Career, Education, Student Finance, Startup and Gap Year Features

Details: Written by OriginalSteps; Category: Original Careers; Published: 27 November 2012; Last Updated: 21 January 2016

Nina Mapili: The journey of a career making a difference

"I understand personal empowerment to be the process of giving a person the ability, the power, to “take charge of their life” – to be able to responsibly and independently define and pursue their personal vision." - Nina Mapili founder of Journey 2 Excellence (J2Ex)

Where on the planet are you currently located? I started this list of questions in Madagascar, continued in South Africa, and finished in Germany (where I live).

Your career has seen you travel the planet and currently you head up a project called the Journey to Excellence, tell us more? I began working with entrepreneurs, businesses, organisations, and individuals in southern Africa in 1997 as a consultant to SAFRI, the Southern Africa Initiative of German Business, a German B2B initiative. The Journey to Excellence (J2Ex) program grew out of this engagement, along with additional factors such as my experience as the Course Director of Germany’s first international English language Masters program. I also have degrees in architecture from the US and Germany, and am a believer in lifelong learning.

Details: Written by OriginalSteps; Category: Original Careers; Published: 22 November 2012; Last Updated: 21 January 2016

The exploratory life and musical composition of Julian Gamisch

"The best place is to start with yourself and be able to trust your vision of what you want people to hear and feel from the music you have created” - Julian Gamisch

A first glance at Julian Gamisch immediately presents one with a youthful energy that is befitting to his wild eyes and expressions. Intelligent and only 22, he comes across as more worldly for that age. At the time of the interview he has just returned from a 24-day trip through Iceland, a country that has always fascinated him. He talks animatedly about his travels and his step into the “unknown”! However it is his current studies and career path that have got my attention ahead of the Icelandic adventure (which included a couch surfing stint after spending too much time sleeping in a tent attached to the back of a hired car.)

Details: Written by OriginalSteps; Category: Careers and Popular Culture; Published: 06 November 2012; Last Updated: 26 November 2015

James Bond: 50 Years of Movie Posters

The ultimate celebration of Bond movie poster art From 1962's Dr. No to 2012's Skyfall, James Bond 50 Years of Movie Posters is an unforgettable gallery of Bond posters, teasers and lobby cards from all corners of the globe, showcasing Bond's incredible 50-year movie history.

Details: Written by OriginalSteps; Category: Gap Year Adventures; Published: 14 November 2012; Last Updated: 17 March 2016

Roaming Newton travelling through The Black Forest

Roaming Newton travelling through The Black Forest

Adventuring through Germany is not the easiest thing on the planet, obstacles appear more often than a new twist in a Harry Potter book. First of all the language, German is not the easiest language to pick up and limited knowledge of it can lead to poor if not rather funny versions of what can be only been classed by a native English speaker as “Deunglish”. Ahh, Deunglish (Deutsch-English) the lesser known language created by the lost traveler and hard done by ex-pat! The next challenge would be to understand the travel systems: planes, trains and automobiles…99% of the time everything runs like clockwork and if there was a 1% mishap well you definitely would not hear the end of it therefore it is best to be on time at all costs.

Details: Written by OriginalSteps; Category: Original Careers; Published: 06 November 2012; Last Updated: 21 January 2016

Greg Schneider: Challenging talent acquisition

“The challenge is ensuring you always getting the basics done, while following up on the exciting new leads.” - Greg Schneider

Where on the planet are you currently located? Cape Town, South Africa

You have started a business model that offers rewards for the recruitment industry, tell us more? Prior to starting Hiring Bounty I was working at newly formed company, I had joined the business as their first employee and as we grew the business - a large portion of the recruitment fell to me. While I don't have a background in recruitment my experience both as a potential employer and employee highlighted to me that there was something fundamentally flawed with how traditional recruitment was being executed.