As well as producing our own guide to Your personal brand, we asked Charlie Wagstaff, Managing Director for Criticaleye, The Network of Leaders, to explain how and why you should be looking at your personal brand in the current climate.

Brands

Avoiding exposure to brands, and the values and messages behind them, is near nigh impossible. As soon as we get up in the morning, we use a certain make of toothpaste, or eat a particular cereal, items which, because of clever marketing and branding, exude a number of messages about our preferences and the lifestyle that we aspire to. Directly or indirectly, the association between the products, and the brand values that they contain, will have influenced our choice in using them.

What experiences, skills and beliefs do you have that make you who you are?

In the business world, we can see for ourselves how strong brands aid the recognition and success of an organisation. They engage us emotionally with stories and messages that we either relate or aspire to. Either way we want to buy in and be part of that brand. Apple is a good example; an exciting and innovative company at the forefront of design and technology which consumers want to be seen with. What we don’t see is how meticulously organisations with strong brands shape and develop their brand name, ensuring that everything they do feeds back into the core values and perceptions people have about their products or services.

So, with this in mind, the question we should all be asking, and especially in the current climate, is how can we tap into the power of the brand? How can we step back, look at our own skills and personality traits and present them in the same way as a premium brand product? In a recruitment market where we need to stand out from the crowd, how can we take the ‘Apple approach’ with our own profile?

Personal brand

To begin the process of personal branding, you need to identify your key personality traits. What experiences, skills and beliefs do you have that make you who you are?

There are a few fundamental questions you need to ask yourself:

• What aspects of my life or career set me apart from my peers?
• What are my unique selling points as an individual?
• What am I passionate about and how can I harness that energy and represent it positively to an external audience?

It is not unusual that by completing this analysis, you’ll find that you are in a role for which you are not entirely suited.  In many cases though, it is an externally imposed event, such as redundancy, which forces us to take stock and undertake a radical review.  While these shocks can be difficult and inconvenient, they enable us to redirect our careers and reassess our priorities, both of which contribute to understanding our personal brand.

When you’ve identified what your key qualities are, it is time to start developing them. It’s important at this stage to adopt a marketing approach. Keep in mind that there are likely to be many others with similar skills and experiences so focus on building messages around the core qualities that define your personal brand. From the list of experiences and skills already identified, draw out around five overarching personal qualities or values. Underneath these core values, list related experiences, personal and professional, to add substance to the key messages of your brand.

It can be a difficult process, but to develop a personal brand you need to step outside yourself, take a holistic view of your career, and indeed personal life, to date. Essentially, you need to view yourself as a product.

Understand achievements

On reaching a point in your career where you are leading teams, or even an organisation, identifying the successes which are most significant to you can be difficult. One way of categorising your achievements, both personal and professional, is to view them as ‘Gold’, ‘Silver’ and ‘Bronze’ medals. Like last year’s returned UK Olympic athletes who wear their medals as recognition of their skill and endeavour, you should carry your successes around with you, and use them as basis for your personal brand.

Again, this takes us back to the core values, or characteristics, identified during the process of developing the personal brand. The ‘Gold Medal’ achievements will be intrinsic to the type of person you are and should, therefore, be right at the core of your personal brand. It is important to keep these accomplishments front of mind at all times if you are going to build a strong brand identity. ‘Silver’ and ‘Bronze Medal’ achievements will also have played a role in forming the skills and passions which contribute to your personal brand, but these may be smaller, less significant incidents.

To help you identify your core qualities and achievements, try answering these questions:

• What distinguishes me from my colleagues/peers?
• When am I most productive and in what environment?
• Am I at my best when leading or being part of a team?
• What are my motivation drivers?
• Am I a conformist or do I prefer to challenge?
• Where do I want to be in ten years time and what skills do I need to get me there?

It is crucial that you regularly revisit your achievements and keep your “medal collection” up to date. Clearly, as careers progress you will build upon your successes and these should strengthen your personal brand. It is a good exercise to step back and reassess your major achievements at least once a year, so that the brand reflects recent successes, especially if these support your core values.

Developing and evolving personal brands

Personal branding is not just about success in the present. In the current climate, it is not enough to simply understand your achievements and hope this will be enough to secure future success. The next step in the branding process is to identify what you want to achieve in the future and take action in promoting and evolving your brand to achieve these ambitions. In other words, knowing where you want to be in ten years time has a crucial role to play in defining what your personal brand will look like now.

step back and reassess your major achievements at least once a year

In an environment which is set to become even more competitive as the recession takes hold, you need to actively push your personal brand if you want to be successful in the long-term. When times are tough, it is easy to get bogged down in the short-term as a survival mentality sets in. And while it is, of course, necessary to maintain focus during the crisis, like any economic cycle, there will, eventually, be an upturn. Ensure you are ready to capitalise on the personal and career opportunities this will bring and having a strong personal brand in place will help you do this.

For individual success, make sure you are able to define and communicate your achievements effectively and tell a story that is real and practical. Take action now, so that you are building a strong and sustainable brand in the long term.

Download a copy of the guide here Your personal brand: making yourself atractive to employers

(A version of this article first appeared in Connections, May 2009)

On our own personal ’stage’ we too need to consider what messages we want to send out about ourselves and appreciate that some dress codes still need to be acknowledged.

What Are The Dress Codes?

First of all, it’s essential to consider how much is too much, not just from a work angle but as a personal style choice too. You need to consider the location (seaside, country or city, for example) and the occasion and you also need to think about what looks good on you and how parts of your body look when they are exposed.

The main areas to consider are: upper arms, legs and cleavage. Whatever the circumstances, be aware that as soon as parts of your body are laid bare they become more of a focus, so make sure they are presented how you want them. We all spend time every morning on our hair and make-up, so why not pay attention to how the rest of the body is presented?

Upper Arms

In terms of style, if you’re confident that your upper arms look good on show then go for it. Without being too harsh on yourself, if they are not a favourite part of your body then opt for a bit of a sleeve. It’s important to know what looks good on you and what you honestly can or can’t get away with, and you need to be realistic!

• Short sleeves should not be tight on the upper arm
• Sleeves should finish at a narrow part of your arm
• Spaghetti straps work best with arms that are in better shape. Make sure you wear either a strapless bra or a good colour bra (matching or clashing with the top is fine). No grey straps please!

Legs

If you have good legs you will feel confident wearing skirts and dresses above the knee, but again, for work you need to consider whether it’s suitable or not. In many of our professional work places, above the knee will not seem appropriate. We don’t all have legs like Elle McPherson, so when you do expose them, you want to make sure they look their most attractive.

• Keep them hair free, exfoliate and moisturise them regularly to keep them smooth
• Use a quality self-tanning lotion to give them a healthy bronzed glow and not orange track lines
• Think about your leg shape and length and work out what looks most flattering on you
• Make sure the skirt hem doesn’t stop at the thickest part of your leg.

Cleavage

As well as shorter skirts, fashion has brought lower necklines over the years too. There is nothing wrong with a little cleavage for going out or on holiday and so on, but at work or formal occasions or in certain company you don’t want to make it the focus of attention. ‘Less is more’ should be the rule of thumb.

• If you are wearing a fitted shirt, do make sure there is no gaping between buttons
• Make sure you wear the right bra for the neckline of your top (i.e. balcony bra for empire neckline etc)
• Chains and pendants should be above or below your cleavage, not dangling in it!

Our top tip

If you choose to reveal some flesh then make it either cleavage or legs, not both at the same time.

People deal with redundancy in their own way and many see it as an opportunity to do something completely different with their lives. But coping with the initial shock can be tough. More than half (55 per cent) have noticed a negative effect on emotional well-being resulting in mood swings, anxiety or boredom.

Whatever way you look at it, being made redundant is a life-changing experience and, as with most life-changing experiences, people can find themselves in unknown territory. Some people will want to hide under the duvet and never come out again; others might choose to drown their sorrows with a drink or 10 in the nearest pub.

In fact, one in 10 British adults has either been made redundant or knows someone who has been made redundant in the last six months and is drinking more alcohol as a result. Being out of work also affects people’s drinking patterns with almost half (49%) of this group drinking more during the daytime.

As appealing as turning to alcohol may be, it’s probably not the best way to get your life back on track. Alcohol is a depressant and can actually lead to further stress and anxiety. To help people get past redundancy, Drinkaware has teamed up with top careers coach John Lees** to produce a free advice booklet. Made redundant? The practical guide to getting back into work and staying healthy includes expert information on knowing your rights, coping with loss of income, and preparing for a new job search.

Some tips include:

• Try to avoid alcohol and take exercise to burn off tension. If you think you might be drinking too much, or are concerned about any aspect of your drinking, talk to someone you trust or call Drinkline, the national 24-hour helpline on 0800 917 8282;
• Make an appointment with a recruitment agency or careers advisor to review your CV and discuss career opportunities;
• Check your finances, bills, savings and any other income you might have, and work out a budget for the next three months.
• Stay healthy – eating a wide variety of food, especially fish, wholegrain cereals, nuts, beans, fruit, vegetables and protein, and drinking plenty water all help your mood.

As Drinkaware’s CEO, Chris Sorek, says: “The country is facing one of its worst recessions in history and redundancies are making daily headlines. Losing your job is recognised as one of the top 10 most stressful life events, and many people are turning to alcohol as a coping mechanism.

“People who have been affected by redundancy – whether they’re drinking more alcohol or not – can take a look at our advice booklet for practical ways to move forward and make a fresh start.”

To download a free copy of  Made redundant? The practical guide to getting back into work and staying healthy, or for further advice and information on alcohol and your health, visit www.drinkaware.co.uk.

*All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2253 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 17th – 19th March 2009. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

** John Lees is a leading career strategist and writer. He has helped people from a huge variety of backgrounds with difficult career decisions, and developed a wide range of career breakthrough tools, some of which are included in How To Get A Job You’ll Love and Take Control of Your Career. A graduate of the universities of Cambridge, London and Liverpool, Lees is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, and qualified in the use of psychometric tests (BPS Intermediate Level B). He was made a Career Management Fellow by the Institute of Career Certification International. He is retained as a Senior Associate by Career Management Consultants Ltd (CMC).

The Rising Stars in Financial Markets Awards recognise the up and coming stars of Operations, and brings them to the industry’s attention. It’s all about acknowledging hard work on the road to the top. It’s about recognising and rewarding talent within the industry – the future stars.

Inga, 28, originally from Latvia, has been with Bank of New York Mellon for only two years, but her determination, intelligence, calmness under pressure and a great sense of teamwork made her shine in the judges’ eyes.

According to her manager, Suzanne Lane, Inga’s success was no surprise and well deserved. “I’ve rarely seen anyone approach their work as Inga does,” she told Connections. “She has a genuine desire to be the best she and constantly strives to ensure client satisfaction. It has been a tough past nine months for our CDO business, but Inga has faced every challenge resolving complicated problems during unsociable hours to ensure deadlines are met, our clients are satisfied and our brand reputation is upheld – and all while operating in a foreign country and second language. Her future is bright: Inga will be a leader in the marketplace in the years to come.”

Inga’s response to the award announcement was genuinely modest: “I was completely shocked to win, but very excited. I was at the ceremony with the rest of the team and it was fantastic to see my colleagues happy for me. We are all really supportive of each other, and that has helped me learn so much in the role since I came to London from Sweden where I worked for SEB. I’m looking forward to progressing with the Bank, and I’m sure this award will help my future career.”

And if you want to understand more about the jobs markets in banking and financial services,  about employers’ hiring plans and what skills are in most demand, email genevieve.brading@badenochandclark.com and request your copy of the key findings of our latest Workplace Study.

But while it should be a time when work takes a back seat, for most people the opposite is true. Downing tools can mean early morning starts, late nights and plenty of stress, as you try to cram three weeks work into one. Or if you’re covering for people at work, suddenly you’ve got double the work load.

So how can you stop this vicious summer cycle? Employment expert, John Lees author of Take Control of Your Career, published by McGraw-Hill, offers some top tips!

When you’re going on holiday…

Get organised

It’s important not to do your handover at the last minute. The worst type of co-worker will leave in a tremendous flurry, leaving a trail of unexplained projects behind.

Be realistic

Sometimes working long hours before you go away gives you the peace of mind you need to be able to switch off. But there has to come a point when you have to draw a line in the sand.

The most important principle is honesty. Ask yourself: ‘How much realistically can I actually get done?’ And to others say, ‘These are the things I’ve left, which you may have to deal with’.

Even if you haven’t made a tremendously good job of clearing your work or dealing with problems, be honest about it.

Handover notes

Prioritise with colleagues what needs to be done when you’re away and what things can wait until you return.

People need to be directed. It may be obvious to you but others won’t know the background story.

Take responsibility

When you are leaving the office behind, it’s tempting to think things are no longer your problem. But that attitude will reflect badly on you, your team and organisation.

And if you are covering for colleagues’ holidays…

Plan ahead

If you know you’re going to be covering for somebody don’t wait until the last minute before asking for their handover list.

A couple of days beforehand ask, ‘What am I going to have to do? What do I need to worry about? What are the things which can wait and what are the things I need to deal with’.

Don’t let the person leaving say, ‘I’ll tell you on Friday afternoon’. This won’t work. It’ll be too late in the process and people will start to panic. A good trick is to make yourself ‘unavailable’ on Friday afternoon so your colleague has to think ahead!

Don’t blame others

Don’t criticise your colleagues. It’s very easy to say, ‘I can’t deal with this work because of poor handover notes’, but it’s far better to find a resolution, and prove yourself.

Speak out

During times of pressure, don’t suffer in silence. If you are over-worked, have a serious conversation with your boss.

Explain that you have made a list of priorities and this means letting certain projects go. Don’t be negative, simply straight-forward.
Buy Take Control of Your Career, by John Lees and published by McGraw-Hill from Amazon

See your career as a journey

Have a clear idea of where it is you want to get to.  Without this clarity of purpose, it is all too easy to get blown off course and end up somewhere completely different! Work out some milestones – these might be skills based, salary based or responsibility based. Just make sure they aren’t job titles.   Keep an open mind on the precise route you take and accept that there may well be several routes to get there. It’s all about building on your skills and experiences along the way that will be valued by employers.

Identify what motivates you

Work feels less like work when you enjoy it, so make sure you choose well. Find out what interests you; does it suit your lifestyle? Are you able to do things that you are naturally good at as well as challenging yourself with new things too? What topics are you passionate about? The more you get these things right, the less likely you are to fall out of love with your job.

Identify which competencies are needed to progress

Once you’ve established what interstes and motivatesd you, the next step is to get your skills and competencies to match your chosen path. Identify the qualities required to succeed in your chosen career at the next level. Then, be honest with yourself: are you good at these already or does your focus need to be on improving or acquiring these capabilities?

Qualifications vs experience

Some roles do require specific qualfications, but whilest emplolyers are attractedto well-qualified people, they are even more attracet to those who demonstrate a commitment to being experts in their field. A qualifiaction may get your foot inthe door but it isn’t your guaranteer of a bright career. Nothing beats your hands on experience and track record.

Did it happen for them?

At interview, promises are made but you’ll want them to be rooted in reality. Ask for real life examples of how and where they’ve supported employees to reach career milestones.  Use this to weigh up the liklihood of supporting your longer term aspirations. After all, you’ll be wanting to agree a clear development plan  with your new boss…

Put your plan in context

Market conditions will always have an impact on how quickly and to what extent you fulfil your ambitions. Whilst your clear focus nd drive is imnportnat, you do need a healthyu dose of realism too. Remain flexible and open-minded, and remind yourself of the many routes to your destination.

Consider all options

With your end goal in sight – keep your options open all the time. Keep abreast of what opportunities exist within your organisation and outside it. Far from making you into  a job- hopper,  our research shows that having a healthy awareness of your options actually stops you feeling trapped and therefore gives a greater sense of security.

How mobile do you need to be?

Your career goals may require you to gain experience in different markets domestically and worldwide and international exposure is certainly becoming more desirable. Investigate your options and make sure your commitments fit in with your lifestyle. Is it a relocation you are after, a secondment or regular travel away from home? Talk to your boss about you can get the exposure you need.

Know your employer’s expectations

If you want to get ahead, it helps to have the support of your manager so they can help you. Discuss your aspirations with them. Get to know what they expect of you. Even more importantly, seek regular feedback, advice and guidance from them. A good maanger is best placed to help you achieve your career aims.

Review your plans; chart your progress

Make sure that the plans you made, the goals set and milestones noted are not forgotten. Each review and appraisal should make direct reference to them. Make time to assess your progress and reset your course if necessary, remembering that there is more than one route to your destination.

Download the full guide here

What is it?

Our bodies are made up of about 50-60% water, we drink it or eat food that contains it every day, and every health related report in the media says we need to drink more of it. But what does it do?

Water regulates body temperature, transports nutrients and oxygen, carries away waste, helps detoxify the kidney and liver, dissolves vitamins and minerals and cushions the body from injury. But this comes at a cost; every day you lose on average 10-12 cups of water, which needs to be replaced to maintain your body’s important fluid balance.

Water is best, but milk, juices and other beverages are about 90% water, so they can help meet your hydration needs. Caffeinated beverages and alcohol act as diuretics and increase fluid loss, so they don’t count! In fact, have an extra glass of water for each cup of these liquids that you drink.

How does it affect me?

Many experts believe that if you wait until you are thirsty, you are already slightly dehydrated. Drink a glass of water when you wake up in the morning and another glass before you go to sleep. Because water is so important to all our bodily functions, a reduction in it can have a huge affect on our physical and mental performance. Just 2% dehydration can lead to a 10% reduction in exercise performance.

And for those of us doing nothing more strenuous than driving a desk all day, don’t think it’s not important – dehydration will also affect your mental sharpness and therefore your productivity.

What effect will exercise have on it?

To prevent dehydration while exercising and perspiring, you must replace water at a faster rate than it is being lost. It is important to make sure you are well hydrated before you exercise and during exercise replenish fluids every 15-20 minutes.

And if you’ve ever wondered why you get stitch, it’s almost certainly down to not having the correct level of fluid in your system. If you don’t have the right amount of fluid balance in the stomach and the intestines an abdominal lining called the parietal peritoneum will start to rub and cause some discomfort that is a cause of stitch. This is also apparent if you have taken too much food and the stomach will push the outer wall together which again will cause friction if the fluid balance isn’t correct.

If you notice unexplained increases in thirst and urination, consult your doctor to determine the cause. Increased thirst and urination (both in volume and frequency) can be symptoms of some illnesses, including various forms of diabetes.

Eight a day

When in doubt, fill your glass again! Eight glasses of water daily is the standard rule of thumb, but you may require more, especially if you exercise, or if the weather is particularly hot causing you to perspire more than usual.

You will also need to drink extra amounts of water in dehydration conditions such as hot, humid or cold weather or high altitudes. You should drink more if you have a cold or the flu, and even more if you have a fever.

Additionally, some weight management experts believe that drinking a glass of water before meals can help reduce cravings and aid digestion. The importance of water cannot be underestimated

Graze: exactly what it says. No more hunger pangs mid morning or mid afternoon. No more guilty trips to the chocolate bar machine but, Yes! a slightly smug look on our faces as we take delivery of our gorgeous little recycled boxes filled with a selection of wholesome, delicious and natural nibbly bits.

Now, I’m not a fan of goji berries; ultra rich in vitamin C they might be, containing more than 500 times the amount of an orange, but they taste bad enough to be doing you good so I’ve ticked a box on the Graze website and said I never want to see them again. Fantastic.

But wonderfully sweet and juicy fresh pineapple slices, “bakewell” mix – cherry raisin, almond and cranberry – is heavenly and if I’m in the mood, fire nuts hit the spot with their chilli almonds, wasabi peanuts and cashews. And there are dozens of tempting alternatives to try over the coming months.

I could, if I choose, select exactly what I’d like in my Graze box each week, but I like to live dangerously (not as dangerously as including goji berries though) so I opt for a surprise. But you can exert as much or as little control as you wish. You decide when you want it delivered,  you decide what you want to include and you can rate the foods you’ve tried to date.

This new concept in delivering natural foods to your desk is so simple, so fantastic and so well executed. The marketing just makes you smile and it is quickly addictive.

It’s Thursday tomorrow and my next delivery is on its way – I can’t wait to get to the office in the morning!

Check it out at www.graze.com  and if you want to get your first delivered box for just £1 make sure you use this code LZW65WCA and I’ll donate £1 to the Rainforest Alliance

Oh, and let me know what you think.

Career dreams are one thing; practical reality is often another.

It used to be that once you decided on a career, you stayed in that career until you retired.
Not so anymore. The notion of lifetime employment has been replaced with lifetime employability. This means that you can’t rely on your employers to maintain your employment. You alone are responsible for your career progression and development.

Career management and planning in this environment is a challenge. So that you remain satisfied and fulfilled by the work you are doing, you need to adjust your career development activities accordingly.

“Find a job you like, and you add five days to every week.”
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Career development is no longer only about gaining the skills and knowledge you need to move up within one company. Career development today is about achieving flexibility and continuously evaluating and developing your skills in order to remain employable and fulfilled over the long term, regardless of who you are working for, and what industry you are working in.

Work plays such a significant role in our lives. In our quest to be happy and productive, having a strong sense of job satisfaction is important. When you are dissatisfied with your job, this tends to have an influence on your overall outlook on life. While you may not be in the career of your dreams right now, it is still your responsibility to make sure that what you are doing is satisfying to you.

By knowing the key elements that go into job satisfaction, you can choose to take control and make the changes you need to feel really satisfied and motivated by what you do.

Getting started

The heart of job satisfaction is in your attitude and expectations; it’s more about how you approach your job than the actual duties you perform. Whether you work in an office, on the farm, a production line, or on the football pitch, the secret is to understand the key ingredients of your unique recipe for job satisfaction.

Identify Your Satisfaction Triggers

There are three basic approaches to work: is it a job, a career, or a passion? Depending on which type of work you are in right now, the things that give you satisfaction will vary.

• If you work at a JOB, the compensation aspects of the position will probably hold more appeal than anything else, and have the greatest impact on whether you stay or go.
• If you work at a CAREER, you are looking for promotions and career development opportunities. Your overall satisfaction is typically linked with your status, power, or position.
• If you work at a PASSION, the work itself is the factor that determines your satisfaction, regardless of money, prestige, or control.

Inevitably, these are generalisations, and you will probably find that you get satisfaction from more than one approach to work. Being aware of the type of work you are doing, and the things you need for job satisfaction, will help you to identify and adjust your satisfaction expectations accordingly.

Building Job Satisfaction

Once you have identified the blend of compensation, status, and intrinsic enjoyment that need to be present in your work for you to feel satisfied, you then need to work on some of our seven ‘ingredients’ for a satisfying job. These ingredients are:

• Self-awareness
• Challenge
• Variety
• Positive attitude
• Knowing your options
• Balanced lifestyle
• A sense of purpose

Self-Awareness

The first step in the search for job satisfaction is to know yourself. If you’re to be happy and successful, you need to understand your strengths and weaknesses. This will help you identify what types of role will allow you to build on those strengths, and minimize those weaknesses.
It is difficult to feel satisfied with something you aren’t very good at, so rather than spend time beating yourself up about it, take a long hard look at the things at which you excel, and try to find a position that uses some of those skills too.

Another important component of self-awareness is to have a good understanding of your personality traits and your preferred style of working. Work out what you value and what motivates you in your career, and also what you do not value, and what de-motivates you.
By increasing your self-awareness, you can work towards the ideal blend of compensation, status, and intrinsic reward that suits you, and that you can realistically achieve. Knowing this will help you to set appropriate goals, and manage your own expectations.

Challenge

Some days you may deny it, but we all thrive on interesting challenges. Does this mean your job has to be the head of engineering at NASA? No, different things challenge different people at different times. You just need to figure out what you can do to make sure you don’t allow yourself to go stale at work.
Even if the job itself is not all that challenging, you can make it challenging. Some great ideas here include:

• Set performance standards for yourself – aim to beat your previous record, or set up a friendly competition among co-workers.
• Teach others your skills – nothing is more challenging, or rewarding, than passing your skills and knowledge on to others.
• Ask for new responsibilities – these will give you opportunities to stretch yourself.
• Start or take on a project that uses skills you would like to use, or want to improve.
• Commit to professional development – take courses, read books or trade magazines and attend seminars. However you do it, keep your skills fresh and current.

Variety

Closely related to the need for challenge is the need to minimise boredom. Boredom is a common culprit when it comes to job dissatisfaction. When your mind is bored you lack interest and enthusiasm and even a well-matched job becomes dissatisfying. Some common methods to alleviate boredom at work include:

• Cross train and learn new skills.
• Ask to be moved to a new assignment or department requiring the same skills.
• Volunteer to take on new tasks.
• Get involved with committee work.
• Go on an extended leave, or take a sabbatical.

But remember, every job has elements or tasks in it that are boring – even your chief exec! You can only do your job well if you do these these things well too. It helps to understand the context in which these less interesting tasks are required – understanding why they are important can definitely help.

Positive Attitude

Attitude plays a huge role in how you perceive your job and your life in general. If you are depressed, angry or frustrated, you’re much less likely to be satisfied with anything. Making a change to a positive attitude is a complex process that requires a lot of work and a strong commitment. However, over time, you can turn your internal dialogues around and start to see most events in your life as positive and worthwhile. Here are some tips:

• Stop negative thoughts from entering your brain.
• Reframe your thoughts to the positive.
• Put the events of the day in the correct context.
• Don’t dwell on setbacks.
• Commit to viewing obstacles as challenges.
• Accept that mistakes are simply opportunities to learn.
• Become an optimist – optimists generate energy which achieves results.

Know Your Options

When you feel trapped, you can start to get anxious. At first you wonder what else is out there for you. This progresses to the point where you become convinced that anything other than the job you’re doing has got to be more satisfying. To combat this, continuously scan your environment for opportunities. When you feel you have options, you have more control. When you make a positive choice to stay with a job, that job has much more appeal than if you feel forced to stay because you feel you have no alternative.

• Keep a list of your accomplishments.
• Update your CV on a regular basis.
• Keep up to date on employment trends.
• Adopt an ‘I’m keeping my options open’ approach.

Maintain a Balanced Lifestyle

You’ll have heard many times that you need to keep your life and work in balance. When you focus too much on one at the expense of the other you risk putting your whole system in distress. When work takes over your life, it is easy to resent it and lose your sense of perspective: Suddenly everything about your life is clouded with negativity.

Find a Sense of Purpose

Last, but certainly not least (for many people) is the need to find a sense of purpose in the things you do. Even if you have a boring job, it helps a lot if you can see the real benefit you’re providing for people.
Even the most mundane job usually has purpose if you dig deep enough. And if it doesn’t, should you be wasting your life doing it?

The CSR team consists of 8 committee members and 13 CSR champions and is made up of consultants, managers and senior managers from around the business. Each member of the team has volunteered and devotes a little time and energy to making the CSR projects successful. It is testament to the enthusiasm of employees at Badenoch & Clark that each part of the business is represented as well as all of our 15 offices across the UK.

The CSR team is of course only the face of Badenoch & Clark’s CSR projects. The team would be powerless without the support and energy of everyone at Badenoch & Clark in the contribution of their energy, support and finances for the projects and initiatives that the team organizes.

Our CSR focus is split into three areas: People, Charities and Environment.

People:

Our goals are to increase employee engagement using our varied volunteering projects and to work in partnership with organisations to improve the community in which we live.

 Charities:

We donate to charities close to our employees’ hearts both locally and nationwide usually through fun activities and sponsorship.

 Environment:

We actively promote a reduce – reuse – recycle ethos and aim for a large scale reduction in our carbon footprint and in the amount of waste that goes to landfill.

We aim to be recognised as being a leader in our field for our corporate social responsibility programme.

“One day to make a difference”

In order to support our CSR initiatives, we encourage staff to take one day out of the office per year to “make a difference” This “one day to make a difference” can be used by attending the many community based initiatives we have throughout the year covering our three focus areas.

Recent achievements:

The team has achieved a lot throughout the last year. Some of these initiatives are ongoing and others were new for 2008:

• Developed regional partnerships with Manchester Settlement, Burley Lodge Centre in Leeds and St Basils in Birmingham to provide CV writing and career coaching surgeries.
• Sponsorship of the Employment Café in Brixton providing mentoring, CV and interview support for job seekers.
• Transformed part of our London Head office into a fun zone for both Comic Relief and Sport Relief charities raising over £2000 each year
• Sponsorship of Green Routes at Finsbury Park and helping with ground clearing and planting in a communal garden.
• Planting 131 trees in woodlands to offset our carbon usage on paper production through our very own ‘Treebate’ initiative.
• Using 100% recycled office papers with our promotional print being 50% recycled and 50% from FSC sources.
• Continuing our support for the dragon boat racing raising funds for Habitat for Humanity
• We have increased the amount of waste we recycle by over 300% throughout the year.

Mentoring at Badenoch & Clark

We haven’t done what we’ve done without support and guidance.
We have forged a successful relationship with Heart of the City (www.theheartofthecity.com ) This free service offers tons of advice and guidance on all things CSR. They found us a terrific mentor in the shape of HSBC who spent time with us on developing our CSR approach and strategies. HSBC gave us ideas to help raise our profile in the company and they continue to offer help and advice when required. Following a busy and successful period for our CSR team we have now been asked to mentor another local company, Oriel Securities. We initially met with Oriel to discuss what they wanted to achieve for CSR and share ideas on how to gain interest and momentum. We continue to actively share ideas in developing their own CSR team and goals, each gaining from the experience and ideas generated by both businesses. It’s all good, and it’s all FREE.

Quick tips and hints to make a difference

Many of the things we do here are quick and easy to introduce, and cost nothing. Here is a sample of quick wins you too might be able to influence your company in carrying out at very little or no cost:

• Weekly flower raffle – every Friday, we raffle off the week’s flower display from our reception to staff. This helps us support our chosen charities by an additional £300+ per annum – at no cost to the company!
• Toner recycling – Get your suppliers to collect empty and obsolete toner cartridges for recycling. Saves resources, energy and carbon emissions with donations made to several charities on our behalf every year.
• Where we can’t get our drinking water mains fed, our bottled water supplier donates 40p per bottle to Christian Aid helping bring much needed water supplies to the third world. Get your suppliers involved and be surprised at some of the possibilities!
• “Bog press” – We use the backs of toilet doors in cubicles to promote and communicate CSR issues and initiatives – it’s a captive audience which gets lots of great feedback by staff, visitors and customers.
• We donate excess office furniture and equipment no longer needed to local charities, schools and small businesses helping us promote our reduce, reuse, recycle ethos.
• Through our eye-catching quarterly posters in our kitchen areas we draw attention to energy usage, recycling schemes, carbon reduction ideas and other environmental messages, so whilst getting your drinks you can learn how to save our planet.
• We positively discriminate towards recycled and recyclable products; these no longer have to cost more. Get your stationery buyer to talk to your office supplier now.
• We have banished all individual bins from desks in our head office and encourage staff to get some exercise and use the various recycling and rubbish bins located around the floors.

Feedback from you

If you feel passionate about what you can do or are doing, or would like to know more about our CSR activities, we would love to hear from you.