@renderinglight

My flight from Toronto – 35 minutes  to "check in" Departing YYZ, CA: 10h00 I arrived at the YYZ airport on the UP train (25 minutes from Union station), walked to Terminal 1 Gate F (USA) 10h06 I arrived at Gate F 10h19 I arrived at customs after my bags were inspected, laptop switched on and scanned. Thereafter you go to a self-help computer to have your fingerprints scanned and a photo was taken and receive a receipt for the immigration officer – I heard people missed their flight as this queue took 90 minutes to get through later that day 10h26 I joined a queue to meet with an immigration officer, handed over the receipt and passport checked 10h35 I was through customs and in the duty-free area Arriving in AUS, TX: You hop off the plane, down an escalator, and you’re out in less than 5 minutes. My flight to Toronto – 67 minutes  to Union station via UP train Departing AUS, TX: There is just a security check, no customs. 10 minutes to...

YOU NEED TO HAVE… A great attitude, a brand you want to whole-heartedly show off, a business voice for people to take you seriously, the appropriate work attire, an elevator pitch, local phone number so people know you aren’t a fly by night, fantastic website, beautiful business cards, professional email address, clean social media personal and business profiles. CONNECT ON A PERSONAL LEVEL Get your family and friends onboard to follow you at first, from there move to your old colleagues if you dare, old clients if they are accessible, send out a personal message where appropriate like “ I’ve just launched my business, LightVantage Consulting, specializing in law firm optimization. Do you need an operations director for an hour/day? ”. Speak to your hairdresser or your doctor – get them on board (they see more people in a day than you do at the moment), connect with people you coffee’d/ networked/ interviewed with, and lastly get your Alumni’s onboard - stalk them dow...

23 May 2019 I’m writing this blog for the individuals in/from South Africa (SA). For some reason, the LinkedIn culture has not hit the shores of SA. When we moved to Canada, we had a rude awakening – no endorsements, no recommendations, barely a profile. Well, we changed that as quickly as Saffers would allow. After months of research, seminars, webinars, this is my advice on how to boost/create your LinkedIn profile: 1- Intro/Background Picture This is what will set you aside from the average LinkedIn user. Find a suitable yet professional picture related to you or your industry. Take a picture or create a background and insert text with Canva, or use Unsplash with a simple yet sophisticated picture. Anything but the standard blue background. Get creative, build your brand. 2- Intro/Profile Picture = 36x more views A professional and up to date (I repeat – up to date) picture is a necessity. I often network with people over a coffee and when I arrive, I some...

17 May 2019 This week I met up with some lovely ladies at our women in leadership program, to discuss our digital presence and personal bio’s. Nowadays we have a short bio on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and a little blurb on a company website. If you’re anything like me, writing a bio is a massive task - here is my formula on how to get cracking. My bio on my LinkedIn page is very similar to my elevator pitch (short and sweet), whereas my bio on my business website is a bit more in depth as per this formula, and my blog bio is merely a one liner. Your bio will change for every platform and audience, it’s all up to you. Consider the following – acquire a pen and answer these 8 questions: 1-Who are you? First / Third Person? I am Renderinglight / Renderinglight is… 2-What is your title or drive if you do not have a title? Lawyer-turned-Entrepreneur 3-What are you passionate about? I am passionate about simplifying processes and helping p...

Photo credit to Justin Veenema @justinveenema Last week I joined a program (Women in Leadership) and was blown away by these amazing women. We all played open cards, discussed our journeys, careers, difficulties, ambitions, and debated why are women so hard on each other, why are the nails always out, why should we be prepared and ready when someone stabs us in the back. I also heard about the  tall poppy syndrome  for the first time, makes sense! Having moved to a new country, I thought things would be different here, but it's the same (which I am kind of thankful for, at least I know the game). Let's be honest, its taxing keeping up with the clicky situations, judgy moments and social norms. Over the last year I learnt how to be myself again - I made some huge changes in my life, moved continents, left a long term career, parted with best friends and family, took a 6 month travelling sabbatical with my husband which gave us time to reflect on us and life i...

2 May 2019  I would read this post after you have made the decision to leave South Africa, and while you are busy with your paperwork. If you need guidance on the immigration process to Canada, check my post . The hardest part about migrating is the decision to migrate. Its one of those adulting moments you wish you were still a child. Its tough! And packing up is no easy task either. A question I have for you before we get into it, is why do you want to leave South Africa? Your answer needs to be more than “safety” or “politics”. You need a thorough answer you can bounce back to when you have a glimpse of doubt as to why you moved overseas, or when you have a bad day, or in an interview. We moved to Canada for an adventure, something new, we were bored with our day to day lives (had traveled South Africa backwards) and needed a new something (not a baby or fluffy something). When we have a kak day or the snow is beyond the beautiful stage, we remind ours...