Student Talk

To-do lists! It's quite easy to disregard this. In fact, I myself never paid attention to it, and it's very easy to not think much of it when you're just a learner/ student with not much responsibilities - you know more or less what you must do and don't need to-do lists to remind you, right? Well, wait until you're all grown up and have a million and a half things to attend to (Lol!). Reaction when you have a million and a half things to attend to! Lol! For me currently, I have quite a bit of responsibilities, or rather things I choose to do with my time that are important to me. Let me give you a break-down: - I am a trainee accountant: Monday to Friday, working hours - I serve at my church (Christ Kingdom Life International) for Sunday services, and avail myself for any additional projects. I have to prepare and avail myself every week. - I edit and help publish books for people who want to write and publish books throug...

Some of the Co-opt students in the skills development programme at the office. Had so much fun with them. Missing them already before they are even gone back to varsity! Lol!  Becoming employable as a recent graduate is a challenge that is faced even today. It's understandable, because for many of us who study through tertiary (i.e university/ colleges), we may have been exposed to the studying of the theory of the career, and not so much the practical part of it. The challenge with being employable as a graduate stems from the fact that the work place requires more than just knowledge. In fact, the work place needs us to apply the knowledge we have. It needs us to bring solutions using the knowledge we have. More importantly, it needs people who will be efficient in the work they do. If a company was to choose between an individual with only a qualification and an individual that has vast years of experience in the field of work that both individuals are applying for, th...

As a person who is busy, who always has something to do, I can tell you that multi-tasking can be the bestest friend ever! For me, it is the solution to getting things done, BUT it can also not be so much of a good thing. Multi-tasking as the bestest friend ever! When I have a lot to do, starting on each thing, whatever it is, is much better than not having started anything at all!

I must say - when I started my training as a trainee accountant, I was frustrated at the "lame tasks" (according to me) I was getting at the time. I wanted the real deal. I wanted accountant-related stuff. And I was so wrong! 🙈 You know how people emphasize on the basics? I'm familiar with that term from university. The basics are the foundation, and foundation is the most important part of anything that anyone wants to excel in. Let me fill you in on the basics I'm talking about. These basics are things I didn't think were so important (in addition to other minor accountant-related work I had been doing): So glad that my colleague agreed to be featured on the blog! Yas! 😜 1. Every morning, I make filter-coffee for the boss:  I have never made filter-coffee. I don't even drink coffee! You can imagine how clueless I was in putting the right amount of coffee. I had to taste it, so that I make sure it is something I would drink. I realised tha...

Oh yes, let us talk about money today. Money - one of the reasons why we study to get that qualification; that drives us to work; that gets us so passionate about holding those big positions that the world has already taught us are high-paying positions. The fuss about money is understandable. I mean we need money to live in this world, right? We need to be able to afford to live. We need to be able to buy food, clothes, afford a house to live in, afford a car that will take us where we need to get to and back any time (more especially when public transport disappoints us at times). We just want to be able to afford anything we want and need without limitation. Trust me - I know. I've been in financial trouble long enough and was so close to being in poverty. It's frustrating. But here is my concern: the danger of running after money. https://www.gettyimages.com If you recall from my blog post #16 - Quitting , you will remember that I mentioned quitting the j...

I was waiting on a train around past 6 am! Yep! We make time, even for selfies. See, if we can make time for selfies so early in the morning, surely we can make time for anything we put our mind into. There's this very common saying that "time is money".Ok, it's emphasis on how important time is - I get it. I really wonder, though, if we realise how precious the time we are given is. Consider this for a minute: regardless of how you spend your time, you will never be able to get those minutes/ hours back. You can't take that time you didn't spend doing something productive, and add it on the days that you need it the most. The most fascinating thing I discovered about myself quite recently is how much I always want to keep busy, and how when there are things I need to do, I do them as soon as possible. I'm so fast,  every time there is something to do, I jump to it as if I'm the only person that can do it, as if I cannot do it another ti...

The result when we steal a moment to take a picture: either early morning or during lunch - CAN'T POSE because inside office, because serious environment (lol)! On the first blogpost about employability , I shared the fact that there are graduate attributes and skills that we ought to have as students over and above our academic knowledge. There is one other thing that greatly contributes to employability that was not addressed: training. It is very fortunate that there are courses that incorporate training/ work experience in which the knowledge gained is applied during tertiary studies. However, there are other courses that do not incorporate training during studies, and students are expected to complete training after completing tertiary studies instead. The most unfortunate thing in this case, which I had witnessed and experienced, is the fact that employers expect results. It is as though they forget that as graduates, we come straight from tertiary and are not familia...