Back To Business

I attended the Back to Business Club in Peterborough last week, it is sponsored by the Greater Peterborough Partnership. It’s aim is to provide inspiration and motivation to managers and professionals recently made redundant.

There was an excellent presentation on Interim Management. What made it excellent, in my opinion, was that it was honest and gave a real down to earth, warts and all perspective of what it is like to work as an interim.

It successfully highlighted that most interim positions are found through your own network, rather than via an agency, and also the fact that you need to spend at least a third of your working week marketing/networking. It also highlighted the importance of knowing where your real strengths lie. It concluded with a practical five day plan for an interim.

I will be presenting at the Back To Business Club in the new year on the subject of interviews.

Retiring

Attended a really useful training event last week on the subject of preparing for retirement. It was especially interesting as a lot of the material covered was relevant to everyone, of any age, living in the UK today.

Excellent food for thought, with lots of information and sharing of knowledge. I’m going to follow up with further research so I’m more prepared and also able to provide up to date information to my clients who are thinking of retirment.

One of the comments made by the trainer was that most people worry the most about how they will manage financially when they finish full time paid work, and yet very few of us actually take the time to find out the facts about how much we will have…very true!

I would recommend anyone takes a look at www.direct.gov.uk it is a really good web site with some really interesting material on it. You can review what age you will be eligible to retire at, and also get a state pension forecast there.

Autumn

I’m just back from holiday to find dark nights, leaves falling and the temperature plummeting by the day. It’s almost the end of autumn and I’m feeling that winter is coming soon.

Historically, autumn was a busy time for people, they were preparing for the impending next season, this meant reviewing what food, energy and warmth was available and making plans to store away as much as possible before the worst of the weather arrived.

Through the autumn I’ve spotted this trend continuing into the modern day world with a lot of my clients.

People are asking for my help to clear out their wardrobes, and assist them to make more of their existing winter clothes to give them revitalised outfits.

I’ve also been coaching people to help them make plans for their learning and development through the winter, and generally taking stock of where their career currently is. We have also been focussing on what needs to be accomplished in their job search before Christmas.