What do think distinguishes Audrey Page & Associates?

“It has been a very personal experience - not like working for some big corporate that doesn't care. It's still very much a family, caring atmosphere – very tailored, very one-on-one.

It's a relationship building approach for the long term, so it's not about, ‘Come in - you've got a quick fix ten-week program,’ or whatever it might be.   It’s about being able to pick up that relationship. You might have changed industries or companies, and you can actually pick up that relationship at a later time.

From there, they offer you a range of services.   I think, to start with, you can be overconfident and think, ‘I don't need this, I can do it all by myself.’ The reality is that for anyone to engage in what they offer, it will help them immensely. 

So, whether it's the group sessions, networking or interview techniques, I'd encourage people to take full advantage. You might feel as though you’re competent or you're skilled, but I think we can all learn something from those events.

It is a genuine feeling from the consultants that they're interested in your success. Some of the guidance is around interview practice and encouraging you to prepare. I guess they're trying to help you get to where you want to get to fairly quickly. 

And also having the opportunity to bounce ideas off the consultants around job opportunities that may come up, because it's really about finding the best job available for you, rather than the first one that comes along.

The inclination when you come out of work like that is you just want to bounce into a new job - I think that's the wrong inclination.

I actually met Audrey again – some ten years later – the other day, and she immediately knew me again. I mean, she probably knew my name floating around, but she knew about me.   We talked about our relationship, and she has that hands-on awareness of what’s going on.

I thought it would be all about getting in there, doing a very quick sort of S.W.A.T. analysis about where I was and where I wanted to go, cranking out the CV, and getting onto the head hunters, the newspaper advertisements and contacts, and so on. 

And I found pretty much the opposite – they’re ready to go at your pace. They let you set the agenda. I found that flexibility has just helped me think more clearly about what I want to do.

What I found to be particularly helpful at Audrey Page were the premises and the availability of the services, and so forth.   I would quite religiously work out of those offices at least four days a week, and I think, notwithstanding that you can get a little bored, it’s a useful discipline to impose upon yourself.

It’s really been beyond my expectations in terms of the assistance. Obviously, they’ve got a process they use for different groups of people. The process in itself has been good, but what I found to be outstanding has been the help from individual consultants, including Audrey herself.”