How to use LinkedIn: 4 smart steps to career success

For many, LinkedIn is the social media equivalent of an awkward networking event.
Friends and acquaintances have said variations of the following to me: “I’m on there but I have no idea what to use it for.” Or: “I don’t see the point of joining — my colleagues know me, my work and my email address. I don’t need to connect with them on LinkedIn.”
But consider this: according to the Pew Research Center, LinkedIn usage is especially high among the educated (bachelor’s degree holders and up), and high earners (those making $75 000 [R829 443] a year or more) — exactly the types of people with whom you’d want to connect professionally.
It is also the only social networking site Pew measured that showed higher usage among 50-64 year olds than among those aged 18 to 29, which means that those with more professional experience (and who are more likely to be in a position to hire) are on the site.
And nowadays, just as a resume is necessary for a job interview, a professional online presence is needed for — well, any kind of career opportunity, whether it be a new job, speaking engagement or collaboration. And a LinkedIn profile, done right, can be that much-needed online resume and help ensure that the good work you do is publicly recognised and that others know how to reach you with relevant opportunities.
If you’re still sceptical (especially if you’re a millennial, a group less inclined to use the site), consider that for most industries, potential employers may find it strange if you’re not on there. Oftentimes, if you apply for a job, whoever vets your resume will look at your LinkedIn profile, whether it’s to see if you have mutual connections who might reveal what it’s like to work with you or to settle any questions raised when looking at your cover letter and resume.
Additionally, 98% of recruiters and 85% of hiring managers use LinkedIn to find candidates, says Viveka von Rosen, author of LinkedIn Marketing: An Hour a Day and founder of LinkedIntoBusiness.com. “So even though there’s Glassdoor and various business tools out there that millennials are using, if they are looking for a job, certainly in traditional areas, they have to be on LinkedIn,” she says.
Professionals at all levels – entry-level, middle management and executives – use it for networking, keeping in touch with current and former colleagues, and engaging with their broader industry. And those more established in their careers also use it to promote their businesses.

Here are fOUR steps to crafting a stellar profile, building a valuable network and leveraging both to your best advantage.
1. Make a findable and visually appealing profile.
“A professional headline with your picture and your name is what people see most often on LinkedIn, so it’s worth it to take two to three minutes to craft something appealing,” says von Rosen. Upload a headshot as professional-looking as possible (even if you can’t afford to hire a photographer), and write a succinct and compelling headline, which runs right under your name. Make this 120-character space, which von Rosen calls “a mini elevator speech,” as creative and readable as possible and use keywords for your industry – whatever you would search for, or the terms you see most often on the profiles of others in your field. Most people just state their current job, but if you have multiple careers or positions, she advises focusing on skill sets.
2.Use your LinkedIn profile to showcase everything that doesn’t fit on your resume.
“LinkedIn changed its search algorithm, so take time to fill out the description areas. Don’t just list your job title, which is how people used to be able to find you,” says von Rosen. Fill out the 1 000-character description areas under each job title and in your overall summary list your contract work and the results you got (and state the fact that it was a X-month-long assignment), upload or link to examples of your work, such as YouTube videos, images, PDFs, Microsoft Word documents, fill out the Projects and Publications sections of your profile (on the upper right in Edit Profile mode), or any other additional sections, such as Courses, Certifications, Patents or Volunteering, that allow you to feature other relevant skills.
Simon Tam is a Portland, Oregon-based “Author | Marketing Rockstar | Nonprofit Leader | Musician | Entrepreneur | Speaker.” (And yes, he really is all those things at once. His secret is applying the skills he builds in each area to the others.) His LinkedIn profile is a paragon of completeness. It features not just descriptions in every section, but also his Wikipedia page and key interviews with NPR and TIME, five projects including his band’s albums, tours and their fight with the US Patent office, ten recommendations from colleagues, his books listed under Publications, and more than 20 awards.
“Like any other resource, the more you invest into it, the more that you get out of it,” he says. “For me, I’ve been able to make new connections, sell books, increase traffic to my websites and develop strategic partnerships. I especially found LinkedIn Groups to be helpful – it was a way to connect with specific industries or markets. By participating as a community member, I was able to quickly develop influence and showcase my contributions to the group.” He says the key is to provide something of value to other members, but that it takes time, persistence and consistency to develop an audience, influence and network.
3. When you’ve got a profile you’re ready to show the world, strategically connect with others.
Connect with existing professional and personal contacts – friends, classmates, former co-workers, current co-workers and other people in your industry whom you know.
Whenever you have a positive interaction with someone with whom you think it would be good to stay in touch, send him or her a LinkedIn request. If you receive an invitation from someone you don’t know, take a look at his or her profile. “Even if they’re not a potential employer or client, maybe they work in your area or have connections that could be potential employers or clients,” says von Rosen.
Whatever you do, don’t just connect with potentially helpful people willy-nilly. If you see someone who could be useful, but whom you don’t know in real life, don’t squander the potential connection by sending the generic message, “Hi Laura, I’d like to connect with you on LinkedIn.” Keep in mind that everyone has a different way of using the site. Some people only connect with those they know offline. Others send a request to anyone they find interesting on LinkedIn Search. If you think your potential target has a more permissive policy – more than 500 connections would be a big clue, as would a completely filled out profile – then feel free to approach him or her yourself through the site.

4. Once you’ve got a valuable network, snoop. 
Snooping is the best way to use LinkedIn, but only after you’ve forged good connections. Let’s say you’re interested in a job posting. You can use LinkedIn to find former employees who could give you insight into the company’s culture or to determine which of your own friends and acquaintances know current employees who could make an off-LinkedIn connection for you.
LinkedIn could also be useful in the reverse situation – if you’re hiring. If you’re on the fence about an applicant and see that a colleague of yours knows him or her, then you can do a bit of reconnaissance.
You can also use LinkedIn even if you’re not looking at a specific job by exploring specific industries or companies. Say you want to find venture capital funding or that you want to work at a certain company. Do a search for the industry or company and then see which of your colleagues could introduce you to someone who works there via LinkedIn or in real life.
Since few people check LinkedIn every day (only 13% use it every day and 34% use it every week, according to Pew), if you can, try to reach out to your connection via email or Facebook, or another platform where they are active, so your request doesn’t go unnoticed.
Through their networks, friends and family of mine have landed jobs through LinkedIn, hired people from it and gained access to important people that they had discovered on it. I have personally been recruited on the site, gotten story ideas from it, and been approached by colleagues looking to contact some of my connections. I’ve been especially impressed when others have used the site for research but then reached out to me via email or another avenue. They knew they’d be more likely to receive a response if they reached out to me through a non-LinkedIn platform.

Written by Destiny

World’s longest rail tunnel to open on June 1

                                       
The new Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT), set to become the world’s longest railway tunnel when it opens on June 1, is a “godsend for Europe”, EU transport commissioner Violeta Bulc told Swiss media.
The 57-kilometre tunnel, which runs under the Alps, was first conceived in sketch-form in 1947 but construction began 17 years ago.
Since then, some 28.2 million tonnes of mountain rock have been excavated and an estimated $12 billion (Dh44 billion) spent to construct a tunnel that should trim travel times through the heart of Europe.
The GBT “will be a vital link connecting Rotterdam (and) Antwerp with the ports of the Adriatic,” Bulc told the Swiss daily Tages Anzeiger.
It will make north-south travel more fluid, curb air pollution and “will be a driver of growth in Europe,” the Slovenian national was further quoted as saying.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, along with Swiss officials, are due to attend the grand opening next week.
A series of test runs are scheduled for the coming months, with full service starting in December.

How to raise your daughter to be a leader

                                        
It’s natural for parents to want the best for their children. More often than not, parents want their children to live in a world without limits, in which they know that everything is possible, and where they’re kept safe from harm.
Unfortunately, the reality is that children are not raised in a vacuum, and they have to participate in the big bad world. According to a research paper published by the Harvard School of Education, called Leaning Out: Teen Girls and Leadership Biases, despite the gains made in terms of women’s rights and gender equality, there is still a big gap in the number of women in leadership roles. And what’s really interesting, is that parents are sometimes the cause of this.
“Girls are bombarded with constricting, demeaning images and stereotypes of females both in their daily interactions and in the media and culture, which can erode their confidence in their leadership [abilities] and negatively affect every corner of their lives,” the report states.

This can be exacerbated by parents who, despite the best intentions, reinforce gender roles and stereotypes. Parents are likely to inadvertently reinforce gender bias by assigning caretaking roles to girls and by failing to confront and critique misogynistic and sexist behaviour.
By telling young girls not to be “bossy” and using words like “fireman”, instead of firefighter, parents send subliminal messages to their daughters about who is allowed to do what.  Statements like “girls are not that good at maths”, or creating a binary between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ girls cultivates a narrow definition of what it means to be a woman, and a woman’s potential.
Doctor Tlaleng Mofokeng, gender activist and reproductive health doctor, says African religions and cultures are often used to maintain strict gender roles that discourage young girls from flourishing.
 “In Africa, we are more religious and cultural. We use a lot of patriarchal messages to stop the advancement of women. We say: ‘this is how we have always done things’ and ‘this is how our ancestors have always done it,'” she says

So, how do you raise a daughter to be confident enough to take on a leadership role? The Harvard report has some ideas.
Constantly challenge sexism 
Mothers often tell their daughters that when a boy is mean to her, it means he ‘likes’ her.  The report suggests that adults need to find meaningful ways to challenge boys’ powerful tendencies to bond and prop each other up by sexualising, and in other ways demeaning girls. There is evidence that misogyny and sexual harassment is pervasive among teens.
Find good role models for your daughters
Representation matters. Showing young girls what is possible can help increase their self-esteem. Teaching your daughter about bold women in different industries, and inspiring historical figures, can boost her belief in her own abilities and give her courage to push for her dreams.

Avoid stereotyping different chores 
Often parents will assign chores based on gender. The boys will be tasked with mowing the lawn while the girls will be the ones doing the laundry and helping with dinner. The report suggests creating a chore wheel that the children spin to see who does which family chores. This helps prevent boys and girls from falling into familiar gender-based family roles.
Find programs that nurture leadership in young girls

Look out for after-school programmes and activities that nurture your daughter’s talents and skills in various fields. These could be in areas of civil leadership, business or politics.
Challenge your bias
Dr Mofokeng says it’s important for older people and parents to work to dismantle their own stereotypes. The women who have always been told that they can only study Home Economics, or be nurses and teachers, are now expected to advise young women who want to be mechanical engineers, lawyers and doctors. These women will have to work hard to challenge what they have always been taught were womens’ limits.

Written Zukiswa Zimela

France faces strikes as nuclear workers join protest

                                      
France faced fresh strikes this Thursday after nuclear power station workers voted to join gathering protests against labour law reforms that have forced the country to dip into strategic fuel reserves due to refinery blockades.
With football fans due to flood into France in two weeks for the Euro 2016 championships, pressure is piling on the government as queues at petrol stations lengthen by the day.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned the CGT union leading the disruption at refineries and fuel depots that it “does not make the law in France”.
The CGT, locked in an increasingly bitter struggle with the government, has called for its action to be extended Thursday to nuclear power stations that supply 75 per cent of the country’s electricity.
The union said late Wednesday that 16 of France’s 19 nuclear stations had voted to join the strike, although CGT official Jean-Luc Daganaud said the effect on power supply would depend on how many workers downed tools.
The union has also called for rallies in major cities, upping the stakes after three months of protests that brought hundreds of thousands on to the streets at their peak at the end of March.
The reforms are designed to address France’s famously rigid labour market by making it easier to hire and fire workers.
But opponents say they are too pro-business and will do little to reduce France’s jobless rate of around 10 per cent.
France has nearly four months of fuel reserves and President Francois Hollande told a cabinet meeting that “everything will be done to ensure the French people and the economy is supplied”.

How to build an executive dream team

Your employees contribute their best when they’re aligned to and understand your business’ vision, values and purpose.
Executive coach Refilwe Khumalo says that in order to avoid hiring the wrong people, it’s important to consider the kind of people you want in your executive team by analysing their character, values, experience and way of thinking, and whether or not these are aligned to those of yourself and your business.
“Start first by critically understanding your own strengths and weakness, and then look for a team of people who balance your weaknesses and enhance your strengths so as to build a well-balanced team,” she says.
Here are a few strategies to help you build an executive dream team, particularly in the early stages of your business:
Value analysis
Once you’ve identified a person you want to work with, spend time analysing their personal and professional values. Values tell us a lot about a person’s moral standing and this is important because it helps to give us an idea of how they will make decisions within the business.
Experience
In the early stages of your business it’s important to be careful not to duplicate skills. Look for people who have experience in the areas that you don’t. This way you balance the skills and business capabilities.
Diversity
We live in a country that is very diverse, which means that our target audience and potential investors are also diverse and all have different ways of thinking and doing. Therefore, it’s important to have within your team a diverse group of people from different racial, gender and professional backgrounds so that you are more likely to have a range of opinions and ideas that will strengthen your business.
Purpose
Consider the purpose of the team, its function in relation to the business goals and whether or not the actual team goal is aligned to the purpose of the business. Ensure that the people you employ can help you achieve your business objectives.
Targets
It’s advisable to set performance targets upfront so as to establish people’s commitment to your business vision, mission and performance. The reason for this is that sometimes, especially in the early days, some people are great at talking, but when it comes to the actual doing they fail to deliver. Setting targets creates a culture of delivery.
Principles
As with any relationship, you will at some point encounter misunderstandings and conflicts, so it is important that in the very early stages of your business you collectively work on putting together a team charter that specifies performance guidelines and behavioural boundaries. This will help the team set expectations and clarify what is acceptable behaviour and what is not. Agree that the charter will evolve as the business grows and be sure to review the charter on a regular basis, and to go through it with any new team members you bring on board.

 Written by Nazley Omar

The importance of investing in your child’s early education

                                    
Parents will sacrifice a lot to ensure that their children get the best education possible. They often only start thinking about this when ‘big school’ looms and forget about the early developmental stage which happens before and in preschool.
However, there is evidence to suggest that investing in your child’s education prior to Grade 1 will do a lot for them in the long-term because this is a period in which important growth and development takes place.
Professor Eric Atmore of the Department of Social Development at the University of Cape Town and the Director of the Centre for Early Childhood Development in Cape Town says early childhood development is the processes by which young children grow and develop physically, emotionally, socially and cognitively.
“It is important because international research tells us that children who have quality early childhood learning opportunities do better at school, are less likely to need costly remedial education, are less likely to do crime and substance abuse, are more likely to get a job – and for young girls – are less likely to become pregnant whilst a teenager. These are all huge social, educational and economic benefits for society,” he explains.
A recent report released by Stellenbosck University Department of Economics hows that currently about 60% of South African children cannot read at a basic level at the end of Grade 4. This is due to a number of factors which include socio-economic issues like overcrowded classrooms weak teacher content knowledge, and poor early child-development eduction.
While it may be tempting to skimp on the cost of day-care for your children, there is real danger that they might be missing out on vital education for their early development.
“Young children start learning from the very beginning. This is not formal learning but is informal and incremental. Young babies can be read to, sung to and can do a range of physical activities all of which contribute to their early learning and development,” Prof Atmore says.
Parents need to ensure that the early childhood development (ECD) centre they take their children to is registered with the provincial Department of Social Development. This will ensure that their children are educated well in preparation for school.

Parents can also do a lot at home with their children to ensure they get the foundation they need.
Prof Atmore says the home is the first learning environment for children, and parents are the ones who start educating them. Simple things like reading to children, singing with them and telling stories can help with their development.  Parents can also talk to their children about how things work and use house hold items for fun and stimulating games that are also educational.
“A used plastic milk bottle is a wonderful toy – it can be a car or a boat or anything at the same time. Stones can be used to develop early numeracy. Stories can broaden the child’s imagination. The home is full of wonderful, no-cost education equipment and opportunities for young children,” he says.

 Written by Zukiswa Zimela

Franchie Bright:The making of an inspiring model

Franchie Bright,a part time model and student from University of Cape Coast in Ghana where he is reading bachelor of Arts.Franchie was introduced into modelling almost a year ago and decide to push in hard for a success but since modelling is demanding and he is also studying,he realized that he can only do it part time because studies is also demanding. 

He loves hanging out with people he get most intimate with especially his co- models and friends who seems to share the same idea and dreams with him. He love reading motivational quotes because he believes these quotes do establish some kind of self achievement and make you become more reliable in doing things peculiar to what you intend to do.

On a sunny day he thinks the beach will be fun preferably with some friends of his.

His perception in modelling as others thought at the part of the guys isn't that true, models are just representative of something and after that particular moment you are done with back to normal life.

He has done several runway shows mostly being on campus since he hardly get time to travel for shows and auditions. The show he can never forget was Vodafone X show which was a year ago which was sponsored by Vodafone in Ghana .

He has been involved in some part time modelling shows in Nigeria and also some editorial for some designers.
He is currently working on a magazine called out style magazine with his team members which is basically an  online magazine.
He love travelling and site seeing.
You can reach me on
Facebook;  Franchie Bright
Instagram;  Franchie Bright
Twitter;    Franchie Bright
Snapchat;  Franchie_bright
Mobile no. +233262558778

Virginia governor under FBI probe over campaign donations

                                                
Terry McAuliffe, Virginia's Democratic governor and chairman of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential run, is under federal investigation over contributions to his 2013 campaign, CNN said on Monday, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

The U.S. Justice Department's year-long investigation has focused, at least in part, on whether contributions to McAuliffe's gubernatorial campaign, including $120,000 from a Chinese businessman, Wang Wenliang, violated the law, according to CNN.

Investigators have "scrutinized" McAuliffe's time as a board member of the Clinton Global Initiative, part of the charitable foundation set up by former President Bill Clinton, CNN said, citing unidentified government officials briefed on the case.

McAuliffe spent at least 15 years as an unpaid director for the foundation, now known as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, until 2013, according to the charity's annual disclosures filed with the Internal Revenue Service.

An attorney for McAuliffe's campaign, Marc Elias, said he could not confirm the report.

"Neither the governor nor his former campaign have knowledge of this matter, but as reported, contributions to the campaign from Mr. Wang were completely lawful," Elias said in a statement. "The governor will certainly cooperate with the government if he is contacted about it."

Rwanda launches methane gas plant for electricity

                           
Rwanda has launched a power plant which uses methane gas from Lake Kivu, officials said, adding 26 megawatts (MW) to the grid in a country where only a quarter of the population is connected to an electricity supply.

The KivuWatt plant developed by US Company Contour Global is the first phase in a scheme to add more than 100MW exploiting the lake’s methane. The firm now plans to add 75 MW in three 25 MW instalments between 2018 and 2019.

Rwanda is aiming to give 70 per cent of its 11 million people access to power from the grid, or off-grid supplies, by 2018, up from about 25 per cent now.

Broader access to power is seen as vital to lifting economic growth in Rwanda and across Africa.

“26MW won’t address our energy or power problems but it is an indication of what is possible,” President Paul Kagame said at the inauguration of the plant.

Before the addition of the KivuWatt plant, Rwanda’s installed capacity was 186MW.

The government has said it plans to more than double that to 563MW by 2017-2018. The power plant and methane processing cost $200 million, financed by a private partnership with help from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and development funds, officials said.
 Rwanda’s Infrastructure Ministry has said Lake Kivu, which it shares with neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, could support production of up to 700 MW. Congo has said it wants to exploit the lake’s methane resources as well.

Iraqi Forces Begin Massive Offensive to Retake Fallujah

                                    
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said that Iraqi forces had begun a military campaign to retake the ISIS stronghold of Fallujah.
The offensive against the strategic city 41 miles west of Baghdad promises "a moment of great victory," Abadi said on state TV.
Iraq's Joint Operation Command confirmed that the offensive had begun. A senior security official said on condition of anonymity that 20,000 federal police soldiers were in action, with 15,000 more troops expected.
Residents had been advised in a statement earlier to flee the city, but the number who managed to do so wasn't known, the official said. Reuters quoted residents as saying about 20 families tried to escape Saturday night but that only half made it. Some were killed by explosives; others were captured by ISIS, the residents told Reuters.
"Zero hour for the liberation of Fallujah has arrived," Abadi said on his official Twitter feed. "The moment of great victory has drawn near and Daesh has no choice but to flee." ("Daesh" is an Arabic acronym for ISIS.)

Professional translators are urgently needed

                                        
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