Pay in Kenya- How much am I worth?

You sat in that class, on a sunny afternoon. The lecturer was on about some theories and you couldn't wait to get finished with the campus life to live life on the other side of town, brushing shoulders with the ‘who is who’ in the country, occasional business trips, holidays in exotics spots, outfits from the finest designers, eating foods from all over the world. So graduate you did, you might have struggled to do so but eventually you got there and there was a party to celebrate this achievement.

Looking back you have hardly taken part in living out your dream despite working for a very reputable company in the country for what is turning to be years. You are waiting for the supervisor to finally see your potential and give you the well earned raise. That is you being optimistic. The truth is this hope is not forthcoming and your boss barely notices you in the office.

What went wrong? Well, if you ask me, you settled for less. You did not align your steps with your goal and you were quick into falling the trap of complacency. Now, you may have had other factors that drove you to take that job in the first place but a big part of it was the self pity you had, the rush and the unrealistic expectations you had from your employer.

What should I do? I suggest you search inside you what you really want then REVIEW your worth. Are there former classmates of yours earning a lot better than you are? Are you increasing your worth in the position you are in or you are just stagnated or even decreasing the value of your degree?  What you should do is dependent on what you want out of your working life but to a large extent it is dependent on your attitude and degree of self belief. How do you see yourself? If you see yourself as being worth 20,000ksh p.m you are going to attract a lot of 20k jobs despite your education. On the contrary, if you value yourself and are able to communicate these skills you will definitely be on the right track.

Of course, these jobs that everyone wants may have their cons or they may not even be your cup of tea in the first place. Hence it is important to visualize and do a thorough soul search before settling to pursue 'the pay'. You may find that you are motivated by other factors such as philanthropy which would then guide you into such careers.

Another thing I would encourage is to be realistic when it comes to your expectations. Remember the adage there is no such thing as luck? This can be seen in action in careers. The ones that get these highly paid posts work smart for it. They work with the end in mind and are not complacent to the happenings in their life.  I have to take this time to warn you about greed as well. Relax, It is not a competition of who earns the most. Only because a certain presenter is earning 800,000 per month does not mean that we all should. May be she just worked hard to be worth 800,000 p.m . Be realistic in what you expect. Find out what you need to have to be of the value you are and go ahead to acquire them.

My challenge to you is to re-think your worth and seek the  positions that add value to it. Stay safe J

How do I get the most from an internship?

After the post I wrote last week, I had a discussion about it and yes there was difference of opinions here and there but there was an agreement that there needs to be better structures for internships in many organisations. There was also consensus that the value of internships can be bettered by interns themselves.  It takes two to tango remember.

I was also asked to write on tips of getting the most out of internships.

1.       Know what you want: There are so many of us who work for the sake of working.  Their career actions are confused and the results they get are equally confusing. Can you imagine getting into a car and just driving for the sake of driving? Knowing what you want helps you streamline your actions to fit your goal. This determines your destination. Starting an internship is pretty much like starting a journey, you have to know where you are going. If you are interested in having a career in the financial sector taking up a public relations internship may add little value to your skills set for your future aspirations if any.

2.       Start searching early: The early bird does catch the worm. If you look at the map and find out directions to where you want to go when having a drive you increase your chances of having a smooth ride. The same goes for internships. Companies with a good internship programmes that are bent on true learning start recruitment for these positions early. It is therefore not wise to wait till you need one to start looking for one. The ideal situation would be to start researching about companies you are interested in 5-6 months ahead of time to know what programs they have and the qualities they look for in their interns. After this it is advisable to make an application around 3 months before you start looking and then proceed to remind them about your application and asking for feedback. Remember good internships are competitive and if you start early, you will  show that you are organised.

3.       Take initiative: You should always take the initiative when you are doing an internship because the more you do this the more likelihood of you learning and earning the trust of fellow colleagues. You want to ‘Wow’ your colleagues, to be remembered as a positive contributor, one whose departure means a loss to them and not one they celebrate. In this way, you can be assured of a strong recommendation which you can use in the job search. I bet this is something you already know.

4.       Be an Insider: Learn about the culture and blend in. It gives you practise and adds on team spirit. Do not feel shy to ask to contribute to ideas or join in activities. After all that is what ‘real’ work is about and it will give you a wholesome experience.

Realise that I have not put anything about pay I do not want to seem money minded but remember if you are a graduate doing an internship experience cannot pay the rent J

REASONS WHY GRADUATES SHOULD NOT TAKE THAT UNPAID INTERNSHIP

Graduate Job seekers are often advised to take/seek unpaid internships so as to develop skills rather than staying at home doing nothing. However, the main reason people take up these internships is the hope that the ‘employers’ will realise their talent and therefore end up offering them employment in the long run.

This has been going on for a long time and may have helped many people to gain access to the business field. However, the market is changing and what may have worked perfectly a few years back may not work now. The issue of unpaid internship may seem normal or we may be ‘ok’ with it given that our culture believes in favours, helping out and sacrifice. However, in countries that enforce labour laws regarding remuneration it is becoming an issue of debate given that there is a view that companies take advantage of the free labour. It has gone to the extent of some terming unpaid internship as ‘modern day slavery’. It should also be noted that Internships in general are quickly eroding entry level jobs in the job market.

My opinion of unpaid internship may not be the norm but I have to say that I am speaking/ writing from both experience and keen observation of the job market. A warning is that it may not be a popular view. I hope to demonstrate through these points why unpaid internship may harm you rather than give the perceived benefits.

1.       It may not add any skills

Most organisations do not have a proper structure for internship programmes. They are often seen as a by the way. We all know that getting internships in these organisations is all about connections, you give your CV to Uncle and you start on Monday. This means that they do not have a prepared training program for you. You therefore report to the office but spend the first days doing nothing or basic work which anyone can do. After that, when people are familiar enough to call you ‘Kijanaa’ you end up being the errand boy/girl of the office, helping the tea girl and messengers in being more efficient. You will then gain trust of your colleagues and you will become the one to whom they off load their extra duties which may include basic data entry and other jobs which may not add value to your skills set. In addition to this, the agreed time for these internships may be too little to pass on any meaningful skills.

2.       It will hinder you from knowing and appreciating your worth

I believe when work for free, you get used to the idea and you get into a comfort zone which makes you believe that it is the way things are done. You end up not knowing your true worth as a worker. After this, you will be willing to settle for anything that is paying because it will be better than nothing. This will lead you into taking jobs without evaluating why you are taking them in the first place. This will spiral into job dissatisfaction which will affect your performance and therefore stagnate your growth.

3.       It may not give a good image

Here is a story for you. I once attended an interview and after explaining my experience which only included internships, the interviewer asked me how much I was being paid. When I said nothing, he seemed surprised and blurted out, ‘then how can we tell that you are responsible’. To him, he saw someone who was young, excited and unfortunately without experience in accounting for your own money. I do not thinking I need to mention who had the leverage when negotiating the salary for that position.  ‘You want to come from nothing to Sh. XX,000? The fact that you were not being rewarded for your skills may mean that they were not valuable’. You can take a guess at the outcome of this interview. In short, unpaid internships may tell some fairly positive things about you. However, they may also give the impression that your skills are not valuable, have no experience in handling money and that you have weak negotiation skills.

4.       It may not land you a job in that organisation

The reason I say this is because interns are viewed as external entities by many organisations rather than as being part of the organisation. This means that they may have low transfer of the organisation’s culture. This means that you may be at the same level as potential candidates who desire a place in the organisation.

5.       It worsens the job market and affects everyone in the end

By taking an unpaid internship, you are lowering the entry wage in the market. If you know a bit of math then you know how to work out an average better than me.  In the end we hear of people complaining about low pay and you wonder why employers never hear this call for help. This is because there is someone willing to ‘work’ for free. As unfair as this may sound we can also blame job seekers themselves for this.

I will end by saying do not take my words for gospel truth of course every organisation and circumstance is different. These points are what you should think of before reporting for that internship. I do encourage debate. Therefore whether you agree or disagree feel free to give your opinion or your experience.