Sital's Blog

Following the recent election in Greece, a fresh storm has erupted this last week across Europe with damaging consequences for the global economic recovery if the crisis continues for a prolonged period.

With both financial markets and confidence falling, I spoke with Economist and leading media commentator Mitul Kotecha this week to get his views on the current crisis and how it may play out in the coming weeks and months ahead.

Below is a summary of our discussion:

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Sital: Mitul, so why is the election and change of government in Greece such a big issue?

Mitul: It’s a big issue because the outcome will decide whether Greece renegotiates its bailout, defaults on its debt and/or stays within the Eurozone or not.  Greece has suffered from austerity and some political parties have benefited from the backlash against austerity leading to growing expectations of an eventual exit from the euro.

Sital: And why have the markets been falling globally over the last week?

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“We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will”

- Chuck Palahniuk

Last week saw the shock resignation of Pep Guarduala – the first team coach of the iconic Spanish football team, Barcelona.

Barcelona have not only been the most successful football team in Europe for the last 5 years. But they’ve also played the most attractive, watchable, artistic football ever seen (…think basketball’s Harlem Globe Trotters at their peak or the great Brazilian football teams of the past).

But after winning 13 trophies and numerous plaudits over the last 4 years, Pep decided it was time to step away from the game to re-charge his batteries and plan his next career move.

Here  are 4 lessons we earn from his success:

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“It’s never the platform. It’s always the message”

- Gary Vaynerchuck

This morning Facebook announced the whopping $1 billion acquisition of Instagram - the popular mobile photo-sharing app. Instagram make zero profits but Facebook are clearly paying for the so called “eyeballs” (..Instagram have 30 million members)

Meanwhile LinkedIn keeps growing membership and is by far the biggest professional networking site in the world with 150 million members

And last week we heard that the relatively new platform, Pinterest now has more members than LinkedIn in the US. In fact, Pinterest drives more revenue per click than Twitter or Facebook.

But what does this all mean to you and me?

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It’s Sunday evening and I’m writing this post whilst sitting in the departure lounge at Bangkok Airport in Thailand. 

Thailand is just a 2 hour flight from Singapore and so I’ve been here for a very short break (…37 hours to be precise!) – visiting some friends who are holidaying in Bangkok whilst enjoying my first trip to Thailand.

Although a short trip – I’ve made the most of the weekend: 

I’ve enjoyed a daily Thai Massage, eaten amazing Thai food, sunk a few Thai “Singha” beers and visited several of the stunning Buddhist temples plus the royal Grand Palace. And on Saturday evening we visited the swanky roof top Sirocco Sky Bar with it’s amazing views of Bangkok (if you’ve watched the movie “Hangover Part II” – it’s “that” roofbar..!).

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Hello from Singapore!

As regular readers will know, I’m moving to Singapore to take up a new role – and, in fact, only arrived last night.

So today is Day 1 – and apart from a little bit of jet lag, I’m feeling pretty good.

But a week ago, I was NOT so good.

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“You have to think anyway,  so why not think big?” 

- Donald Trump

Thinking Big…

• Increase your earnings by 20%

• Work a 4-day week without losing income

• Find a job with your dream employer

• Turn your lacklustre team into an award winning team

• Turn your passion for skiing into a cool new business idea

• Secure that big promotion

• Write and publish your own book

• Buy that fancy car or new house

• Turn your passion for Yoga into your very own yoga studio

• Start writing a blog about something you care about

• Take a year off to travel and volunteer

• Start that new business

Why you need to think big…

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Whether you like it or not – you, me and everyone else is in the “sales” business.

Unless you can sell yourself, sell your team and sell your business – you’re likely to be in trouble in the modern economy and work place.

Yet most people find the very thought of “selling” awkward and uncomfortable.

But it need not be.

When you take an ethical approach to sales you’re not actually “selling” – but in fact “helping” and providing value.

Use the 5 questions below to engage in conversation, understand the needs of the person in front of you – and then offer to help them:

“5 Magic Questions” 

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One of the first lessons I was taught when I began learning comedy improvisation 5 years ago was the principle of “being average and having lots of goes.”

Because it’s your willingness to be average, have lots of goes and make mistakes that ultimately helps you succeed on stage.

Not only does this principle apply when performing on stage without a script. It also applies to many aspects of our life and work too.

For example, just think about the 5 phases you go through when learning to cook a meal:  

1. You have a go (you cook something)
2. You fail (burn it or make a tasteless dish)
3. You learn from the failure (identify why you burnt it or why it was inedible)
4. You implement the learning (adjust your cooking approach)
5. You have more goes until you improve and master the art of cooking

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QUESTION

“Sital, what’s the best way to secure part-time work for back to work mums? There seems to be nothing around and I keep getting rejected. What do you suggest?” 

MY ANSWER

Before I answer the question, let me make you aware of some quick points worth bearing in mind about finding part-time work.

Some quick points about part-time employment

• Part-Time vacancies are often not advertised

A large proportion of part-time roles are not advertised – they’re simply filled by contacts and referrals. In some segments of the market,  75% of part-time roles are filled via employee referrals

• Part-Time vacancies are often created for a particular person

A significant number of part-time roles are created after an employer or business leaders comes across someone. E.g. The business have a need, but not a vacancy. We then come across an old contact or referral with the skills and experience we need – so we create a part-time role for them.

• You need to be work harder to find part-time employment

If you’re after part time work, you need be more proactive than most job seekers.

Whilst there are some exceptions in certain industries (e.g. retail, catering and hospitality sectors), on the whole, there is a huge demand for part-time work but simply not the supply of opportunities. So you’ll have to work harder and be much smarter in your approach than others (i.e. spending a couple of hours a day applying for jobs online is not enough).

The 7 Strategies

So bearing these points in mind – here are some suggestions for mums looking for part time work:

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