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Kenya’s leading turnaround expert shares his hard-earned advice with other leaders. When Julius Kipng'etich was first appointed as the director and CEO of Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) in December 2004, one of his employees told him, “You don’t know issues of wildlife. I’m only giving you ninety days.” It’s true that Kipng’etich wasn’t an expert on wildlife, but he knew more ...

Part of climbing the job ladder or being fulfilled professionally comes with investing in developing skills of interest to you and of value to the job market. Some companies do a good job at professional development; from webinars, to in-house coaching sessions, to certificate / tuition reimbursement. However, given that not all places are that idyllic, it is important to ta...

For those in the diaspora wondering what the average benefits package might look like once you take on a job in Kenya, below are some things to consider: You have a choice between public and private insurance. The National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) is a public and the primary insurance that works to provide comprehensive support for all diseases for Kenyan citizens. Mem...

The benefits, the differences, and how to know which one you need. For the manager who wants to advance in his or her career, a mentor or coach could be a great resource. Across many studies, researchers have found that professionals with a coach or mentor go further in their careers and are more satisfied in their jobs. They receive more promotions and higher salaries, chan...

Salary negotiations are one of the most uncomfortable and / or avoided conversations that any employee can have. However, here are a few tips to ensure higher chances of success. Prepare your case: Have a good reason why you are asking for a salary raise before the conversation. A reason like “I just feel like it is time,” will not work. Consider tying your reasons for compe...

When conducting your job search it might be easy to pass up some jobs because you don’t see your skills encompassing the job description. However, next time, instead of overlooking the job, you should take a second look. From our experience, employers have two types of skills that they include in their job descriptions: the “need to” and the “would be nice to” have. To decip...

Most Kenyans with corporate jobs enjoy a 9-5 / 8-6pm workday. However, our work with start-up employers indicates that the groundwork and uncertainty in these environments means that your professional and personal time will not always be defined or “ideally” proportioned. This reality does not mean that you will have an unfulfilling life in an entrepreneurial or long-work da...

How self-care practices can change the way we work While the primary focus of our work at Kenyans Come Home is to match talented professionals with excellent employers, we are also concerned with helping leaders sustain their work. And one of the greatest risks for high performers is burnout. A recent study by Gallup found that 23 percent of workers reported feeling burned o...

Even with a job, many of us still continue to talk or think of our dream jobs. Some of us even hate our jobs. So what do we do when we are in a situation that does not motivate us, energize us, nor delight us? It is easier said than done to quit, especially when we don’t have anything else lined up. Hence, in the meantime, we have to find ways to cope. Below are 6 new approa...

Job-hopping is becoming more and more common. Here’s how to do it well. In previous generations, it was common for employees to stay with the same organization for decades. But that is no longer the case today. A recent LinkedIn study found that millennials, on average, change jobs four times before the age of 32. In Africa, as many as 80% of employed job seekers intend to l...

If you enjoy and are comfortable in your current job, the last thing you might be thinking about it investing in your professional development. Most of us tend to seek development when our professional circumstances are unsatisfying and / or uncertain. However, there are 3 reasons why you should be constantly thinking about how you can improve yourself professionally, even i...

I will be the first to admit that learning about personal finance management did not happen until after I got my first job. Because of this, I found myself flailing to stay on top of my finances even though I had steady income coming in. Given that my friends and family members were in the same boat, I turned to the next best thing…the Internet. I can proudly say that I am c...

As the continent with the largest proportion of long-serving political leaders, Africa is accustomed to seeing a certain type of leadership: strong, confident, and unrelenting. But research has shown that the most effective leaders, in politics and business, are willing to show more than unwavering strength. They practice altruism, forgiveness, fairness, and vulnerability—tr...

Employers are receiving a lot of resumes and if your resume is going to stand out for leadership / management opportunities, it is important that your bullet points clearly portray what you did. When describing your leadership experience, it is easy to rely on generic terms like “supervised,” “led,” “managed.” These tell your employer very little about what you might bring t...

The factors behind many African businesses’ struggle to find their ideal finance officer At almost any stage of a company’s growth, a key leader is the chief finance officer. Unfortunately, many East African companies struggle to find the right candidate for this position. Businesses across the world are experiencing the same challenge. The 2008 global financial crisis, duri...