The phone rings and it is a business wanting to know who we have ‘on our books’.

Recruitment Company: Sure thing, of course we can help you but before we send you resumes can we find out a little bit more about the role and the type of person you are looking for.

Client: I’m sorry, but I really need someone to start urgently. I’ll just send you a position description and you can send me the resumes of people you already have on your database.

Recruitment Company: We want to source the best possible person for your business and there are options available to do this, can I take you through these options?

Client: Just send your terms through with the resumes and we’ll take a look later. I just need your resumes quickly because I’ve gone through my list alphabetically and as you’re ‘S’ (for safety), you’re already a day behind some of the other agencies.

Anyone who has been in the recruitment industry long enough, will identify with this scenario. The ‘quick and the dead’ approach has been the preferred method of a number of agencies operating in the industry for many years and over time this method of recruitment has devalued the whole recruitment industry. Unfortunately many businesses now see this as a valid option. Does it work? Sometimes you get lucky.

But ‘luck’ shouldn’t come in to a quality process. A thorough and quality recruitment process will result in more chance of retaining the right person for your business. There are options available that pay more respect to your new future employee and provide a much better end result for everyone involved. So what are all the options available?

CONTINGENT RECRUITMENT

The contingent model or non-exclusive recruitment is the ‘quick and the dead’ option. When you engage a recruitment company through this model, it enviably means that multiple providers are working on the role at the same time. The recruitment company only receives a fee if they successfully fill the role. Sounds great right? Not necessarily, because the whole process is focused on speed. The consultant does not have time to explore any options other than who is currently available on the database. You have to ask the question would you put your effort into the customer that is paying for your services or not paying?

EXCLUSIVE RECRUITMENT

The exclusive model is where you engage one company to source a candidate for you within a set period, which is generally 4-6 weeks. The client pays a portion of the recruitment fee upfront for the exclusive period, so you now have the recruitment companies’ attention. This model provides benefits to the client in that the overall process is now focussed on sourcing candidates through a thorough search and advertising campaign. This process provides a better quality result in that the consultant has spent time with the client to understand the requirements of the role and get a good understanding of the type of person that would fit the culture of the organisation. Our fee for exclusive recruitment is less than contingent recruitment. More for less.

RETAINED RECRUITMENT

Retained recruitment or sometimes known as executive recruitment is the platinum choice for recruitment services. This is a business partnership where you will get the highest quality results as you now have a dedicated account manager and 100% attention. The recruitment company will feel like an extension of your own business as they work with you to develop a detailed search marketing and advertising plan including an Employer Value Proposition (EVP). The recruitment company can approach top performing passive candidates within their network on your behalf. These people are not actively searching but for the right position may consider new opportunities. This is also a fee for service model with an upfront payment before commencing work, a payment on shortlist and the final payment on successful placement of your new employee.

DO IT YOURSELF (DIY)

If you decide to hire yourself, then make sure you are aware of your legal obligations and responsibilities such as Anti-Discrimination Legislation and the General Protections Legislation of the Fair Work Act. Also consider the time you will need to shortlist potentially 250+ resumes, organise interviews and conduct thorough background checks. You might find in the long run that you haven’t saved any money through DIY when you consider how much time you have put in to the recruitment process and lost momentum on what you do best which is running your business. If your process is too slow then you run the chance of losing candidates along the way.

It is in the recruitment companies best interest to do a good job for both the client and for the candidates they represent. Every business will have different requirements so you should consider all the options before rushing in. Recruitment should be about partnerships and relationships, so it is always good to work with a company that you know and trust to perform a quality process on your behalf.

Are you having trouble passing ‘go’ and securing an interview? You are an interesting person with a story to tell, right? Unfortunately the reality is Hiring Managers are inundated with CV’s from the minute they advertise a role, so they often scan documents for keywords and giveaways as to the candidates overall employability.   Long gone are the days of essay style formats and generic objectives. Short and sharp is the key to passing go and your resume needs to show you are a good match for the job that you are applying for and not a long story of how you got to this point.

Be mindful of personal details: Include essentials such as mobile phone and email address but be tactful in when considering the inclusion of non relevant details such as age, marital status and physical appearance as they do not reflect to your ability to do the job.

Education history with a timeline: When listing your relevant tertiary studies, it is important to omit any subjects or units from your CV, if transcripts are required they will be asked for separately.

Position descriptions with value: When it comes to describing your previous roles, filing papers is not nearly as informative as processing data into an information system. Describe your key value adding activities, keeping it to 3 or 4 lines per employment.

Simplified layout: 1 – 2 pages is the goal. Your resume should be tailored to each role, so make sure to include only relevant work experience. If you lack the graphic design flare, choose a simple template as your base.

Omit the obvious: Use your name as a title and resist the urge to use “CV or resume” as the title. When listing contact details, no need for “Phone:” or “email:” it should be obvious to the recruiter, as should your role responsibilities so refrain from titling “duties” under your position title.

These 5 simple aspects of your resume show great attention to detail and could mean the difference between the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ pile. By focusing the hiring managers’ attention to key points you will provide an easy read.

If you grab their attention within the first 10 seconds, highlight the important and eliminate the irrelevant, you are more likely to retain their attention and increase your chances of gaining an interview.

As human beings, we are programmed to judge from first impressions. According to studies, our opinion of someone is formed within the first 7- 17 seconds. These opinions can be used to your advantage with an understanding of impression management.

Impression management is a term derived in sociology and social psychology, referring to the process by which individuals alter their personality, appearance and information according to the perception of how they want others to perceive them. Using impression management can influence the opinions others have of us, and is particularly useful in the interview setting.

During the interview process there are three main aspects of impression management in which interviewees can portray certain impressions to interviewers. Interviewee’s can control the way they promote themselves in terms of verbal, non-verbal and physical appearance.

The first impression for an interviewer is your appearance. What type of image are you trying to portray? If you want to be perceived as a serious and capable candidate, wear a clean professional suit which makes you feel comfortable and gives you confidence.

During an interview, the verbal cues we give are indicative of the way we conduct ourselves. If we wish to display the qualities of “motivated”, “driven” and “hard worker”, interviewee’s must be perceived as possessing these qualities. Asking questions and responding to questions with confidence are impressions we can convey and control.

Verbal impression management is most effective with behavioural based questions. Confronted with a behavioural question in an interview, this is a great opportunity to clearly articulate your strengths and present yourself in a positive light. Make sure you are being truthful in answering questions and refrain from exaggeration. If you are perceived to harbour skills you do not possess, you are likely to cause more damage than good, hindering your performance as a potential employee.

Nonverbal cues are just as important. With 93% of communication being nonverbal, your body language during an interview is a crucial factor in perception from the employers’ point of view.

Posture, facial expression and eye contact are basic nonverbal cues unconsciously adopted in impression management. Evidence suggests that people who are similar to the interviewer or to others in the organisation are more likely to be hired. The psychology behind impression management can therefore undoubtedly work to the interviewee’s advantage. Mirror what the interviewer is doing, if they are leaning forward, so should you. Creating a perception of similarity and respect can reassure the employer.

Impression management can be an advantageous strategy if you are true to yourself and not intentionally deceptive. Unlocking the potential to influence people’s opinions will enhance your overall employability and help you to develop great interpersonal skills in general.

When we think about a SWOT analysis most people will think about this in a business context, but how many people actually apply this matrix to their own personal life? Whether you’re going for a job interview, thinking about a career change or perhaps looking to start up your own business; a personal SWOT analysis is a great way to better understand yourself, who you are and what you want to achieve.

The SWOT matrix can be used to help advance your career or gain clarity over your career direction by focusing on your strengths, identifying your weaknesses, uncover opportunities you may not have previously considered and manage the threats that may block you from moving forward.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

When considering your strengths and weaknesses it is important to think about them in relation to your current environment and the people around you.

Strengths:

• Do you have a specialist skill, experience, qualification, connections or networks etc. that other people don’t have?
• What do other people see as your strengths?
• What Achievements in your career are you really proud of?
• What values do you believe in that others fail to exhibit?

Identifying your weaknesses will be more confronting but you will be more successful in life if you are aware of your weaknesses and put strategies into place to manage these. This will also help prepare you for the interview question “what area/s do you think you need further development in?”.

Weaknesses:

• Are there things or tasks that you avoid doing because you are not confident in your ability? e.g. public speaking
• What do other people see as your weaknesses?
• Do you have any negative work habits e.g. disorganised, poor time management, tardiness etc.
• Is there a gap in your skills and/or experience preventing you from moving forward or advancing in your career?

After looking at your strengths and weaknesses, have you identified any new opportunities to challenge yourself or areas for improvement that you could work on?

Opportunities:

• What opportunities are open to you?
• Is your industry growing and/or what trends can you take advantage of?
• Can you learn new skills or gain more experience in another area?
• How can you turn your strengths into opportunities?

Threats:

• Are there any obstacles or threats that you currently face at work?
• Is your job changing due to changes in technology or lack of demand?
• Could any of your weaknesses lead to threats?

So why not challenge yourself by drawing up a SWOT matrix and head into the new year with a new frame of mind. You might be surprised what opportunities present themselves that you hadn’t thought about previously.

You have just come out of a job interview which has gone really well. You’re excited about the position because you can see yourself working at a great company with a great team of people.

So what do you do next?

You can sit around and wait, OR you can follow up with the company and thank them for their time and reiterate your interest in the position.

To re-affirm why you are the best individual for the job, following up can help you stand out from the crowd and can reinforce the fact that you’re a strong contender to the hiring manager. It is also a good opportunity to say anything that you may have forgotten to mention in the interview.

Surveys have shown that 15% of managers wouldn’t hire someone who didn’t follow up after their interview and a further 32% have stated that they would think less of a possible candidate who didn’t follow up with them after an interview, clearly highlighting the fact that a post interview follow up is a must.

What is the best way to follow up after an interview?

It is really good if you can get all the names and contact details of the people involved in the interview process. Business cards will have all the contact information you need or prior to the interview ask for the names of the people who you will be meeting with.

We recommend you follow up within 24 hours with a clear and concise thank you email and perhaps even a handwritten note. Reiterate your interest, your skills and anything you may have forgotten to say in the interview.

Don’t forget before you send your follow up email or note, ensure you proof read it as it could have an impact on whether or not you receive another interview and ultimately land your dream job.

Developing Resilience and a Positive Focus

It’s inevitable that we will fall short in achieving our objectives from time to time or be faced with circumstances that are beyond our control. How we view adversity and stress strongly affects how we succeed. There are countless numbers of people around the world that have fallen short and then have gone on to become extremely successful.

The incandescent light bulb was the result of unwavering persistence and determination. Thomas Edison said “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”, which is a pretty amazing outlook. His story is one of amazing strength and fortitude to overcome adversity. Edison never let his ‘failures’ get the better of him and as a result gave the world some of the most amazing inventions of the early 20th century.

Whether you are looking for a new job or perhaps thinking about starting up your own business, we can draw inspiration from Edison and take a look at how developing resilience will help you to keep moving forward towards your dreams and goals. So what is resilience and why is it so important?

Resilience is our ability to adapt and bounce back when things don’t go as planned. Resilient people will acknowledge the situation, learn from their mistakes, and then move forward. They view a difficulty as a challenge to be overcome, not an obstacle that stops the achievement of an objective. Richard Branson is another great example of someone who dared to try something different and along the way has lost more money than most people will earn in their whole life time. This contemporary business leader has never allowed his failures to stop him from trying again and today he is one of the most successful business people of our time.

Whatever their motivation may be, a resilient person is committed to their goals. Commitment isn’t just restricted to their work – they commit to their relationships, their friendships, the causes they care about, and their religious or spiritual beliefs. According to psychologist Susan Kobasa, there are three essential elements to developing resilience:

1. Challenge – Looking at stress as a challenge to be overcome, rather than seeing it as paralysing and overwhelming. Embrace the setback with a positive attitude, address the issue and then do something about it.
2. Commitment – Adopting an active, engaged approach towards life, buoyed up by a sense of purpose. Having purpose motivates a resilient person to actively attempt to influence their surroundings and to persevere even when those attempts don’t appear to be working out.
3. Personal Control –Resilient people spend their time and energy focusing on situations and events that they have control over. Because they put their efforts where they can have the most impact, they feel empowered and confident. Those who spend time worrying about uncontrollable events can often feel overwhelmed, helpless, and powerless to take action.

Having resilience in everything we do is important, but if you’re not naturally a resilient person, here are some ways to help develop your mindset:

• A healthy mind and body will help you cope with challenges in life, so exercise regularly and ensure you get enough sleep.
• Set achievable goals and maintain the momentum to achieve those goals.
• Change your mindset to view set backs as opportunities to learn.
• Practice in positive thinking and picture a positive image of the future – don’t let negative thoughts derail your efforts.
• Maintain perspective and try to keep things in context.
• Practice responding to situations in a calm and positive manner – we all have ‘bad’ days.
• Don’t think of yourself as the victim – focus on changing things you have control over.
• Believe in yourself and your abilities – when you develop confidence and a strong sense of self, you have the strength to keep moving forward, and to take risks.
• Build strong relationships with colleagues and friends, so that you have a support network to fall back on.

During hard times it is important to focus on thinking positively and not give up. Life is full of ups and downs and when you feel like you are in a dark tunnel and you can’t see the light, keep putting one foot in front of the other as the light could be just around the corner. Have the courage to take risks and pursue your dreams.