New year means a brand new you. We are not talking about resolutions that wouldn’t last the second weekend of 2014, we are discussing methods that would help you make the most of the next 365 days. Some of the best in their businesses let you in on how to make 2014 your year. This is a life overhaul you were looking for!
CAREER
If you are looking for a job change this year, these tips by the world’s leading job hunt website Monster.com will help you prepare a CV that can’t be ignored.
Keep it simple
An easy to read and a clutter-free CV means recruiters won’t have to go hunting for the information they are looking for. Employers spend around 20 to 30 seconds scanning a CV so don’t let important information get covered by elaborate graphics, flowery words or long-winded sentences.
Tailor your CV to your audience
It may be a time-consuming process, but if you tailor your CV to suit the requirements of every job you are applying for, it surely increases your chances of securing an interview. The practice is very useful when you are looking for a profession change. Each industry has its own language. Let your future employer know you understand them.
Show what makes you unique
For every job you apply for, you could be competing with hundreds of other candidates, so you need to make sure you stand out. Employers don’t just buy skills, they buy solutions, so show them how you can contribute to the growth of the company and resolve their problems.
No room for error
Your future employer doesn’t know what an amazing asset you will turn out to be for the company, but an error — grammar, spelling — will show that you don’t pay attention to details. Errors will reflect poorly on your communication and language skills, therefore go through your CV with a fine comb. Make sure your contact details are correct and your employment dates match with the documents you are providing to the company.
Keep your CV updated
When you prepare your CV, it’s often difficult to remember all the projects you have been involved with and the achievements you recorded in your previous jobs. To avoid missing on such important information, update your CV every month.
For further guidance, log on to Monster.com
MORE MONEY
Seek out avenues that make most of your skills — that can help you earn extra on the side. Find out if your hobbies can grow into a home-spun business on your time off from your day job. And have that difficult money talk with your bosses (make sure you have a good track record) to ask for a raise or commissions. Then limit your monthly expenses to your old, single salary — all the extra money you make goes into a back account. Dubai does not dole out pensions. The extra bits of saving are all you have.
Reward yourself
All saving and no fun will make you resent everything you are doing to better your personal finances, so have a cheat buy every month but steer clear of price tags you know are not worth the effort you are putting in. At the height of the recent economic downturn, French women shied away from haute brands and bought lipsticks to indulge themselves. Find your version of a low-price indulgence and enjoy it — once a month.
Save more
It’s easy to go overboard with brunches and endless sales. Which is why we turned to Forbes.com for tips to help you save more your hard-earned money, all through 2014.
Pre-emptive cut backs
Take a hard look at your social calendar and people in your life who deserve to be made to feel special. Know which celebratory occasions are a must — birthdays, anniversaries, festivities. Then save in advance so you can splurge on these special people on their big occasions. Easiest ways to save? Cut down on take-out or restaurant dinners. Invest in a full pantry.
Control the card
Look at your credit card statements and find the amount you’d need to pay to have your debt paid off in three years. Then make a plan to do so, try to limit your credit-card use along the way and make sure you pay at least the minimum monthly dues on time. Finally, keep just one card for emergency use. It will need some guts, but if it means deep-freezing your credit card in a zip-lock, then do that.
Step down
You don’t always have to cab it and you don’t really need pricey fizzy drinks at posh restaurants. These are just some examples of areas in your life where a step down from fancy would look good for your bank account. In Dubai, try taking the metro, learn to say “NO” to brunches that come with no special occasion attached. If your friends are significantly better-off financially, explain your situation in brief. Good friends will understand and try to find a balance.
FASHION & BEAUTY
French designer Yohann Proux, fashion designer professor at ESMOD Dubai, shares insider fashion-intel on the hottest trends for 2014. Shop wisely and step out looking right on trend.
Colour code
Ladies, go back to basics. The humble navy blue is your go to colour for 2014. The darker the shade of navy you choose, the more elegant you are! You can spice it up by adding accessories in vibrant colours, such as a shocking pink or a neon yellow. Guys, keep it charming yet luxe with deep Burgundy — a classical colour matching any skin-colour. Keep it corporate with grey and chocolate, or make it funky with lime or gold.
The investments
Prints such as Tartans and Houndstooth are seeing a revival for men. Worn as total looks or separates, on to suits or as shirts — you can play them smart, country, rock, punk or grunge, according to your taste and mood. Ladies, ditch your skinny fixation with the drop shoulder top or sweater, for that cool 1990s laid-back attitude. A rounded shoulder silhouette will see you through years to come.
Scream and shout and let it all out
In Love? Peaceful? Angry? When it comes to women’s accessories, wear your heart. As Lanvin cleverly did, add some chunky necklaces expressing — in rich metallics or acrylic — your mood! Gentlemen, add a scarf to the outfit. Knotted or thrown around your neck, this accessory will help blend or contrast your outfit’s colour palette. Mantra for 2014? Refrain from bold logos. Men should also invest in shoes du jour — Derbys and Brogues. Thin or thick soles, casual but yet elegant, these are the must have shoes for this season. With the unisex trend still going strong, ladies can invest in these androgynous flats too.
Box it
Be it in tweed, leather, or silk, spiked or quilted - both men and women should invest in a square shaped, boxed shoulder crop jacket. The crop fit cuts your body at the narrowest part of your torso, immediately slimming and elongating you, while the square shoulder updates the look with an edge. Pair it with skinny jeans, loose trousers, a crop top or a vest.
Smell unique
Mix and match men and women perfumes at the same time. Test the mix first as every skin has a different alchemy according to the type of perfumes. Add Oud to your favourite perfumes, in order to enhance their characteristics and follow the rich and ancestral Middle Eastern perfumes tradition.
HOME
Heal your home
Brenda Ganwani, a Dubai-based Life Alignment Teacher and Practitioner promises to help rid your home of its negative energy build up so that your home’s energies can better support your goals and aspirations. “In our day-to-day life, we go through phases of calm, peace, emotional upheaval and a fair deal of stress. But whatever we do, we always come home, and it has now become so important to have a home that supports us, nourishes our soul and vibrates at a high level of energy,” she says. “ We need to have a home that is a Sacred Space, because if the home is not clear of negative thought forms and external influences, when we come the energy of the home continues to create a roller-coaster of emotions.”
So how do we make our home a Sacred Space? Using the modality of “Life Alignment” the practitioner works on the floor plan of the home and finds out the external influences on the home — namely geopathic stress, underlying water, EMR and other negative influences. Using healing energies, specific information on the inhabitants (varies from case to case) and working on the interior layout/architectural plan and landscape and geological energy coordinates, Home Alignment helps to cleanse and balance our home and its energy, making it a sacred space for the person who will reside there by eliminating all past and future emotional patterns, energy blockages, and negative family patterns.
To know more about “Home Alignment” and book consultations contact Brenda via e-mail: bganwani@hotmail.com
The home refresher
The only domestic help training company in the region, The Perfect Help promises a Luxury lifestyle for you and your family right at your home! Housekeeping trainer Siddharth Kumar shares tips to re-organise your home.
1 Encourage your domestic help to prepare an effective cleaning schedule of your home. Divide the rooms in 6 days for deep cleaning. Every day, touch up all the rooms in the morning and ensure that they Deep clean at least one room in the afternoon. Always clean your rooms in a circular fashion so that you will never miss a spot.
2 Statistics prove that 80 per cent of clothes in the wardrobe are never worn. Keep the clothes you don’t wear out of your closets in unused empty suitcases, for example, and give the clothes you do wear a chance to breathe!
3 Many people keep their shopping bags and empty boxes of new electronics — laptops, sound systems for example — to use them in future. In reality, those empty boxes will just occupy space in your house for nothing. Better still use them while deep cleaning your home and dispose with the garbage.
4 Every three months turn your mattress to enhance its lifespan. Dust mites are microscopic bugs that mostly live on dead skin cells regularly shed by humans and pets. While harmless for most of the people, they can cause allergy to some . Shaking of bed linen every day is really important to avoid house dust mites
5 Organise your kitchen cabinets such that all spices are in one section and everyday ingredients in another, with easily readable labels so you don’t waste time looking for the basics while cooking. In the same manner, delegate spaces for cooking equipment and utensils. Having the daily-use utensils in a hook rack makes for easy access and because they are visible, you will be inspired to clean them as you cook!
For more information on their services or to book courses for your domestic help, write to info@theperfecthelp.com
GET FIT
Haifa M, the Dubai-based IFBB Weight Training Prescription Specialist, personal trainer and fitness consultant gives us the skinny on how to shake up your system in 2014.
Body weight training
Keep aside your obsession with the dumbbells this year and use your body. Body weight training uses your own body weight to build strong muscles, push endurance and burn calories, similar to stability training. With no or very little equipment involved, it keeps cost down. Try squats standing in a wide second position, side planks with oblique abductor raises, jumping lunges, holding push-ups at a low hover and reverse crunches.
Stability training
Prevent injury while building strength with Stability Training. Concentrating on your form throughout each exercise can help you become stronger by using your body’s state of resistance. Work stability training into your weekly fitness regime with balances (the ability to maintain equilibrium) and holding postures in place of multiple reps.
High intensity interval training
Short workouts at maximum intensity have set the stage for staying fit with a lot on your daily plate. HIIT uses only 30 minutes of your time — these short drills will improve your athletic abilities much faster than the traditional model. Combine strength and cardiovascular training into the time frame — the challenging physical effort and increased heart rate not only boosts the metabolism and the fat burning process, a well-planned routine targets all muscle groups making it a complete full body workout.
Functional fitness
Training your body for everyday tasks by training muscles to work together instead of isolating them. Functional fitness means you use strength training to improve balance, coordination, force, power and endurance to replicate actual activities you do as a function of your daily living. Functional fitness programmes are also helpful for active seniors.
Invest in the basics
Lastly, know that there is no room for excuses in 2014. Keep some basic, inexpensive work-out equipment at home for days when you can’t make it to your gym. The fitness ball — basically a big, somewhat bouncy ball — is perfect to squeeze in a quick abs workout. Smaller Medicine Balls will add a punch to basic aerobic moves and stretches. Skipping ropes and adjustable dumbbells are a good investment too and don’t take much space.
Haifa urges readers to have a full body check-up before starting a new fitness programme. You can contact her on haifa.trainer@gmail.com for a personalised fitness plan.
PET LOVING
Happy pets make a happy home. Tania Richard of Woof! Pet Services and John Riley, one of Dubai’s most respected experts on dog behaviour, let us in on how to keep our four legged companions in top shape.
Routine
Your pets need a daily routine — at least when you are around in the house. Cats need to be let out, have their litter trays cleaned in a set periodic cycles. Your dog need regular walks, early morning, early evening and a quick walk before bedtime. This helps to get them used to their surroundings, keeps them active and keeps their mess out of the house.
Socialising
It’s a good idea to allow your dog to socialise with other dogs. However, just like people, not all dogs are friendly so this comes with a caution. When trying to allow your dog to socialise, always keep them on the leash for the first time so that you have control. It is also a good idea for you to socialise with other dog owners, this is a great way to get tips on your dog and share ideas.
Music or radio
When your pet is home alone for a prolonged period it’s a good idea to have some soft music or talk radio playing, this can help to relax your pet and give them the sense that they’re not alone.
Invest in daytime care
If you’re out of the house/apartment for prolonged periods, it is a good idea to invest in a dog walker or doggy daycare. This again will help your dog to stay active and gives them the opportunity to interact with other people/animals. If you have a cat, asks your maid to drop in for a while. Felines are independent but everyone needs a little TLC.
Patience
Cats and dogs are playful animals so be aware, they will chew, jump and pee if they are nervous or looking for attention. Just like a small child. Remember you are in charge; you make the rules. Repartition is key when training and above all else, be patient, It may take time but they will eventually learn what is acceptable to you and what’s not.
To book consultations or walks with John contact him via e-mail — john_riley1@yahoo.co.uk.
You can reach Tania on Woofdogroomers.com for the best pet grooming services in the region.
REAL ESTATE
Jonathan Fothergill, Director of UAE Valuations at Cluttons — one of the leading property consultants and chartered surveyors in the Middle East — lets us in on how to make the most of our property investments.
1 As a landlord, if you are only going to improve one room, maybe consider prioritising the kitchen, which, in many homes has now become the showpiece area used for cooking, eating, entertaining and working. Instal equipment that is as up-to-date as possible but make sure the price bracket of your kitchen matches the price bracket of your home. Our most recent research shows that a new kitchen can add as much as 5 per cent to the value of a property.
2 Improvements in the bathrooms too is known to reap dividends and it’s all about the features that you put in. A new set of taps, a heated chrome towel rail, a power shower or a glass screen — instead of a shower curtain — can potentially contribute around 3 per cent on to the property value.
3 Areas which were previously considered peripheral, such as Dubai Land, Jumeirah Village Circle and Dubai Sports City, are expected to perform well going forward in terms of price appreciation. Such areas offer better value for money than equivalent property elsewhere. While many of these newer communities often lack facilities, as the developments mature, prices are expected to rise. Dubai Marina remains the most popular location in Dubai.
4 Given the government’s strategic aim to double the number of tourists visiting the Emirate to 20 million by 2020 and the forthcoming Expo 2020 event, considering investment in a well located, good quality serviced apartment unit operated by a branded operator on a buy-to-let basis would appear to be attractive. Such properties are typically more management intensive but potentially yield higher returns.
5 As with any investment, undertake thorough due diligence before making any potential real estate investment. Ideally seek the advice of a RERA registered broker, a Chartered Surveyor and an experienced lawyer throughout the process.
Write to dubai@ae.cluttons.com and let Cluttons help you make a wise investment in UAE real estate.
HEALTH WISE
While is it is next to impossible to pin-point one investigation or test to know the status of one’s health, Dr Atul Aundhekar of iCare Clinics gives us insight into some basic tests that could benefit you in 2014.
For the twenties
Both men and women should invest in a Complete Blood Count test — in just one report you can get a fair indication of your overall wellbeing. Other tests to look at are the Basic Lipid Profile and urine analysis.
For your thirties
Ladies should get their thyroid profile (T3, T4, TSH) tests done. Thyroid profile indicates the basic metabolic rate and is very important to know the hormonal status of your lady. A lipid profile test for men indicates the trend of lipid absorption and is indicative for the forecasting of the lipid levels in future and cardiac risk.
For your forties
Cardiac Stress Test is the most important predictor of cardiac health in men. Usually healthy individuals will tolerate moderate amount of physical exertion. Target heart rate and blood pressure is measured after inducing the exercise. Women should take the time to get a PAP Smear test. PAP smear(Liquid based Cytology) is a very critical investigation for the women above 40 as it is indicative of the possibility of the cervical cancer. Cervical Cancer is a killer disease but fortunately reversible if diagnosed and treated at the earliest stages.
For your fifties
Prostrate Sensitive Antigen (PSA) test for men is imperative. Prostrate Hypertrophy is common with the age but rarely does it take the form of a malignant growth. If treated earlier, it is completely curable but the prognosis depends on the staging of cancer (the extent of the spread of cancer) and the modalities of the treatment used. A Mammogram for women is a life saver. Mammogram post 40 onwards is very important but the significance of it becomes paramount post 50. Breast cancer treated earlier is a curable and lifesaving disease. Mammograms nowadays have become very specific and selective and can detect the earliest changes in the echo texture of the breast tissues.
Dr Aundhekar insists you visit your doctor for a more accurate understanding of the tests best needed for you or visit Icare-clinics.com to book an appointment at iCare Clinic.
— Pratyush Sarup edits a Dubai-based interior design blog Designcarrot.co
