places they are not...in short; they create a personality that may not really reflect who they are but suits them. It’s easy to be someone you are not on these social sites. You can choose to be the inspirational one, the bully, the mean one, the relationship expert, the happy one, the fashionable one, the preacher or the grumpy negative one. This is why some recruiters will not entirely put basis on online profiles.

When recruiters ask for social platform links, they aim to see a much more private aspect of the prospective employee’s life; a kind of background check. They get a glimpse of who you are outside the confines of resumes and interviews. It also helps them to see if a candidate’s personality would fit in their company and as mean as it may sound, weed out candidates who seem not to fit into the company culture. While some may view it as invasion/violation of one’s privacy, no one is really stopping them.  

Having a look at a candidate’s profile will give a bit of insight to their character, who they are: Do they constantly post inappropriate jokes or photos? Who are they following on twitter? Are their posts full of depth or lack it completely? Do they follow market trends or news related to their industry? What kinds of groups do they like/follow on Facebook?

Have you begun doing a recollection of the number of selfies you post? Or the picture where you were holding a big blue moon bottle, or when you were exhaling some sheesha? Relax (a bit), results show that 54% of recruiters will react negatively to typos compared to 47% reaction to alcohol references. It turns out that the worst mistake you could do is having spelling mistakes and poor grammar. “Xo Xtop thiz kind of non-xense”.

Of course discriminatory remarks related to gender, religion, race and tribes won’t be painting any sort of good picture.  Posts of a sexual nature, references to illicit drugs, and many mentions of alcohol consumption will not help you secure the Company’s Public Relations Manager position either.

Might you guess the most suspicious of them all? Someone who cannot be traced on the internet, nowhere; a social ghost. When you do not have profiles on Facebook, twitter, Google+ or LinkedIn, a bit of suspicion kicks in. Do you exist? What are you hiding? Are you not relevant? Second in line are the lurkers, those who have profiles but rarely engage in any discussions or post anything.

For those actively seeking employment, how can you use social sites as leverage?

On Twitter

• Always follow companies you aspire to work for and their employers (hope the latter does not sound like a form of stalking). Through following them, you can watch out for job listings or postings and who knows? It may be your big break.
• Have a strong profile with coherent, grammatically correct tweets. Follow what is happening within your industry and voice your opinion about it.
• Reaching out to people you want to network with is vital. Make conversation, share opinions, give insight... although its only 140 characters, space is never a constraint on the internet.
• You can also choose to be proactive about what is happening in your job search journey. Again, you never know, someone may chip in with valuable information

On LinkedIn

• Optimize your profile by filling your professional Headline with specialty keywords that are catchy, exciting and related to your field.
• Ensure that your profile is completely filled out and flawless. Exhaust your resume completely, not forgetting to include information such as volunteering efforts, memberships or affiliations with professional bodies
• Ensure you join industry groups to connect with recruiters seeking industry-specific candidates

On Facebook

• Some recruiters use Facebook groups, corporate Facebook pages and advertisements to post jobs and source for candidates. It would therefore be wise to follow groups and pages that specialize in promoting jobs. Be on the lookout for the Ad platforms as well.
• Wishing you worked for a certain company? The law of attraction actually works. Envision working there as you like their company page and follow up on the updates about the company, job offers and most importantly, always engage.
• Check your privacy settings and ensure that you are traceable and when searched, your profile comes up.
• Be careful about what you post regardless because at the end of the day, you being a brand of your own, what you say or do  directly reflects to who you are as a brand.

This said, candidates aren't expected to hang out on social media crossing fingers to have job opportunities and employment conversations. It’s just a matter being a good mannered person with positive vibes and a bit of professionalism.

There is nothing vain about 'googling yourself'. I Google myself all the time. If you haven’t, do so and watch what pops up...Do you like the person the internet portrays you to be?

A Must have App for Women

The gods of the Blogosphere should have already struck me dead by now. I haven’t blogged in such a long time. While I would love to outline the various reasons for my absence, I find them a bit too personal to share because they are well… non-existent!! But I have been busy, am not sure with what exactly. Am in my final undergraduate year working on my project and that has shifted my focus a little bit.

Onto some more pressing issues, we know how the Google Play Store has revolutionized and made our lives easier. The applications make life so much easier. Am sure each of us has that one app that they cannot live without. Feel free to share with me which ones they are! My personal must have, well apart from WhatsApp and Instagram, is My Days.

My Days is an App that helps me to predict and track my periods and gives summarized information on fertility and ovulation. I was so happy when a friend of mine recommended it. Some of the cool features it has include an almost perfect precision of your next period, the list of your fertile days and a customizable interface. The app’s format is of a calendar that also allows you to make important notes and update any changes you undergo with relation to your female reproductive system.

Just last year, surveys showed that almost 400,000 abortions took place in Kenya. Such a shocking number right? Huge too. This goes to show just how many unintended pregnancies happen each and every day. The society we live in has girls fearing pregnancies than contacting HIV/AIDS. It’s something we rarely talk about despite it being so real to us and something that has to be dealt with. Even with several affordable contraception options, many women do not take precautions of any kind fully aware of the danger they are putting themselves into and the consequences of their actions.

I am not implying that this App will reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, am implying that it is important for every woman to be in tune with her body. She should know it better than anyone else, and should particularly be keen to any changes that affect her. This application will help in making you reach there. The user of this app will be able to know about their safe days and peak of fertility. You can indicate when you have sex or save some important notes about the kind of contraception your taking. As precaution ladies, if you are old enough to be sexually active, you should be old enough to learn about the various contraception options out there and pick one that suits you best with lots of information on the side effects of each.

In case you want to keep your menstrual cycle business private, you can protect this application with a password. If you read this please ensure you share it with ladies you know, because awareness is key. This is a must have application for ladies. And while at it, wrap it up will you?

Thank you for stopping by! 

'Devirginized' : My First Aptitude test.

When I was called for an Aptitude test, I was both excited and nervous. First, i hoped that it would have very general questions. I sampled quite a number of exercises available on the internet and I must agree that anyone fresh from high school would score tremendously well in such. Particularly because in High school we were so 'chonjo' about everything. Anything to get that A! ,especially in subjects like Mathematics.

No one told me about how time is such a key factor during aptitude tests; or how it is better not to guess on the multiple questions. My first question was timed out as i had honestly not gotten the hang of it yet. Do you panic a lot? I don't..but today I did. The feeling of getting timed out was too bad because in essence, the questions asked were not difficult, but just needed a bit more time to arrive at the correct answer. After about 2 or 3 timeouts, i was not in the mood to enthusiastically continue with the calculations as i had taken up on them in the beginning. At a certain instant, i even started day dreaming about this guy i have a very huge crush on.

I think the automated questions have a way of soothing your bruised ego because after a timeout blow, they would bring a much simpler question. To be quite honest, i took a guess in some instances so as to avoid a timeout experience: something which i feel like pinching myself for. I noticed the room had CCTV cameras and it immediately reminded me of 'The Exam'...

Aptitude tests, especially those in line with logical/mathematical reasoning help in discovering a potential employee's fluid intelligence, which is their ability to reason and think abstractedly. It also tests how you can solve problems almost instantly and strategically plan; almost like 'thinking on your feet'. Many organisations will however use it as a means of screening applicants and while some may argue with the pros and cons of it being a good interview procedure, future/potential employees should simply embrace it.

I left the room with so much on my mind. I hate to disappoint myself, because I like 'ME' so much. Hopefully I did not do too bad in my first aptitude test. For me its always entirely about being positive no matter what. Meanwhile, I have found a few techniques that will help better performance in such tests. Practice makes perfect, yes? So promise to practice them too so that you will be ready for your first test:

• Always work with puzzles to strengthen your mathematical prowess and inner genius. Make Sudoku your friend. 
• Do a lot of practice on different mathematical problems as you time yourself. This helps in gaining speed and accuracy
• Check out various online free aptitude tests. Some are very cool and will give you variety from verbal, abstract and numerical reasoning to more complex ones such as spatial visualization tests.
• Know your weak points, focus on them and make sure you gain clear understanding of their building concepts. 
• Discover patterns in the little ordinary things you come across.
• Try and memorize numbers, dates etc. 

Mystery of QR Codes unveiled!!!!!

QR codes are indeed one of the most innovative tools in the technology world. Despite the fact that they have been around for quite some time, they recently gained popularity and are being leveraged for marketing and creating brand awareness in several companies all over the world.

The secret behind having a successful QR code is making it in such a way that it will not only look enticing and capture one’s attention, but will also make them willing to take their time and follow the link to what you want them to see. Boy did Victoria Secret go all out on this!! They managed to come up with one of the best QR campaign strategy that I have come across. Oookay, Tesco’s idea was good too. (to watch more on Tesco’s idea click here) but this one deserves a stand innovation. Have a look:

There also seems to be a hint of mystery with Calvin Klein's campaigns that replaced the usually racy Calvin Klein billboards we are used to.

So who should use QR Codes?

1. Food and beverage Industry like Starbucks are using QR codes to help their customers buy food easily. Same case applies to large malls such as Wall mart and Tesco. Tesco managed to triple its sells by placing their merchandise on paper on the subways in the exact manner they would look like in an actual supermarket. Shoppers can actually shop at these places without having to visit stores and have their goods delivered safely to them; talk of literal window shopping.
2.   Real estate agencies have started to place the codes on some of the property bill boards and signs that they put up.
3.   Personal codes can be used to show your Curriculum Vitae or Portfolio in case you have to show one to potential clients or prospective business associates. Placing the codes on your business card is a good way of avoiding clutter and ensuring that your business profile summary on social networks can be accessed.
4.  Restaurants can include QR codes to show their official website, historical information about themselves, more information about the kind of meals they serve as well as bookings and reservations(Contact Information). Discounts, promotions and recipes can be included as well from time to time.

Lessons learned

1.   Ensure that you include your brand into the QR code or if not, ensure that it is well represented in the background.
2.  Make sure to incorporate the company logo and colors so as to make it appealing and create some kind of familiarity with your brand.  
3.  Customizing the QR code goes a long way in making your brand consistent and reliable (With consistency comes trust.) At times, consumers have gotten links that directed them to harmful sites and viruses so a little assurance would go a long way. 
4. Make sure to keep the design as simple as possible because it may be difficult for code readers to interpret complex code.
5. Ensure that the codes are thoroughly tested and are functional. Almost all QR codes are scanned by mobile devices, it would be senseless to link the codes to a desktop website version that is standard as mobile is what will be used to access the link. 
6. In most cases, QR codes, for a user , are set to be as a form of reward for the person who unveils it. Its like being on a treasure hunt and discovering gold. In the same light, it is highly important to ensure that there is a form of reward waiting for the user on the other side, for instance, free downloads, exclusive media, coupons, gifts, special offers and exclusive information.

How to make a QR code.

This can be made using different kinds of QR code generators such as TapReader, QR Pro and SmallQR. They are all free of charge and will help you get a code in a number of minutes. So you do not have an excuse. Get one for your business now!! Ensure to place all the necessary details needed such as URLs and above all, ensure that the QR Code is thoroughly tested before putting it out for the public. 

Interesting Uses and designs of USB flash drives that you did not know existed!!

My USB flash drive is boring..its a metallic hp 8 GB 2.0 drive. Making my rounds around the internet, i have come across some of the most interesting designs that blew my mind away. Maybe i am shopping in the wrong places because mine is extremely mainstream. If you have a clue of where i should get lovely flash disks as these, do share :-)

Antique USB flash drives

Card Shaped USBs

Camera and Film roll inspired USBs

Ninja / Warfare USBs

Nature inspired USBs

Jewelry flash drives

Fantasy film/ Sci-fi / Cartoon flash disks

Make up inspired flash disks

Product inspired flash drives

The Vibrator that doubles up as a USB flash Drive. 
This was particularly interesting :-) The Crave Duet vibrator and flash drive ; though i find entwining both uses in one device a bit far fetched. Which lady would be comfortable using a gadget for storing information at the same time doing you know what.....

i took the liberty of uploading the video that shows how well it functions and the reasons the designer had for making such a gadget .

Other Interesting ones:

Apart from the normal uses of USB flash disks such as storing important information, there are different ways  that they can be used to better both your business and computer usage.

• to keep your computer secure, there are several flash disks that can be used to lock or unlock your computer when you tun it on and off and therefore does not warrant you to key in a password. you can have the flash disk plugged in while you use it and have it removed when not using the computer.
• In an office setting, custom flash disks can be given as corporate gifts. It is an incredible marketing strategy for the company since it allows them to take branding advantage accordingly as well as acquire both the disks and branding done at good prices because of the bulk advantage. For corporate clients and employees, it offers them a chance to get practical and functional gifts. 
• For employees in the office environment, these devices offer ease and convenience when it comes to data and applications portability, securing back ups and ensuring virus free computers.
• Instead of using a lot of money for printing and publications for event giveaways or trade shows, you can invest in affordable flash drives which will not only contain all the necessary information in documents and PDFs loaded prior but will make the attendees impressed by the lightweight and compact method of storing information. 

I still insist, if anyone knows a place where i can get really cool designs, do let me know. 

HOW TO INCLUDE TECHNOLOGY IN BETTERING CUSTOMER RELATIONS.

Not enough emphasis can be put on the importance of having open, fast and reliable customer communication channels with each and every individual who purchases your products or services. Any company that makes their customers feel special will always reap impressive returns. It all lies in going above and beyond for the consumers and implementing less complex channels of communication and interaction. Consumers are like ladies, it’s the little things that count; for instance, being able to thank them for their longevity, personalizing interactions and using innovative and fast customer service surveys so as to better their experience. Some companies I know have taken time to send their esteemed customers hand written letters, not really caring that we are in a digital era where growth of online presence and integrating social media as a communication tool is highly stressed on.

Before implementing technology in improvement process of customer care services, a corporation should have a visionary and inspiring leader who is a change enthusiast open to new and radical ideas. Having missions and visions that border on values such as integrity will ensure customer satisfaction levels are optimized. They should also have target scores and have the urgency to reach and exceed customer relations. All this should be done with an empowered synergy of employees who are well aware of the power in good customer relations and the trickling effect that it provides through compensation.

A crucial area that may be overlooked by many companies is the process of recruiting and training customer service staff. Not only should they be trained in responding to different consumer queries, they should also have a very rich background knowledge about the products and services so as to provide sufficient guidance to inquirers. Apart from being able to have the right kind of attitude and patience to deal with different kinds of customers, mechanisms should be put in place in regards to delegation of responsibilities so that it will be their duty to follow up and look into customer relations.

The main reason for the emphasis on human relations and participation in consumer relations is because consumers are not just simple statistics and figures a company aims to make work in line with targeted profit margins but rather major boosters of the business. Even though at times numbers may add up, it is crucial to have a competitive advantage against the rest by winning consumers loyalty.  

In the same spirit of technology having solutions for practically every situation, the power of technology can be harnessed to ensure that the customers’ needs are met urgently and with the gravity they deserve.  The edge that technology offers compared to human personnel revolves around data management and statistical analysis in cost effective methods especially in decision making and market automation. 

Some of the ways a company can boost interaction include:

•         Being present in all major social network sites so that consumers can easily contact them when need be. They should have personnel that are responsive in a fast and assuring manner.
•     Offering a valid email address whereby consumers can be able to contact them in case of any inquiries  Many companies offer email addresses but when contacted barely respond back. It is important to change this. 
•     On the company website, it is important to ensure that there is a forum for all customers to actively interact and post questions about the products and services they are using when they have a problem. Other consumers who can help out should be able to contribute to such discussions and so should the administrator of the company’s website.
•     Using up to date and sophisticated gathering software for carrying short and fast surveys from customers on the website and through other channels such as email and phone calls.
•     It is necessary to ensure all communication avenues are connected so as to keep track of all complaints from consistent consumers who may use different methods of communication. This kind of unification is crucial in deciphering client needs.

·        Ensure that the client can access help at any time they need it by having self-service optimized and ensuring that each of the processes related to the business is automated as a means of cutting down on costs and improving efficiency.

P.S: I was particularly inspired to write this because of the really bad customer care services that Safaricom have. Apart from twitter, it’s so hard to get any kind of direct contact with any of the agents. I did not want to rant so hopefully this put the message in a calm and professional tone. If the problem is persistent, I will have to rant.

OPEN DATA SYSTEMS: HAD A LOOK AT YOUR COUNTRY’S YET?

 

Many countries have adopted the transparency and accountability policies that come with Open data systems. The open data policies ensure that data and information is efficiently managed and shared to the public for easier access, better disaster management and decision sharing, better project development and use of effective financing mechanisms. The whole idea behind it is to ensure that data is available to the public in machine readable formats and can easily be cross combined and re-used by academia, researchers, media and other major sectors in every institution; the major premise being opening up publicly owned data from institutions and ensuring its accessibility.

Ensuring the open data is linked is essential since it fuels greater transparency and accountability which additionally spurs greater economic activities. With the immense information out there, users are able to fully manipulate the information by creating and combining different kinds of data sets which they can make their own interpretations in digestible and much friendlier applications and formats.

Am proud of Kenya! We are the first African country to have our own Open data portal which has published a lot of government data and has invited everybody to come, look, take and play! If you haven’t had a look at it, I would advise you to because it gives so much insight and new knowledge about our country with well leveled up and deeply researched and analyzed statistics. Other major organizations that have adopted this kind of paradigm include World Bank, New York Times, The Guardian, United Nations and several other governments throughout Europe, North and South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

All the data from Open Data systems is license free and is not subject to patents, copyrights, trade secret regulations or trademarks. Through interlinked data, the open system facilitates knowledge creation and new knowledge essential in making assessments and research. Any researcher should definitely bookmark open data sites.