Power of voluntary work on CV attractiveness
A CV that is polished, to the point and relevant to the job you are applying for is likely to get picked out by a busy recruiter and research by academics Christa Wilkin and Catherine Connelly suggests voluntary work is beneficial, so long as it’s relevant. This is likely to be very good news for women and men who’ve taken a career break to raise children and have spent time in unpaid roles in their wider communities. In their study, Wilkin and Connelly provided 135 professional recruiters with CVs that differed systematically in the types of experience they reported. Some contained purely paid work, others purely voluntary work and others a mixture.
January Revolutions v. Gradual Change
Did you, like me, wake up to stupendous sunshine and blue sky on new year’s day and fleetingly entertain the idea of new year’s revolutions? That bold, life-giving copper coin has a way of filling us with hope, optimism, possibility and on January 1st has the extra power of instilling in us the belief we can make radical changes to our behaviour with ease. In this post I’m sharing how gradually improving an aspect of ourselves, whatever the weather, is probably better than attempting to revolutionise it.
Change Fest’ – Implementation Intentions
Have a good Crimbo and a sparkly new year? Eat a few too many mince pies? I hope so, they’re scrumptious and it’s so long until you get to eat them again. You should have seen my face fall when I decided must bake more betwixt Crimbo and NY only to find supermarket shelves cleared of mincemeat and replaced with Easter eggs. Shock mock horror! Must take advantage when you can – make hay whilst the sun shines and all that.
Loved for saying no?
In a column last month (“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should“) I suggested that capable, busy women like you need to be picky about the way you spend your time. I offered the mantra ‘just because you can doesn’t mean you should’ which caused Christine to get on the blower to delve into my ideas on how to say no – one of the mantra’s necessary and implicit skills – for her latest feature in a Gulf magazine.
Counting the cost of childcare
In Europe parents spend an average of 13% of salaries on childcare costs; 5% in Sweden and 27% in the UK. We have a problem in the UK that needs remedying. We know that women’s careers are often stunted when they take part-time work after childbirth (and they get paid a whole lot less on average as part-time usually equates to lower status) and we also know there’s no evidence that children whose mothers work are no worse off than children who’s mammas are available to them around the clock.
Female Partners at the Big Four
Just as I find it odd John Humphreys talking with detachment on the Today programme about BBC misdemeanours – as though this ‘BBC’ is something distant and not his employer – I find myself wondering whether professional consulting firms like KPMG have forgotten what is happening in their own organisation when they publish insight papers such as Female CFOs in Singapore (how Singapore seems to be doing better than other countries in promoting women to senior roles).
Senior Civil Servant Job-Share
Once the preserve of women at the lower end of a company’s org’chart, job-sharing is now happening in the upper echelons of management. At least it is if you know where to look or more importantly if you know how to ask. I wonder if that appeals to you or your colleagues? If it does, read on and please forward this month’s working motherhood musing to those bright minds.
Mothers & Sleep
Hello you holidaymaking mother of character,
Now what’s better than sunshine and well behaved children on your summer break from business as usual? The answer from my POV is very definitely a bloody good night’s sleep on at least as good a mattress as I have at home. On our break in North Yorkshire the sun shone, our friends were as awesome as ever and we had a seriously good rest from the old routine.
The horse's mouth
“It’s been remarkable – a huge impact on my personal and professional life.” Nicky’s getting better results from her team, she’s confidently approaching difficult conversations and is fulfilling a secret ambition to write a book. Read how Agnes, Dani, Andrea and Emmy say they’ve benefited from a short spell of coaching.
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