About

I am the youngest of six children, brought up in Sidcup, Kent.  When I was 12 my family moved to Birmingham. I now live in south London, have two grown-up children and two cats and have worked for myself for many years. Voluntary work is important to me and I help with the governance of local schools as well as a local charity.

Studies
I went to Kingston University to study Development. I continued my studies part-time and  gained an MBA. Enjoying learning, I later picked up my studies again to do a part-time PhD and I achieved my doctorate in 2019.

Work
My career has been very varied. I have worked for the civil service, an American multinational company and for a third world charity. I have been a senior lecturer at a university and worked in shops and factories. My most unusual job was running a floating restaurant on the River Severn with my brother.

Careers counselling
In my late 20s I didn’t really know where my career was going but I did know a lot about different types of employment. I received some careers guidance from a wonderful careers adviser in Shropshire. The result was that I trained as a careers adviser myself. I was the President of the national Institute of Career Guidance in the ‘90s. I then ran organisations which helped people find jobs. I trained as an image consultant specifically so that I could advise job seekers on the best way to present themselves at their job interviews. I ran courses on interview techniques, advising jobseekers about CVs and application forms and giving them mock interviews. This provided the material for my books.