Road trip to Rotorua - Kickstart my Day!




The team (back left to right) Gillian, Jane, Angela, Diane.  Front Win (Child Cancer Foundation) and Wendy.

By Angela Bensemann

Just before kick off!

WorksWonders is all about trying to inspire people to take another look at obtaining the work/life balance that works for them and to achieve their dreams.

This weekend it was the other way around, we were totally inspired by the women we met at our Kickstart your Day workshop in Rotorua hosted by the Lakes Branch Child Cancer Foundation.


Despite many of the women having huge things going on in their lives at home they took the day out to come and join us and take part in our two workshops.

Clothes swap gems.

How to declutter your wardrobe

My wardrobe: before and after the declutter.

By Jane Comben
Got a wardrobe of stuff and nothing to wear? An average woman has 100 items of clothing but only wears 30. Imagine having an easy-to-see selection of clothes you love and look good on you? It’s time to declutter your closet.

It doesn’t have to be as hard or as overwhelming as you may think. Here are the basics.

The process: take clothes out then decide whether they're a keep, toss or maybe.

"Life is what YOU make it."

Jenina and the Snowling family.

By Jenina Snowling
I will try to keep this short because as any studying, part-time working mother of 4 children would know, spare time is a rare thing.  So why do “we” do it?  I say “we” as I know I am not alone here.

Well I am sure the reasons will differ depending on the needs of the individuals but for me it came down to necessity.

I remember closing myself in my room late one evening feeling completely burnt out after yet another “ground hog day” of pouring every ounce of myself into ensuring everyone else’s needs were met and the house was looking immaculate for that small space of time before my youngest woke from his sleep or my family returned from their respective kindy, school and workplace only to get home and remove all signs of any hard work that I had put in during the day.

It was in those quiet moments that I realised that this burn out was no one else’s fault but my own.

From forestry to teaching via a good CV (resume)

By Angela Bensemann

It’s not easy changing careers.  We often get stuck in the mind set of doing what we do because we do it (sound familiar?).

I recently worked with a guy to write a career changing CV.  He’s been working in the forestry industry for 25+ years and has now decided to teach English as a second language to adults in China.  A slight change in direction!

Of course he’s already done all the hard work – made the decision to leave what he is doing, undertaken an online qualification and put all the wheels in motion for his new life.  He just needed a bit of help getting that CV right.

There’s lots of tools and advice around on how to write a standard CV and cover letter.  But when it comes to writing one for a job completely outside of your work history you need to approach it in a totally different way.

I could tell when reading his CV that he actually had a lot of teaching experience it was just buried.  He’d undertaken forestry related qualifications enabling him to teach forestry unit standards.  He’d also undertaken Adult Education qualifications to enable him to work with adults.

And although forestry itself has no direct link to teaching, teaching people what they need to know and do in forestry does.  Over the years he had taught many forestry people both in the field and in the classroom so they could obtain the qualifications needed to undertake their jobs.

He had also done a lot of work with youth teaching them valuable life skills and preparing them for the workforce.

My top tips for writing a career changing CV:

• Include the usual name and contact details; however, if you are applying for jobs overseas make sure you include international telephone codes or your new contact details if you are already there.
• Relevant qualifications – it is important to bring this right up front on your CV because this will tell someone why you are qualified to apply for this position even though you have been working in a totally unrelated field.
• Relevant experience – rewrite previous jobs to focus in on the relevant aspects of your new career.  Include in this section the key responsibilities you undertook related to your new career.  Also include the specifically related skills and attributes.
• Personal interests (keep to a minimum - you want to give people a flavour of you outside of work but not too much information).
• Referees – it is fairly standard to provide three referees for a potential employer to contact.  Try to make these as relevant as possible to your new career. 
• Remember to try and keep your CV to two or three pages.  If you are applying internationally keep your audience in mind for the language you use.
• And finally your cover letter.  This is crucial and gives you the chance to explain why you are changing career and why you are well suited to the job.

Look good on the outside and feel great on the inside

By Wendy Bakewell, full time business owner and unofficial style guru


Whether you’re spending the day at home, picking up the kids, going to the supermarket or running from meeting to meeting with important clients, it’s essential to look good on the outside to create the right impression.  You will find that no matter how you are feeling at the beginning of your day, if you make the effort to look good by following my tips you’ll instantly feel better, giving you a glow from within which will increase your self-confidence.

 

Looking great on the outside doesn’t actually require as much work as you might think!  It really is the little things that can make a big difference. 

Wendy’s Top Tips:

• Personal hygiene has to come at the top of my list.  If you don’t shower everyday there is no way you are going to feel good on the outside!  I use Pure and Natural Crystal Deodorant Stone which the bottle says has been sold to over 10 million people!  It is hypoallergenic, eliminates odour, unscented and non-staining 24 hour protection.  Just wet the stone and apply. It may seem a bit pricey at $12.99 for 120g but it lasts a very long time.  I have found this sometimes difficult to find but I buy it from Steve’s Wholefoods in Palmerston North, Phone: 06 355 1300.

• You may need to wash your hair every day, like I do, otherwise it looks a greasy mess! However there are excellent dry shampoos out there if you don’t have time.  Klorane is great because it’s natural and contains fewer toxic ingredients than other products on the market. It’s also perfect for darker hair, as it doesn’t leave any white residue. Highly recommended!    You can buy Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo for $18 at Sephora.com.

• Have your hair styled by a professional hairdresser.  There are excellent hairdressers in small towns that don’t charge the earth to cut and/or colour your hair.  A great hairstyle that is easy to manage takes minimal time to look after.  I go to our local hairdresser and pay $95 for a cut, colour and foils.