So you want to change your Job?

I have been slugging on this job for some years now, I am tired, lack motivation and I think I need a change. Doe that sound like something that has been going round and round in your head?

Here are a few tips:
Have you considered taking a break- long or short one?- In my experience, taking a break, short or long actually have a soothing effect and also serves as a time of deep reflection as regards what you really want to do. A lot of us folks take on jobs because it can afford to pay the mortgage and put food on the table. A few years down the line, you find out that you are burned out and lack the drive to continue.

Have you considered a change of scene? A lot of times, nothing is wrong with us, but the environment in which we work has a significant effect on our lives. We cant all be like the coffee bean that dominates its environment if put in warm water. Some of us when we pass through the warm waters of life and career, we just become shrinked into our shells. Sometimes, all you need is a change of environment. Find a similar job in a different environment.

Have you considered your environment?- From my experience over the years I have found out that in some cases, the stress you go through as a result of your environment may also contribute to your lack of gusto at work. Family issues, emotional trauma, financial chains amongst many. Sit down and really identify the root cause. Why? Why and Why? do I want to leave this job?

Otherwise, after spending a couple of years down in this new job, you'll enter the same cycle and start experiencing the same turmoil all over again. So as the saying goes, 'Look before you leap' and 'Think before you Act'

What you really need is a career and not a job. Sit down and ask yourself, what makes me buzz?If I dont have bills to pay, what would I rather be doing? Take time to think and the result will be rewarding.

So you want to be a banker?

You have just graduated from the University or High School and you are dreaming of landing yourself a good job in the financial services industry. You want to work in a Bank.


First of all, you need to ask yourself, what kind of a banker do you want to be- an investment banker, a business/corporate banker, an asset manager or a retail banker?


What are my key areas of strength?

Where do I want to work in a bank? Front or Back Office

What kind of skills do I need?

I would group that under the following headings:

Social Skills- How good am i with people, in terms of persuasion, be able to handle difficult people, networking, making friends easily, etc- or am a I a recluse and do not like socialising or mixing with people, I dont like people getting too close.


Technical Skills- For those that went to the University or Technical Colleges to study something that interested them as a teenager but no longer interesting and financially rewarding but now want to work in a bank. You want to ask yourself,

• what do I want to do?


• what technical skills are needed where I want to be


• what technical skills have I got?


• How do I make up for what I havent got?

This requires hard work and dedication.

The areas you could work include the following: Corporate Banking, Treasury, Branch Banking, Finance, Equities, Fixed Income, Mergers and Acquisition, Risk Management, Sales and Trading, Legal, Compliance, Internal Audit, Funds Management, Private Banking/Wealth Management, Interest Rate Risk, Customer Service, etc.

Over the next coming weeks, we shall be discussing each of these areas in details.

Is there really a life after death?

I have asked myself this question several times and havent found a plausible answer. Different religions claim that there is life after death, but what proof have we got? Who has gone up there and come back in recent times. Ignore the submisions of the holy books and let's remove any dogmatism, come to our modern day, have you found someone who has genuinely gone beyond this phantom called life and come back to tell us.

Even if there are, would we believe it? are there things in our daily lives that point out that there is a second life. Some people believe in Karma that life is like a clock and when you complete the cycle, you are erased. Some other religion however believe that there is life after death. This brings me to the question-what is life? and if it is what we currently experience, how would it change in this second/after life - if it exists?

Good people dont always find goodness

The saying goes.. 'Do unto others as you want done to you'. In order words, sow what you want to reap. This may be true in agricultural terms, but in my little experience, realities of life does not necessarily follow this maxim. Why? I have asked myself a countless number of times.

I have seen instances where 'good' guys/girls ended up settling down with 'bad' partners and where someone who has always been honest at school and work end up being employed by the 'smart' guys who resorted into cutting corners the 'honest' dude could not. Who is to blame? What went wrong? What is the essence of being/doing good?