Is Your Name Hurting your Career?

Interesting article in the Observer yesterday, showing that jobseekers with “ethnic” names were less likely to secure interviews when they had the same qualifications and experience as candidates with more European-sounding names. The British Chambers of Commerce are jumping up and down, saying that the results of the experiment don’t mean anything, but I do [...]

How to Write a Reference Letter

Most of us, in course of applying for jobs, will have to provide references to prospective employers at some point. For those of us who do not manage or employ staff, it’s rarer that we’ll be asked to write a reference letter in a professional capacity. Nevertheless, it can happen, and while it can seem [...]

The New Entrepreneur: Picking People

Change of tack today, as I’d like to tackle the subject of dealing with employees. Unless you are setting up your business as a sole trader, at some point you are going to take on staff, and you need to be able to manage them effectively if you want your buesiness to succeed. This post [...]

Do Kenyans Still Face Racial Obstacles in Job Interviews?

I’ve been picking up extra sources for the RSS feeds I read this weekend (future project, ask me about it towards the end of summer), one of which is Akiit, which describes itself as a “Daily Digest for African-Americans.” One of the first things that the website delivered to my Google Reader was a post [...]

What to Do with the Returnees?

An article in the East African this weekend brings up the prospect of a substantial number of diaspora Kenyans returning home in the face of the global financial crisis. Either because they have lost their jobs, or because they feel their have more options in Kenya, an increasing number are returning home rather than waiting [...]