Recruitment
Rubicor: the incompetence and delusion continues
As hard as it is to believe, things have deteriorated further at Rubicor since I last commented on their performance in late February. On 1 March Rubicor were one of only eleven public companies (out of approximately 2200 listed on the ASX) to have trading in their shares suspended by the ASX for failing to…
Read Morep2p’s Mark Smith: from failed accountant to outstanding CEO
I first met Mark Smith in 1994. I was a consultant in the Temporary Solutions Sydney temp accounting team and Mark has been hired to work on the North Sydney accounting temp desk which was situated in the same office, at Level 12, 275 George Street. Mark had given up his going-nowhere career at Deloitte…
Read MoreArrogant employers inflict more self-harm
Why do generally law-abiding citizens do illegal, stupid and risky things? It’s a question that continues to reverberate inside my head as a watch episodes of National Geographic’s latest reality offering; Airport Security Peru. In each week’s episode another two or three drug mules are caught attempting to smuggle cocaine through Jorge Chavez International Airport…
Read MoreDiscriminatory, hypocritical and narcissistic employers their own worst enemy
It doesn’t take too long before you see yet another article quoting an employer or employer group documenting or lamenting the dearth of skilled or motivated job seekers. The culprits for such a sorry state of affairs are invariably one, or a combination of; the inadequate education and training system, the unrealistic expectations of job…
Read MoreSEEK price rises: you ain’t seen nothing yet
SEEK is a massive player in the local recruitment industry. Their dominance of the job board market in Australia is such that local job boards such as CareerOne/Monster, MyCareer and JobsJobsJobs are no longer competitors of any relevance. SEEK are now facing a different, and altogether more powerful, threat from global companies; Indeed (owned by…
Read MoreResilience: we need less of it, not more
One day in 1998 (when I still had a full head of hair) as I was waiting for a haircut I picked up one of those glossy magazines that are a feature of hairdressing salons the world over. Although the specifics escape me, being an Oxford Street salon it was more Vogue than New Idea.…
Read MoreThree years on: Interview with RCSA CEO, Charles Cameron
Ross: Thanks for accepting the invitation to discuss the past three years as CEO of the RCSA, Charles. Congratulations on making it this far; how are you enjoying the combined challenges of Australia’s political turmoil, a recruitment industry boom and a rec tech explosion? Charles: Hey Ross, thanks for the invitation to share my thoughts…
Read MorePlease donate to my 2019 Mother’s Day Classic fundraising campaign
On 18 January 2012 my sister, Mary, passed away three and a half years after her terminal breast cancer diagnosis. She was one month past her 44th birthday. Her husband, Sam, her son Ned (then 5) and her daughter Lola (then 3) were left devastated, as were all of us who loved Mary, whether as…
Read MoreOut-of-touch Bassat botches Narev announcement
Although I have been in the recruitment industry for just over thirty years there’s always another surprise around the corner. This week Seek Limited announced the appointment of disgraced former Commonwealth Bank (CBA) CEO, Ian Narev, to the dual role of Chief Operating Offer and Asia Pacific & Americas (AP & A) CEO. The timing…
Read MoreThe #1 mistake small recruitment agency owners make (and how to avoid it)
I’ve had many conversations with recruitment agency owners about the experienced recruiter they hired, who seemed great on paper but turned out to be a complete dud. This is a painful occurrence for any recruitment agency owner but it’s especially so for a micro recruitment agency owner (a business with five, or fewer, employees). This…
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