January 2006 - Posts

• Present proves past cant predict the future

  I've been trying to think of excuses for posting this one other than I read it, found it pretty interesting and decided to post it!! I hope thats good enough because I'm running on empty on this one. Its from James Clarkes "Stoep talk" column published in The Star and taken from www.IOL.co.za . According to Time the oldest woman in the world lives in Holland and is 114. That means she was born in 1892. Apart from having lived in three centuries, what is wonderful about it is that if somebody who'd died in the year she was born came back to life they'd assume they were on a different planet. They'd be petrified by a jet airliner roaring overhead, totally uncomprehending seeing the Iraqi war on television, fascinated by Bic pens, plastic bags, highways and people talking into cellphones in the street. They'd be amazed by supermarkets and trolleys and credit cards. But will we be equally gobsmacked if we could witness the world 114 years from now? Will people be tiring of holidays inside encapsulated environments on the Moon and the novelty of looking back at Earth through telescopes or taking astrological courses under the Moon's clear skies at the Lunar Astrological Institute? Will we have the choice of living forever, killing ourselves painlessly or aestivating for a few centuries when we get bored with the present? Will telephones be able to conjure up three-dimensional images of people we phone? Will we have invented a non-spill teapot (no, that's asking too much) or cars made of chitin - the impact-proof substance that allows beetles to crash at full speed without damaging their exoskeleton? My suggestions could be way out. That defeatist afterthought is because even the experts can't be sure what will happen just 50 years from now. As recently as 1959 Popular Mechanics magazine wrote, "Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1,5 tons." Ten years earlier, Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, could see that computers were inevitable but said, "I think there is a world market for, maybe, five computers". And as recently as 1968 an engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, commenting on the microchip, asked: "But what is it good for?" The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, said in 1957 "I have travelled the length and breadth of this country (UK) and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year." Even in 1977 Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, said: "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." It is not just computers that surprised everybody... The telephone, soon after it was invented, was described in a Western Union internal memo (1876) as having "too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." Most surprising of all was the radio's reception - if you'll forgive the pun. The associates of Radio and TV pioneer, David Sarnoff, in response to his urgings for investment in radio in the 1920s, reported that "the wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" Decca Recording Co when rejecting a four-man singing group in 1962 declared, "We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out". Shame. That group was the Beetles. Talking of missed opportunities, many years ago I had lunch in Johannesburg with three London publishers, one of whom had recently published EA Ritter's book Shaka Zulu. I asked if it were true that the manuscript was submitted in longhand and the chapters rolled up and tied with red tape. "Yes," he said. Somebody then asked, "Since when have you accepted hand-written manuscripts?" The publisher replied: "Ever since we turned away a chap with a boxful of hand-written pages. His name was Rudyard Kipling and the book was Kim." Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it! Posted Jan 30 2006, 12:17 AM by jason with no comments Filed under: General rambling

• Nothing wrong with some positive news!!

  Johannesburg - About 80% of South African business owners are optimistic about the year ahead, according to the 2006 Grant Thornton International Business Owners Survey (IBOS). This makes South African business owners the third most-optimistic internationally and continues the South African trend of being considerably more optimistic than the global average (+39%). In 2005, +84% of SA business owners were optimistic about the year ahead, placing them second internationally. This year's slight drop in optimism levels is consistent with the drop in the global average which was +41% last year. South African levels of optimism are still considerably higher than in previous years (2004; +72%, 2003; +34%). At +93%, up from +88%, India is the most-optimistic country for the second year running. Ireland has jumped from third to second place with +84% optimism and at +77% mainland China has the fourth most-optimistic business owners. This is the first year that mainland China has taken part in this survey. The research was conducted among 7 000 owners of medium-sized businesses that employed between 50 and 250 people in 30 countries. Leonard Brehm, national chairman of Grant Thornton South Africa says: "Now in its fourth year, Ibos has recorded the dramatic increase in levels of optimism amongst South African business owners over the years. "The levelling of the results does not come as a surprise to us. It is important to remember that South Africa consistently remains near the top of the log." In line with the decrease in overall optimism among South African business owners, the research reports a slight drop in expected levels of turnover (+71% down from +75% in 2005) and profitability (+54% down from +61% in 2005) for the year ahead. South African levels of expectation still remain higher than the global average of +62% and +29% respectively. Encouragingly, there is still an expectation of increased exports for South Africa despite the strengthening rand. This is up from +1% in 2005 to +18% in 2006. From www.news24.com   Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it! Posted Jan 19 2006, 05:07 AM by jason with no comments Filed under: Interview advice

• First Impressions count when sending CVs

  Happy New Year to everybody, I hope you all had a good break (and to those of you who didnt take time off hopefully you'll make the rest of us jealous during the year...). Anyway this one is mainly for more Junior Developers who are coming onto the market or are perhaps looking for their second position... It's taken from www.ioljobs.co.za and was originally written by CV writer and job-search coach Gerard le Roux of the Job Search Clinic. he says that when sending job applications by email there are 3 important points to remember:   Always include a covering letter in the body of your email Don't send a blank e-mail with an attached cover letter. You need to explain up front what the email is about, and why it should be given quality attention, says Le Roux. Get your grammar and punctuation right, he advises. Keep sentences short. Keep paragraphs short. "Many respected books on CVs and cover letters even get this wrong," Le Roux says. "I regularly see examples with large blocks of text - up to 10 and 15 lines long. Important information gets lost in the crowd of words." It's also important to get basics like spelling and grammar right, he says. "It deserves your time. Don't be casual or too formal, but show that you view the application as important." Also do not allow your SMS/texting short-cut habits to spill over into your email, he advises, and use normal upper and lower case writing. Don't be cute Don't include pictures, emoticons, or cute or inspirational quotes in your job application emails or other professional communications. Rather keep the background blank, he advises. Also use a black font of a reasonable size. Consider your email address, as well, he advises. "If it is something silly such as 'sexgoddess@hotmail.com' or 'manic-raver@telkomsa.net' - two hypothetical examples - change it now, as it will not give the right impression and will get your application off to a bad start." (As an Agent it doesnt bother me to much what your email address is, I get a kick out of some of the email addys you guys come up with and my clients typically will not see your email address anyway but in a diverse society like ours you do need to be careful to not offend someone who may be your gateway to "The" job.) Le Roux says applicants should always pay lots of attention to the first impressions they create at the interview stage. "But first impressions actually start when we email our CV out. The first thing the recipient sees is your email address, the fancy background of your e-mail and your written English." Get to the point and customise your application. (In keeping with the theme of this post, it is vital that if you dont have commercial experience you list your results on your CV to supplement your Study Project experience, while e-Merge doesnt have much work for new Grads on our books a candidate with little or no experience can get a job over someone with extensive commercial experience if they're seen as someone worth investing in by the client.) State the job you're applying for, then mention the two or three attributes you have that coincide with what is required for the position, says Le Roux. Be specific about both the job you're applying for and why you're a good candidate. Le Roux advises against writing "I'm dedicated, I'm hard working" or "I'm willing to learn". "Everyone says that, and it no longer carries credibility," he says. "It's far better to outline specific achievements, for example: 'In my last company I played a key role in winning the SA Breweries account' - but only if these achievements are relevant and true, of course." Contact Gerard le Roux of the Job-Search Clinic on gerard@jobsearching.co.za or visit www.jobsearching.co.za   Share this post: email it! | bookmark it! | digg it! | reddit! | kick it! | live it! Posted Jan 11 2006, 07:43 AM by jason with no comments Filed under: CV advice