When you've worked your way through several interviews and the employer wants you desperately and will do whatever it takes to get you, you have the upper hand in salary negotiations. This is the time when you can squeeze extra benefits, shorter performance review times, longer or larger benefits on redundancies, car/telephone/health plans and so much more. The old Read More
Survival tips: internal interviews for promotion
Internal Interviews for Promotion: What do you say when they know you so well? Internal interviews can be tricky. You're not a shiny unknown employee, you're a person they know with baggage and imperfections. But with that, you also offer a degree of predicability and the value that comes with knowing the company, the main players and how things work. I spoke Read More
People judge you by the way you communicate
It's wrong to judge people. You know it and I know it. When it comes to searching for a job though, employers and recruiters only have a limited amount of information before them and they need to make a decision to interview on what they see. You could be the most wonderful, talented person on the planet, but you're not going to have an opportunity to demonstrate this, Read More
Communicating in the Job Search
I'll admit it. I really dislike sports. Nothing makes my eyes glaze over more than people talking about it or someone staring mesmerised at the TV watching it. It doesn't matter what sort it is; if it has a ball, a bat, and no plot, I'm an equally opportunity disliker. But, I make it my business to know enough to communicate with people. I don't have to retain that Read More
Resistance to Change: The Enemy of a Successful Job Search Part 2
Last week we followed Richard. A Chief Operating Officer made redundant from his company, Richard is highly talented; a great leader who would be an asset to any company. There was just one thing wrong. Richard was resistant to change. Put simply, he never trusted himself to step outside his comfort zone and frankly, never wanted to, due to his uncompromising beliefs. Read More
Resistance to Change: The Enemy of a Successful Job Search: Part 1
There's nothing like being comfortable. An easy chair, a warm fire, your favourite wine, a great book and the dog snoozing at your feet. Circumstances like job search though, compel you to step outside your comfort zone, and for those who resist change, it can be a bumpy ride. Richard is a Chief Operating Officer for a multinational company. I should say Richard was a Read More
Yawn, It’s Another Dud Cover Letter
7 Happybrook Lane Croydon Vic 3136 Telephone: 8888 7776 Email: John@bigpool.com September 8, 2010 Attention: David Whitehead Recruitment Re: Your Advertised Position Dear Sir or Madam I would like to apply for the position advertised in The Trumpet on September 9th and hereby attach a copy of my resume for your perusal. I am currently an Area Manger for Clothes 'R Read More
Social Media Networking & Your Career: It’s Not Just a Fad
“The Internet? We are not interested in it.” – Bill Gates, 1993 In 1989, we purchased our first home computer. It was around $1800 and even more if we added an item the salesman assured us we couldn't live without... a 10 megabyte hard disk! (Yes I said 10 meg). Hubby was all for it. "It will be so much easier" he said. "You can save your documents on the hard drive." I Read More
Changing Careers: Are you up for it?
Careers can evolve and progress over decades or they can move rapidly---prompted by life-changing circumstances such as retrenchment, a personal revelation, or the ill-health of a family member. If change is being forced upon you or you have decided to take the plunge and follow your "bliss" be prepared to become more agile---in your thinking, in the way you approach your Read More
Qualifying Your References: Are they Champions or Saboteurs?
References can be your greatest asset; they can cite times when you rose to the occasion such as when you solved problems threatening a high-profile project, were sensitive to the fears of staff during organisational change, or when the perfect solution you executed made lost documentation a distant memory. Your references provide the insight into your character, Read More
Going up? The 30-second Elevator Pitch
Dave the job seeker assured me he had prepared this elevator pitch. “Okay!” I said, “Hit me with it”. He began. “I was born in 1969 in Melbourne Australia” he started. I went to school at Box Hill South Primary School until I was 12 or so, and then I became a student at Box Hill High School.” His story continued... ….“So my first job was at fifteen where I Read More
Recruiters: Brick Walls or “Holders of the Secrets”?
Recruiters appear to be at the top of most jobseekers’ hit lists. Most people I have come across are certainly soured by the recruiter/jobseeker relationship, united in their criticisms that search consultants are the impenetrable brick wall to job search success; the self-serving, commission-focused obstructionist front line preventing a love match between the candidate Read More
Career Sabotage: It’s as simple as scratching an itch
From: Jane E. Recruiter, Human Resources Date: Thursday 6 May 2010 12.19pm To: John Smith Subject: Your Application for Job No. 12345 Dear John, Thank you for applying for the position of Operations Manager at XYZ Corporation. (Job No. 12345). Your application was very impressive, however there were other applicants with experience more suited to the Read More
