Any business owner will tell you that time equals money, and this is certainly the case in law firms! More and more businesses are looking for ways to encourage their staff to work smarter, not harder. For many, this can mean the opportunity to work remotely either for a portion of their role, or in some cases, their enture role. According to a ...

What to wear to your job interview is a crucial question that may leave you feeling confused and a little stressed. Whilst we are not suggesting that a person will be assessed purely on the clothes they wear, self-presentation is an important part of the assessment process during interview and during my career as a recruiter I have seen individu...

Staying cool, calm and collected under pressure at work is often in the top 3 spoken and unspoken desirable requirements for any position. This is particularly true if you are client facing and your role is really a defining part of the brand and professional services experience for clients. Being poised means not going into survival mode when y...

Don’t you hate the tight grip of stress around your whole entire being before you have to do a presentation in front of a group of peers? Or clear up conflict with a colleague? Or be incredible in that job interview that you so desperately want? We all do, and I’m about to explain how Wonder Woman can help you in any situation. Firstly, I am in ...

How do we manage to have a work-life balance when we are expected to be always available? Work-life balance is a funny thing. The term was first used in the UK to describe the equilibrium between an employee’s work and their out of work (personal) life. The United States started using the term in the mid ‘80’s when many industries experienced pr...

Last year, there was talk in the media about a new app released by Google called “Just Not Sorry”. The Gmail plugin warns you when you are using words that undermine your message. I am the first to put up my hand to say that I am definitely guilty of this and am keen to change a habit that was obviously formed many years ago. How does it work? J...

21 is too many to work for. That I know from experience. I’ve been a legal secretary for around 17 years – give or take a year as it’s all a bit of a blur now. When I started, the 2 lawyers to 1 secretary ratio was completely normal. After a few years it grew to 4:1, and then somewhere around 2010 it became “normal” to have a 7:1 ratio. If you h...

I have a confession to make. Until three years ago I was essentially technologically “illiterate” - my years working in big firms with an IT department had made me lazy and rendered me useless with technology - I was in danger of being left behind. One of the positive impacts of starting my own business was the need to develop technological lite...

I recently had the good fortune to attend an event with Australia’s pre-eminent demographer and futurist, Bernard Salt. I have long been a fan of Bernard’s, and was very interested to hear his speech on the topic “Extinction of the Secretary and opportunities for Executive Assistants”. I was unsure if I was insulted, amused, or both, but when th...

I love being a team player. It’s how I socialise, how I learn and how I support people inside and outside of my team. I can’t help but feel so good after I’ve helped someone. However, the only thing that makes me feel uncomfortable, in this regard, is being around a secretary who isn’t a team player. I’ve met my fair share of them. Have you over...