FGC X GURLS TALK X NIKE
Last week’s #GURLsTALKLDN was all about how to boss life, so obviously ya fave business gang had to be there. We hosted two 20-girl-strong workshops that took on Money Management & CV Building. As we’re all about access to great info, below you can find the FGC way to save your Ps & write CVs
Money MANAGEMENT
Workshop #1 ft. Money Girl
Our first session was all about getting your money in cheque, so we only thought it right to invite Emma Flatley back (read all about how to invest here) to help fgc’s Pia Stanchina & Emily Chapps with sharing some saged money advice & tips.
✍️ Setting the scene
“How much is in your bank account right now?”
“How regularly do you check your finances?”
“Do you know how much you spend each week?”
If you have answered “Don’t know” to one, two or all of these questions, well honey, you better get to writing a money diary!
This is a great way to start being mindful about money & using its power to best enrich your life.
“ … you want to be on top of your money, not for your money to be on top of you”
We started by having our 20 future girls review what they spend in week by listing it all down - that’s travel, food, clothes, plus monthly like rent & bills. We then added the week up to broke it into categories of spending.
What we found our is that a lot of the girls spend a bit too much on food (gotta get that bread!) so we discussed some alternative activities to do for hanging out with your friends.
A few girls also realised they’re spending so much on travel that renting in London might be a more viable choice.
“.. but isn’t it great to know you have that money to work with? And now you’ve had the relaisintion you can change this - that’s way better than being drained of money completely unaware” - Pia”
With the girl’s personal cash consciousness at a peak, we got into some advice…
💰 Income(s)
Multiple Income Streams
Your money coming in doesn’t have to stop at your monthly salary, and it shouldn’t. Putting all your financial “eggs” in one “basket” can be risky, so we took inspiration from the queen herself Beyonce & as a group we listed of all the ways she has diversified her income.
“We’re talking; music royalties, perfumes, acting, adverts, clothing, movies, performances … like most things in life, just try & be more like beyonce”
We counted 15 streams in 5 min… but she has many more she & so can you. Have a think about your talents, skills, & time availability & list out how you can #EarnLikeBey.
💼 Jobs
What to expect
Having a mix of creatives, freelancers & those early in their career attending, we shared what you can expect to earn in particular sectors. Your industry really dictates the size of your income & the lifestyle you lead. In a creative field, climbing your income up can be trickier than a something more trackable & qualification centric like accountancy or finance. Depending on your passions, you maybe be able to make them your career or strive for an income that lets you pursue them outside of work.
Industry = life style + level of income
Push up that Pay
We all know there is a gender pay gap, so we’re out here trying to undo it. Many factors contribute to it, but one that’s in your control is asking for pay increases. Boys do it more often than you think, and you can do it regularly too. Below we’ve are some prime scenarios of when to ask for more:
Landing the job: Don’t just accept the first offer, if you’re the one they want then you have some leverage to push up the fee. If they want you to give your fee, pop 20% on top of your previous income or the industry average for the job.
“In most cases, the employer can add 10% to the offer there and then..” - Emma
Plant the seed: During your reviews &/or every 6 months, ask about what you can do to ensure an raise in your salary. If you meet their requests in the coming months, you have a strong case for a raise or even a promotion.
Retaining > recruitment: Recruiting & on-boarding can be time consuming & expensive for employers, use this to your advantage you asking for a bit more as it is more affordable than rehiring.
Loyalty is valuable: If you’re a long-term employee, you should expect an increase to your income annually for your loyalty & skill sets that’s now adjusted to your workplace. You should also try to start initiatives at your company too. The more indispensable you are to a team, the greater power you have to push up your pay.
“If you’re a freelancer, double your usual day rate & just see what happens. The worst they can do is ask you to trim it down.” - Emma
Yes, we know asking for more sounds scary, but all it takes is practise & If can justify your case, then why not! More often than not you’ll get what you deserve.
💎 UR MONEY MAKING MONEY
At this point of our workshops, the girls were well on their way to getting fatter stacks & bigger savings, however there was still more money to be made. Once you have cash in the bank it’s time to invest it in things that will benefit your Future Self, not just spending for the here & now.
Assets & Liabilities
We ran through what Assets can enrich incomes, & what Liabilities drain them using the sheet below. Can you list them correctly?
Susuan vs Sally
Once we knew what was good for us, we did a bit of make believe with a Susan vs Sally session. Splitting the room in to two, we discussed out the spending style of “Super-Saver Susan” & “Big-Spender Sally.”
Sounding out the worst & best case scenarios, the girls could start to identify where they might be slipping into the ways of Sally & where they can appreciate the Susan in them.
Compound Interest
To wrap up the session, we talked about the best thing your income can leverage - compound interest. This is the money you can make on your money just by saving or investing it. The more money or the more time you give to this pot, the bigger gains you’ll see. The graph shows why saving earlier is so important, it’s hard to play catch up in your 30’s!
Learn more about investment HERE
Then that was it! We were so grateful for how engaged all the girls were & all the advice they shared as early savers.
day one, done!
cv building
Workshop #2
OUR SECOND & FINAL SESSION WAS ALL ABOUT GETTING OUR FUTURE GIRLS WALKING AWAY WITH THE beginnings OF A KILLER CV. EMILY & PIA GUIDED the girls THROUGH THIS SHARING EXPERIENCES & HACKS ALONg THE WAY
✍️ SETting THE SCENE
We got everyone acquainted by having each girl share their name plus their best & worst jobs. We had girls in law, retail, & even one just about to start her first internship, so a mix of experiences.
“My first job was selling a weird hair removal product at beauty trade shows. I had to live demo it on strangers. Kind horrible, but now I can talk to anyone & managed to push a product I didn’t believe in” - EMILY
It was great to see that many of the girls knew their value. If a job they did wasn’t enriching them they would find another one. Additionally, many found the silver lining in the bad jobs.
After sharing, we took 2 min to close our eyes & think about where we’d like to see our careers go & appreciate that this session in the first step.
🤔 A CV, WHAT IS it?
Definition
CV stands for Curriculum Vitae, & translated from Latin means “The course of your life”
As the use of the acronym “CV” is so ubiquitous, it’s meaning is often lost or not even known. We pulled this up as we wanted the future girls in attendance to know that working is much more than a job - it’s a means to your life.
Purpose
CV exist to put your value & skill set on one sheet of paper. This help your potential employer quickly assess if your fit for the job. Typically they include
Name, Location, email
Experiences most suited to the job & firm your applying to
Educational background
Applicable interest
References, two works best.
Below are some example so you can see what to include:
Job application
Your CV is just one element of the job application process. When it comes to landing a job you also might be required to provide a cover letter, do a psychometric test, interviews, and if your a creative, you'll also need a portfolio.
“… There was a tech consultancy I was interested in working for, but I knew I wouldn’t nail their typical application process filled with psychometric tests since I AM dyslexic. I saw they had a competition so used that to make my way in & avoid all the online testing. It worked! After an application day & follow up interview, I was offered a job” - Emily
With all of these elements to your disposable when landing a job, have a think about how you best leverage them. Depending who you are, some might better play into your hand
📄 The cv
Brain Dump
Right, time to write! Below is the work sheet we used to build our CVs
We started with the long list of skills, categorised them, then got the girls to chose the ones that were best suited for their dream job.
When your at a job, we make sure to always document projects you’ve participated in & how you contributed so you can have them to hand when you’ve writing your CV.
Make it Pop
Skills stated, time to use great vocab & stats can make them stand out.
“I did” doesn’t cut it on a CV, use works with more action & meaning like “executed” or “ideated”. Look for words that are nuanced and powerful.
Stats stats stats. If you have targets & numerical value on your work, use them. In sales? State if you met or exceeded targets & what they were. Marketing? Link & share the success of a social media campaign. Or, create your own stats around your work.
If you don’t have stats, try and get a quote or testimonial from your client/employer.
Fresh Eyes
Once CV Version 1 is done, leave it. You really can get caught up when extrapolating skills out of all your experience. So once you’ve had a go, come back to it later to check if you’ve repeated any skills & if there were any talents you missed.
🔮 Future of work
The world of work is always changing. Think about it, a “Social Media Manager” probably didn’t fully exist 8 years ago & now there are thousands!
Some innovations to work can’t predicted, but you can look at trends and burgeoning industries to help inform what skills will be employable in the future - and you can expect more £££ if you have those rarer ahead of the curve skills. Listen to THIS McKinsey podcast to get a sense of what the future of work might look like for you.
