Visible Women meets…Banking

On Wednesday evening I was given the privilege to be on a panel for an event at Birmingham University.

Taken from their site…Visible Women (VW) is a women in leadership campaign. It aims to allow female students from over 110 universities across the UK to be the driving force in challenging the under-representation of women in the workplace. The campaign is run by the Student Action Team (SAT) made up of 16 students and recent graduates from across the UK making sure that the Visible Women campaign caters for the needs and aspirations of female students today.

The three-pronged campaign will look at ways in which to Motivate, Develop and Prepare female students across the UK; to reinforce equality of opportunity between men and women and to overcome the barriers of discrimination faced by women because of their sex or other external factors such as ethnicity or disability.

The campaign will:
> Showcase companies/organisations that encourage diversity
> Recognise senior female role models
> Create networking opportunities for students and recent graduates to successfully enter into the labour market.

The Visible Women Campaign is managed and delivered by Elevation Networks. EN is an independent charity and social enterprise which aims to bridge the gap between under-represented groups and industries.

Visible Women meets…are networking events which ‘provide a platform for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and advice about industries and the unique mix of graduate employees to senior managers under one roof provides a varied and broad perspective of career paths.’

Blurb from their site:

This will be an exclusive opportunity for a select number of our student network to meet with leading professionals in the field of banking.
It will give participants the chance to gain insight, one to one advice and a platform to share knowledge and learn new skills in an intimate networking environment.
The VW Campaign is run by the Student Action Team to cater for the needs of students and it is this point of difference that we seek to use as a means of being more accessible to our network and bridging the gap between them and potential employers.

I was on their panel for banking and had to talk about my career history and my experiences being a woman in the industry, as well as answer questions. I felt very honoured to be classed as a ‘leading professional’ and really enjoyed talking to the girls who attended. It seems ages ago since I was a student, but I can remember attending similar events and know the positive benefit they have.

I hope the girls who came found it useful!

*Update – here is a link to the article that was published about the event.

8 ways to build your new community

Four months ago, I relocated to a new city, which was huge emotionally. I left behind a way of life I had known for 25 years and moved to a city where I felt like a tourist for such a long time. I didn't know where anything was, I didn't know anybody apart from Mr E and one or two old friends plus I had a new job. It was tough!

Today, whilst I can't quite call myself a local, I am pleased to say that things are starting to come together. I've settled into work, got myself into a routine with the daily commute, caught up with some old friends, figured out where my local Tesco is (both 24 hours and Express), and most importantly found myself a new church.

So what has worked for me as I’ve started to build my new community? Here are some of the things I did:

1. Join a church. Seems quite obvious if you’re a Christian but even if you’re not a regular church goer, a local church is a great community to be part of. I find it helps me a lot, when trying to establish a new base. On my very first Sunday, we visited the local Methodist church, where we got to meet some of the locals in the area. Now whilst I wasn't sure at the time whether I would start going to this particular church, I found the members super friendly and they gave me some good advice on where local things were, short cuts to the train station and some history about the village, things I would not necessarily have known about otherwise. They were even kind enough to send a congratulatory wedding card around the date of our wedding, not knowing the wedding had been cancelled and that was really touching. Depending on your denomination you should be able to find a church quite easily using www.findachurch.co.uk and most churches have their own websites so you can find out more about services and mid-week meetings.
2. Re-connect with old friends. It is a small world out there and more often than not you will bump into people you didn’t even know lived in your area. This happened to me and I discovered that a few of my childhood friends now live locally. We took the opportunity to meet up over dinner and this was really good in building a new friendship group locally as not only did we catch up but they also introduced me to other people as well.
3. Transfer old networks. Back in your old community I’m sure there are groups whether social, religious or sporting that you belong to and there is nothing stopping you transferring them to your new place. For example I belong to OFNC who have branches all over the country and I know that in the major towns and cities across the UK, there will always be OFNC members there, who I can connect with. Do a little research, ask your old group, find out whether they have a base where you’re moving to, as that is something you can get involved in straight away.
4. Be prepared to put yourself out there. Back in my old city I was very familiar with the professional networking circuit and was used to seeing familiar faces whenever I went to different events, a network which I had built over 2/3 years. I remember attending a woman's networking event here in Birmingham for the first time, having only been here for three weeks. I didn’t know anyone to go with, so I went on my own, I didn’t know anyone when I got there, so again I was on my own and it was completely nerve racking! Nevertheless, it forced me to make the effort to talk to people and I’m glad that I did as I had a great time and that evening I met three fabulous ladies, two of which I have subsequently met for dinner, and the other who I connect with through email and twitter. The great thing about these professional relationships is that they can help connect you to other relevant people in your field. Don’t be afraid to put yourself outside your comfort zones. Sometimes it’s in those situations you end up having the best time and learning more about yourself.
5. Take up some new (or old) interests. I love singing and regularly sang in my old church choir. Having moved I would love to continue this at my new church. Now this won’t happen overnight but it’s something good to work towards and will help me get more integrated, thus building my community. I also recently joined the gym in an attempt to get fit for the wedding. Now to be honest I don’t really go to the gym to make friends as I’m hardly there, but I know some people who do. So if you’re that person get yourself down to your local sports facility and get involved, whether it be football, tennis or salsa dancing. Hobbies and interests are a great way to make new friends.
6. Get out and meet the local business. The village (and yes they still call themselves a village) where I live is small! There is just one high street where you can find everything, such as the bank, chemist, baker, butcher, post office, grocery store and of course the fish and chip shop and curry house. I have made a point to visit most of them and in a village as small as mine, locals always know when there are new people about and start to talk to you, asking questions. Be open to this, they’re not being nosey (well sometimes they are), they are just keen to find out more about you as well as give you useful information. In terms of my neighbours themselves I have spoken to most of them, but it’s the usual ‘hi/bye’. I did ask to borrow a can opener from my immediate neighbour when I first moved in and that was probably the longest conversation I have had with any of my neighbours. I hope over time, that this will change.
7. Join the Residents Association. May seem a little 'OTT' or old school but this has helped me to get familiar with the village where I live and its goings on. They also provide advice about safety, recycling and new things coming to village, as well as update you on things that are already in the village. Last week for instance, I found out that the local high school/college has it own sports facility which is open to the public in the evenings and you can use the gym, do dance glasses, play badminton etc – all at a greatly reduced rate than what I’m currently paying at my city centre gym. So finding that out has been really beneficial and I will be cancelling my Virgin Active membership pronto.
8. Finally, if in doubt, Facebook it. When I am trying to find out something locally and I haven’t got a clue, I often post the question in my status on Facebook. This has worked on numerous occasions, more recently when trying to find a new hairdresser and your Facebook friends who live in the area or know the area will come back to you with an answer, which nine out of ten times, will be very useful!

So there you have it, some of the things that have worked for me. I’m sure that there are more, so feel free to leave your own tips below.

Commuting disturbance

So I'm on my way home from work about to settle down to 20 mins of tranquillity and a guy walks onto the train, music blaring.

Why do people think its appropriate to play their dance/house/garage/hip hop (delete as appropriate) music without headphones, for all to hear. No mate, I do not want to hear your music!

The daily commute is supposed to be a time of peace, reflection and catching up on my sleep. However, more often than not, it is disturbed by the youth of today who think I do not have access to MTV and wish to hear their latest offerings live. I'm sure it's not just me. Looking around the train I can see others who are just has frustrated.

What can one do? You daren't say anything for fear of being knifed/attacked/beaten up/mugged (again delete as appropriate) because clearly someone who has no issue with 'blasting out the tunes' with no consideration of others, will have even less of an issue, giving you 'what for' if you challenge them.

I dunno what do people think? What would you do?

It's Friday (well Thursday actually)!

With it being Easter this weekend, today is the last day of the working week - yay!

Looking forward to having a bit of rest, spending time with Mr E and celebrating Easter. Today has been interesting. I was waiting to hear about the job I interviewed for last week and unfortunately I didn't get it. 

I'm disappointed but I don't want to be, or at least I'm not now. I've always had the belief that if something doesn't work out the way you want it to, it's because God has something better in store. When one door closes, another one opens - my mother always told me. This job wasn't for me. 

So that's the stance I'm taking. :)

Thank you for your prayers.

Thanks to all the people who have text and called me today to wish me luck in my interview and to let me know that they are praying for me.

Really appreciate it - will keep you posted.