by K B , updated on March 17, 2020
A few days ago I had a meeting with a client who had a background in finance and accounting and who had migrated to Australia.
He was from a non-English speaking country.
It’s been my experience that somewhat more so than other professions, accountants find it hard to get roles in Australia with “no local experience.”
They’re told that our taxation and superannuation rules are among the most complex in the world.
I have also heard that if you move from Australia to work in places like India, that you’ll also be told that “Indian taxation laws are the most complex in the world.”
I could talk about “what gives here?”
But that’s a whole other blog post. [click to continue…]
by K B , updated on March 17, 2020
If you’re getting an interview, but not getting the job, check out this FREE interview skills workshop organised by Naishadh Gadani.
Based in the CBD, Naishadh is the Employment Services Coordinator with Box Hill Tafe.
He has personally coached many individuals to succeed in the tough Australian employment market.
In this 2-hour workshop you will learn how to:
– Prepare for successful interviews
– Answer difficult questions
– Use the power of your body language
– Design and present a portfolio of your work to stand out from the crowd.
Don’t miss the opportunity. [click to continue…]
by K B , updated on March 17, 2020
I saw a wonderful documentary launch recently called Seven Women.
It was about the work of Stephanie Woollard (and her amazing team).
Stephanie began a grass roots development project in Nepal in 2007. She aimed to create change for seven women who were found operating out of a tin shed and enduring harsh discrimination as a result of being disabled.
Stephanie first met these women and invested in training in the hope that gaining a skill would give them a means to earn an income.
The project is funded through the sale of the women’s hand-made products.
They’ve now established four centres in Nepal which have trained and employed over 900 women.
I love hearing these stories about how one person can start a tribe (in Seth Godin’s words), and that all you need to start a tribe is something you’re passionate about changing and a means to share the message to empower other engaged people to take up the idea.
The thing that really got me thinking with the documentary launch were the words of the MC.
She spoke about the idea of asking yourself, what legacy would you like to leave? [click to continue…]
by K B , updated on March 17, 2020
It’s a funny what comes your way when you put your intentions about understanding change out there into the universe in form of a few blog posts.
This came via one of my online buddies Jason Ball, who on top of his day job, is the owner of a business networking group called GoodPeople Japan.
I’ve just read a practical guide to making career change called “Just 5 Rules.”
The author, Mark McClure, has aimed this book at IT professionals, but I think that title sells it short.
It’s full of insightful techniques that can apply to people in any profession.
Mark speaks from the curiosity and experience that has seen him navigate his own career change/transition, including moving countries from Northern Ireland to Japan.
He’s also moved from a successful career from IT into freelance writing.
The 5 rules Mark talks about are not really rules, in that you don’t follow 5 steps to success (sorry) but a set of chapters discussing each idea. [click to continue…]
by K B , updated on March 17, 2020
I’ve been talking about change a lot lately.
I’m trying to understand my behaviour.
I’m also motivated to explore this as I see so many people who are stuck in unhealthy jobs, yet struggle to make a move.
I know many people think successful change needs to be made with a big bold move.
Other people think that to succeed in making change it needs to be fully scoped and planned out, possibly for months ahead.
I think people stop making change because at this point it all seems too hard. Or other things in life take over as they appear more important.
People stop in the planning stage, perhaps trying to minimise the fear through the idea that they can reduce the risk. (This blog post by Change Consultant Sue Webster talks about this.)
There is this idea that to make change, you just need to change one thing to get started. [click to continue…]
by K B , updated on March 17, 2020
From time to time I get called upon to be the “candidate whisperer” when I talk to recruiters and employers about job hunters’ experience.
I actually wish more people would ask me, as I am a little bit over hearing how hard it is to find good talent.
I don’t honestly think there is a real talent shortage in many areas.
I think there are recruitment process deficiencies.
I think there are ill defined role descriptions that have a lot of woolly language and weasel words.
I think often employers do not really identify what it takes to succeed within organisations, or the skills they really require.
I think there’s a funny fixation on years of experience required for a role, yet many organisations will hire people internally into jobs they’ve never done before – based on the fact that this person has demonstrated transferable skills. [click to continue…]
