Category: Lifestyle

An interview is an opportunity to meet your possible future colleagues.

They’re not the only ones making decisions – you’ll also be sizing up whether you want to work with them.

It is the first real opportunity you’ll have to start to build a relationship with people who may be pivotal to your career success for many years to come.

Sarah Rozenthuler has coached hundreds of people over the last 10 years to perform at their best during high stakes interactions. Here is what she terms as the small things that make a big difference.

Create a ‘to be’ list

Entry is everything so think about how you want to “show up” at the interview. What qualities do you want to demonstrate? Decide in advance how you intend to come across – for example as confident, reliable or dynamic.

For example, to show confidence, make sure you can talk fluidly about your strengths and successes without bragging.

Make it more of a conversation

The more you can make the interview a two-way exchange, the more likely you are to relax. Make the most of this opportunity to gather information, get to know your prospective colleagues and catch a glimpse of the way they do things.

Come to the interview with some insightful questions prepared. Don’t trot out the same old questions that every candidate is likely to ask such as what the opportunities for promotion are.

Read the company’s website and research their performance, whether on the stock market or the league tables, so that your lines of inquiry are on point.

Body language, eye gaze and gestures all play their part in an interview. If you find it hard to look someone in the eye, you risk being judged as untrustworthy

Be comfortable talking about money

Even if the job comes with an advertised salary, you may be asked what your salary expectations are. Anticipate this question and, off-line, practise saying your answer out loud.

If you want to be paid more than the ad suggests, be prepared to give your reasons, as you’ll need to justify your request.

Know your strengths

Be prepared to articulate your ‘unique selling points’. Give this question serious consideration. Think about your own combination of strengths – for example, are you that rare individual who is creative, proactive and reliable?

Before you go to the interview, complete this sentence, ‘I am someone who…’ Write down your answer and reflect on your response. Think about feedback you’ve had from friends, family and other people who have affirmed your sense of who you are.

Be prepared to talk about your weaknesses

Anticipate being asked about your shortcomings. This is a sensitive subject that needs a careful response. Don’t be insincere, such as saying you’re a perfectionist if you’re not.

This time its not about political disagreement between Prime minister Morgan Tsivangirai and President Robert Mugabe…

Locadia Karimatsenga Tembo(in photo above) an ex-lover to MDC strongman, filed the claim at the civil court in Harare September 5.

Its about a private matter of Tsivangirai involving his lover who is demanding US$15,000 as monthly upkeep because the MDC strongman abandoned her and is planned to wed a new woman.

Tsvangirai is said to have traditionally married Locadia Karimatsenga Tembo in November 2011. However, this lady fell sick and was admitted to a hospital in Neighbouring South Africa.

In a court case file Karimatsenga says; “The respondent (PM) is my husband. He married me on the 21st of November 2011 and has been supporting me until I was discharged from hospital in South Africa.

“The respondent proposed to marry me in September 2011. I accepted the proposal and he then made arrangements to meet my parents and to pay lobola(dowery) in terms of the African customary tradition,” she said.

Karimatsenga said after the PM paid lobola, he requested permission for her to stay with him, which was granted.

“He also requested for permission to have a white wedding, which was also granted . . . and satisfied the requirements laid down by my parents.”

Karimatsenga wants Tsivangirai to contribute towards her upkeep and accessories, as she has been accustomed to.

This comes barely a week before the premier’s wedding with Ms Elizabeth Macheka on September 15.

In her claim, Karimatsenga says she is customarily married to PM Tsvangirai after the latter paid lobola to her parents.

“The respondent (PM) is my husband. He married me on the 21st of November 2011 and has been supporting me until I was discharged from hospital in South Africa.

In terms of the African custom, Karimatsenga claimed, she was sent to PM Tsvangirai’s village in Buhera where she stayed with his mother for about two months.

PM Tsvangirai, she claimed, later requested her to rejoin him in Harare after he had found accommodation.

“I moved to the house and there was a double bed only. He gave me money to buy all the household goods, which ran into thousands of dollars.

“By that time, I was already pregnant and we lived together for a couple of months until I was seven-and-a-half months pregnant.

“I had problems with my hypertension, which was very high.
“Respondent advised me to get the best medical attention and sent me to Johannesburg, South Africa, where I was attended to by specialists.

(In this photo Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his new partner Elizabeth Macheka)

MORGAN TSIVANGIRAI RESPONCE

FOR the past two weeks, I have been a subject of frenzied media coverage regarding my relationship with Ms Lorcadia Karimatsenga.

Indeed as is normal, there was both a positive and negative reaction to this development.

Regrettably, both reactions were misplaced.

However, I feel that the people of Zimbabwe deserve to know my position on this matter, which to a large extent has damaged not only the reputations of the two of us involved in this relationship, but equally so the public image of the Tsvangirai and Karimatsenga families.

Indeed I had a relationship with Ms Locadia Karimatsenga. At a certain stage, she claimed that she was pregnant and that I had to be introduced to her family to own up and accept responsibility according to our culture and tradition.

Following this development, and like every cultured Zimbabwean, on Friday, November 18, 2011, I sent a delegation to the Karimatsenga family homestead to perform traditional and cultural rites.

But since the day I sent a delegation to the Karimatsenga family, everything has been played in the press and I have become an innocent bystander.

I have become a spectator and things are happening too fast, on camera and without my knowledge. This has led me to conclude that there is a greater and thicker plot around this issue which has undermined my confidence in this relationship.

I was reported to have been there in Christon Bank when in fact I was in my office. Other inferences were equally stated as fact when on the contrary these were false representations.

There have been several developments since that day which have been deliberately planted in the media and which I have had to read in the press; developments that would have taken place without my involvement and knowledge as an interested party.

The cultural rites that took place received wide, well arranged publicity clearly giving rise to a legitimate enquiry on the motive of this publicity, including the choreographed media capture of Ms Karimatsenga while she was supposedly in Buhera.

While I accept that as Prime Minister I live a public life, I believe I reserve the right to define my relationship.
I have opened up communication lines with the Karimatsenga family and they know my position regarding this matter.

I do not wish to publicise the nature and extent of my communication to them.

Ms Karimatsenga is also aware of my position on this matter.
Added to this, there is now an underhand and active political hand that is now driving the processes and this has resulted in everything regarding this relationship now taking place in camera, with the public media journalists in tow.

Everything is so well choreographed. The intention is clear: to inflict maximum damage on my person and character for political gain. This has caused me to have serious misgivings as to whether this will be a perfect union that will inspire young couples and reflect marriage as the noble and respectable institution that it is.

I am committed to serve my country with honour and distinction not only as a national leader, but as a respected family man who owned up to his responsibility by following cultural and traditional procedures.

There are many things I have learnt in the process and one is that with the benefit of hindsight, I could have done things differently.

In this regard, I apologise to every single Zimbabwean for any discomfort caused by any of my actions.

Having been happily married for 31 years, I also realised that sometimes when you are searching for a partner especially after losing your wife whom you so dearly loved, there are many stakeholders in the process some of whom have their own ulterior intentions and agendas.

I want to admit that the last two weeks have been particularly bad for me, my children, my family and even ordinary Zimbabweans who have sought to find meaning to this sordid saga.

Reputations have been bruised and mutual trust upon which such relations are built and maintained has been lost.

Marriage is a serious proposition arising out of mutual trust, intimacy and respect. When these values are undermined, that relationship is irretrievably doomed from the start.

My genuine intention has been betrayed and hearts have had to search long and hard to the true meaning of this well-choreographed drama that has now been hijacked to cause political damage on my person and character.

As has been evidently demonstrated by these past well-ochestrated events, it would be inconceivable that a normal marriage relationship can be consummated.

However, I want to assure the people of Zimbabwe that this dark patch in my private life will not dampen my commitment to serve my country and to deliver real change to the people.

I remain unfazed by this sad chapter which will not in any way deter me from my national responsibility to serve Zimbabwe.

I will not expose the people’s struggle for democratic change to machinations of infiltration.

May God bless Zimbabwe.

Morgan Tsvangirai

Prime Minister of Zimbabwe

Zim Herald & New Zimbabwe

The crown Miss Rwanda 2012 has announced plans to moblise Rwandan youths in efforts to contribute to the Agaciro Development Fund.

Over Frw7billion has so far been deposited into the Agaciro Fund.
Kayibanda Mutesi Aurore didn’t not give details of her proposed new moblisation plan.

She says,“my first objective is to moblise youths to contribute to Agaciro Development Fund as a way of showing youths how to accord themselves diginity.”

Miss Kayibanda is a student at the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST).

A wool suit that Margaret Thatcher wore on the day she was confirmed as Conservative Party leader has sold at auction for 25,000 pounds ($39,670).

An anonymous bidder bought the dress suit by British designer Mansfield, at a Christie’s auction in London late Monday.

The auction also sold six other outfits — worn by Thatcher in the 1970s before she became prime minister — to a buyer in South Korea.

Those outfits included a canary yellow dress with navy trim and a matching jacket that the former leader wore to the Conservative Party Conference in 1975.

It was a blush pink outfit Thatcher wore in a BBC show in which she was interviewed on her skin care regime; and a silver and gold cocktail ensemble.

In total, the outfits fetched a little more than 73,000 pounds.

AP

Kayibanda Mutesi Aurore has been crowned miss Rwanda 2012.

As recently as 2008 articles and experts were prognosticating the “extinction” of brown as an automotive exterior color.

But High end car makers like Mercedes,BMW, Mini, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, and Bentley have all begun investigating what brown can do for them.

The color of your car reveals a lot about you: your personality, your moods, and even how satisfied you are with your life.

BROWN: a brown vehicle supposedly means you’re down-to-earth but who are you trying to kid? If you really cared about the earth, you wouldn’t have bought that big old gas-guzzler.

RED: If so, it means you are dynamic and energetic but are losing your fire. On average, drivers in red cars do not get more tickets than anyone else.

SILVER: A silver car generally means that you are cool and elegant. The only problem is that since silver was the most popular car color for several years, almost everyone owns one.

Light Blue: A light blue vehicle means that you’re calm and quiet person who doesn’t like to make waves, so you bought it.

ORANGE: An orange vehicle says you are fun loving, talkative, fickle, trendy. A yellow-green one says you are trendy, whimsical, lively. And you know it’s true. Only fun and whimsical cars come in these colors: Volkswagen bugs and little sportscars.

GOLD: A gold vehicle says is that you love comfort and will pay for it; it also says that you’re intelligent, and you must be!

A tan vehicle means that you’re timeless, basic, simple, but it also means you have something to hide. Maybe bad driving habits? Or that you never wash your car?

DARK BLUE: A dark blue vehicle says you are credible, confident, dependable. And you drive too much because you always get stuck with the carpool.

BLACK: A black vehicle says you are empowered, not easily manipulated, love elegance, and you appreciate the classics.

It’s also says that you are mysterious or that you have two sides to your personality; it’s the favored car of both clergy and gangsters.

PURPLE: A purple vehicle means you are creative, individualistic, original, and perhaps it does. It could also mean you’re too old to care what anyone thinks of you.

DARK GREEN: A dark green vehicle means that you are traditional, trusty, and well balanced, but what it really means is that you are thrifty.

Who makes dark green cars anymore? If you own one, it’s probably been a while since you bought a new vehicle.

The Miss Rwanda 2012 Crown Beauty queen will walk away with a ‘Havar M2’ car valued at Frw12million.

The first eye witness account by one of the US Navy SEALs in the unit that killed Osama bin Laden will be published later this year, less than two months before the US presidential election.

The publication, due for the politically charged date of September 11, 2001, is likely to be a sensation.

Dutton, an imprint of Penguin, said that “No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account Of The Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden” is written by one of the SEALs who entered the al Qaeda founder’s hideout in May 2011 “and was present at his death.”

The writer, identified by the pseudonym Mark Owen, is said to have left the military and is the veteran of 13 consecutive combat deployments, culminating with the Operation Neptune Spear in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The book is co-written with Kevin Maurer, a US journalist.

In the book, Owen says, he wants “to set the record straight about one of the most important missions in US military history. ‘No Easy Day’ is the story of ‘the guys,’ the human toll we pay, and the sacrifices we make to do this dirty job.”

The cover of the book, already advertised on Amazon shows the ghostly figure of a soldier holding an assault rifle.

The killing of bin Laden, who managed to evade US forces for a decade after ordering the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, is seen by some as Obama’s biggest achievement in office.

However, the president has come under fire from some former CIA and special forces members who accuse him of leaking confidential details of missions in order to boost his ratings.

Republican challenger Mitt Romney and his supporters have also repeatedly accused Obama of seeking political gain from the military’s exploits.

With little information about what Owen’s book will reveal – including whether or not it will include the SEAL’s opinion on his former commander in chief – it was not clear whether the publication would hurt or help the Obama campaign.

AFP

Marc Gwamaka, a 24 year old Rwandan, also known for being the founder of the‘Walk To Remember’ has won the once-in-a-lifetime trip to Los Angeles, USA in September 2012 to meet with award-winning musician, writer, producer, humanitarian and activist Akon for the final episode in the current series of MTV Base Meets…with MTN.

Gwamaka is one of just 8 young Africans who will meet the R&B legend and participate in MTV Base Meets Akon with MTN, the final episode of the youth empowerment TV series, which brings African youth face to face with the continent’s elite.

Gwamaka will also take home a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and a Samsung Galaxy SII Smartphone as part of his prize.

First initiated in 2011, MTV Base Meets…with MTN connects African youth with inspirational or influential thought leaders, opinion formers, decision makers and role models who shape their world.

Influencers who have featured in the show so far including Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, supermodel Alek Wek and hip hop entrepreneur Russell Simmons.

Further influencers still to feature in the current series include Togolese international footballer Emmanuel Adebayor (29 August) and Archbishop Desmond Tutu (5 September).

Gwamaka won the opportunity after entering a SMS competition run by MTV and MTN in Rwanda.

“I am delighted because as a youth ambassador I will be among the few who will participate as a panellist to interview Akon. At that level I am also a youth ambassador for the whole country. I will carry my Rwandan flag and I will surely represent the country well,” Gwamaka said.

According to Sakyi Opoku, the Snr Manager Branding and Sponsorship, Gwamaka, being a youth leader in Rwanda and an innovator suit well with MTN Rwanda’s brand values.

“At MTN we believe in innovation and the ability to do things that impact on people’s live. We are positive that his trip to the USA, to meet a personality that has an inspirational story to share with the youth in Rwanda and Africa, will also be inspirational to others,” Opoku said.

Details of Gwamaka’s trip will feature in MTV Base Meets Akon with MTN, to be shown on MTV Base (DStv Channel 322) on Wednesday 26 September 2012 Rwanda TV on Thursday 27th September 2012.

An arrest warrant was issued for a grandson of Nelson Mandela on Monday after he failed to appear in court for not paying maintenance to his first wife, local media reported.

Mandla Mandela, an ANC member of parliament and head of the Mandela family clan, allegedly missed three payments to his estranged wife, Tando Mabunu-Mandela, the weekly newspaper City Press reported on its website.

The publication reported that a maintenance investigator said Mandela had refused to accept a summons given him on July 11.

The court granted an order to deduct the sum from Mandela’s salary, and issued the arrest warrant after his failure to appear in court, the newspaper said.

AFP