Everything fits better
with Windmills
Over the last twelve years we have embraced every opportunity to develop an inspirational and diverse portfolio of on and offline resources. Our portfolio consists of a range of stimulating and innovative exercises, audits and interactive sessions suitable for use by individuals or group workshops.
To access some elements of the portfolio, users will enter into a licence arrangement with Windmills – click here to find out more.
Click on the links below to find out more about our portfolio:
A hugely successful programme of on and offline resources which continues to inspire young people to take a fresh approach to being all they can be.
Delivered in schools, colleges and youth organisations, STAR has empowered over 3,000 young people to creatively shape their futures. It has also attracted corporate sponsorship to enable its wider dissemination in the community.
This is a ground-breaking practical guide for students and parents developed in partnership with the Association of Graduate Recruiters. Students enjoy an average of just 1000 days to shape a vision of their future – so advice drawn from more than 300 recruiters and graduates helps focus minds on employability (and fun).
This book will challenge those who want to change someone else's life to start by looking at their own. It explores how individuals can make the most of their volunteering, create 'crazy paving' career pathways using new experiences and, most importantly, leave a lasting legacy for those they have helped. Adopted by volunteer co-ordinators and professionals in higher and further education, The Art of Crazy Paving helps students to reflect on their voluntary work's impact on future employability.
Shopping, a concept often more familiar to students than job searching, provided us with a wonderful framework to introduce ten vital steps that can ensure a successful approach to job ‘shopping’. Now used by universities and colleges across the UK, Job Shopping encourages students to take an enterprising approach to work experience and full-time careers.
A thorough and practical guide offering practical advice on job search, CVs and interviews for individuals at any stage of their career.
Job encourages readers to consider their job search from the employer’s perspective and provides plenty of examples of good and not-so-good practice.
One of our earliest publications – and still one of the most popular. The Art of Building Windmills has evolved, providing a wide range of resources, exercises and programmes for diverse audiences. It empowers and encourages individuals to take control of their careers using creative tactics. Participants, from unemployed graduates to career changers and those in transition, have benefited from innovative career management techniques including The Art of Action Thinking and ME plc.
Our extensive experience shows us that well-designed and informative activities such as card sorts can provide a flexible means of helping individuals and groups to understand complex issues. Providing fresh stimulus to one to one and group activities, the card sorts generate thought, reflection and conversation to take action and greater control of the situation they are in.
Helping individuals discover the skills they love using and are good at (as well as those they would love to lose) is always a rewarding exercise. Our Skills cards help individuals to categorise the seven key families of skills important to perform in any organisation and highlight where their strengths and passions lie.
A set of cards which help individuals to create and prioritise an action plan to take greater levels of ownership and responsibility for their careers. A colour coding system linked to the career tactics in The Art of Building Windmills, allows individuals to develop a personalised approach for their next steps.
An integral component of our Working, Learning, Playing and Giving (WLPG) resource, this card sort allows individuals to understand how they can blend these four dimensions of their lives to clarify and improve the vision of their future. For those seeking a more purposeful work/life balance this effective resource is always seen by users as a great starting point to making a change.
Surely we have all dreamt of winning the ‘the big prize’? These lottery-style cards help individuals identify and prioritise the core values that are important in their lives; whether making money or making a difference, seeking reward and recognition or rest and relaxation. With each lottery ball representing a value, this exercise stimulates one-to-one and group discussions on the career and life implications of their choices.
Lack of meaningful communication is too often a problem in the workplace. Talkabout enhances the quality and content of discussion at performance reviews, helping employers and employees to produce a practical plan for creating a win/win by matching their own skills and motivations to the real needs of their organisation.
A complementary line manager's programme has been designed to add value to this process.
It is easy to assume that today everyone is familiar with the concept of achieving a sensible work/life balance. WLPG shows individuals how to blend their working, learning, playing and giving to create an inspiring future for themselves and their families. It challenges traditional thinking about ring-fencing or balancing different elements of job, career and life and equips individuals with new techniques to create a more flexible portfolio approach.
This simple guide encourages individuals to take a fresh perspective and some time out to look at their life and consider… Why am I here? What has God created me for? What does this mean for me as a Christian today? How can I be more Christ-like in all that I do? Using the playground as a metaphor it helps individuals play their part by finding and fulfilling their unique role and potential in their life as a Christian. Play Your Part is used extensively as a self-help resource within church small groups, community workshops as well as the continued professional and personal development of ministerial and lay staff.
Our newest resource. Seeing your life as days of a week, with each day representing 12 years, can really focus your mind. Imagine being born on Monday morning, reaching 36 on Wednesday evening, celebrating your sixtieth on Friday night and ending up aged 84 on Sunday. By helping you to manage the changes that life can present, it lets you avoid regrets by focusing on mindset, time, roles, and talents and the ways these can be combined to create a more fulfilling life. A champions programme is available to allow organisations, educational institutions and community groups to deliver the programme through bespoke workshops.
This interactive website showcases a range of Windmills resources that help individuals explore where they are in their lives, where they want to be and how to get there. It provides a free opportunity for those people considering career change and transition to identify skills, values, motivations, create an inspiring ‘golden ticket’ to the future and design a personal action plan to move forward.
