Author: claire

Have you settled into a cosy little lockdown routine or are you climbing the walls? Whichever camp you’re in, this could be your chance to boost your skillset and further develop your career. Those of us freelancing, running a business or working in a leadership role can never afford to sit on our laurels. The change to life as we know it means that many of us are finding our routines and schedules light-years from where they were a month or two ago. The big question is: how can we make the most of that change? Wondering whether to remove all the door handles and give them a good deep clean? Ok, so real life is still happening to some degree. But, once you’ve finally got the kids settled, the dog walked, the garden weeded and then baked something with the 30,000kg of flour that you’re stashing (it is you, right? Because if not, who has all the flour?), you might...

Imagine this: your best salesperson, Serina, goes to a networking event. She has her escalator pitch ready, she knows her product and she’s at the top of her game. Her business cards are holstered like she’s ready for networking pistols at dawn and she’s had a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast. She rocks up, feeling great. She walks through the door, head held high and a smile on her face. What does her audience see? A creased shirt, a tiny bit of loo paper flapping around at the back of her trousers and a little dribble of ketchup down her lapel from that oh-so-hearty breakfast. Despite her knowledge, confidence and experience, is she likely to hold much credibility? The fact is, if she’s really that good, she might be able to neutralise those first impressions, but she’ll have to work harder and overcome objections created by her own sloppy attention to detail. Is it fair to judge on the...