6 tips to excel in your career

6 tips to excel in your career

Many years ago, Maureen Akintoye applied a list of smart nuggets to help her excel in her career. Now, with over a decade of successfully running a top Marketing and Advertising firm in New Zealand, she shares a few career tips which worked for her and where they originated from.

 

  1. I first heard Zig Ziglar say it when people challenged him on his “positive attitude” manifesto: “You can do anything with a positive attitude better than you can do it with a negative one.” – Lea McLeod, Career Coach.

 

  1. Work hard and be nice to people. It’s a very simple motto I try to live by daily – Marie Burns, Recruiting Leader at Compete.

 

  1. There’s never going to be a precisely right moment to speak, share an idea, or take a chance. Just take the moment – don’t let thoughts like “I don’t feel like I’m ready” get in the way. Look to see if you have the main things or the opportunity will pass you by. Don’t let perfect get in the way of really, really good. – Kathleen Tierney, Executive Vice President and COO of Chub Insurance.

 

  1. Tenacity and persistence – nothing beats it. Even if your talent isn’t there yet, you can always develop it to what it will eventually be. But people who are persistent and tenacious and driven and have a really clear, defined goal of what they want, nothing compares to that. Not giving up is really huge. – Catt Sadler, Anchor at E!

 

  1. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness but of strength. No one got to where they are today without help along the way. Don’t be afraid to ask, and then remember to return the favor. – Elliott Bell, Director of Marketing of The Muse.

 

  1. Even if you aren’t feeling totally sure of yourself and your abilities, it’s important that you present yourself otherwise. That means, shifting your body language to portray confidence. So, while you may be so nervous before your big interview or meeting that you want to curl into a ball, resist the temptation to cower or make yourself smaller, and walk in with your head held high. – Michele Hoos, Writer.

 

Invite someone to move to ARM Pensions to enjoy a greater advantage now and at retirement.

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Not another work week!

It’s Sunday night and you’re excited because it’s one of the weeks you get to work remotely due to the staggered work conditions at the office following the pandemic. You’re happy because unlike the previous week, you don’t have to rush out into the frustrating traffic to get to work. So, you press play on the new series you’ve saved to your list on Netflix and settle in for a binge-fest.

 

An email alert pops up and one look confirms your fear – a group-wide meeting has been fixed for 8 AM the following morning followed by a short brainstorming session just two hours after. Instantly, the enthusiasm towards your binge-date with Netflix deflates as you imagine how tight your Monday would be despite working from home. You sigh and turn off the series – it can wait for now as you need to hit the sack.

 

Deep within, you wonder how it would feel to not have to work every day to eke a living and your heart does a double some

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Not another work week!

Not another work week!

It’s Sunday night and you’re excited because it’s one of the weeks you get to work remotely due to the staggered work conditions at the office following the pandemic. You’re happy because unlike the previous week, you don’t have to rush out into the frustrating traffic to get to work. So, you press play on the new series you’ve saved to your list on Netflix and settle in for a binge-fest.

 

An email alert pops up and one look confirms your fear – a group-wide meeting has been fixed for 8 AM the following morning followed by a short brainstorming session just two hours after. Instantly, the enthusiasm towards your binge-date with Netflix deflates as you imagine how tight your Monday would be despite working from home. You sigh and turn off the series – it can wait for now as you need to hit the sack.

 

Deep within, you wonder how it would feel to not have to work every day to eke a living and your heart does a double somersault. Waking up at the time you like and yet not having to worry about where to get money to survive sounded awesome to you. But just as soon as that glimmer of hope surfaces in your heart, reality slaps it back into the dream realm.

 

The problem

 

It’s at this point that you remember that you hadn’t given a thought to your retirement. Even though the mandatory pension contribution is deducted by your employer and remitted on your behalf into your retirement savings account, you often wish they didn’t have to.

 

You don’t even care about the reputation of the Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) that your pension account is domiciled with neither have you considered if the amount being contributed could fund the lifestyle you dream of when you retire.

 

Reality Check

The smell of something burning jolts you back to reality. The popcorn you were making on the stove-top for your Netflix date was burning but now, it is the least of your problems.

 

You immediately begin researching PFA’s and jotting down the ones with the experience and impressive pedigree. You narrow it down to ARM Pensions – a part of Asset & Resource Management Holding Company (ARMHoldCo) with over 27 years of experience managing assets for individuals and corporations. You initiate the step to move your pension to them and in the next twenty minutes that you took to read through the ARM Pensions website, you realise that you can Walk Into Tomorrow to plan your retirement and know exactly how much you need for the lifestyle you desire at retirement.

 

You immediately log in via wit.armpension.com and spend the rest of the night planning in joy as retirement starts to feel exciting.

 

As you close your browser to retire for the night, you decide that waking up early and going through the weekly routine of work and meetings wasn’t such a bad idea if it caters to your today and buys you the tomorrow of your dreams.

Visit www.armpension.com/transfer to move to ARM Pensions today.

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Benita’s Corner (Episode One) : The “good life” bug bit

Benita’s Corner (Episode One) : The “good life” bug bit

Hi, I’m Benita and it’s nice to meet you. This is to officially welcome you to my corner where I plan to rant (mostly about money), goof around, and sometimes get serious with what’s happening in my life and the world.

My friends describe me as intelligent, playful, and highly optimistic. So, I hope that as you read, you’ll get a glimpse into my life, teach me a thing or two, and hopefully learn from my experiences, as we navigate the tides of adulthood – you and me.

 

Now, to the first subject of my rant…

 

The “good life bug”

 

A few years ago, I finished youth service and was super excited to land my first job. Armed with a 2.1 degree, a couple of professional courses under my belt, and the enthusiasm of a winner, I came to Lagos to begin an exciting career. I had this dream that once I landed this city flowing with milk and honey, companies will be rushing me.

 

Well, I got the shock of my life when I had spent over six months in my sister’s house, sent out over a hundred job applications, and not one company was excited to employ me. I had thought they’d rush me like hot puff puff but alas… I cried, fasted, and prayed. I even went personally to offices to beg for an opportunity to show my CV… I did so much, yet nothing.

 

Then Nosa shows up…

 

A couple of years down the line after I finally got a job, I met Nosa, and he introduced me to the ‘good life’. Nosa was a fashionisto and skilled with styling. Unfortunately, he was also a party animal, and soon, with my constant hangouts with him, I got bit by the good life bug. Only, this good life bug was costing me more than I cared to admit.

 

As a Customer Service officer, I was earning N200k but my people, do you know that by the time the 25th of every month came around and salaries were paid, I’d already be in debt?

 

Hmmm… How manage, you ask? Well, Nosa had introduced me to some boutique owners who didn’t mind giving me items to pay later. So, while I looked like a million bucks when going to work and parties, my account was constantly in red. Or should we talk of the unending parties and hangouts this my guy always roped me into? Where I had to open my purse so as not to be seen as a broke babe…SMH.

 

I was living from salary to salary with no savings or investment to my name. Even common emergency fund, your babe didn’t have.

 

This lifestyle felt normal to me until one day when I met Rachel, my paddy way back in the University.

 

You guys won’t believe what I saw that day. I felt like an utter fool to put it lightly.

 

Shoot! My ride home is about to leave, and unless you people want your girl to trek from VI to Festac, I gotta go (My car broke down mbok). This gist will continue next time. In the meantime, beware of the “Nosa’s” out there. Lerra!

To be continued!

 

 

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Lekki Concession Company: Obeying the Rules of the Road

ARM’s Lekki Concession Company (LCC) project was conceived with a specific mandate from the Lagos State Government to transform the Lekki-Epe Expressway from a 50 kilometre road to a modern and efficient highway. The initial vision of both Lagos State and ARM was to expand the identified Lekki-Epe Expressway carriageway from four to six lanes in selected areas, add new roundabouts, interchanges, and a Falomo bridge on-ramp.

The Road to Recovery: Emmanuel Ikazoboh and the NSE Reforms

In 2010, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission, in an attempt to restore investors’ confidence, appointed Mr Emmanuel Ikazoboh as Interim Administrator of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, to carry out a capital market reform of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The Do’s of spending in retirement

Mojisola is on the brink of retirement and her excitement knows no bounds. She already drafted a plan of what she’d want to do with her years after hanging her work boot. She wants to get it right and enjoy her retirement without running out of money or good health.

 

Here are some interesting bits of her spending plan:

 

 

Track your spending daily – Mojisola knows that checking on her transactions and account balance will help her see how much is going out and discover where to cut back on excesses. This ensures that she won’t be dipping too much into the money she has saved.

 

Spend on learning – Continued education of any kind such as developing new professional skills or enhancing old ones is a positive way to spend retirement money, Mojisola discovered. This knowledge expansion helps you stay sharper and relevant as you get older.

 

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The Do’s of spending in retirement

The Do’s of spending in retirement

Mojisola is on the brink of retirement and her excitement knows no bounds. She already drafted a plan of what she’d want to do with her years after hanging her work boot. She wants to get it right and enjoy her retirement without running out of money or good health.

 

Here are some interesting bits of her spending plan:

 

 

Track your spending daily – Mojisola knows that checking on her transactions and account balance will help her see how much is going out and discover where to cut back on excesses. This ensures that she won’t be dipping too much into the money she has saved.

 

Spend on learning – Continued education of any kind such as developing new professional skills or enhancing old ones is a positive way to spend retirement money, Mojisola discovered. This knowledge expansion helps you stay sharper and relevant as you get older.

 

Spend on relationship building – Paying for travel to visit her children, grandchildren, or old friends from school will be money well spent in retirement. Like her, you need to keep a vibrant social life to enjoy retirement.

 

Spend on activities that can improve your health – Such as health club/gym memberships, exercise equipment, and personal training, among others. Mojisola is aware that these activities will boost her mood, keep her in great physical and mental health and expose her to new relationships.

 

Spend on activities that bring you pleasure – Research shows that great experiences tend to bring far more happiness to retirees than accumulating lots of expensive stuff. So instead of buying an expensive bag, Mojisola would rather choose a trip with friends instead.

 

Learn all you need to enjoy a comfortable retirement at www.armpension.com

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