Monthly Archives: October 2010

The Secrets to Achieving Success as a Student!

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Savvy University students always have a couple of similar burning questions which get brought up from time to time.

How do I get ahead of the other 3000 people graduating at the same time as me?
How do I differentiate myself in a saturated market?
How do I get access to the hidden job market?

The old adage was to source a mentor to coach the wee grasshopper to greatness. This mentor will identify your hidden inner passion, then find and match companies to your inner passion to ensure a cultural fit whilst then going forth and opening the hidden doors to these companies.

Here comes the reality check. The likelihood in this day and age to find the one mentor who will fulfill all your personal and professional prerequisites and that they are available and willing to help you out is slim to nil. Sad but true.

But don’t give up hope. Rather then looking for some hybrid of a soul-mate/mentor how about your own Personal Board of Directors?

To thrash out this concept read this article from the Harvard Business Review by Priscilla Claman and then come back for a few more pearls of wisdom. Click Me!

HRockstar: Thanks for coming back to finish reading!

Now it may take some time to find the right balance between your board members and I can ensure you that my board is still forming and I envisage that it will be constantly changing as my demands constantly change.

But before I let you run away to go form this personal board it’s important to think about the concept of reciprocity. It would be naïve to think that the people who sit on your board are doing this for nothing in return. They are doing it as it gives them a chance to pass on their knowledge and experience to somebody else. This gives them great satisfaction and lets them reflect on their journey to date.

The reason they are so nice and generous with their time is because I can assure you that they have their own board or set of contacts that are helping them along in their journey and creating a wide circle of reciprocity. So rather then the normal mutual exchange between the two parties you are creating a wide circle of reciprocity and exchanges.

So regardless of where you are in your personal or professional journey take a second to sit back and reflect on the knowledge, experience and stories that you can share with others. Because I can guarantee that there is somebody out their who is searching for their own board of personal directors and they want to hear what you have to say!

Happy knowledge sharing!

Changing Education Paradigms by Sir Ken Robinson

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If you think about the amount of time that you spend wasted in meetings hijacked by the meeting moths of this world or on phone calls that you cant seem to escape from or that email that you have already replied to several times before with the same answer! Unfortunately precious moments of our life are wasted by trivial and irrelevant things.

The following 701 seconds is none of that! It’s a treat for our ears, eyes and minds! There is a bloody good reason that Ken Robinson is now Sir Ken Robinson as he is the pioneer in a body of work that truly matters. He challenges the Education Paradigms that currently exist and is on a crusade to bring change to a sector that badly needs it.

I’m an avid fan of his work and will join him on this crusade until the day I die as in my eyes there is nothing more important then the education of our children who are tomorrow’s leaders. So please spare the 701 seconds and remember what Jamie Oliver says and pass it on!

 

TEDx Youth Brisbane

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After having the privilege of being an attendee the inaugural TEDx Brisbane and helping out as a volunteer during the session breaks I was delighted to hear that TEDx Youth Brissie will be going ahead on Saturday the 20th of November.

I’ve spent many an hour devouring TED videos online and discussing my favourite talks over a few drinks with friends. It also comes in handy if I want to quickly analyse people at a conference or networking event, I simply drop a line/quote from either of the Sir Ken Robinson talks and immediately I see ears and eyes pop up and a conversation between like minded individuals begins.

TED has also started a sort of movement of what people who dub themselves ‘tedsters’. These idea hungry elite have generated quite the buzz around town.

TED has become a global education phenomenon and the TEDx concept allows people from all around the world to connect at the local level. So what is this TEDxYouthDay all about?

TEDxYouthDay is a series of TEDx events happening over a 24-hour period around the world. Initiated by a group of TEDx organisers, the events are designed to empower and inspire young people.

On November 20, 2010, Universal Children’s Day, TEDx organisers across the globe will host events for (and by) young people. These events will vary widely in size, format and theme, but they will share a common vision: inspiring curiosity, igniting new ideas and empowering young leaders.

TEDxYouth@Brissie, where x=independently organised TED event, will take place at the State Library of Queensland and will combine TEDTalks video and live speakers to spark deep discussion and connection among Brisbane’s youth aged 16-25.

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Starting as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Bookings through TEDxYouth@Brissie Facebook page for more information.

Look forward to seeing you there!

The HRockstar goes troppo!

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Hello and can I say I’m sorry it’s been this long between drinks. I’ve had a crazy few weeks so I thought I’d dot point them for you:

  • Finished my Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
  • Bought my first car
  • Which consequently led to me getting my first ever credit card…. (shudders at the thought)
  • Delivered several presentations
  • Applied for the AHRI Queensland State Council (click-through to see my application)
  • Attended Career Planning & Job Search training
  • Successfully navigated my longest ever road trip

So whilst it has been an incredibly busy time it has also been an exciting time as I find myself writing this from my new home in sunny North Queensland! Considering I was born in Canberra, want to live in London, own one pair of shorts and have a wardrobe of European Winter clothing the decision to move up to the Whitsunday area coming into summer time shocked many people but none more so than me!

For those not so familiar with Australia I have moved to Townsville to do my third rotation in my HR Graduate Program. I can honestly say that I have experienced a best practice onboarding process. From meeting me at my new apartment, to a welcome basket of food and essential supplies, computer and stationary all set up ready to go and all the necessary forms ready to be completed. So I’ve managed to not only move to a brand new city with ease but also transition into a brand new team successfully so that I can hit the ground running and repay their faith in me. It’s been such a smooth transition that I’ve already managed to do a few touristy things on the weekend and bought enough food to feed a family of five… ahh the joys of cooking for one.

I still need to sort out my wireless connection in the apartment so I can stay updated and to keep everybody in the loop about my latest adventure. But before then I have a guest post from Fauzia Burke coming up this week on throwing away your resume.

So I’ve got to get back to working on my tan and playing my guitar but until then keep on HRocking!

The HRockstar