Creating an effective USP ( Unique Selling Proposition ) is key for any job seeker or career  changer. It a major, invaluable tool in the job search tool box and will serve as a basis for: One sentence bio either written or oral Your online professional profile tagline (120 characters with spacse on LinkedIn) Any introduction…

I recently watched “Made in Dagenham” , a movie made about the women machinists at Ford’s Dagenham factory who downed tools in 1968, in protest that they were classed as unskilled workers, while male colleagues doing the same job were thought to be skilled and therefore paid much more for their efforts. The three-week strike brought production…

Fixing your job search visibility I have spent the past week with two different women, of two different ages. Their backgrounds could not be further apart. One is a young graduate, seeking entry-level employment, the other a woman in her 40s, with extensive supply chain and procurement experience, as well as an MBA. She has…

Does the feminisation of HR have a downside? The feminisation of HR has been creeping up on us for years. I was recently involved in an executive search for an upper level middle management HR position. The European VP asked me to try to produce a gender balanced short list. Now, this is not what…

What to do when you HATE your job with a passion! I spent time last week coaching a young professional who hated his job in a small, family run organisation. In fact he hated it so badly that the things he claimed he would rather be doing instead, covered all manner of unspeakable things, too…

Why I think there should be barriers to entry in the executive search business and minimal professional qualifications.

Definition of flame wars Urban Dictionary : A flame war is a heated argument between two individuals, that results in those involved posting personal attacks on each other during or instead of debating the topic at hand. Flame mail Technology has transformed the nature of communication. Gone are the days when a letter had to…

This post was orignally a guest post for Ann Lewis author of “Recover your balance: How to bounce back from bad times at work” Take a stand In my research for my series on the bullying of women in the work place by women, I was contacted by a huge number of women and somewhat…

How makeup is impacting the workplace I was facilitating a meeting in Paris some years ago and one delegate asked about women, makeup and career advancement. Is makeup a career issue? In a professional world driven by gender stereotypes  – of course it’s an issue for both men and women. There wasn’t time to go…

It’s quite common to think of Plan B as a compromise. But nothing could be further from the truth. In reality it’s about keeping our options open and not confining ourselves to a narrow set of specific goals. Times change I tell anyone who I coach and both my daughter and son, to always have…