The Life of a Successful Women

Hi everyone My blog has been revamped and i'll be moving to wordpress. The site is different and I'm hoping we will interact with each other in a different way. My revamped blog is called Optimistic Success - https://optimisticsuccess.wordpress.com/

What is the Blogger Recognition Award? The Blogger Recognition Award an award that is given to bloggers by bloggers to encourage, acknowledge and promote the hard work and effort that goes into creating their blogs. It’s an opportunity for bloggers to recognize one another for their contributions, both to their blog and the blogging community! In this short frame of time The Life of a Successful Women has been nominated for the Blogger Recognition Award and I am truly humbled to be recognised for the hard work I put in sharing amazing content with my readers. However, this is only the beginning and I still have a lot of work to do. Thanks to Lauren. Firstly, I’d like to thank all of you who frequently visit my blog, your support has motivated me to work hard towards developing my blog. I also want to give great thanks to Lauren, creator of the “ROCSI ROCKS THE BLOG (https://rocsirockstheblog.com/), who nominated me for this award. As a new blogger, it means a lot that she co

You have passed the interview and got the job, congratulations. Now in the work environment, you have to slay and be the ultimate boss-babe. Here are my 7 tips: Work up early and be early at work. Punctuality is the most attractive quality of any successful girl-boss. Eat a healthy breakfast as that will fill your body with the right nutrients that will keep you energetic and at the top of your game throughout the day. Dress for success Pay attention to detail and meet your deadlines. In the work environment, a girl-boss is someone who is reliable and gets the job done within the required time. Work hard. A girl-boss understands that she has to work hard in order to be successful and achieve her goals. Put in the hard work and effort and in no time you will be closer to living your dream life. Make connections with successful women in your industry and keep up with the latest news/events about the industry. Keep learning. Work on improving your skills and enhance your kno

Interviews tend to be very stressful for anyone but that is the next step to getting your dream job to help you build your career. Here are my 8 tips to passing an interview: Be early: arrive for an interview 15 minutes early. In any field of work, punctuality is an important aspect in a potential candidate, as that is seen as a sign of reliability. Dress appropriately: this doesn’t mean you have to wear a 3-piece suit, however, dress presentable. Wear neutral colors, ensure your clothes are clean, keep jewelry to a minimum, smell good and ensure that your outfit is comfortable as that will boost your confidence. Ensure that your breath does not have a foul smell. Do research about the company, know what they are all about so that you are prepared for questions related to the company. Interviewers ask questions such as, "What do you understand about our company?" because they are testing whether or not you are interested in being part of the company. In gen

Having a profile on several job portals is an essential step to being recognized by recruiters, companies and getting your dream job. Basically, job portals are a platform where individuals meet and interact with companies in a professional manner, apply for jobs and create professional connections with industry leaders. Here are my 3 tips to utilizing job portals to your own advantage: When you create your online profile ensure that it is a “public profile” as that will make it easier for recruiters to learn about you and what you have to offer the company and they will be able to contact you if they are interested in inviting you for an interview. I cannot stress this enough but ensure that all information in your profile is nothing either than the TRUTH. Honesty is an important element company’s need from their employees. Companies don’t want to hire individuals who they won’t be able to trust because dishonest employees tend to be also unethical and ethics is very impo

If you have recently graduated and received your degree, congratulations. That’s a great achievement. That is something you should be proud of. Your hard work and sleepless nights have finally paid off and you are now a graduate. But why is it hard to find a job? Did I do the wrong qualification? Is there a need for people with this qualification? Those are questions most graduates ask themselves and I also went through that phase. It was frustrating and I felt defeated, like I had studied the wrong course. The honest truth is at university we are not prepared for the work environment. We are not taught how to transition from university to the workplace. And if that was done, the unemployment rate of graduates in South Africa would not be high. It is even worse when you do not have any work experience. Ever went through job portals and it is like all the job adverts you are reading require individuals with over 3 years work experience? Obviously, you are straight out

Writing a CV can be a stressful experience especially if you do not know what information to include about yourself, educational background and work experience. And it can be even more stressful if you don’t have any work experience. I work in the HR environment and I see over 20 CV’s everyday with mistakes, that harm an individual’s chances of being invited for an interview. This will serve as a guideline as to which details you should never include: 1. Personal details are important but avoid things such as your hobbies, age, likes & dislikes, religious beliefs, height & weight. This kind of information is unnecessary and no one has the time to read through it all. 2. Salary expectations. This is a definite NO. It only makes you seem like you are only after money & not interested in developing your career. Leave salary discussions until you have been invited to the interview. 3. Avoid lies & false claims. If you don’t have a degree or work experien

CV WRITING SKILLS A CV is a professional document used to introduce oneself to a potential future employer, therefore, you need to make a subtle statement that will make you standout and open opportunities to be invited for an interview. This second part of the series will be divided into 3 sections. Understanding the purpose of a CV Unnecessary details to avoid Advise specifically for graduates UNDERSTANDING THE PURPOSE OF A CV Ever wondered why you have never been called for an interview after applying for a job? The answer is simple. It all has to do with your CV and how you are using it as a tool for marketing your skills and expertise. You must use your CV to sell your skills to the company you are interested in. Recruiters are simply busy individuals and as an applicant you only have 10 seconds that are crucial for creating a good lasting impression and sell your skills to the hiring manager, so make it count. Invest time is compiling your CV (proof rea

Importance of good grades Getting access to higher education after high school is a privilege that should not be taken for granted, therefore, you need to work hard towards getting good grades each semester until you complete your degree. It takes a lot of hard work, discipline, and dedication to study for tests and exams so that you get good marks at the end of the year and progress to the next academic year. I’ve been asked by some friends why I always aim to get good grades because at the end of the day when we graduate we all get the same degree/diploma. My answer to that is quite simple and straight forward – good grades mean that there is a possibility that I could earn a distinction. I have 5 simple tips that I followed in terms of maintaining a balanced student life, preparing for tests and exams when I was an undergraduate and that I still follow now that I’m a part-time postgraduate student while also trying to establish and build my career. 1. Plan your time

For the month of September, I will start my very first blog series called, “Get that Job”. This series is specifically designed to help women or anyone who has been struggling with finding their dream job in the past year after completing their degree/diploma. This series will cover 5 topics and each topic will have simple tips and advice that you can easily follow so that you can find your dream job and be a #Boss-Lady. The 5 topics that will be covered are: Importance of good grades How to compile a great CV that will get you recognized Career portals How to be successful in an interview Slay @ work I hope that after each of these topics, you will be able to take the required action that will get you closer to finding your dream job. #GirlBoss – stay tuned to this series that will open up new opportunities for you.

Visualisation plays a huge role in whether or not you will achieve your goals. You have to envision yourself achieving your goals. Visualisation is a simple way of communicating with yourself by using visual creative imagery to physically see yourself achieving your goals. Here are my 5 tips to successful visualization: WRITE YOUR GOALS DOWN As mentioned in my previous post, to successfully achieve your goals you need to set bold but yet realistic goals that fit a part of the bigger picture. You have to write your goals down on a paper and keep them in a place where you will be consistently reminded of them. You can keep them in your purse or journal (if you have one). But I personally prefer sticking my goals next to my mirror because I am able to easily engage with my goals on a daily basis, I am setting a constant reminder for myself of what I hope to accomplish most, and I envision the hard work I need to put in so that things can fall into place. TALK TO YOURSELF

In order to be a successful girl-boss you need to develop some habits that will ensure you are successful beyond your wildest dreams by breaking through some personal barriers that are standing in the way of your success. There are 10 habits that every girl-boss must live by: 1. Set goals It is important to set goals that are realistic. You can't live life without goals if you desire to live a successful life. You need to set short-term and long-term goals that fall part of the bigger picture of your goals and dreams. For example, at the beginning of the year we all set new year's resolutions but I bet 80% of us fail to achieve those resolutions because they are either unrealistic or we are unwilling to put in the effort to achieve those goals. To achieve your goals you need to take consistent actions that will help you work hard towards achieving your goal. If in 2017, your goal is to save money, what actions are you taking? Firstly, saying I want to save money is a

Goals play an important role in our personal development and motivate us to work hard towards defining our own success. Setting goals requires discipline, time and a desire to make personal change. To achieve your goal(s) it needs to be realistic as that will help you understand exactly what the goal is about and why that goal feels important to you. To help you set realistic goals, I will use weight loss as an example to understand the importance of setting realistic goal R – Be REAL Before setting a goal you have to be REAL and honest with yourself. If your goal is to lose weight or develop an effective fitness routine, ask yourself these questions. Why do I want to lose weight? Why is this goal important to me? What actions am I willing to take to lose that weight? Will joining the gym be necessary to help me lose weight? What are my favourite exercises that will help me achieve my goal? How is my diet going to contribute towards losing the weight? How much weight do I

As a women, we are faced with many challenges. We are constantly being told how to live our lives. As a women you should be able to make your own decisions that will benefit you and lead you towards your own success without being scared of being judged.  As a woman in the HR environment, I have my own challenges. I am not respected by my male counterparts and they don't trust the decisions I make - which is frustrating considering that we are all equal. But I have shown them that I am a strong woman and I am fully capable of doing my job without being monitored or second guessed. I have learnt how to stand-up for myself and embrace my womanhood. I didn't get my current job by chance but my manager saw that I had passion and the willingness to learn, which are important elements that anyone needs in order to be successful in their own career fields or any other aspects of their lives. Without passion, you won't have the desire to achieve beyond your limits and witho