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Key Selection Criteria: When less is more
Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink, provided me with some fantastic insights about pattern recognition (or ‘thin-slicing’ as it’s referred to in the book) that I wrote about earlier this month. Another excellent part of the book, highly relevant for recruiters, is when Gladwell explores the ‘less is more’ syndrome. Gladwell asserts that in certain circumstances, receiving more information about…
Read MoreThe grass is not greener: Why star recruits rarely shine
If you’re a top biller and you wonder whether the grass might be greener on the other side, the evidence is likely to have you recommit to your current employer. Here’s why: Recently LeadingCompany published a Harvard Business Review article based on detailed research over seven years into the world’s best-performing CEOs. This research produced many revealing…
Read MoreThin-slicing: How Malcolm Gladwell demystified one of my skills
A couple of years ago, I ran a full day’s training for a Sydney recruitment agency. The nine participants, all recruiters with between six months and six years of recruitment experience, were all recruiters unfamiliar to me. I had never met any of them prior to the workshop, nor had I observed them in their…
Read MoreMy worst year ever: 2012 in review
This year has not been an easy one for me. As many of you know, my sister Mary passed away in January this year. Her death from breast cancer was both shocking and devastating. She was not only my sister, she was a daughter, mother, wife and friend to many. I write this on the…
Read MoreHow serious is the recruitment industry about recruiting its own? 2012 update
This time last year I decided to do a bit of research to see how effective various high profile firms in the recruitment industry were at the basics of recruiting their own staff, ie having an effective careers site. I rationalised it thus: Given most job seekers who want to find out about working for…
Read MoreYeah, like … the Army rocks! ADF recruitment 4 Gen Y
One of the biggest recruitment jobs in the country is finding between six and seven thousand able-bodied people to join the Australian Defence Force each year. Four months ago, Defence Minister, Stephen Smith outlined his plan to bring in gender-diversity targets in response to Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick’s report on treatment of women in the…
Read MoreFreelancer: Another way that talent is connecting with opportunity
As regular readers will know, I have frequently written about the ambitions, growth, and success of LinkedIn and consequently, the mixture of threat and opportunity that faces the recruitment industry. Of course, LinkedIn is not the only game-changer that the recruitment industry is confronting. Services-for-hire website, Freelancer and its dynamic founder and CEO, Matt Barrie…
Read MoreCity of Sydney Council PSA ‘win’ equals a loss for most recruiters
Another pointless waste of time concluded last week with the announcement of the 39 recruitment agencies that were ‘successful’ in winning a place on the City of Sydney Council Temporary Staff Recruitment Panel. Industry news service, ShortList, reported that the Council’s process opened in February this year with submissions closing on 13 March 2012. It’s…
Read MoreMick Jagger: Customer Service Champion
Earlier this week, The Rolling Stones made a triumphant return to the world stage with the first of their concerts to mark their 50th anniversary. On Sunday 26 November 2012 at London’s O2 Arena, the legendary band, with some help from ex-band mates Mick Taylor and Bill Wyman, along with Mary J. Blige and Jeff Beck,…
Read More‘Focus on your job, champ, and I’ll focus on mine’
The employment market in Australia is going through a period of mild turbulence, coinciding with the approaching traditional summer holiday period. This combination creates the potential for recruiters to become distracted and lose focus, resulting in substantial drops in activity and results. A few examples of distracted and unfocused consultant activity I’ve heard about recently…
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