Prepping for the Real World

🟣 A self-development guidebook about bravely taking the lead role in designing your extraordinary world.  A powerful tool for young readers who are enduring periods of self-doubt, stagnation or rejection.

Author of Prepping for the Real World : Student and Graduate Success Secrets 

Young, Brilliant & Ready Ltd

Director and Founder

Royal Holloway, University of London

Senior Visiting Lecturer

TED Conferences

🟣 You Have Everything It Takes To Be Your Best | Cel Amade | TEDxSIMSREE (August 2021)

🟣 How To Deal With Rejection And Get What You Want | Cel Amade | TEDxSurreyUniversity (May 2022)

TEDx Speaker

University of Warwick

Warwick Enterprise

TSAKA Limited

Fairplay Consulting

Management Consultant

41% of graduates don’t feel confident entering the workplace, speaking to seniors and are anxious around their ability to achieve their aspirations. I am passionate about changing this because I believe everyone should feel confident, inspired, and empowered to innovate and reach their full potential.

In the past 24 months, I’ve delivered keynotes and presentations in 7 countries. I’ve also published a best-selling book, rocked the TEDx stage (twice!) and grown my YouTube channel to over 14,000 subscribers. All of which I use to empower young people with the personal development tools they need to step into the world of work or business with confidence.
 
As a result of working with me students, graduates & young professionals:
✅ Feel more driven to take proactive steps towards their academic, career & business goals
✅ Have improved self-esteem to show up authentically & feel less isolated
✅ Develop more self-awareness to disempower limiting beliefs and doubts
✅ Create wellbeing habits for personal fulfilment and happiness
✅ Overcome their public speaking fears and use their voice to communicate with impact
✅ Feel more confident in their ability to create their future, regardless of their background, race and gender

I provide Confidence, Mindset & DEI :
🟣 Keynote Presentations
🟣 Group Workshops
🟣 Group Trainings

What My Clients Say:
🗣“The students visibly blossomed in Cel’s presence as she gently yet firmly encouraged them to ‘recognise their inner champions’ and offered them practical advice on ‘realising their potential and manifesting their goals”
 
🗣“Cel delivered the workshops with excellence. She also gave us what we didn’t even know we needed – a safe space to have uplifting and courageous conversations on diversity, equity and inclusion”
 
Bespoke packages are available on request, so please do send me a connection request and a DM.

And in case you’re curious, when I’m not empowering our future leaders, I can be found in the gym or walking in the park to compensate for my love of peri-peri chicken, and I’m often travelling or volunteering as the youngest Advisory Board member of the School of Business and Management at Royal Holloway University.
 
If you're not ready to work with me yet, don't worry! You can grab some of my tips & free resources:
🔗Free stuff: https://celamade.com/designing-your-own-world-guide/

And remember, if you ever wonder, am I welcome here? The answer is YES🙂

Cel Amade

Where are YOU reeeally from?

I speak my mother language like a foreigner. 

📚 I started learning Portuguese in 7th grade and rarely use it in professional contexts these days.

So when I visit my birth city (Maputo), I sound foreign.
My Portuguese accent is very, very far from perfect.

And when I'm in England, I don't sound local either.

💪🏾 What might sound like a disadvantage OR feel like not fitting in for some, is actually my unfair advantage.

🗣️ My foreign accent is a great conversation starter. 
People remember the 1 who sounded a little different...

🌍 Today is International Mother Language Day 

For anyone who grew up between languages, cultures, and places... There's no such thing as a perfect accent. 

Being able to communicate & connect is enough 🫶🏾

What's your mother language?


#InternationalMotherLanguageDay #Multilingual #Career #Communication

Cel Ileva

Speaker | Author | Interactive Workshop Facilitator | University Board Advisor | celamade.com

Have you ever found a job ad & felt like something was just a little…off?

In this video, I'll be sharing 5 things that a job advert might be hiding from you (and how to spot them).

According to a 2024 Robert Half Survey, 43% of managers feel pressure to hire quickly.

And that pressure can lead to “creative” job advertising.

📌 If you spot any of these 5 red flags make sure you:

1️⃣ Seek clarification in a non-confrontational manner. 

2️⃣ Frame your question as a request for more info. 

What other red flags would you add to this list?


#JobSearch #CareerStarters #LinkedInNewsUK #JobSearch #Hiring

I didn’t study tech. I studied people in crisis.

And it taught me 1 skill I’d tell any grad to master for long-term career success: adaptability.

Not go with the flow adaptability.

I mean the ability to read context and adjust how you respond, without losing your judgment.

🔎 Social work trained me to adapt by:
- Asking and assessing before reacting
- Reading the person in their environment
- Meeting people where they are (not where I am)

👣 Adaptability helped me:
- Communicate across cultures & generations
- Lead people with different working styles
- And navigate unwritten workplace rules

Nobody knows what jobs will look like in 10 years.
And the AI tools used today may be outdated in a year. 

So, don't stress about mastering one specific tool. 

📌 Stay relevant long-term by building adaptability:
- Experiment more (before it's required)
- Practice being a learner (on purpose)
- Read the room (before trying to prove a point)

If you had to pick one human skill for career starters in today’s workforce, what would it be, and why?


#EarlyCareers #SkillsOnTheRise #LinkedInNewsUK #FutureOfWork

Dick Dastardly had the fastest car.
Yet he never won a single race.

He was too busy setting traps for everyone else.

When I started writing my book in 2021, I shared early drafts with people who discouraged me from writing.

I believed in my work. So I asked published authors in my accountability group for help instead.

They read my drafts, gave me feedback & launch tips.
They weren't threatened by my progress. 
They were too busy running their own race.

→ In less than a year, I too became a published author.

If you're a career starter, you'll meet people who spend more energy watching your lane than running in theirs.

That's their race to lose.
Yours is to keep moving 🏎️

Have you ever worked with a Dick Dastardly? 


#EarlyCareers #CareerAdvice #FutureOfWork

School taught me 1 of my most valuable career lessons.

Back in primary school, I broke the school record for my age group and qualified for the inter school competition in 1999.

That year taught me 1 career lesson that equipped my younger self to navigate 150 job rejections & secure my 1st full-time job without an interview.

To this day, I still hold tightly to that lesson 🫶🏾

Knowing what you know now, what career lesson would you share with your 21-year old self?


#CareerAdvice #CareerStarter #LinkedInNewsUK #Mindset

Lea 🌈 Turner

If Carlsberg made LinkedIn Trainers | 1-1 & Company Training | Join 470+ solopreneurs & small business owners in my membership community, The HoLT (ask me how)

You've tried communities before but they never live up to the hype, do they? The founder only shows up for calls, the chat is dead or clique-y, they're either women only, or full of d*ck swinging sales bros pitch slapping you into oblivion, and you only get the *good stuff* if you pay for the upsells...and you're left feeling...deflated, womp womp. 

*clears throat, stretches out arms, JAZZ HANDS* until... The HoLT!

We have none of that malarkey. 

No upsells, no tiered memberships, and categorically, absolutely, without question... no knobs. 

"But LEA, what is The HoLT?" I hear you cry. It's an inclusive, vibrant, fun, affordable community of over 500 small business owners, freelancers, side hustlers and employees, coming together for weekly masterclasses from ACTUAL experts, teaching every business skill you could possibly need to improve how YOU do business, from copywriting to confidence building, AI to automation, PR to passive income. 

And unlike other communities, we record every masterclass, add it to the library, and no matter when you join, you get access to ALL of them (currently over 150!)

But there's so much more; weekly community calls for informal networking, content support, tech clinics to tackle your IT nightmares, in-person co-working days, online co-working, wellbeing sessions, LinkedIn clinics... I could go on but I'd ruin your surprise and delight when you join. 

And unlike most founders, I am in The HoLT every single day (in sickness and in health, til death do us part) because I genuinely care about the members, love connecting people, nurturing them and supporting them. 

I was sick of being a lonely solopreneur. I had no one to share my wins & failures with, who'd understand, not judge me, to ask for reliable advice when I needed it without making me feel stupid, to learn with, grow with, and make it fun along the way. So, I created a safe space for others who felt the same. It has grown and evolved over the past 3 years, to become a magical space full of the sorts of people you WANT on your side in business, cheering you on and encouraging you when sh*t gets tough. 

Join the waiting list at The-HoLT.com and be first to find out when our doors re-open.

PS. If communities aren't your *thing* we have The Vault. Access 200+ masterclass recordings with new ones added weekly, for just £20/month, no contract or commitment.

Director

Providing bespoke 1:1 and group LinkedIn training, digital courses and in-person workshops for businesses. 

In the past 24 hours I have been ABSOLUTELY AUDACIOUS, and sent requests for masterclasses to big names I was convinced would say no. 

But they didn't.

Which means I've now secured sessions inside The HoLT from:

Jo Bird, ex-Gymshark personal branding queen with over 100k followers on socials and one of the loveliest humans in business. 

Bob Burg, the nicest man in sales, Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker on Genuine Influence®, Relationship Building, and Referrals and notorious animal lover. 

Sam Browne, conversion copywriter and best selling course creator with over 100k LinkedIn followers. 

CHRIS DO (!!! squeal!!!) personal branding and design LEGEND with MILLIONS of followers across every platform. 

Radiana Mativa, creator of Happiness Programs for Google, Hugo Boss, Adidas and Ikea. 

BE FKN AUDACIOUS. 

Look what can happen! 

This is gonna be a fkn GREAT summer inside The HoLT!

Doors open again in 2 weeks. Hop on the list at https://the-holt.com/

Founder, The HoLT. The community for small business owners & solopreneurs | No knobs allowed 🍆

I’ve been celebrating International Women’s Day by:

Having a lie in with a coffee, because my 10 year old son knows I like one in bed on a Sunday. 

Getting my son to help hoover the car, pick up after the dog, sort the laundry, clear up after brunch, and feed the menagerie of animals. 

Because the best way I know to make the world a better place for the women who come after us, is to raise kind men who willingly share the load. 

To all the women out there carrying more than their fair share, you’re heroes, and I hope you’ll find at least a few moments of peace today 🩷

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Last week I had a meeting. 

It had been rescheduled already. 

The meeting was fine. Next steps were agreed. 

The next day I receive an email from someone else on the team. 

Can we have another meeting to discuss the meeting. 

No we fkn can’t. 

Do corporates really have so many superfluous staff with time to fill that they want meetings about meetings?

Well, I don’t. 

Whatever you need can be discussed by email without needing to clog up my calendar with your ‘clarity’ meetings. 

Just one of many, many reasons I’m grateful I never worked in corporate. 

If I wanted to spend my life jumping through hoops, I’d have joined the fkn circus.

Thank you to the beautiful room of people at The Big Festoon who came to watch me speak today. 

And especially to our HoLT members for being so supportive and encouraging. 

I’m glad it’s over and I can breathe again. 

But I’m glad I did it despite trembling with nerves. 

Soz about the tears x

In every area of my business I’ve always been happy to go my own way, and not try to be like everyone else…except one. 

When speaking on stage alone, I felt like I needed to be polished, structured, slick and practiced. 

I needed to waltz up and down the stage, bringing high energy, humour, and put on a good show. 

Which is why I shied away from it for years. I’d created a massive block in my head because I CAN’T be like that on stage.  That’s not who I am. 

But after a LOT of chats with a LOT of experienced speakers, they reminded me that I don’t have to do it like everyone else does it. 

When people want me on their stages they don’t WANT me to be like everyone else. 

They want me. Just as I am. 

Because WHAT I have to say is far more important than the theatrics surrounding it. 

And so that’s exactly what I’m bringing to 1000 people in the AO Arena on Thursday at The Big Festoon. 

It’ll be me and my dog. On a sofa on the stage. Having an intimate but powerful conversation with the audience. 

Nothing flashy. No gimmicks. 

Just a girl sharing her heart with those willing to listen. 

We all need the reminder sometimes that imitating or comparing ourselves and our abilities to others only ever holds us back. 

Our most valuable assets are the bits of who we are that are unique to us. Lean into them. They’re magic. 

Wish us luck. 

✨ 🩷

I was assalted at my son’s school yesterday. 

There’s a 12” crack across my windscreen that I can’t get repaired til Monday. 

A ‘relaxing’ Mother’s Day started with my cat delivering a giant wood pigeon to my bedroom. 

And then our family day out to the zoo was cut short by torrential rain. 

This week has NOT gone to plan. 

But nothing will dent my good mood today because I’m meeting up with HoLT members for a coworking and networking day in Manchester. 

And thankfully, the coffee will definitely be good. 

As long as the teacher doesn’t make it 😳🤮

You know those people in your life where, when you're with them, you are having way too much fun to remember to take photos?

Well, that's what it's like when I'm with Alex Coward 

Which explains this weird two-headed monster that AI created of us. Anyway...

I have had Alex on speed dial for a while now after meeting her inside The HoLT, and spending way too much time bending her ear about life and business. 

She's the kind of no BS mentor EVERY business owner can benefit from, and DOES when they work with her. 

She has helped countless members inside The HoLT to make sharper decisions, build cleaner strategies, and create momentum that doesn't rely on them pushing harder. 

There's no fluff or filler with Alex. She gets right to the core of your problems, and challenges you with tough questions that when answered, create a clear path forward. 

And she has done this for me on countless occasions over the past year. 

She is one of many, many members I've grown to rely on. 
And she knows she can rely on me, too. 
Because we're more than each other's clients at this point. 
We've grown to become genuine friends. 

So, I apologise for the horrifying photo, but I had to tell you how wonderful she is.
If you're stuck in your business, Alex is a force you need on your side.

And she only has half the heads in person.

We had 𝗦𝗢 𝗠𝗨𝗖𝗛 𝗙𝗨𝗡 on Tuesday evening that we're doing it again!

The amazing Adam Jones, founder of Cinderella Events, hosted an online Murder Mystery for 65 of our HoLT members.

We arrived without knowing what to expect. 
But when we started pouring over the evidence with our teams, we were all immersed in catching the killer.

Members in the community have been raving about how much fun it was. 
That they weren't sure if it would be their kind of event, but they loved it. 

The level of detail was incredible, with actors playing suspects, warrants to submit for access, cyphers to solve to gain more evidence, we interrogated suspects in full costumes with realistic backdrops. 

I've never known anything like it! 

And we enjoyed it so much, members have demanded we do it again. 

But this time... we're having a custom one just for us, at the sad expense of Backdoor Barry 😲

The only way to get involved is to join the community. 

Or, if you're a lover of murder mysteries, get in touch with Adam to host your own - online, or in-person, for corporate events, murder mystery weekends... he does it all, and he can build them entirely customised for your business, brand, or wild idea. 

Wanna find out who killed Barry?

You'll have to join us inside The HoLT, while he's still alive to let you in....

Doors open again very soon www.the-HoLT.com

I'm getting very behind at this.

Trying to keep up with all the new member posts has become impossible over the past few months. 

We've been welcoming new members on an almost daily basis. 

From debt collectors to business mentors. 
Murder mystery creators to marketers. 
Coaches, ops managers, OBMs, personal trainers, industrial cleaners - the variety is endless. 

But the things we all have in common?
We want to grow - personally and professionally.
And we don't want to do it alone.

A huge welcome to DOZENS of our new members. I'll try to tag you all in the comments but please don't hate me if I miss one, it's Sunday and my brain is fried!

(PS. Doors to The HoLT open next week - will I be putting your face in a tiny box on Canva soon? https://the-holt.com/ )

We have just booked our next mastermind and it's all about SALES.

27th April Week 1 - Mindset with the INCREDIBLE Desislava Dobreva. If you are looking to be LIT up with fire and motivation Desi is the absolute BEST in her field. She'll be setting our minds in the right frame before we move on to...

5th May Week 2 - Positioning with ﻿Hannah Walker﻿, who lists clients like Sehrhant (from Selling Manhattan) amongst her clients. She's gonna make sure we've got everything in place so we're ready for...

11th May Week 3 - Sales calls and objection handling with master of sales ﻿Ivy Malik ﻿who will provide all the tools we need, so we are ready for...

18th May Week 3 - Closing the deal with @Richard Moore, who will help us push those clients over the line and money into our bank accounts!

And as always, recordings will be available to anyone who can't make it live.

This is gonna be an UNREAL mastermind with four absolute POWERHOUSES. 

If you're not on the list to join The HoLT yet, we're opening doors again soon so hurry along to https://the-holt.com/ and sign up, and join us for THOUSANDS OF POUNDS WORTH of sales training for just £65 a month (cancel any time).

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The Battle

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