JOB SEEKERS ADVICE CORNER

A founding figure of venture capital, George Doriot, was fond of saying that it is always better to back an A-team with a B-plan than an A-plan with a B-team. It is for this same reason that we say, if you are doing your job right and attracting the best talent, then it is the entrepreneur who will be choosing you as opposed to you who is choosing the entrepreneur.

This should be the case in job interviews as well. Too often, I feel, employers forget that they want or need the candidate as much as the candidate needs them. Perhaps out of arrogance or perceived power, most interview time is spent asking questions about the candidate with only the last couple of minutes for what feels like an obligatory “do you have any questions for me about us?” You only need to survey a handful of recent job candidates or sit in on a few job interviews to observe that there is usually too little interactive dialogue, and too much one-way questioning of the interviewee: Why are your skills right for this position? Tell us more about your last job? How are you going to add value? What is your work ethic? Tell us three adjectives that would describe your attitude? What about your weaknesses? All these questions are a variant of Why should you matter to us? They all generally fit into the “skill” and “will” buckets.

Yet if you want the best talent, then almost by definition you should want talent that has choices. Your mindset therefore needs to be that of both job evaluator and talent scout. As with venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, it is the talent that is the ultimate customer, not the employer. Top talent will always have the balance of power over the employer, not the other way around. This has big implications for that typical barrage of evaluator-type questions. Start by reflecting on how often you have asked the most practical and important of all job interview questions: If you were given this opportunity, would you take it?

We neglect asking this most practical of questions because we are so focused on the “skill” and “will” categories to determine if a candidate is desirable. But a careful pre-review of a resume and the first 15 to 20 minutes of an interview is usually plenty of time to get validation of a candidate’s skill set and will capabilities. Therefore, good interview design should incorporate more humility — taking on more aspects of a mutual dating session than a backroom interrogation. Ask yourself the next time you or your colleagues complete an interview if you have gained a sense of the likelihood of whether the candidate would join your firm. If you have no idea — which is the answer I have heard too often — then you have failed to take full advantage of the interview time. Understanding or at least having a sense post-interview whether the candidate — the customer — really wants this job or if he or she is just “shopping” should be a goal of any good interview and evaluation process.

I have encouraged colleagues to probe deeper during pitches from entrepreneurs or in job interviews of prospective candidates into the critical and practical question of whether or not the candidate wants us. To help do that, there are several related and similarly practical questions: Where do you want to eventually live and settle? Where else are you looking and why do we stand out in your set of choices? Are there any reasons why you would not take this job if it were offered? All of these questions are pragmatic because they focus on the probability of yield. 

Having a sense of the yield probability of a candidate, his or her motivations for interviewing, and the possible obstacles to accepting the job should be among the most important interview goals. They more effectively channel your time and energy with the candidate.

The next time you are interviewing a candidate, remember that she is the customer — and that the balance of power is not necessarily with you just because you are offering a job. If you don’t think like that, you might waste a lot of time and be disappointed making offers that people don’t accept. Or worse, you might experience adverse selection, and end up with people below the potential you could have gotten. As soon as you have the sense that you have a qualified candidate, start balancing your interview mode with sell mode. Explain why you and your firm make sense for the candidate, why you are a natural choice. Then ask the most important question — would they choose you?

RECOURS FOUR KENYA CONSULTANTS GOES NATIONAL

It has been approximately five months since Recours Four Kenya Consultants (R4K) was founded and at least two months since the company relocated to Ngong Road from Langata and it must be hard work and positive publicity as R4K continues to bag several contracts from different companies.

Having just launched its website a month ago, R4K was able to secure a contract from a Micro Finance company based in Westlands, Nairobi area where the clientele needed almost 1,500 staff personnel for the position of field officers to be based across the country. Among the 1,500 personnel to be recruited by R4K, five were to come from each constituency in all the counties, and this meant the company had to get down working to ensure they beat the deadline and targets.

According to the Recours Four Kenya Consultants’ boss Ms. Gloria Michelle Otieno while in her office, she acknowledged the fact that most youths were responding positively to the varied job openings that were being presented to them. She continued to state that, as much there was increased youth unemployment in most developing nations, R4K was founded with the soul purpose of reducing this especially among the youth hence the company motto, for the youth and by the youth.

It should be noted that, before the micro finance company contract, the company had already recruited person’s for a health care center based in Mombasa for the position of human resource/personal assistant, did staffing for a five star hotel based in Malindi for the positions of chefs and cooks and also did staffing for two lavish restaurants both based in Nairobi Donholm and Ngong road area for the positions of cashiers, waiters and waitresses.

Among the diverse positions that Recours Four Kenya Consultants have managed to recruit include, customer care, chefs, cooks, cashiers, field officers, sales persons, human resource persons, procurement officers and personal assistants just to mention a few. In all these positions it has been from different industrial sectors including; hospitality, micro finance, telecommunication to health sector.

Speaking to the company’s Director of Operations, Mr Muka Ndombi, he revealed that R4K had secured itself another contract with another company based in Upper Hill Nairobi area and that he was excited about the new developments, since it will be a gain for both the company and those who will be recruited. When asked to shed more light on the same, he declined stating that the job advertisement will be out soon and thus no cause for anxiety. However, he strongly urged the youth to be aggressive enough and grab the opportunities being presented to them. He added that the youth should stop wining about lack of jobs but instead take the initiative to shape their own future.

As reported, R4K has already recruited field officers for the Micro Finance company for people based in Nairobi county and now they are recruiting for Machakos county, Nakuru county and Kericho county. As highlighted, the interviews will be conducted at the company’s premise in Ngong road. A word from the C.E.O Ms. Otieno, she asserted that jobs are out there and that its only lack of proper personal branding that renders most youth jobless especially in terms of poorly written CVs and cover letters, she said that a well written CV markets an individual giving the right impression to potential employers.

R4K AT THE UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

More than ten companies both private and public, local and international feted the United States International University (USIU) 2013 career fair that was held in the second week of July from 9^th to 11^th in their school ground.

Among the companies that were present included Telkom Orange, Safaricom LTD, Samsung, Institute of Human Resource Management (IHRM), Gibebe, Bidco, Unilever (Rexona), Chase bank among many others. Apparently the Recours Four Kenya Consultants stand was located next to Bidco and opposite Telkom Orange stand.

It should be noted that the main aim of the career fair was to help the university students get career advice about their professional career life. Among the guest speakers who addressed the students was the Safaricom Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O) Bob Collymore who later conducted several interviews among the students for the position of customer care interns. Similarly the Telkom Orange Kenya was also collecting Curriculum Vitae from the students who were present.

The most notable thing during the career fair was that the USIU students took the initiative positively as most of them visited the different stands seeking advice and getting to learn more about what next after graduation.  It could be observed that some of the students even decided on show casing their products by going entrepreneurial, as it could be seen some were involved in catering business while others got involved in selling of clothes and shoes. This was an impressive way of approaching the business world as a way of reducing the unemployment rate in Kenya.

It was a heartwarming and pleasant surprise to note how the R4K stand was overwhelmed by the multitude of students who took their time to learn about the exclusive affordable services that the company offers to graduates and entry levels. As reported some of the students even decided to have their CVs revamped and returned the same day. While this was happening Recours Four Kenya Consultants appreciated the large turnout of students who registered with them for their services in the two days that R4K was in USIU.

As it appears even as R4K participated in its third successful career fair in the USIU, it is evident that the company is gaining the right publicity as both clients and companies keep knocking at the R4K door seeking one service or the other. But in all these R4K still believes in youth empowerment and that is why the company stand remains empowerment for the youth and by the youth.

Recours Four Kenya Consultants (R4K) is a recruitment company which is located in Ngong Road, Piedmont plaza 5^th floor, opposite Kenya Teachers Science College (K.T.S.C). The company face book page is Recruitment4kenya and its twitter handle is @R4Kenyans.

THIS FAR WE HAVE GONE...

The wise men say, the journey of a thousand miles starts with one step and true to this old adage Recours Four Kenya (R4K) has come along way as a living testimony to this.

To most youth their dream is that once they get that white collar job they would wish to be their own bosses. But hey the storyline is not always a smooth path, challenges are always there but they present real opportunities in disguise and as stated by the R4K boss Miss Gloria Michelle before you judge or criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoe!

First, the company started off by successfully hosting its first Youth convention on April where they had several guests including; Shappaman Kanema from Camp Mulla, Charles Mwakio, the Director of Rotaract club of Nairobi, Mike Mina, Chair of United Nation (U.N) simulation exercises and George Saltai a youth farmer and Entrepreneur.

Next R4K hosted a motivational interview training program held in Langata in May where there were speakers like Tom Lee Msongo, a Reseacher, John Kennedy a panel recruiter at SGS and Mr. John Mudany, the Director of Finance from KENGEN. A similar interview training was held at the same venue in the month of June where it was officiated by Ms. Pennie Warren, a Business Coach and a Human Resource Specialist in Africa, also in her company was Mr. Stewart Kinloch, the Managing Director of Dalriada Consultants and finally Mr. Donald Ouko the General Manager of IMC Media Group and also one of the R4Kenya candidates who secured his current job through R4K.

Apart from the several career fairs that R4K participated in and those it will be participating in the near future, the company was also nominated for a Work Life Balance Award by the Catholic University of Italy, which according to Ms. Michele this has been the highlight of the company as she says she appreciates the recognition for the award bearing in mind it’s the first award the company has been nominated for.

The company also brags of having successfully created, designed and developed a creative brand Curriculum Vitae for the American based Kenyan musician Stella Mwangi (S.T.L). This according to the C.E.O was way steps ahead as the international Kenyan musician would go along way in branding the company and giving it the desired publicity that it needs.

Similarly the company is well branded in the social media with the use of Face book as their major platform to connect to its potential clients and to reach out to the youth who need empowerment. As a matter of fact the company has majored on social media since according to Ms. Gloria there is huge potential in the social media since everybody gets connected there. Other social media sites include Linked In and Twitter.

R4K AT THE ATB CAREER FAIR

They say opportunity knocks only once, and for R4K this saying couldn’t come at any other better time than this! When the company was invited for its first ever career fair by the Africa Talent Bank (ATB), Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O) Miss Miriam Mukasa.

The ATB career fair that was held in the month of May boasted of over 2,000 participants who had attended the function and this had provided a major boost for R4K since the more the people it meant more publicity and thus good for the growing company which needed as much exposure as it could have.

Among the guest speakers who attended included Bob Colymore, the Safaricom C.E.O and apparently, the Safaricom stand had been situated directly opposite the R4K stand and thus this had attracted a good number of Safaricom clients to the R4K stand leading to a total of almost 300 clients who had registered with the R4K by the end of the day.

Speaking in his office after their first successful career fair held in Kenyatta International Conference Center (K.IC.C), Mr. Allan Muka the R4K Director of Operations acknowledged the opportunity presented to them by Ms. Mukasa. He pointed out that being at the ATB career fair had placed the company at a more strategic place since thanks to the exposure, R4K got several invitations to career fairs and business conferences, including; Daystar University career fair, IBM conference held at Strathmore University and now United States International University (U.S.I.U) career fair which will be held during the second week of July 2013 just to mention a few.

It should be noted that the company was only approximately two months old when it participated in that particular career fair that hosted already established and even multinational organizations like Unilever, British American Tobacco (B.A.T),  Safaricom, Standard Bank, Dhanush among other companies.

 

 

RECOURS FOUR KENYA CONSULTANTS(R4K)

Did you know that the Kenyan youth form approximately 70% of the country's total population? Now you know. However,  this percentage notwithstanding the continued number of unemployed youth, continues to bring jitters among most developing nations and especially in Kenya.

It is for this same reason that Recours Four Kenya (R4K),  a recruitment agency was formed. R4K is a legally registered company based in Nairobi Ngong Road area. The recruitment company which is four months old in the industry was formed basically with the soul purpose to help reduce unemployment especially among youth graduates and entry level with good GPA's, good grades and class scores.

It should be noted that the vision of the company is to be the leading Recruitment Consultancy company that consistently achieves getting youth employed hence reducing high number of unemployment.

While explaining the whole idea behind the formation of the company, the R4K Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O) Miss Gloria Mitchelle, stated that creation of adequate employment opportunities was still one of the greatest challenges in Kenya and that the Kenyan scenario was quite alarming with the employment challenge growing overtime with the youth being the main casualties.

 

She also added that as much as there are many recruitment consultancy firms out there, most of them were business oriented and did not mind a lot about the youth. She asserted that her company has capitalized on the youth empowerment and thus the punch line 'empowerment for the youth by the youth'.

Until recently when it became registered as a recruitment agency R4K has been offering CV and cover letter makeover services and interview training services for its clients. These services have been and are still charged at very affordable charges considering the nature of its clients being mostly graduates and entry levels, Miss Mitchelle highlighted.

Recours Four Kenya Consultants was rebranded from its initial name Recruitment Four Kenya soon after its registration. Being a young growing company, R4K has managed to hire five staff personnel with one Director of Operations and one C.E.O.