Archives for category: Work & Career

The Importance of Taking Time Out

31 October 2011 //
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My wife and I took a week off work recently. Nothing too fancy. We toured Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, including the Malvern Hills. We spent most of our time sight-seeing, walking, chatting over meals, reading and sleeping. Bliss! In a nutshell, we took some well-earned time out to de-stress, relax and re-charge our batteries.

When I returned to work, a colleague asked if I’d had an enjoyable break, and mentioned in passing that he had taken just 3 days of his annual holiday allowance so far this year! Just 3 days in 8 months! How can anyone possibly decompress and rest up properly in such a short space of time?

It got me thinking. Sadly, it strikes me that my colleague’s experience is becoming an all too familiar feature of the modern UK workplace. An unwelcome transatlantic import from our overworked and stressed out American cousins.

In contemporary workplace culture, not taking holidays and working long hours is often seen as a ‘badge of honour’. Rather than encouraging their staff to take time out, most corporations are complicit in encouraging such macho working practices, or at least tacitly consent to them by turning a blind eye.

‘More widgets’ is seen as an inherently good thing, even if productivity is close to zero, and it takes a disproportionately high amount of time and effort to create those extra widgets. Most corporations take the simplistic view that more of something is always better. Is it really? Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories Happiness & Well-being, Work & Career

Our Iceberg is Melting – Lessons from the Penguin Story

22 August 2011 //
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I recently read a book by John Kotter on the subject ‘managing successful change’ called Our Iceberg Is Melting. Kotter is a Professor at Harvard Business School, and has been writing on the topics of ‘successful change’ and leadership for several decades. Written in 2005, the book approaches what could very easily be  a dry, academic subject, through the story-telling medium of the ‘fable’.

Given our increasingly fast-paced and rapidly changing modern lives, it occurred to me that there may be lessons we can take away from the penguin story. So, what follows is a brief summary of the key learnings from the story, and how we might apply some much-needed ‘penguin-logic’ to our daily lives as humans.

Our Iceberg Is Melting tells the tale of a colony of Emperor Penguins in Antarctica. The colony has inhabited the same iceberg for generations, and they have naturally come to think of it at their permanent home. Then, one day, a curious-minded penguin called Fred makes the unwelcome discovery that their iceberg is melting, endangering the lives of the entire colony.

What follows is the tale of how the penguins cope with this impending crisis, and the inevitable change that has been foisted upon them. It is a story of denial, fear, resistance to change, penguin politics, overcoming obstacles, heroism, and ultimate success. Read the rest of this entry »

Categories Personal Development, Work & Career

How to Write a Winning CV

13 July 2011 //
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Having worked in the UK recruitment industry for 13 years, I understand how difficult and frustrating it can be trying to write a CV that will grab an employer’s attention. It can be can be quite an intimidating exercise having to condense your working life into a few short pages!

So, I’ve written a guide to CV writing aimed at anyone from recent Graduates, through to senior managers undergoing a career change. I hope you find it useful.

What is a CV?

A CV (or Curriculum Vitae) is a factual summary of your key skills, experience, qualifications, achievements, and career objectives. A CV should be a clear, unambiguous and concise overview, which encourages potential employers to invite you to interview.

  • The sole purpose of a CV is to get you an interview. It is a marketing tool and sales brochure that maximizes your chances of being offered an interview.
  • Most employers and recruiters will spend less than 30 seconds reviewing your CV. Therefore, it must capture the reader’s immediate attention and make a positive impact. The impact your CV makes will determine whether you are invited to interview.
  • Most employers will interview the candidate who has the best CV, not necessarily the candidate who is best suited to the job. The candidate who gets hired is typically the one who knows how to create a high-impact CV, not necessarily the one who can do the job best. Read the rest of this entry »
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Categories Work & Career
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