Taking That Next Step in Your Career by @familycapers

By Linda Enever – Hire My Mum Recruitment Specialist

In the current market taking that next step in your career may not be at the top of your mind. However often this type of market creates the opportunities, steps and openings for a well planned applicant to make their next career move as the reshuffling, restructuring and resignations occur.

This is the time to take advantage of such programs as Hudson’s Career Move service and speak with professional recruiters and head-hunters to get an assessment of the market, your skills and your ability to move to the next stage of your career.

Career Move and other such programs are designed to assist candidates in the process of career transition. Whether it’s beginning your career; changing careers; taking the next step in your career, or changing organisations, they help you to recognise your strengths, your skills, and define your career direction.  On completion of programmes like these you will have a deeper understanding of your skills, values, motivators and preferences. This information about yourself is a great assistance to you regardless of the industry you are in now or hope to join.

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Funniest Facebook Ad picture I have seen LOL

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My new bike :)

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Positive Thinking: Why Does It Work? by @Justine_Simard

By Justine Simard - Hire My Mum Personal Development Specialist

You may have heard of the power of positive thinking, but maybe are not convinced enough to try it for yourself. I will explain here the 'mechanics' of positive thinking and how it affects emotions, and in turn behaviours, because for those of us work at home mums with an analytical mind, it sometimes helps to understand a process first before we believe in its power and apply related strategies effectively! 

An important part of our brain to discuss here is the limbic system, which guides our mood and emotions, but also plays an important role in our attention and motivation. The limbic system, also referred to as our 'emotional brain' is responsible for our drives, and the stronger we feel about reaching for or avoiding something, the stronger our drive will be. While our feelings and emotions come from the limbic system, the neocortex controls our verbal ability, judgment, planning, and creative thinking. These is constant communication between the emotional brain and the neocortex, and together they shape our beliefs and behaviours.

I've recently heard the limbic system being referred to as a 2 year old child. This analogy was made because the limbic system, just like a young child, has poor judgement between right and wrong, doesn't distinguish between good and bad thoughts, and acts upon any information it receives as being true and real. Here is where it become interesting. Behaviours are caused or influenced by emotions. These emotions are generated by your limbic system, who is acting spontaneously like a 2-year old and making very limited judgment on the information it receives! Many work at home mums reading this might already have ideas on how to use this to their advantage! Put simply, you can manipulate the information you send to your limbic system for it to generate the productive emotions you need to achieve your goals. 

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Blogs- What are they? by @CleverStreak

By Anne Maybus – Hire My Mum Web & Writing Specialist

Blog is short for 'weblog' which is a kind of diary or journal kept on the World Wide Web.

Problogger, quoting Wikipedia, says ‘A blog is a website in which items are posted on a regular basis and displayed in reverse chronological order. The term blog is a shortened form of weblog or web log. Authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called “blogging”. Individual articles on a blog are called “blog posts,” “posts” or “entries”. A person who posts these entries is called a “blogger”. '

Blogs are useful tools for people in business.  They are part of the social media revolution which has changed the way we relate to our clients.  Today it is important to encourage conversation with your clients and potential clients so that you can build up a relationship with them.  That makes sense, doesn't it?  After all, who would you rather buy from - someone you know or someone you don't?

Blogs are also very appealing to search engines which trawl the web looking for fresh content to list.  The more fresh content your website has the more the search engines will be drawn to it and the more often you will show in the listings.  That means that your business has a greater chance to be found online when potential clients come searching.

Do you have a blog on your site?  You might like to think about adding one.  Next week we will look at how to keep the content fresh and interesting to readers and search engines.

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Marketing and Branding your VA Business by @DawsonDocuments

By Erin Dawson – Hire My Mum VA Specialist

Marketing and Branding is all about getting you and your business known to the World. It is your Business’ image and what customers & clients will see and think about when they see your Business around. Will they be thinking “oh I need that for my businesses” or will they be screwing up their lip at the thought of your Business?

So how important is it?

Branding increases public awareness. A Business needs to create a brand that people trust and are familiar with. It is about the reputation behind your Business name and logo.  When you see the Big Gold M, what do you think of? When you see a Letter “F” that is surrounded by Blue, what do you think of? (Facebook). This is exactly what successful Branding is. How do these people market to you and others? You already know the answer to that. So how exactly do you start Marketing and Branding YOUR Business?

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Less Multi-Tasking, Better Productivity, More Love? by @Justine_Simard

By Hire My Mum Personal Development Specialist, Justine Simard

Women are renowned to be great multi-taskers. Work at home mums are undeniably one of the groups of mums who need this skill the most. I've written quite a few times about schedules and separating 'work time' and 'mum time'. However, it is at times impossible to separate those roles, and while multi-tasting a lot I've recently realised that I hardly give myself fully to one task at any given time. If my body, behaviours and thoughts are busy doing something, my mind is often active about a few other things at the same time. With this realisation, I have come to the conclusion that the key revolved around one easy conscious effort I could make to have better focus and productivity to any task at hand: Awareness.

As a work at home mum and full-time mum, my most important task is looking after my kids. However, with a growing home business requiring more thinking and planning, I found that I would often be sharing my focus between my kids and my work, at the same time. So I started this new exercise when starting an activity with my kids. I said to myself: 'I will devote my whole self to this activity and my kids'. No allowance for work thoughts, checking emails, of even putting a load of washing on. From the very first time I tried this simple commitment statement, I realised how much more aware and fulfilled I was while spending quality time with my kids. It meant I fully took in the moment, noticed the little things that make a mum's heart fill with joy and pride, gave more love and positive interaction to my kids, and fully indulged in the primary reason why I work from home - raising my kids. It also meant that I became more aware of all the mental disruptions coming through, so that I would purposefully shut them down and re-focus.

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