RCCG Jesus Capital...The Seat of HIS Government.

Saturday, 12 January 2013

Words By Sean conrad

By Sean Conrad.

Employees, particularly IT pros, can no longer afford to rely 100% on their employers to help develop their skills, talents, and competencies. But continuous development is critical if you want to get ahead in your career, let alone keep current with technology. Here are five practical ways you can take control of your career.

1. Start a performance journal

Do you regularly keep notes on the highs and lows of your performance? Now I don’t mean that weekly or monthly report you’re required to write for your manager. I mean making notes on things you observe about your day-to-day performance:

the accomplishments you’re most proud of
the things you consider failures or sub-par performance, and what you learned from them
the thank you’s and other forms of acknowledgement you receive
the criticisms you received, justified or not
Collected, this information helps to give you perspective on your performance and potential, uncovering areas of strength and weakness. This kind of performance journaling will make your weekly/monthly reports, as well as your annual performance appraisal, easier to write. But more importantly, they’ll help you see your strengths, the things you’re passionate about, the areas where you need to develop, the stuff you hate, etc. Then you can use that information to drive your career development and progression.

2. Solicit feedback

Research shows that regular feedback improves performance. So if you want to take control of your career and improve performance, solicit feedback from others. Ask your manager, peers, internal and external customers, about how you’re doing and what you could to do improve. Feedback expertJamie Resker suggests you ask two key questions:

What’s one thing that I’m doing that’s working or that I should keep doing?
What’s one thing I could do to be more effective in my role?
The key here is to get information on one strength and one weakness and then tackle them. If you’re gathering feedback from multiple sources, identify the most commonly mentioned “thing” and then focus your efforts on leveraging your strength and addressing your weakness.

3. Complete a self-appraisal

Don’t treat your performance appraisal like a spectator sport! Your performance appraisal should be something you actively participate in. One the best ways to do that, and to start a dialogue with your manager is to complete a self-appraisal, whether your performance management processes requires you to or not. A self-appraisal is a great way to take charge of your performance, progress and development. It gets you thinking about your performance, accomplishments, learning needs and career aspirations. You should not only complete a self-appraisal, you should share it with your manager before they complete their appraisal of you, to give them your perspective and open the conversation.

4. Draft your goals

Drafting your goals is another way you can easily take control of your career. Start by looking at your organization’s high-level goals and any department level goals. Then think about how you in your job, with your role and responsibilities, can contribute to achieving those. Draft goals that capture your contributions. If there are any projects on the go that you’re passionate about or would love to work on, draft a goal to do so. And think too about your own development and career progression. Are there stretch goals you’d like to take on that will help you acquire new skills, or broaden or deepen existing ones? You’ll of course need to negotiate all this with your manager, but taking the initiative to draft your goals first will help make sure you tackle work that will benefit your career.

5. Own your development

Lots of us still fall into the trap of waiting for our managers to assign us development activities. But your career and development are ultimately your responsibility, not your manager’s. So think about the knowledge, skills and/or experience you need to do your job better today. Then identify what areas you need development in to support your career progression (your performance journal notes can help you with this). Next, think about how you learn best: by seeing, hearing or doing? Do you learn better on your own, or do you need social stimuli? Once you’ve figured that out, it’s time to start identifying learning activities and opportunities. What can your company reasonably support you in doing, and what can you tackle on your own, outside of work? Then start learning, taking advantage of all the opportunities at your disposal: courses, conferences, e-learning, podcasts, blogs, newsletters, work assignments, job shadowing, mentors, volunteer work, cross functional teams, etc.

It’s your career. Make the most of it by being proactive about your performance, development and career progression. No one else will do it for you.

Sean Conrad has spent his career in IT, and now helps end-user organizations to successfully implement talent management software solutions. He writes about career development and management best practices for the Halogen Software blog.

PROFESSIONAL VACANCIES

Dear Professional,

Kendor Consulting is urgently looking for the right candidates to take up the different level position in her clients' organization. Please find below a full list of vacancies. Urgent Vacancies!

Sales Executive (Reference MFS01)
Location : Lekki, Lagos
A Lekki based firm is seeking Sales Executive with a minimum of 2 years successful sales experience. The role will involve implementing the marketing strategy and executing Business to Business sales as wel as Business to Consumer. The role with suit someone with energy, enthusiasm and passion for selling sweet and gift based products. Remuneration is attractive an includes a commission.

Production Manager (Reference MFP01)
Location : Lekki, Lagos
A Lekki based sweet manufacturing firm is seeking a Production Manager. Must possess at least 2 years experience in a similar role. Must know how to operate plant machinery as well as supervise production and staff.

Head of HR/Admin (Reference IGXHR01)
Location : Ikeja Lagos
An IT firm in Ikeja is seeking a Head of HR/Admin with 3-5 years’ experience in a similar role. This role will suit someone with 3-6 years work experience. The role will be responsible for owning and managing key HR processes. The role will suit someone who is driven by challenges and seeking an opportunity to transform a small organisation’s Human Resources.

Head of Finance (Reference IGXF01)
Location : Ikeja, Lagos
An IT firm in Ikeja is seeking a Head of Finance with 3-5 years’ experience in a similar role. This role will suit someone with 5-8 years work experience. The person will be responsible day-to-day accounting functions including producing timely and accurate financial information, reporting, budgeting, and cost control and cash management.

Administrative Assistant/Support (Reference AA01)

Location Lekki, Lagos
A Consulting and Training firm in Lekki requires and Administrative Assistant to take up office administration and payroll processing duties. The ideal candidate will be have good numerical and problem solving skills. Must have 1-3 years in a similar role. Experience in a consulting or training firm will be a plus.

HR Consultants (Reference HRC01)
A Consulting Firm in Lagos is seeking HR consultants for part time and virtual team assignments and projects The ideal candidates will have a track record of consulting experience with a minimum of 3 years experience in a similar role. The role will suit anyone with between 3 and 15 years consultancy experience.

All roles require at the minimum a graduate degree.

How to Apply
Please send cvs to peopleexpert@gmail.com indicating reference numbers. Applications without reference numbers will not be processed. Application Deadline is 16/1/2013.

Wednesday, 7 November 2012

HOLY GHOST CONGRESS IS AROUND THE CORNER.

Welcome To The Countdown To The 2012 Holy Ghost Congress.

Tuesday, 6 November 2012

From Pastor Wale Popoola

This Is An Article From Pastor Wale Popoola, Pastor-in-charge RCCG Jesus Capital.

Never underestimate the impact of a simple act of Kindness
Never underestimate the impact of a simple act of kindness. The divorced person needs affirmation, love, practical help, encouragement, prayer and above all, grace. God’s grace is big enough for everyone, even the one who is divorced. Reach out and watch God bless.

“Hurry up! We’re going to be late!” I yelled impatiently at my four-year-old son as I snatched him up and almost threw him into the car.

The last few months had been a nightmare. I kept hoping I would wake up to find it was all just a bad dream. Without warning, my husband of thirteen years abandoned me for a younger woman. My world came crashing down. I was shattered. Barely surviving. The concept of even beginning to pick up the pieces was as far away as God. Or so it seemed.

I had always believed in God, and could sing all the verses to “Jesus Loves Me.” Where was He now? Where was all that love He boasted? I was all alone fighting for my life and for my son. Where was justice? Right triumphing over wrong? Fairness was a cruel joke.

That night I was taking him to spend the weekend with his dad. Every time I left my little boy, it ripped my heart out. I dreaded the unbearable grief and agony. Little did I know that this particular evening would be different.

On the way we made a brief stop at the mall. As we left, my son squealed with delight when he saw a sheriff’s car parked out front. He ran toward it quivering with excitement. The deputy greeted us with a warm smile.

“What’s your name?” he asked as he bent down to meet my son.

“Kevin.”

“Nice to meet you, Kevin and Mom. I am Deputy Randy.” Knowing every little boy’s heart, he asked him if he would like to sit behind the wheel.

Kevin was in heaven. Propped up on his knees, he gripped the steering wheel and made vroom, vroom noises. Then to top it off, the deputy let him turn on the bright red flashing lights. Kevin beamed with ecstasy. My heart melted.

After helping him climb out, the deputy opened the trunk, eyes twinkling and said, “I have something for you.” He lifted out a big brown teddy bear with a sheriff’s badge.

Stooping down, he looked into Kevin’s eyes and said, “This is for you because you are such a good boy.”

All I can recall after that was fighting back the tears, driving in silence, as my little boy sat next to me clutching that big brown bear.

“Why did he do that, Mommy? Why was he so nice? Why did he give me this big bear?”

I managed to choke out the words, “I don’t know. I guess he thought you were pretty special. And I do too. I love you.”

“I love you too, Mommy.”

Leaving him that night was just as painful, but somehow my burden seemed lighter. A little more bearable.

The next day I sent a thank you note:

Dear Deputy Randy,
You will never know how much your kindness touched my son and me last night. Kevin’s father left and we are in the deepest darkest valley we have ever known. The way you reached out to my little boy will never be forgotten. And the big brown bear will always be a treasure to him. Thank you for letting God use you to give us hope.

As I wrote that letter, I realized that God was there. He had been all along. Only I just wasn’t looking. He showed his love through this person in a way that He knew we needed. In a language a four-year-old could understand.

Now many years later, I have learned that one way God loves us is through other people. And now that many of my broken pieces have mended, I want to be one who pours out His love to someone else in pain.

For the last 16 years, that deputy remembered Kevin with cards and gifts and visits…even a ride-along. My son is now 21. He has graduated from the Police Cadet Academy, and is completing his college degree.

Guess what is still sitting on his bed?