Monthly Archives: January 2019

Five simple steps to make 2019 your year!

Posted on January 30, 2019 by Amanda Robar — No Comments ↓

We are one month down in 2019, and I (like most) am striving to achieve my new year’s resolutions. Sounds simple in theory, however lately I’ve found myself experiencing a lack of oomph. Whatever the cause may be, I want to nip it in the bud and reclaim my enthusiasm!

Below I have reflected on five surefire ways to turn up the dial on your motivation:

  1. What are your goals and why?  Understand what you are trying to achieve and why. Once you have a clear understanding of your goals, set little reminders to keep you on track – this could be a symbol, a quote, a photo etc. 
  2. Breakdown your goals. Do you ever feel overwhelmed looking at the mountain of tasks sitting in front of you? Break down the goal into smaller manageable steps! This may free your mind to focus on the task at hand.
  3. Preserve a positive outlook. This can have an immense impact on your motivation levels. You can’t always control external events, however you do have some control/responsibility of your head space. So try your best to reframe any negative thoughts into positive ones.
  4. Surround yourself with motivated people and look to them for inspiration – not competition!
  5. Get started! Sometimes it is just a matter of taking the first step to activate the flow.

What’s are some of your tips to stay motivated this year in your world @work?

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Posted in Business Support, The world @work

Australians all…

Posted on January 22, 2019 by Anita Ziemer — No Comments ↓

I was in the office on a regular Tuesday afternoon back in August 2017, when a colleague of mine put down the phone, dropped her head and started to cry. The slightly grey Melbourne skies outside the office windows made the moment feel ominous. Catching her breath, and wiping away the tears less than half a minute later, the words of relief splashed out, “My Visa has come through!” She stood up, “I must take a walk outside to take this in.”  

Becoming Australian has a particular cachet attached; demand for residency far outstrips the allocation of 190,000 places available annually. And this continues in spite of our complaining about the painful political backdrop, a deteriorating civil society, the rise of drugs, explosion in mental illness and the decline in education. Still, relative to other countries, we’re a very lucky country.

What does it mean to be Australian, as we approach Australia Day? Every fourth Australian was actually born overseas, only one in every two of us have both parents born in Australia, and one in thirty five people, 3.5% identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. 

On the 26 January 1788, the First Fleet sailed into Port Jackson to establish a British Colony. With scant regard for the inviolable life of the original inhabitants, the small percentage now of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders resembles a slow motion scene of carnage filmed as a silent movie over the last 240 years. 

Is it any wonder then that celebrating Australia Day on 26 January will never be a party that everyone wants to attend? For those who do want to celebrate our good fortune to live in Australia, rather than in any of the 100 countries lead by despot leaders, brutalised by war or brutalising factions of its citizens, we have a lot to be grateful for and to celebrate.

Next week at work we’ll be spending an hour together, celebrating our own united nations, the heritage that makes up the people in our Australian business: Albanian, Canadian, Chinese, Croatian, French, German, Greek, Indian, Italian, Moroccan and the UK. And we’ll toast the original owners of this land, who for 60,000 years cared for our country and built the rich culture which we’ve too late come to acknowledge and respect.

What does Australia Day mean for you, and your world @work?

Featured image from the series “Undiscovered” by Michael Cook: michaelcook.net.au

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Posted in Interchange Bench, The world @work

Don’t call me maybe, call me now!!!

Posted on January 16, 2019 by Nora Farhane — No Comments ↓

It’s out there on social, online, for the whole world to see, but surprisingly only a handful of people call my direct phone number. If only they knew how much difference a phone call can make!

“Hey, I just met you…”

I recently placed a candidate in his first professional job, and it’s a fantastic role with a promising career. Having only just completed his studies, with no industry experience, you can imagine the challenge for him to get a foot in the door in the corporate sector, where graduates are competing with experienced candidates, as well as each other, at this time of year.

“…and this is crazy”

Applying for a graduate position in Food Science when you’ve studied Finance is daring. If this guy had simply responded to the role I had advertised, his application probably wouldn’t have stood out amongst others that were a closer to match to the ideal educational background and technical knowledge for that position.

But he went a step further, introducing himself via email with a note to follow-up on his application. No stalking required, I’m like a real estate agent – my email address (and photograph) is all over our website, LinkedIn, below this article – you get the picture. People aren’t hard to track down these days. I responded by thanking him for the contact and letting him know that I would be reviewing his application within the next few days.

“But here’s my number, so call me maybe.”

A couple of days later, this same candidate did in fact call me; his phone manners, his attitude, his energy, were remarkable. Unfortunately he hadn’t progressed to interview for the graduate job he applied for – it’s disappointing for me too when a candidate with good potential is unsuccessful. Nevertheless he politely thanked me for my time and asked me to keep him in mind if anything else suitable should come up.

I did. And a couple of weeks later, when I was considering suitable applicants for another graduate job with a different organisation, I thought of him immediately. Why did I remember of him? Not for his resume, even though I had thoroughly screened it. It was the phone call.

Long story short… the candidate was successful, started work last month, loves his new job and the company I placed him with agrees he has a promising career.

So my advice, when you see a phone number on a job add, take the opportunity to stand out and grab the phone. Introduce yourself with enthusiasm and energy and most importantly have a smart question to ask. Maybe that’s not so crazy, after all.

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Posted in Business Support, The world @work

Putting your trust in strangers

Posted on January 9, 2019 by Kylie Rutherfoord — No Comments ↓

Trust (noun) firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something; (verb) to believe that someone is good and honest and will not harm you, or that something is safe and reliable.

Does it ever cross your mind when you are ordering lunch that it may not be made with the freshest ingredients, or that the strictest hygiene may not be observed behind the kitchen doors? I suppose it depends where you buy your lunch, but generally you don’t question these things unless you see a warning sign… is that a cockroach scurrying around to its next hiding place?!

We put trust in people in both our personal and work lives – sometimes without realising that we are doing it.

It may come as no surprise that the following professions were the most trusted in a 2017 Roy Morgan survey: Nurses, Doctors, Pharmacists, Dentists, School Teachers and Engineers. We put trust in these professions because our health, education and city’s infrastructure depend upon them, and all are very important to us.

Individually we may rate them well, but collectively and of concern, the least trusted professionals work in Car Sales, Advertising, Real Estate, Insurance and Politics.

Why should we be concerned? Well, think about what these professions represent – some of the biggest purchases you make – a house, car, insurance, home/personal loans, and our democracy and general amenity. It’s unfortunate that the reputations of some professionals have been tainted by others in their industries, and typically it’s been tough for those who are reputable to change public perception. The big banks and aged care operators will have some tough PR challenges to overcome well after the Royal Commissions are done.  

And where do recruiters sit on the continuum of most to least trusted?

Recruitment is an industry which has no technical barriers to entry. After 12 years in recruitment, working across New Zealand, Japan and Australia, I’ve seen a broad array of styles, commitment to service, due diligence and adherence to process within our industry.

As employees or employers, career moves and hiring new team members are big decisions. You’ll need information about the job market, someone to help you design a robust recruitment process, guide you through the legal requirements, make an independent assessment of your shortlisted candidates, or job offers, and assist with final negotiations and onboarding once you have made, or have been made an offer. HR Business Partners and Recruitment Consultants (whether internal or external) are those trusted advisors.

It’s in our nature to trust each other, but you usually only get one shot at it. At Slade Group we are experienced consultants who have either been working in recruitment for a number of years or we have gained consulting experience from the industries we recruit in, often both. Every day we ask clients and candidates to trust us, and we don’t take that trust lightly. No matter what it is in life, don’t let one person ruin your experience or the reputation of that profession, brand or service.

Who do you most trust?

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Posted in Slade Executive, The world @work