You really do have the power to create your own dream job
Yes, it’s been a lousy economy in the last few years. Yes, earning money and keeping things ticking over is important. It’s all too easy, especially if you have a family to support or bills to pay (or both) to think more about where to find cash than what’s going to make you happy. I’m not blithely unaware that not everyone can afford the privilege of hanging around for a job they love.
BUT that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t figure out what it is you love to do and aim for it. Even if you’re making ends meet, you don’t have to resign yourself to a life of doing something that makes you unhappy. You can’t find your dream job if you have no idea what your dream is, so start dreaming big and trust me, you’ll start seeing opportunities you never could have imagined before.
I never think the machine gun approach works. Not when you’re pitching your products (hi there blogger, I’ve sent this to a zillion other bloggers and haven’t bothered to even try to disguise that – feature my products) and definitely not when you’re looking for a job. Sending a copied and pasted application to a thousand places is far less likely to be successful than sending a tailored, considered and well-written application to two or three places.
If you’re like me and you have quite a diverse skill set, don’t bombard HR managers and recruiters with things that aren’t relevant. Highlight the skills you have that match the job description and give examples of times that you’ve produced great results using those skills.
Don’t be afraid to stand out
A lot of people want to appear modest, or just don’t know how great they really are and end up selling themselves short. Don’t lie and say you can do stuff you can’t (it will come back to bite you later) but DO shout about the stuff you can actually do well.
I know it seems counter-intuitive to relentlessly talk about yourself, especially when you’re praising your own skills, but people can’t guess at how good you are, nobody’s going to step in and mention it for you – it’s up to you to showcase why you’re right for the job.
It goes without saying that you should look professional and presentable regardless of what you think the work dress code might be. Eye contact is always a good thing, as is a firm handshake (not too firm – don’t crush any fingers) and make sure you take in people’s names so that you don’t have to ask again halfway through.
At a first interview, no matter how tempted you are, I would avoid asking about salary and benefits but make sure you have questions prepared about things you really want to know. This is telling as it will demonstrate what is important to you – company culture, reporting structure, working style etc. it shows you really want to know what it’s like to work there.
A positive attitude can go a really long way
If you really can’t find a job that seems right for you, think outside the box. Whether it’s starting a business with small overheads on the side, or even offering your skills to someone who didn’t know they needed them, you really can make your dream job happen for you. Don’t underestimate the power of just being a friendly, nice person to be around either, and don’t be shy about offering your services. Trust me, I’ve done it time and again and it’s given me a really fulfilling, diverse and rewarding professional life – never a dull day.
Don’t give up at the first rejection or hurdle – it’s an unfortunate by-product of putting yourself out there. Hang in there and keep up your positivity and enthusiasm – you and your dream job will find each other.
Are you happy with your professional life? Have you found your dream job? Share your top tips for jobseekers in the comment box below
]]>The beautiful blooms are by Emma Norton wedding flowers, delectable cake by Anna Tyler cakes, the cute cotton reel name tags are by Lizzy May Design and the location is Cox & Baloney vintage tea rooms in Bristol. Swoon! How much do you want to live in that darling little room??
All images in this post © Frances Taylor Photography
Darling Lovely Life is now accepting interiors and weddings submissions. Email [email protected] for details!
]]>Regular readers will know that I’m a bit of a hobbyist photographer. Lately I’ve been really keen to improve my skills and Emily Quinton is somebody I’ve followed and respected for a really long time (oh my goodness, her Instagram pictures…). Her work is just beautiful and, try as I might, I could never figure out how she creates such gorgeous images. I won’t give away her secrets here, but I will say that I came away inspired, excited and so eager to start trying out all the new tricks and tips I learned at the workshop.
Because it was an Emily Quinton kinda day, the room was filled with gorgeous props to play with.
Those are some of the shots I took on the day, then I went home and went a bit nuts buying fabrics, props, confetti and all sorts of fun things to play with. I won’t share all of the images now, because the whole experience has inspired me to post an exclusive image here every day, regardless of anything else I post.
So, on that note, here’s the first image of the day, I used one of Emily’s beautiful prints in the background:
For any budding photographers out there who want to learn to set up and style scenes and capture them / work with light and learn to edit, I’d highly recommend one of Emily’s courses – the next one is in September, find out more here!
]]>BUT (and here it comes) I loathe fashion. Hate it (ever noticed how we have a style section rather than a “fashion” section?). Fashion magazines, for example, are designed to make people on normal salaries with normal bodies feel like shit. Every time I pick up a fashion magazine, I feel like I’m repeatedly bashing myself over the head with the not-good-enough stick. So here are the things I think are inherently wrong with the fashion industry right now (excluding the big questions of ethical production and that side of things – that’s a whole other post).
No, seriously – the fashion industry churns out clothes for one body type only: straight up and down, completely proportional and (most of the time) entirely flat chested. Here’s a typical changing room dilemma for me:
“Should I get the ten or the fourteen? The fourteen will fit over my boobs but drown my waist. The ten will hug my waist but oh DEAR GOD it looks like I have one, giant, flat boob! The twelve is a happy compromise, I guess… It’s a bit too tight on the bust and a bit too loose on the waist but I guess… oh man I’M A FREAK *hysterical tears*.”
The truth is I’m not a freak – I’m a normal person with an average body type. Lots of women have a larger bust than the rest of their body. I barely know anyone in perfect proportion. In fact, most women I know hate shopping for that very reason. Yet the fashion industry continues to flood shops with identikit bizarre samples for the minority of people with a model’s body.
My personal style may not have changed much, but my size has! (That’s me on the left)
Need I say more? What exactly is the point of trends? The most stylish people I know are the ones who have cultivated their own, unique and personal style. When I polled my readers, 80% said they have their own sense of style and will only incorporate trend pieces if they fit in with their wardrobe.
That’s why I love shops like Anthropologie, Free People and Monsoon – I’m sure they have to subscribe to the trend monster in some way, but their own brand identities surpass the need to desperately fill their floors with the latest must-have item – when I think Anthropologie, for example, I think of a look – their distinct brand look, regardless of what’s in season. I wish all shops were like that. Love the whimsical, lace thing? There’s a shop for that. Love tulle skirts? There’s a shop for that. How great would that be? I reckon it would drastically increase sales AND that shopping would be a much easier and happier task if you know where to look for the type of thing you love.
It’s summer. I’d like to wear some sandals. Except holy shit, I haven’t had a pedicure. What about those shorts? Crap, time for a leg wax. For every item of clothing I even think about wearing, there’s another consideration – camel toe, VPL, armpit vaginas (seriously) and all the other disparaging, disheartening things the fashion media have invented to make us feel crap enough to buy more crap that’s supposed to make it better.
For me, wearing clothes is all about feeling good and projecting your personality through your own, unique sense of style – not squeezing yourself into badly fitting sample sizes and creating more anxiety. That’s just no fun.
So that’s what’s wrong with the fashion industry – let’s start a fashion revolution, one where individuality is celebrated, not quashed, clothes are made for all sorts of body shapes and you can find the stuff that you like in places that specialise. Wouldn’t that be grand? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment box!
]]>♥ A clean surface / chopping board
♥ A rolling pin
♥ A heart-shaped cookie cutter
♥ A sieve
♥ A stand or hand mixer
♥ Grease-proof baking paper
♥ Baking trays
♥ 100g salted, softened butter
♥ 100g caster sugar
♥ One large, free-range egg
♥ 275g plain flour
♥ One teaspoon of vanilla extract and (for the icing)
♥ 400g icing sugar
♥ 4 full tablespoons of room temperature water
♥ Pink food colouring
♥ Edible glitter
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5 and line a few baking trays with grease-proof paper. The recipe makes quite a few cookies depending on the size of your cutter, so be prepared to go through a few batches. Cream the butter and caster sugar together until it’s light and fluffy.
Beat the egg and add it in to the sugar and butter, along with the vanilla essence. Beat until the mixture looks like this:
Sift in the flour and beat thoroughly. Be tenacious about this and resist the temptation to add more liquid as you’ll end up with a runny nightmare. Your mixture may look sandy for a while but if you keep it up, it will eventually come together and start to look like a dough. Phew.
Flour a clean surface or chopping board and your rolling pin, and roll out your dough so that it’s around a centimetre thick.
Using a heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut as many shapes as you can and space them an inch or so apart on a lined baking tray.
Bake for approx 10 minutes until they are cooked with a slight golden brown colour. They should look like this:
If you’re not a fan of icing, you can leave the cookies plain (trust me, they taste just as good, especially with a cuppa) but if you’re not ready for the fun to end, then wait for the cookies to cool and sift the icing sugar into a large bowl. You can then carefully add in water and food colouring until the icing is the desired colour and consistency.
Ice your cookies – you’ll probably need a spoon and a knife for this. Don’t worry if you make a big mess, it’s part of the fun. Then sprinkle with glitter et voila: pink glitter heart cookies!
]]>An oasis in Death Valley – choose somewhere with an interesting landscape
The world is your oyster! I would choose somewhere you’re going to feel comfortable driving and where it’s safe to be out on the road all the time. Also choose somewhere with interesting things to see and do along the way and beautiful driving routes (imagine a road trip down the M25 – not so glamorous).
Imagine being stuck in a car for several weeks with somebody you don’t get along with. Even if you’re in a relationship with someone, the ride can start to feel claustrophobic if your dynamic just isn’t up to it. When John and I embarked on our US road trip, I knew it would test our very new marriage. Luckily for us, we discovered that we like each other’s company and I now look back on that time as the holiday that really made our marriage.
We stopped for ice cream. A lot.
We put quite a bit aside for our trip, but not all road trips need to be expensive. You can start from a less expensive destination, stay in motels or even camp out, depending on how much you have to spend and what kind of experience you’re looking for. Once you know how much you have to play with, start doing your research. Make allowances for:
♥ Flights
♥ Accommodation
♥ Food (and remember, you don’t need to eat in restaurants every day. We bought a cooler and kept food with us a lot of the time).
♥ Car rental and petrol
♥ Days out / tickets to things (once you have a better idea of your route, this will become clearer)
♥ Spending money
♥ Extras – are you going to need to buy a tent, or a cooler, or anything else while you’re out there? Little things add up.
Whether you have a week or a month, make the most of your trip by printing off a map and marking all the landmarks, big or small, that you’d like to see. Write down everything at first, you can narrow it all down later. Then try to put those landmarks in geographical order. Not everything will tally up in a straight line, so it’s up to you to decide which things you want to deviate from your route for.
For me, finding cool and unique places to sleep was all part of the fun. We stayed everywhere from a fifties-style motel to a teepee in the middle of the desert. If you’re having trouble finding somewhere quirky to stay, sites like Unique Sleeps and Airbnb are gold mines for cool, interesting places to kip.
Do your research when it comes to the roads you take. Would you rather see two hours of grey highway or four hours of incredible ocean views, for example. Are you comfortable driving in difficult terrain, or up mountains, or do you feel more comfortable with four wheels on the ground. Plan a route that’s right for you, journey time should be the last of your priorities.
Yeah, the world’s largest thermometer was one of our stops…
Before we left, I had a master document of everywhere we were staying, our booking numbers, contact names and numbers and written confirmations all saved on the computer and printed into a folder, as well as details of the emergency and breakdown services. I also had lists of what we needed to buy when we arrived, our daily budgets and I had planned what to pack (but that’s an article for another time). Being out on the road in another country can be a bit daunting, but if you do your research and keep on top of things, you’ll be just fine.
Are you planning a road trip any time soon? We’d love to hear about your holiday plans in the comment box below!
]]>♥ My shoes are last season’s Accessorize (unfortunately out of stock now) and my skirt is currently on sale for £26 at Dorothy Perkins - I love everything about it, it hangs and moves really well, and it’s a beautiful colour in person. In fact, I love it so much I’m seriously considering buying a second skirt in aqua…
♥ After searching for ages, I finally found my perfect lipstick shade. It’s no.47, L’amoureuse in the Rouge Allure Velvet collection, £26 at Chanel. It’s amazing how a splash of colour in the right place can totally highlight the rest of your features. My headband is £24 from Anthropologie (warning, there are lots and lots of pretty headbands in Anthropologie at the moment – enter at your peril!)
♥ My blouse is from Primark, a real gem as it’s so versatile. Great for office wear, or tie it up and pair with lots of boho-style necklaces for a summer look. It’s sheer enough to wear over a bikini too. Love it.
]]>You really can’t go wrong with feathers and gold glitter, as demonstrated by this beeyootiful Ebru glitter feather necklace, £29 from Reiss.
Capture summertime with this Antibes pebble statement necklace, £25 from Accessorize. It’s the perfect boho chic finish to a beach outfit.
American chain, Anthropologie, is one of my favourite high-street shops. On the pricey side, the Boreal bib necklace is £78 but is also the perfect statement necklace to finish off a pastel pretty outfit.
Collar necklaces are still doing their thang this season and this delicate, faux pearl and lace beauty, £15 from ASOS, is great as a quirky statement necklace for the office or for an occasion. It’s so versatile you can wear it all summer long.
Listiques on Etsy created this beautiful pastel bird collar necklace (£21 on Etsy) – it’s colourful, cute, quirky and just so pretty! A real departure from the beaded, boho looks of the season. I love it!
Have you discovered any amazing necklaces this season – or anything else you think we should be shouting about? Email [email protected] or leave us a comment below!
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