Blog

London is a vibrant, diverse and multicultural hub with a million and one opportunities on every corner. It’s also fiercely competitive, incredibly expensive and hugely over populated, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying what the great city has to offer and finding your dream job.  Expats looking to make the most of their time here and get a job in London fastwill need to be prepared. If you plan on making a trip to London for work, you’ll need to get clued up on what you need to do and how to go about it.

Preparation

When you start thinking about moving to London, it can very easy to get caught up in the excitement of looking at things to do and places to see. But don’t forget you’ll need to plan this first- and fund it! Before you can even think about stepping on the shores of Old’ Blighty, you will need to make sure you’re fully prepared for the complex visa system,  employment rules and mostly importantly make sure you will get a job in London. Preparation is the key and you will need to make sure everything is in order for your arrival.  If you’ve decided to move to London to boost your career or start one there are a number of things you will need to think about.

Much like a New Year’s resolution list you might high hopes for living in London but will need to be realistic about what you want to do, how possible it is and the time frame you want to do this in. This could mean getting more qualifications and studying in London first to increase your job prospects or taking a lower position to work your way up the career ladder. Whatever your skills and circumstances, getting a job in London can be much easier and quicker if you have clear aims and goals. Job hunting is tough, now more so than ever in this economic climate, but that doesn’t mean jobs are not out there.  UK Employment figures reached a new high in the beginning of 2013 with the employment rate hitting the highest level since records began in 1971.

But, before you can be one of the millions of people working in London, you need to think about what kind of job you want to do. Consider whether you like working in an office environment or if you want to be outdoors, maybe you would like a role that’s more active and practical or one that involves data and analysis. By putting all your job thoughts down on paper, not only could this help  to give you a clearer picture of what you want to do but it also brings you one step closer to getting a job in London.

Do I need a visa and what type?

If you are coming to the UK from overseas to study, visit or work you might need a visa. Visits usually involve coming to the UK for up to six months. However, if you want to work, either paid or unpaid in that time you will need a work visa. It’s incredibly important that you get the right visa-without one it your whole London life could be uprooted, your trip cancelled or worse you could be deported.

Which work visa do I need?

There are several different types of work visa designed for different circumstances and skills.   For example, entrepreneurs, investors and ‘exceptionally talented’ people  can apply for a work visa without needing a job offer first, but they still need to pass the UK points test which looks at your knowledge  of  life the UK, according to the UK Boarder Agency. This is known as a Tier 1 visa.

If you have been offered a job and a UK based employer is going to sponsor you, you can apply to enter the country on a work visa as a skilled worker. You would apply under a Tier 2 visa application. The amount of personal savings you must have to support your application has increased from £800 to £900 for applications made after 14th June 2012. If you’re coming to London to do temporary work, you will need to apply for a work permit under a Tier 5 visa. You must have job offer from a licensed sponsor to apply for it and pass the point system.  For example, if you’re coming over from outside the European Union area to do voluntary/paid charity work in London, you will need a Tier 5 visa.

European nationals or Swiss nationals do not need permission from the UK Boarder Agency to live and work in the UK. They can however, along with Bulgarian and Romanian nationals, apply for a registration certificate rather than a visa which confirms your right of residence in the UK under European law.
If you have lived here for more than five years, you can then apply for a document certifying permanent residence. All European Economic Area and Swiss nationals can apply for a registration certificate at any time and can do this online.

Tier 1 visas

The Tier 1 (General) visa allows highly skilled expats to look for work in the UK and self employment opportunities as well. You cannot apply for this visa if you live outside of the UK. This is for highly skilled workers looking to extend their current stay in the UK.

Even if you are a migrant who is already here, you might not be able to apply. This is the part where it gets complicated because even if you qualify under the specific rules to apply, other reasons like your previous immigration history could see your visa application being refused.

You can apply to have the Tier 1 visa extended if you are one of the following: a highly skilled migrant worked, already on a highly skilled migrant programmer looking to be transferred to Tier 1. A writer, composer or artist, self employed lawyer or come under the Tier 1 General category. In order to meet the Tier 1 visa requirements you must obtain a set number of points. The point system is devised of different categories and you will have to gain a number of points in each one.

The point system

The points system is broken down into the following categories: age, qualification, previous earnings and experience in the UK. You will also be asked about your English language ability and if you have enough money to support yourself whilst in the UK.  The points based calculator will then reveal the possible point you might have scored.  Points are based on the meeting requirements of each section.

You must have a minimum total point score of 95 to continuing staying in the UK under a Tier 1 visa. You will need a total point score of 100 to be eligible for another visa type. When applying for a visa, you will need to provide all the important documents asked of you and in the right format.

Get a job in London fast

Once you’ve got your visa sorted and permission granted you’re on your way to landing that London job- all you need to do now is find it!

One of the first things to think about when looking for jobs is knowing where to look, exactly what you want to do or what kind of industry you would like to get involved. If you are not fussy about the work you do then you could find a job a lot faster. Either way, opportunities are out there and all you have to do is grab them. This could mean going the extra mile and being prepared to take on almost any role, not being afraid to ask about vacancies or sell yourself to potential employers.

There are a number of different job boards, recruitment agencies, newspapers, companies and online communities which list vacancies. And, of course, going into local businesses and shops and seeing what work is available also helps.
Before you can apply for a job you will need to brush up your CV and make it relevant to each company you apply for. CV’s are vital and allow employers to see your skills and previous employment record to see if you are a suitable candidate. Your CV or job application will be one of the first points of contact that your potential employee will have so it has to be up-to-date and make a good first impression. Find out how to create the perfect CV here and find tips and hints on writing cover letters here.

Who should I talk to about getting a job in London fast?

Wherever you’re from, whatever your background or level of qualification when it comes down to it, having the right contacts can really make or break your career. This rule still applies if you want to get a job in London fast. One of the best ways of improving your employment search is by simply having a contact in the industry or company you want to work for.
One of the best things you could do before leaving your home country is see what contacts you have in the UK or London. Someone you know might be able to put you in touch with someone they know and so eventually you could find a contact that could help propel your career in the city.

Not only that , but by knowing someone in London, they could house you until you find your feet, help point you in the right direction for finding a job or help you get to grips with British culture and life.

What could happen if I can’t find the job I want?

Finding work in the capital city can be very difficult for some. Skilled expats with degrees and qualifications could become frustrated if they cannot find work in the field they are specialist in. Many face taking odd jobs or roles they are over qualified for just to make ends meet which can make living in London extremely difficult, both financially and emotionally.

On the other hand, this can also work out really well. Working a job that isn’t necessarily your dream role could help buy you time to find one you have a passion for. You can also use the time to make new contacts, getting a feel for working life in the city and try something different if you don’t know what career path to take.

I’ve got a job! But what are my legal rights as a foreign employee in the UK?

Congratulations, you’ve secured a job in London! Whilst it can be exciting to know that you’re either on your way to stepping up the career ladder or just found a way to support your London lifestyle,  it is important that you know your employment rights so you’re not being mistreated.

For example, in the UK it is discriminatory to fire someone or even not hire them  because  of their race, age, sex, disability,  sexual orientation,  religious beliefs  or because you work part time. Under the basic statutory rights, by law you have the right to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) if you are over the age of 16.But, people living & working within families such as nannies and au pairs are not entitled to the NMW. Those who are self employed are also not entitled to the NMW, according to the Citizens Advice Bureau.

If you work for an agency the laws are very different and expats could be affected. Under new European rules, the rights temporary agency workers have in the UK increased in 2011. There are an estimated 1.4 million agency workers in the UK and they now have the right to paid holiday, no unlawful deductions from wages, protection under health and safety laws and the same access to shared areas and services other employees get such as access to a canteen, car parking, a workplace crèche or a prayer room, providing the employer offers these.

Armed with these tips and hints youll be sure to get a job in London fast.

Employers in London are increasingly using assessment centres to choose between different candidates. One element becoming more and more common is the group exercise. This can often feel like the scariest part of an entire interview process, because you are being assessed alongside your competition. But you have nothing to worry about if you follow the seven simple steps to success below.

I also recommend checking out these great new2london articles: Interview confidence and Interview preparation

The group exercise can take many forms, from a role-play project to building a tower made out of newspaper. Most likely, your team will be given a role-play with accompanying information and a clear outcome for an imaginary project or decision. Whatever the specific requirements, group exercises tend to share the same features so heres how to excel:

Be a team player

One of the most impressive things you can do in a group exercise is to facilitate others becoming more involved. There are certain boxes that the interviewer will be looking to tick and having a positive influence on your team will be central. A piece of crucial evidence that the interviewer will look for is whether you can bring others into the discussion. An easy way to involve others is to choose the person who has spoken the least after five minutes and give them a chance to contribute by saying something like, Alex, what do you think of that? It is excellent to do this kind of thing throughout the exercise, but doing it just once is a million times better than not doing it at all. The interviewer will then be able to evidence you being a great team player who can bring more out of other people and this helps to show you have leadership potential.

One trick aspect of many group exercises is an evaluation stage that you need to go through afterwards. Some companies will incorporate a debrief into their group exercise, either written or with an assessor, where you discuss your own performance and also the performance of the team. You may even be asked to critique another team members strengths and weaknesses. Remember: be a team player. You must remain very positive about your colleagues here; it is a good idea to suggest at least a couple of positives for every negative that you provide. But the interviewers do want to see that you can identify areas of development in other people and not just yourself because this shows you have the potential to manage others. Your interviewer will be impressed if you can offer sensitive but accurate suggestions of how your fellow interviewees could build on their performance.

Be personable

Be as friendly and positive as possible throughout the interview process, and especially within the group exercise. Make sure that you remember the names of your fellow interviewees because this makes it far easier to build rapport with them. Interviewees will normally be wearing nametags during an assessment centre but it is best to avoid needing to scan these during the actual exercise, when you have enough to concentrate on. If you get a chance to speak to people earlier in the day then do start learning names then; once youre comfortable with the names of your team members it will be far easy to involve them and present yourself as personable within the exercise.

This is an important competency that the group interview is designed to test. Do you sometimes struggle to remember names? Try the following: Alliteration, rhyme and other wordplay can be great ways to remember a name. If Ricky is wearing a red shirt them remember red Ricky and if it is Ted who is wearing one, Red Ted. Linking to a visual like this is also an effective way to jog your memory. Repetition is a brilliant way to remember things. Repeat names back straight away, for instance by saying nice to meet you Paul. If you think you will struggle to recall the name, continue to repeat in your head.

Write down the names of team members down if you are in a meeting. You can do this in the shape of the seating plan to make recall even quicker. Writing aids memory because you are processing the information with a different part of your brain and so giving yourself an extra route to remembering. Presence is also crucial. We often dont remember things because we werent actually listening in the first place. It is easy to get distracted during an interview and worry about what you just said, or how your tie is done up, or how you will approach the next task. Nothing will help your interview performance more than learning to be in the moment and actually hearing what people are saying. You need to be clear and concise in your contributions during the group exercise. Every unnecessary word is stopping a team-member from making a contribution and so interviewers will not look kindly on waffle.

Open body language, a smile and good eye contact will go a long way to putting your team at ease and impressing the assessors, who want to see that you have the basic social skills necessary to build work relationships. Start smart- Start the task with purpose and you will be confident throughout so think about the kind of contributions you will be able to make early on. Group exercises normally involve dealing with a lot of information within a relatively short space of time, perhaps as little as fifteen or twenty minutes. So whatever the specifics of the project it is a very good idea to clarify the task with the rest of the team (say something like, so to be clear, we are aiming to…) and agree on a basic plan of approach. Your approach might involve generating ideas together first or, more typically, spending a few minutes reading through information and making notes individually before coming together as a group.

Everyone in the group will be looking to make a good first impression, and this kind of purposeful contribution at the start will quickly show some leadership. Equally, dont get carried away if you find yourself in a group of people who are trying to dominate the start of the exercise. If several interviewees are trying to jump in with contributions about how the task should be approached then be the calming voice that mediates between them and suggests a practical decision. People often dread this kind of scenario and yet it is the perfect chance to make a good first impression on the assessors. If your main aim is to help the team get along then you will succeed whatever your fellow interviewees are like.

Take on a role

Another great tip for success in the group exercise is to take on a role within your team. There may be certain roles that are specific to the task, but there are more general ones you can always take on. Timekeeping for the team is effective way to show leadership. Dont just tell the time randomly like a toddler who has just learned to read a watch; remind the group that there are only ten minutes left and they still need to agree on product ideas and come up with a marketing plan. Again, you are helping the team to perform. Note-taking for the group, whether on paper or a whiteboard, is another common way to contribute and appear prominent.

It is very important to realise that some roles carry dangers with them. Taking notes is a good example of this. I was once in a group exercise and took on the note-taking role. I found myself contributing to the discussion less because I was busy writing down notes; fortunately I realised this in time. Ive heard several stories of candidates who made very few contributions in a group because they took on a designated role like note-taking and became distracted by it. This mistake is a common pitfall but should in no way stop you from taking on responsibilities in the team. If you can avoid getting distracted then your multitasking skills will impress the assessors. When done correctly these kinds of roles show that you have initiative and can manage different tasks, which are very valuable skills in any industry.

Offer ideas

In a group exercise it is crucial that you provide ideas and show that you can think creatively. This may seem daunting if you do not consider yourself to be an ideas person but there are lot of ways you can contribute suggestions and take the discussion forward. The interviewers will be impressed if you can think of innovative and creative solutions for your team, but you certainly dont need to reinvent the wheel with zany contributions. Some group exercises will give different information to each candidate or a couple of different sources that dont initially appear connected. In this case being creative will involve making links between the information in a way that someone else in the group has not yet done. If you develop basic commercial awareness by reading the business sections of newspapers, you will come across lots of ideas that might be relevant in a group exercise.

Many corporate assessment centres, within industries ranging from law to consulting, include exercises where you plan a project with your team. Suggestions such as using social media to promote the product are almost always relevant. The interviewers want to see that you can think of sensible ideas and you will be more than capable of that.

Dont be too loud or too quiet

Its great to stand out in a group exercise, but only for the right reasons. You should not be the quietest person in the group. It is probably a good idea not to be the loudest person in the group either. If you are ticking one competency a lot then try to vary your contributions and show other skills. For instance, you may have facilitated others really well but not come up with many of your own suggestions. Or you may have come up with lots of great ideas but not really showed any leadership in structuring the discussion. Balance your contributions and this will allow you to show all of the skills that the interview wants to see. One way to make sure you are ticking all the boxes is to reflect on what kind of contributions you make the most when you are in group discussions, at work or even in your social circle.

Contributions within a group typically fall into the following categories: 1. Making a new suggestion. 2. Supporting someone elses suggestion. 3. Clarifying and summarising. 4. Opposing someone elses suggestion. Which of these do you tend to do the most?

Suggesting new ideas is excellent and we have seen how this can show your creative side. But remember that timing is everything. New ideas need to be relevant to the current strand of discussion otherwise the team can become sidetracked. Suggesting an idea at the right point in the conversation is as important as the idea itself. Supporting someone elses suggestion is a good way to build rapport and it shows the interviewers that you can promote a positive dynamic. But if you do this too often it can appear as if youre not helping to progress the discussion at all. Equally, opposing someone elses idea can be a high-risk, high-reward strategy.

You should not agree with team members simply because you are trying to appear friendly; a company would lose a lot of money if their employees all did this. However you need to be very tactful when disagreeing with your team members. This is typically the type of contribution you want to make the least because it breaks rapport and can appear aggressive. If the interviewers think that your counterpoints were not accurate or relevant then you will lose credibility with them. But opposition can be the most impressive kind of contribution if done respectfully and with a positive demeanour.

Be adaptable

Group exercises often follow very similar formats but there are some key differences that may be included. For instance, one common format is that the company gives each of you different information and a different viewpoint to defend. Think to yourself, why are they doing this? The employer wants to see if you can defend a particular interest whilst still working for the benefit of the team. So stand up for your viewpoint but if there is a more viable alternative then be willing to back down and support it. If you have made your case but the rest of the team is clearly siding with a different idea, then you will gain nothing from pursuing an argument. Remember that group exercises rarely have a right answer, and so it is your ability to work with others that is most important here.

When it comes to your career, productivity is crucial. If you want your dream job you need to be in the top 20% of performers in your company. Being more productive means that you stay ahead of tasks, feel less stressed and have the time to push on and impress your boss. Simply put, with better productivity you become a better employee. Youll make your own life easier but youll also be able to take on more responsibility and accelerate your career (for more on securing your promotion, try reading How To Get A Pay Rise). Some people are born with fantastic organisational skills but many find it much more difficult to pick them up on their own. So what are the main ways you can get more organised and get ahead of the game at work?

Prioritise

The crucial aspect to becoming more organised is learning how to prioritise different tasks as they come along. If you have two tasks and one is far more crucial than the other, you will probably be able to decide which to do first. But if you have several items that need dealing with, and new ones are emerging all the time, it can feel like a desperate juggling act that you are never quite on top of.

To start mastering that act, you need to develop a greater understanding of how to reprioritise as you are working. I always considered myself to be fairly organised but I then stumbled across a book called Getting Things Done by David Allen. This outlined ways to prioritise your workload and it really got me thinking about how I balance different tasks during my working day. I realised that you can make quick decisions in the moment that will save you time later.

Try asking yourself the three questions below and you will start to identify which tasks you need to do right now:

1. How important is your task? If it is incredibly important then obviously this item is a priority.
2. How urgent is your task? If two tasks are pretty much the same, but one is due three days earlier, then you should start with that.
3. How time-consuming is your task? It often makes sense to do quick tasks as they come up because you are more likely to forget about them. It also takes longer to get back into a task than it does to complete something when it is already on your mind.

Get into the habit of doing non-time-consuming tasks, such as emailing an acknowledgement to a colleague, as they come up as this will save you more time than you realise. These small tasks can quickly build up and form a back-log. You want to be known as someone who gets the little things right as much as the big things.

This is because of a well-known psychological trick that we make big assumptions about people based on the little information we have. If someone in a job interview gives a limp handshake (read this great new2london piece for more on interview confidence or get some more useful tips on interview basics) then the interviewer might assume they are weak in all aspects of their career and life. In the same way, if you reply to people quickly even on tasks that are minor, you build their trust disproportionately.

The three indicators above – importance, urgency and size of task – are all obvious enough in themselves; the problem is that we lose a sense for them when trying to balance several tasks at once. Taking the three into account together, you will become better at deciding what to focus on. For instance, if a task will take a while to complete but is neither important nor urgent, it would not be wise to make this your first priority. But if you have a task that is important, urgent and also time-consuming then clearly this should become a key priority. If you then receive an urgent, important task that will take very little time to do then it makes sense to get that out of the way first.

The key is to re-evaluate your priorities as you are given new tasks, so that you are always focusing your time and resources where they are most needed. If we stop to think about what the most sensible way to order our workload is, we can save hours every day. Think about how you could spend that time each day and suddenly the benefits of better organisation become clear.

Organise your space

I used to hate this one, but it is often the least glamorous changes that can be the most effective. You might not have control over the desk you are at, but you can certainly get rid of all that clutter that you dont need. The things on your desk that are within reach should be items that you use often; if not then put them away somewhere more removed. Use your shelves, draws and filing cabinets to prioritise information; the first things you encounter should be the most important.

Once you have de-cluttered and have a filing system, however basic it is, it becomes much easier to keep things tidy. If your papers are in order then you will find that all-important memo and see that post-it-note reminder while it can still help you. Plus you will save a lot of time.

A clear work space is also a great way to build up a perception amongst co-workers that you are organised; if a boss sees an organised desk then they will believe the employee sitting behind it is also organised.

Get out your diary

Using a diary may sound like a no-brainer but many people simply dont do it. A diary or planner is crucial if you want to stay organised. You can use the diary management functions on software like Microsoft Outlook to stay on top of tasks, although having something physical to look at can always be a great way to jog the memory. When I was younger I would find a new diary in my Christmas stocking, only to leave it unused and gathering dust during the year ahead. When I learnt to make a note of all the tasks I needed to complete, my productivity shot through the roof.

Having clear deadlines for yourself will make it much easier to keep track of where you are with various tasks. Youll find that in no time you are shooting ahead with your work and becoming much more successful with your own organisation. Along with your diary or calendar it is useful to create daily to-do lists to tick off, which will let you get that sense of ownership over your day.

If you can sync your calendar with your phone, even better. Then you can add tasks as you remember them, so it wont matter if you leave the office for the weekend with that slight sense that youve forgotten to note down something.

Early deadlines

Not only should you be setting yourself deadlines, these should be pre-emptive and before the real ones wherever possible.

Imagine you have a task due in a week that is not particularly important but might take a bit of time. You might only start considering it the day before, but by this point a much more important task may have reared its ugly head, and this new one is also due the next day. Now you will struggle to get either done, even though initially you didnt miss any deadlines and it didnt seem like you had done anything wrong. You might even find yourself blaming this on bad luck, or passing one of the tasks onto someone else.

The alternative is to take the situation into your own hands. If you set yourself an early deadline, for instance to finish the first task by the end of the week or indeed whenever there is next a lull in your workload, then you wont ever get to the crisis situation described above.

As humans we are very good at working towards deadlines but sometimes we need to free ourselves from this by setting pre-emptive deadlines to ensure that we maximise our time and use it far more efficiently. Avoiding bottle-necks like this means we dont have to chase colleagues down for help at the last moment. And by getting tasks done when we have the chance, we make our work lives less stressful.

Manage expectations

Another crucial way to improve your organisation is to make sure that colleagues are actually aware of your workload. If you realise that a task will take longer than you originally thought then be honest about it. Your colleagues will give you all the work they think you can handle, so be open about how additional tasks could affect ability to meet current deadlines. This gives your manager more of a choice and prepares them for any issues down the line.

As tempting as it is to act like a superhero and take on everything that comes your way, you will be nobodys hero if you fail to meet deadlines further down the road. So if you allow yourself to take on more work than you can do, no-one is really benefitting from this in the medium-term. But if you keep everyone well-communicated about how you are progressing then you are less likely to end up overburdened with work. Being immediately clear about your current priorities when someone is trying to give you a new task will keep everyone informed of the bigger picture. This makes far more sense than waiting until your back is against the wall and blaming missed deadlines on your undoubtedly heavy workload.

Spread the love

This final tip is especially great if you are trying to push on in your career and move into a management role. Think about how you can share your knowledge and skills with those around you. If you are already in a job where you need to manage other workers then it is crucial that you give them the skills to organise themselves. You also need to communicate expected deadlines clearly when you are assigning a task and give workers the opportunities to keep you in the loop with updates. The benefits of sharing your own organisational tips will be doubled because we remember things much better after we have explained them to someone else.

I once taught English to business leaders in Spain, and one of the books we studied together was The Goal by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt. A key idea in here is the theory of constraints. This is the belief that a team is only as strong as its weakest members. I started to see this was true with the actual classes I was teaching. Four of my students might race through a particular topic only for everyone to end up waiting for the fifth student, who had become lost in the new grammar early on. So make sure you identify who is struggling early in a task and give them the skills to improve. Otherwise your whole team will be slowed down.

1) Have a budget

The wealthy invest a good chunk of their income before they can spend the rest. Visualise the long term benefits of budgeting. Of you spend 100% of what you earn every month you will never be rich.

2) Track spending

How much is going out the door and where is that money going? Typically millionaires will know where all the outgoings are.

3) Financial goals

Millionaires will have a defined list of yearly and lifetime goals. The wealthy will have financial targets and timescales to achieve those targets. Eg £1,000,000 in the bank by age 50. The average self-made millionaire spends 20-30 hours per month thinking, studying and planning their finances. Are you currently working in your dream job? – you need to be to maximise your earnings.

4) Stay married

Wealthy people tend to be married and stay married to the same person for life.  Often the couple will share the same values of being frugal. A couple will struggle to accumulate wealth if one partner is a big spender.

5) Don’t drive away money

The most popular car maker among millionaires is surprising; Toyota!  80% of luxury cars are bought by non-millionaires.  Cars depreciate in value the second you drive them out of the showroom. The wealthy have assets not a liabilities. Driving a flash a car and having fancy jewellery may give a temporary high but its effects will wear off.

6) Saving more today means spending more in future

Certainly there is peace of mind from living below your means and having money in the bank. Status related purchases have proven not to improve happiness.  By living within your means and minimising debt means you can save more. But as saving will allow you to pay off your debts faster, in the longer term – your disposable income will rise with less money taken away by debt repayment

7) Believe you have high worth

To earn large sums of money you must believe you are worth large sums. The wealthy believe they deserve to be highly paid. Acquire the skills and experience to be the best at what you do. This will give you the confidence and therefore belief you are worthy of high pay.

8) Get paid on results

Working 9 to 5 on a fixed salary is one of the worst ways to become wealthy. The rich are high performers; they want to be paid according to performance.  That’s why so many of the wealthy are business owners. This allows the high performer to benefit from the results they deliver. Look to for a job with commission or bonuses. This will motivate you to become a high performer and earn more money.

9) You can have it all

The poor have a lack and limitation mindset. They create ‘Either/or’ situations in life. The rich want ‘Both’.  With creative thinking you can have your cake and eat it. Compromising will limit your potential for growth

10) Build passive income

Once you have money saved you need to invest it or inflation will erode it away. Passive income is incredibly powerful as it buys you the most important commodity of all; time. Your time is finite. The less time you spend working for someone else the more time you have free to work on strategies and projects to further your wealth.

11) Constant growth

Invest time and money in your own personal growth. Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. Make a commitment to self mastery. Become an expert in your domain. Never stop learning. Ever. The wealthy are always learning. It’s the only way to stay ahead of the competition. A daily habit of increasing your earning capacity through training and education will add small amounts every day to your income potential.

12) Develop a millionaire mindset

The rich develop the habit of ‘getting rich slow’ as opposed to ‘getting rich quick’.  Rule one: Don’t lose money. Rule two: If ever you feel tempted, refer back to rule one. However risk taking is a necessity to achieve financial freedom. Just ensure you learn from mistakes.

13) Investigate before investing

Fast financial decisions are poor financial decisions. Become a good researcher. People make bad choices with money because they fail to perform proper research. Take financial advice from experts but never believe anything anyone says regarding an investment until you know as much about the investment as the person selling it. The best investments are often the ones you never make at all.

14) Negotiate hard

Never pay the asking price for anything. You make money when you buy an asset not when you sell. If you save 10% – 20% on every big purchase that will add up to a sizeable sum of money over your lifetime.

15) Expect hard work

People who earn over £100,000 a year spend less than a 20% of their time on leisure. Studies show most wealthy people wake 3 hours before their day jobs start to do yet more work.

16) You need to make more not spend less

Being careful with spending will help to accumulate wealth. But don’t be penny wise pound poor. Too many people spend too long trying to shave tiny sums of money off cheap items. Ultimately to be wealthy you need to earn more. Earning greater income is a more powerful builder of capital than saving. Eventually saving will hit a limit. But you have unlimited income generating potential

17) There’s more to wealth than money

Money cant buy you happiness. But its more fun than being poor. What everyone who says they want to be rich really means is they want the freedom, flexibility and security that wealth brings.

18) Develop habits

The simple hidden secret that the wealthy do that the poor do not is the rich develop habits. A habit you must do on a regular basis without fail. Those who struggle do so because they do not develop habits. You need to master consistency. Consistency is sexy or glamorous. But performing those rituals over and over will over time build the bridge from failure to success.

19) Start early

Its no secret some of the wealthiest people were successful early on in their life. Bill Gates created his first computer program at 13 and was a billionaire age 31. Procrastination kills dreams. Every year you accumulate responsibilities. There is never a better time to start your journey to wealth than today.

20) There is no secret to wealth

The secret to being rich is there is no secret to being rich. In summary; Rule 1 – Make more than you spend and invest the difference intelligently. Rule 2 – Develop daily habits that result in wealth accumulation. A daily habit of frugality saves small amounts every day that compound and grow over time.

1) Income is not wealth

High income households tend to have more wealth than low and middle income households. However income explains only approximately 30% of the variation of wealth among households. What matters is how much of the income is invested. Millionaires invest 20% of their income.

2) Planning is key

Those who build spend twice as many hours per month planning their investments as the non wealthy. Successful accumulators of wealth place the management of my assets before any other activities. Are you regularly planning your investments? You need to be. Are you planning your career to find your dream job. You should be.

3) Love your home

Your choice of accommodation and how often you choose a new home will impact your ability to accumulate wealth.  50% of millionaires have lived in the same house for more than 20 years.

If you live in an expensive home, you will spend a large proportion of your income servicing the debt to repay that high mortgage. Typically it is the individual aspiring to be more wealthy than they are by overstretching themselves living in that expensive home. 90% of millionaires live in homes valued below £1 million. In addition millionaires have a mortgage that is less than one-third of the value of their homes.

4) Saving is like having employees

When you have assets you wake up every morning and have the potential to work for you. Each pound you save is like an employee. Over time those employees grow and become their own source of cash. Success will come when you no longer have to sell your time for money and your assets generate wealth for you.

5) Start small

An army is built one soldier at a time. You don’t need £1,000s to get started saving. Do not suffer from ‘Im too poor’ to save mentality. Each £10 saved is a stone towards the foundation of your financial freedom.

6) Take control of your destiny

The future will be today one day. Don’t postpone building financial freedom for tomorrow – start now!  Where you are now is the total of the decisions you have made in the past. Set the stage for your life in the future now.

7) The rich invest

30% of the income of the wealthy go into investments and savings. The wealthy have are not rich because they started rich they are rich because they invested consistently a large proportion of their income.

8) Study the successful

Pick a hero to emulate. Copy the traits you admire and discard the traits you hate. Sometimes we need others to take us by the hand and push us to the next level. By seeing another in the place you want to be it will help you visualize your goals

9) Your family may not have the answers

Our family have a massive impact on our life – especially in those early years. Your mental programming will be dictated early on by your family role models. It can be dangerous to take the advice of those closest to us if those family members have not achieved a level of success in their own lives. Don’t be afraid to break free from the mentality of your family

10) Focus on the journey

Do not be discouraged where you are now. What matters is the commitment you have made to starting the journey to financial freedom. There will be ups and downs. But its better to have a goal and not quite meet it rather than having no goal at all.

11) Avoid credit

If you can eat it or wear it do not put it on a credit card. Use debit cards not credit cards then you will avoid the temptation to spend money you do not have.  If nobody gave you money to borrow you would be better off

12) Start your own business

Easier said than done. But over 66% of millionaires are self employed. Think the wealthy inherit their money? Most millionaires have earned their assets themselves. You can never get rich working for someone else. You need to wake up every morning, look in the mirror and know you are looking at the boss!

13) Keep learning

Charlie Munger referring to Warren Buffet: ‘Warren Buffett has become one hell of a lot better investor since the day I met him, and so have I. If we had been frozen at any given stage, with the knowledge we had, the record would have been much worse than it is. So the game is to keep learning, and I don’t think people are going to keep learning who don’t like the learning process.’

14) Create your future

Wealthy people don’t wait on chance they make things happen by choice. You hold the keys to your destiny. Do not look to others for excuses as to why your are behind on your dreams

15) Play to win

The average person plays the money game to take part. The rich play the money game to win. If you aim to be ‘comfortable’ you will never be rich.  You have to aim to be rich to be rich.

16) Commitment to wealth

Wanting or wishing to be rich is no good. You have to go all in. Commit fully to being rich. You need mental clarity that there is nothing standing in your way of becoming wealthy.

17) Think big

The wealthy think big. Why settle for £3,000 a month income? Why should £30,000 a month not be possible? Change your mindset from seeing obstacles to seeing opportunities.

18) Take risks

Failure in life is caused not by aiming too high and missing it is when we aim to low and hit. You have to take risks to become wealthy. With risks comes failure. But with no failure there can be no success. Winners have the ability to fail and fail again but continue to move forward and never give up on taking risks – until they achieve success.

19) Admire wealth

Poor people see the wealthy and become jealous. Rich people admire wealth. If you associate negative feelings towards money you will never become rich. The wealthy have worked hard and taken risks in life to achieve their goals. That’s worthy of respect not hatred.

20) Self promote

A poor person will be shy and reserved. Most wealthy people are excellent promoters of themselves. They promote their products and ideas with enthusiasm. You need to do the same to become wealthy.