#Unapologeticambition

As someone who started his career in L & D, presented to many induction groups & classrooms, the fact that L & D is everywhere – warms my heart! Our business is more committed than ever to providing learning opportunities for all colleagues. One of these initiatives include career snapshots.

At these events, people from across the company host a key-note speaker event and discuss their career path to date, their choices, techniques for overcoming obstacles, reflections and highlight their learnings along the way. From an atom of an idea, this has blossomed into a vital, highly popular event in our social calendar.

In a couple of weeks’, I’m celebrating my 10-year anniversary here and what an adventure it’s been! When I was asked about delivering my own, career snapshot, the milestone and the moment, just felt right. Almost irresistible.

My theme (and brand): #unapologeticambition.

I’m not giving you the full run down, as it will form the basis for a forthcoming book, and subject to offer: TED Talks ??!

But I thought I’d share some thoughts in preparing for the ultimate “share” of #unapologeticambition:

Why I did it

I’ve been alive over a million seconds and been working for over 20 years, achieved some success and learned a few things along the way, so it seemed like the right “moment” to pause and consider some lessons learned, give some tips to the current (and next) generation of recruiters and lead a Q & A session to boot.

How long did it take to prepare?

It took me a couple of days (on and off) to write it, then another couple of days, here and there to edit my content. I did 3 run throughs before the actual day and was all the better for them. Work-shopping it and seeing what landed and connected with audience members really mattered to me, because it helped shape the subject matter and pace I delivered at. You don’t always have that luxury, but gratefully, this time, I did.

How did the presentation evolve, the closer it got to the actual date?

It got shorter and shorter also, longer and different! I edited it extensively, even last minute on the day. I don’t recommend that, it’s just me. The best advice I got from a friend (and she is so RIGHT) “love the process, just love the whole process” – because if you DO, it takes a lot of the “laborious” out of the writing, editing etc; useful advice for so much in life.

My discussion points

• My education, my employment highlights and how I got those roles – more importantly, when things didn’t go according to plan, how I dealt with ups and downs of the career rollercoaster.
• My ideas on what it takes to be successful in recruitment.
• My beloved team and how they run a multilingual/skillset 24, 7 multi-site operation.
• Some points I learned and take forward with me, every single day.
• What I essentially discovered that my #unapologeticambition DID for me.

A taster of the presentation?

Fortunately, it was filmed, so it’s there for all to see. But it may also become my pension so while I’m not revealing it all (until my book hits the physical & virtual marketplace), I’m happy to highlight two pointers:

1. Your career and all the inspiration for it, is on YOU. And you should want it that way, right?
2. I’ll always want to be part of an evolutionary business and so should you. If the company you work for has #evolution as part of its makeup, by default it will mean YOU need to adopt that mindset; this means you won’t become a dinosaur. And that’s how it should be.

One of the best things about the whole process of writing and presenting something like this, “your thoughts”, fundamentally – is that it you confront your own “take” on things and analyse why you believe what you believe, consider the choices you’ve made and get to walk down memory lane. It’s also quite wonderful to distil your thoughts on a topic, jump off the fence and be unequivocal about your train of thought.

Maybe you should give it a go?

Looking back, really helps you to look forward, trust me.