Multicultural Social and Professional Etiquettes Archives

December 23, 2013December 23, 2013

The Demystification of Jose Mourinho

By Darasimi Oshodi

“I don’t feel comfortable enough to tell you what I think about the game. We’re in trouble. It is a concern [conceding so many goals]. I don’t like it, I don’t organise my teams to be like this.”

Jose Mourinho, December, 2013

I have got a huge respect for Jose Mourinho, even if I don’t particularly like him because I am a faithful supporter of Arsenal and considering the fact that Arsenal have never beaten a team coached by Mourinho as far as I know. Truth be told, Mourinho has had phenomenal achievements as a football coach: two Champions League Cups, seven league titles in four different countries, going nine years undefeated in home league games, among other achievements.

He has proved to the footballing world too many times that he is the king of tactics and I think he is the most tactical football coach in the world currently.

I believe he is a special one. I don’t agree with the special one tag that he has been carrying since his first sojourn in English football. He is indeed special, just as my favourite coach, Arsene Wenger is very special. In fact, there are many special coaches around: Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, Jupp Heynckes, Marcello Lippi, Harry Redknapp, etc.

Mourinho came to the English Premiership on the heels of his success in the Champions League with FC Porto, which was a very significant achievement on its own. As coach of Chelsea, Mourinho took the English football arena by storm by winning two titles in his first season in England. Chelsea lost only one game during that season.

After an unceremonious exit from Chelsea, he went to Italy as coach of Inter Milan in 2008 and he won the Italian Serie A (2009), (2010), Italian Cup (2010). In fact, in 2010, he led Inter to win a treble: the Serie A, the Italian cup and the UEFA Champions league.

He left Inter and came to Spain as coach of Real Madrid in 2010 and this was where his unraveling began despite the fact that he started on a very bright note. It got so bad that he did not win a major tiltle in his last season in charge at Real Madrid. Before the 2012/2013 season, he had led Real Madrid to victories in the 2011 Copa Del Roy and 2012 La Liga. He never won the double in Spain; a feat he had achieved with his previous clubs. It was during his last season at Real Madrid that the Mourinho effect started wearing off on all of us. The same Jose Mourinho who had looked unbeatable now looked very beatable and this was proved again and again during that season. The Mourinho whom we had all thought would always win a final lost to Athletico Madrid in the final of the 2012 Kings Cup and that was when Mourinho was finally demystified. Continue reading “The Demystification of Jose Mourinho”

August 4, 2012August 4, 2012

How to Avoid Age Discrimination in Job Search

Employment discrimination based on age is illegal but the fact is that it exits. It’s it impossible to completely eradicate the problem with legislation. It therefore becomes the responsibility of the job applicant to avoid placing him or herself in harm’s way. Below are some steps to avoid being a victim of ageism.

Remove the date when you graduated from college or high school from your resume, especially those of you in your upper 40s and 50s. These dates don’t add anything to your accomplishments and only make you look old in the eyes of the hiring manager or interviewers.
Focus on job experience over the past 10 years, unless it’s really necessary to go back over 2 decade of experience. Why go back 25 years of experience unless you‘re the architect of the Yamuna Expressway.
Show that you’re up-to-date with technology, which a common stereotype associated with ageism.

You obviously wished discrimination based on age didn’t exist but we don’t live in perfect world. However Continue reading “How to Avoid Age Discrimination in Job Search”

June 15, 2012July 8, 2012

Get More From Networking Events Beyond the Wine and Cheese

[ad#GBAF-2-pix]Chances are a few times in a year, you will have an invite to a birthday or send off party, a retirement dinner, an after-graduation ceremony or a corporate executive meet and greet ritual. Before you delve deeper into this essay, I would like to point out that in today’s world if you know how the ‘system’ works, you should know that it’s not about the food.

‘It’s all about whom you know’ has become a cliche and to some of you, it’s a negative one. Unfortunately, it is the reality, like or not.

We’re so interconnected and interdependent that in order to take full advantage of all that’s available to you, you need to artfully and purposely network using every opportunity that’s offered to you. Continue reading “Get More From Networking Events Beyond the Wine and Cheese”

April 15, 2012June 2, 2012

Who Is Irreplaceable?

Quarterback Peyton Manning parts company with the Indianapolis Colts

A few weeks ago, US football team the Indianapolis Colts parted company with their future hall of fame quarterback, the four-time MVP, Peyton Manning. I can appreciate that some of you reading this have nothing do with football or perhaps don’t even understand the sports. However, give me a moment to share with you a lesson I believe we can all learn from the Mr. Manning’s departure from the Colts.

You’re not irreplaceable, regardless: I got interested in American football just about 5 year ago and over this period, I observed that Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts were almost synonymous. Folks who have followed the league longer will say the same thing. Since Mr. Manning joined the Colts in 1990, he worked hard and gave more to the team than anyone did. He won Super Bowl with the team. Sadly, during the 2011 season, he had a neck injury and underwent a surgery. His team without him ended the season with memorable 2 win and 14 losses. Continue reading “Who Is Irreplaceable?”

1. Asking only what your network can do for you

2. Using a stock résumé

3. Misusing social networks