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University Graduate

5 Questions You Should Ask Yourself as a Graduate

If you have recently graduated from university, or are about to, congratulations! It’s a big achievement – all those years of study, late nights and exam stress. You deserve to celebrate your success. But then what? Ahead of you lies a great life and career as you put what you have learned to use. However,…
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Communicate U Blog

Take the Stress Out of Your Next Job Interview

The room is dark, apart from the bright spotlight shining down upon you. Beads of sweat are running down your face. “What did you do in your last role…. And don’t lie to me?!” Ever had a bad dream that reminds you of an interrogation scene from a movie. You are in a job interview.…
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Who Were You as a Child?

Life, for most of us at least, was far simpler as a child. Our imaginations ran wild. We played games and enjoyed great adventures. We designed roads in the sandpit for our trucks, imagined our grown-up lives with the help of Barbie and Ken dolls and “went camping” in tents made out of sheets spread…
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Karen Dennett and Claire Seeber

It Started with a Connection

I’m a connector. I love introducing people in my network to each other, especially when I can see synergies. Sometimes magic happens and that introduction leads to extraordinary outcomes. Karen Dennett I met Karen at a Perth Learning Professionals event. Starting her career as a marketer, she retrained as a high school teacher and made…
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Communicate U Blog

The Importance of Managing Your Referees

Referees can play an important role in your career success, a fact that many job seekers fail to appreciate. What will your former employer say? There have been several times over the years, when I’ve telephoned a referee listed on a candidate’s resume, and when I have said, “We are considering so-and-so for a role,”…
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Bicycle Book

Want to get more productive? Ask Why?

Sometimes we hear a story that resonates with us and the Bicycle Book story resonated with me. Have you ever asked why certain things are done at your workplace? If you have, you may have been told, “I don’t know. It’s just what we do. We’ve always done it this way.” The Bicycle Book Story In 2012…
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Communicate U Blog

Job Interviews: Tell Me About Yourself

Have you ever felt like a deer in headlights in a job interview? Your interviewer has just said, “So, tell me about yourself” and you freeze, not sure how to respond. During my long career in recruitment and management, I have interviewed thousands of people. I often used “tell me about yourself” as an opener as…
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My Grandad Lucas

My Grandad and World War II – Values and Virtues

If you could sit on this bench and speak with anyone – dead or alive – who would it be?  It’s an often-asked question. For me, the answer is simple. My Grandad, Stanley Lucas. My Grandad When I was a child, Grandad was just Grandad.  He and Nana visited us every Saturday bringing pocket money…
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Communicate U Blog

Personal Brand: Lessons From the Scottish Highland Clans

Whilst “personal brand” may be modern terminology, managing one’s personal brand or reputation goes back hundreds, if not thousands of years. I recently completed a short course with the University of Glasgow – The History of the Scottish Highland Clans. I took the course because of my Scottish heritage, a general interest in history and…
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Networking: What’s in Your Useful Box?

When my children were little, I enjoyed watching ABC’s Play School with them, although sometimes I’d catch myself singing and doing the actions to “I’m a Little Teapot” or “Heads and Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and realise I was the only one left in the room. The kids had gone to play with their toys…
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