Mentor Applications

Educate! is hiring. We’re recruiting recent university graduates to commit to us for two years and become “mentors”. Our mentors will teach the Socially Responsible Leadership course, facilitate the social entrepreneurship club and mentor/advise the students at our partner secondary schools. So far we’ve been through several rounds of interviews and it has proven to be rather hard to find applicants to meet our (admittedly high) standards.

The way I look at it, it doesn’t matter how brilliant our curriculum is or how hard Angelica & I work – at the end of the day the actual people who’ll be implementing Educate!’s programs are these mentors. So they have to be absolutely brilliant – good teaching skills, smart, engaging personality, able to connect well with students, concerned for their community, innovative/creative/inspiring/proactive, can have fun, open to new ideas…the list continues.

It’s interesting to see what Angelica looks for during an interview, what Eric looks for, and what I look for. The one thing I’m more of a stickler about than both Angelica & Eric is document presentation and writing skills– spelling, grammar, typos etc. Having done the consulting recruitment rounds (both seeking a job for myself and then helping from the hiring end) maybe I have higher expectations than normal. Certainly the “art” of a CV (resume) here is different from in the US. For starters, a CV is not one page long. They’re generally at least 3 pages and dates go in chronological order. Hence a person’s experience as a primary school cleaning prefect will be listed before their debate club chairman experience in university.

No matter what the background of the applicant, no matter what nationality they are, no matter what job/industry they’re applying for, there will always be those applications that produce a bit of a giggle. People are careless, or just don’t care, or just…don’t double check their work! It’s not a Uganda thing, it’s a human thing. I’ve certainly done it. Bear in mind also that while English is the national language and classes are taught in English, most Ugandans will speak their native language at home. Below are a sample of some of my favourite applications that just made me laugh:

“I also like guiding people whenever I am approached even when I am not approached but still I can ask one whether it’s okay for me to assist him/her”

“For having attained skills of communication through communication skills”

“My main reason for applying to be a mentor is that I want to get salary that can support my dependence and as well pay for myself for a degree course in university (lawyer)”

“To secure a challenging position as an Entrepreneurial Accountant or Auditor of high integrity, with maximum job concentration and use acquired skills for the benefit of my employer, the community, shareholders and myself in order to build my career in Accounting, finance and auditing” (did you check what kind of a job you’re applying for here???)

“I am a 24 year old outgoing person who is always willing and able to work and share my vast experiences. I enjoy traveling and speaking English, Ateso and fairly Luganda and Kiswahili. I am also able to use a number of computer soft wear packages, and I also posses a valid driving permit”

“I feel I am familiar with problems of secondary students because I went through many hard times that to find from which I reformed”

“Nationality: Ugandan
Home District: Mbale
Date of birth: 11th August 1984
Sex: Male
Health status: Excellent”

“If I travel through time and have dinner with a person that would be a person living with HIV/AIDS in an educational environment meaning, a person who is having HIV/AIDS and at the same time that person attends to education”

“I am Andrew Nalumenya, aged 22 years, I was born in a skeptic environment, where by my mother was still at my grand parents’ place mainly at the end of the 1986 Guerilla war in Uganda that brought the current government into power”

And my personal favourite…

“I would very much wish to be a mentor so that I can guide the youth to know the use of being a virgin because I am proud of it” (fyi, 26 year old applicant) The applicant continued…“The fact is that my parents and other well wishers had very much warned me of the campus girls are poisonous and even detoothers”