How to help Xhepa in 5min

I get once in a while – more often than not – requests from family and friends who want that I employ their relatives who live in Kosova, North-Macedonia, Albania or Serbia.

The position doesn’t matter to them – important for them is just that “they work something…

In most cases, those are 16-20 year young boys or girls with almost no experience in anything and just expect to get everything ready served.

How I help and then decide who really deserves the help.

I meet ‘Xhepa’ and talk to him in person to understand where he stands.

  1. What books did you read recently?
  2. What are your strengths?
  3. What are your goals?
  4. What do you want to become?

In most cases, I get very unclear answers and none of them reads – instead, they waste 10 hours daily on their smartphones.

Pretty sad, but come on, they’re still young and who am I to judge them – I didn’t know better myself…

So, that’s the starting point, and ‘Xhepa’ says he wants to become an engineer (because he heard that’s good and they make a lot of money).

So, what I do and what you can do in a similar situation:

  1. Create a Gmail account (because some of them don’t even have that or don’t know their logins… true story)
  2. Create an Udemy account + download the app on their smartphone
  3. Get some free classes on programming for super beginners
  4. Create an account on babble or Duolingo so that they can improve their English skills (needed to learn on Udemy)
  5. I send then an email from the new Gmail account to my own email (Just a short “Hi”)
  6. Then I agree that they will send me their progress by email.
  7. After 2 weeks I ask regarding the progress that they made in learning English and programming.

Normally I either don’t get an answer or there is no progress at all.

It’s sad – but that’s part of the Balkan mentality I experienced in my own circle.

They look for the easy way, and even if you show them exactly what to do and what to learn, to start that new path – they won’t.

In such cases – I close the case and wish them good luck.

In 10 years since I am doing business in Kosova, I have had only one successful family member that I helped and is still working with me:

Vigan Myrtaj

Vigan Myrtaj

He started as an intern an MIK Group, became a graphic designer, later ‘Head of Design, then changed to my other business dua.com, where he is currently the Head of Web & Graphic Design.