Saturday, August 26, 2023

Quitting to work for a competitor

 

Before you quit your job to work for a competitor, you may want to consider the following:

Review your agreement. Does it contain a non-compete clause? If yes, you may be required to stay and work with your current employer for a period of time before leaving to work for a competitor.

Is your new employer requiring a letter from your current employer? If yes, be prepared for anything. Your current employer may write a good or bad review, and you may not have a chance to appeal. This may affect your potential future employers. 

How is the relationship between your current employer and your coworkers? You may not be able to please everyone, but you also do not want to upset or strain relationships with coworkers. Sometimes more money is not the answer to everything, but great relationships with coworkers and managers can make a huge difference in terms of job satisfaction.

Consider other opportunities and benefits available to you from your current employer versus the new employer and make decisions based on your own situation.

What is the nature of your current or future company? Is it a startup with growth potential that you need to grow with, or is it an established company with a great track record?

What can you do to change the situation with your current employer? Is the situation better with your future employer? If your current and future employers are in the same industry, is this other company going to stay in business? Examine their books and ask questions, for example, why they need you, why did the last person in this position quit, are there any recent layoffs, and what guarantees do you have that you are going to keep your job?

Check your emotions. Are you overreacting? Can you adapt?

These are just a few tips to add to your list before you decide whether to stay or go.


Friday, August 25, 2023

Commonwealth Short Story Prize

 
The 2024 Prize will open for submissions from 1 September 2023 to 1 November 2023.

The prize is free to enter and open to any citizen of a Commonwealth country aged 18 and over. It is awarded for the best piece of unpublished short fiction (2,000–5,000 words).

Submissions should be made via the online entry form listed on this page. The eligibility and entry guidelines can be found here.

An international judging panel of writers will select a shortlist of around twenty stories, from which five regional winners are chosen. One of the regional winners is then selected as the overall winner, who receives £5,000. All winning and shortlisted stories will be published online.

Scroll down to read answers to frequently asked questions about the prize, including who can enter, how stories are judged and what languages we accept.

For any inquiries regarding the prize, please email: [email protected]

UNFPA Global Internship

 
UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.

Eligibility:

Applicants to the UNFPA internship programme must at the time of application meet one of the following requirements:
  1. Be enrolled in a postgraduate degree programme (such as a master’s programme, or higher);
  2. Be enrolled in the final academic year of a first university degree programme (such as bachelor’s degree or equivalent);
  3. Have recently graduated with a university degree (as defined in (a) and (b) above) and, if selected, must start the internship within one-year of graduation;
  4. Be enrolled in a postgraduate professional traineeship program and undertake the internship as part of this program.
A person who is the child or sibling of a UNFPA staff member is not eligible to apply for an internship at UNFPA. An applicant who bears any other family relationship with a UNFPA staff member may be engaged as an intern, provided that they must neither be assigned to the same work unit of the staff member nor be placed under the direct or indirect supervision of the staff member.


Closing date: 31 Dec 2023 11:59 PM (America/New_York)

Ibrahim Leadership Fellowships

 
During their 12-month programmes, Fellows gain both technical and leadership skills, while contributing directly to research and policy design. A special feature of the programme is the opportunity to benefit from the direct mentorship of the heads of the host organisations.
Fellows also become members of the Now Generation Network (NGN), through which they continue to contribute their skills and insights to building a better Africa.

Applications for the 2024 Ibrahim Leadership Fellowships are now open, the deadline for applications is Friday, 20 October 2023.

Fellowships are open to young professionals, mid-career and new executives from Africa with relevant work experience and a master’s degree.

Eligibility criteria
  • National of an African country
  • Minimum 7 years' of relevant work experience
  • Master’s degree
  • Under the age of 40, or 45 for women with children
  • Any additional criteria as set by the host

Thursday, August 24, 2023

African Career Acceleration Fellowships

   
The Crick Africa Network (CAN) is offering African Career Acceleration Fellowships supported by LifeArc for early-career biomedical scientists to develop translational scientific programmes and become independent scientists.

Looking for ambitious early-career African scientists who can demonstrate strong scientific and leadership potential, a keen interest in translational science, and a commitment to establishing their own research groups and continuing their careers on the African continent.

The fellows will also be expected to spend some time in the United Kingdom, to use the research and laboratory facilities at the Francis Crick Institute and LifeArc.

Fellows will have the opportunity to be supported by one or more of the Crick’s 21 science technology platforms (STPs). LifeArc will also deliver translational development courses and host fellows for three to 12 months at one of their UK laboratories.

Mentorship from the chosen African partner institute, the Crick, and LifeArc will support with grant writing, publishing, research ethics and translation.

There is a strong ethos of collaboration and interaction across the network and fellows will be encouraged to learn from one another, as well as their mentors. The fellowships will cover salary, research costs, research assistant salary, and travel and subsistence costs.

Read more and apply: https://www.crick.ac.uk/research/research-partnerships/strategic-partnerships/crick-africa-network/african-career-acceleration-fellowships

Applications are now open until the 12th of November 2023.

Security tip: Disable remote desktop

   
Why?

Because you want to increase the security of your computer or your client's or your company's or your parents' computer.

A Remote Desktop can be used by scammers pretending to offer technical support.

You don't need it on unless you know what you are doing, and it is for specific and legitimate reasons. Most of the time, it should be turned off. 

In a Windows computer go to the Settings (shortcut = press the Windows icon + the letter I) > System> scroll down > click Remote Desktop > click on the toggle next to the Remote Desktop option to turn it off.

You will be prompted to confirm your decision and click on the Disable button and exit the Settings.


Some versions of Windows do not support this feature and you will see a red sentence stating something similar or variation of this, "Your Home edition of Windows 11 doesn't support Remote Desktop."

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

The Queen Elizabeth II Academy for Leadership in International Affairs

   
The Leadership Masterclass Programme is a career development programme by the Academy. It runs for nine months and is a part-time option for working professionals running from early October 2023 to June 2024 in parallel with Academy fellowships. It is sponsored by the Asfari Foundation, Robert Bosch Stiftung and Mo Ibrahim Foundation.

Established in 2017, the Leadership Masterclass Programme offers participants the opportunity to engage and build their capacity for independent thinking on global policy issues and leadership by participating in a variety of regular sessions and activities, all held at Chatham House with world-class experts. They also have the environment to develop a network with other like-minded individuals, all with the support of a professional career coach.

Read more and apply: https://careers.chathamhouse.org/jobs/3049601-leadership-masterclass-programme-2023-24

Applications are open between 10am BST on Wednesday 9 August and 10am BST on Monday 4 September 2023. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and the closing date may be brought forward if needed, therefore applicants are encouraged to apply early.