Employment in Australia …..doom and gloom ….. or time to move?

by Richard , updated on November 3, 2020

ANZ, Qantas, Westpac, Australian Airlines, Alcoa, Billabong, Toyota, Pacific Brands, Macquarie Bank, Holden. The recent list of companies shedding jobs, under threat, or closing down seems endless and could easily be viewed as symptomatic of the ill health of the Australian economy.

Should we all now be fearful and anxious about the loss of our jobs or is there more to this picture of doom and gloom that the media and some commentators is busily painting?

Most importantly, what action can or should we take to secure our future employment?

Firstly, let’s take a closer look at the nature of these companies that have experienced substantial job loss. There is a long term downward trend within the Manufacturing industry (Toyota, Holden and Pacific brands) that represents a fundamental shift in Australia’s economic structure rather than a declining economy. The reasons for company closure (Australian Airlines, Billabong) are often complex and may have little to do with overall economic health. It has also recently been asserted that the much publicised job cuts amongst Australia’s banking sector is reflective of a drive to maintain profit levels that are unsustainable in today’s market and that the job cuts risk longer term profitability.

But do these job losses truly reflect the state of Australia’s economy? There is no doubt that certain sectors are doing it tough however the release of January employment statistics from the ABS, indicates a fall in Australia’s unemployment rate resulting from significant jobs growth. The recent Smart Company Blog Post includes data from the Employment Minister Bill Shorten that health services, micro businesses (especially online based), the service sector and businesses well placed to tap into consumer spending pattern changes are leading the employment charge. Several examples of large scale hires in construction and IT were quoted and mention made of Wesfarmers plans to boost its workforce in 2012.

Following the GFC, jobs growth has been strong. All states have experienced jobs growth. The highest percentage growth has been in WA, NT and QLD however the largest numbers of new jobs have occurred in NSW, VIC and QLD.

It’s important to remember as well that bad news sells papers and increases TV ratings, so there is a disproportionate amount of the gloom reported rather than the boom. We are well advised to take a wider and longer view as well if we are to secure our employment future.

Where will most jobs growth be over the longer term? Well most new jobs will be in a small number of industries. In fact almost 50% will be in Health Care and Social Assistance, Construction and Professional Scientific and Technical Services (specifically Architectural, Engineering and Technical Services, Legal and Accounting).  However all industries (other than Manufacturing) will still experience growth.

It’s vital to appreciate too that the job market and the nature of employment has changed dramatically. Importantly:

–  Technological change, labour market flexibility and economic reform have seen far fewer people in long term full-time employment

–  Part time and casual employment has become the norm for many

–  Alternatively many older workers are now self-employed or are contracting out their services.

So how can you prepare for possible job uncertainty in the future? There are a number of things that can be done.

1. People leaving school now can expect to have at least 9 different careers in their lifetime. It is vital that you also acknowledge and embrace substantial career change as part of your working life.

2. Incorporate flexibility into the structure of your work. You may need to work 2 or 3 part time jobs or look at short term jobs or volunteer work as a way to break into an industry.

3. You may need to be quite entrepreneurial in your approach. Consider getting an ABN and contract yourself out. Karalyn’s interview with a leading entrepreneur provides some useful insights.

4. Research where the jobs are and be prepared to move. There are good job opportunities in Regional Australia with significant job opportunities for skilled workers. The government offers training assistance and provides useful facts and figures about regional job markets.

5. Much growth will be in skilled areas. Look at reskilling yourself with further education. The pace of change both within an industry and in the broader job market means people that constantly update their skills will be the most in demand. There are useful resources available to identify what skilled occupations have shortages.

Finally can I suggest that you read Australian Jobs 2011 as it provides an invaluable resource for those who wish to be well informed about the Australian job markets. Jobs growth for the past 5 years is examined and most importantly it provides a detailed analysis of the future potential of Australia’s 19 industry groupings and regional employment areas. You will also find valuable information regarding training and education.

Job Outlook is also an indispensable tool for facts figures and forecasts of industry and occupation specific jobs growth.

 

 

 

 

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4 Mistakes you can stop right now on Linkedin – by Naishadh Gadani

by K B , updated on November 3, 2020

Morgan Freeman said “with power, comes responsibility.”

This is absolutely true in regards to LinkedIn. LinkedIn is an awesome powerhouse, and is becoming more powerful. But we must exercise a great deal of responsibility while using it for our own advantage.

I have come across some crazy, outrageous and silly mistakes that people make on LinkedIn. I still don’t consider myself a LinkedIn user extraordinaire, but I’ve implemented sound LinkedIn strategies for myself. So I thought I would share a few of my tips and techniques.

To enhance your professional standing and profile on this insanely awesome tool you must avoid following actions:

1. Liking all or many posts I call this the “like-addiction”. When you’re on LinkedIn or Facebook, you don’t have to keep hitting the button “Like” for no reason. Every time you hit the like button it sends a signal to your reader that you approve this post or at the minimum you like what is being said. Before hitting the button think about these questions  “is it relevant my brand or message? Will it enhance my brand image?” Readers don’t want to occupy their LinkedIn dash board space with your random likes. It’s a turn off.

2. Updating irrelevant status update: I think updating status and sharing stories and articles you like is a great feature and needs to be used strategically. If used wisely it will act as catalyst in your brand enhancement. My observation is quite a few people have a compulsive approach to sharing stories of varied nature, from US debt crisis to political crisis in Libya to job search issues around the world to Prince William’s wedding. This just confuses readers of your profile. They may ask “what does this person really stand for?” Why is he or she on LinkedIn? What does he or he want to communicate? Stop before you hit the share button and think if the story/article is on-brand or not.

3. Not customising invites: I will be brutally honest and straight forward in this matter. Do your homework, read the profile and tailor your invite. Let me give you an analogy. While writing wedding invitations for my wedding my Dad wrote the name of the invitee and his family members on each and every invite. This really makes a big difference. Tailoring your invites communicates that you have studied the profile and found a common thread or interest and are interested in building relationships. In past I have spammed lot of people with my invites and learnt this lesson the hard way. As a consequence LinkedIn restricted my ability to send invites to anyone. This is now lifted. Sigh!!!

4. Spamming group members with marketing materials: From the time I wake up and go to bed, I have been asked to buy some product or services “on train, bus, radio, TV, internet, Facebook and many more”. Stop misusing LinkedIn group to spread and bombard readers about your products and services.

There are many more small and not-so-small mistakes that people are currently making and will continue to do on LinkedIn. I know I’ll continue to make a few.

LinkedIn is a great tool for career management. Let’s make the most of it. Happy LinkedIn-working!!!

This guest post is by Naishadh Gadani – you can read his LinkedIn profile here!

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Looking to create a new business? Read these tips from an award winning entrepreneur

by K B , updated on May 11, 2013

With the announcement of mass job cuts in banking jobs this week, there’s no denying there’s lots of bad news around in the employment market.

There’s also no denying that losing your job can be traumatic.

If you’ve lost your job, it’s highly likely that you’ll move through a cycle of grief starting with denial, anger and depression. Your sense of loss can be compounded by the fact that it can be so unexpected. While nobody really still thinks that they have a job for life, people in permanent jobs do have an expectation that they will chose the way their job ends, not the other way around.

Making this situation worse is what’s waiting when people start looking for a new job.

Many people do not realise just how much the employment market has changed. Part-time, casual and temporary jobs and independent employment arrangements have been increasing markedly for the past 50 years. Given the high cost of labour in Australia and the trend towards “offshoring,” it’s highly likely that if you are over 50 and unemployed, you may never work in one full time job again.

All this is a very gloomy way to introduce my next blog guest, and actually someone whom I am very excited to have interviewed. Meet Craig Deveson.

Why am I interviewing Craig?

Craig is a former client of mine and the CEO and Co-Founder of the newly launched Cloudsafe365. Prior to launching this business Craig established and led a business called Devnet to become the first business in the world to secure an exclusive cloud application development partnership with Google. Highly successful, Devnet experienced year-on-year growth of 200% and won multiple business awards including a listing in the BRW Fast 100.

In this economy the entrepreneur or people who are entrepreneurial about their careers will be the survivors. When Craig mentioned he was launching his new business I thought it was a great opportunity to find out what he’s up to and to ask his advice for readers of my blog who may be facing job execution, and wondering if they have what it takes to start a new business.

Here’s a summary of what he told me:

Tell us about Cloudsafe365.

Cloudsafe365 is a simple to use WordPress plug-in that provides automated online backup, security and content protection for websites.

Why do people need it?

With increasing numbers of people using the cloud there is a greater demand for these sorts of services like Cloudsafe365. Website owners want to make content as available as possible. Yet in doing so they make content available to unscrupulous competitors and content stealers. They can readily scrape and use products, parts, price lists and directories.

Why you have established this business in this market?

Having worked in the cloud space with Devnet and Google for the past four years, I’ve seen that cloud is the way of the future. I saw the change take place years ago with people like Google, Amazon and Facebook leading the way.

More and more people are using cloud technology in a trusting basis. In social media platforms they put lots of trust in the cloud. They don’t know how their information is used. There is lots of network security established such as firewalls, but very little application security.

We are working initially with WordPress sites from the single person to the million dollar corporations. There are 60 million WordPress sites in the world.

There is a huge demand and need for this sort of service, as more and more of the world goes to the cloud.

Everyone it seems, has an idea for a business. When you start a business, how do you know if it’s a good idea?

There are two types of businesses – a lifestyle business and a growth business. It is much easier to build a lifestyle business. To build a growth business you need to look for things you can scale, or something that has a unique feature. You might need to be first second or third in a market segment or carve out a niche in a worldwide market.

Questions you need to ask before looking for people and backing include:

Do you need to invest in systems for it to grow, or do you need to incrementally add people to grow. Is there a close relationship between what you do and the income you earn? Is the cost structure not much difference between one customer and 100 customers?

Do you have the ability to minimise operations and marketing costs to achieve high margins?

What do you need to be successful in business?

I had an inherent need inside me to give it a go. I had the confidence to sell and market things and an ability to make customers happy. That’s a good basis to build a business.

Can you learn to be entrepreneurial or is it natural?

It’s both instinct and can be learned. Some people are just great operational people and others build things. You need enough instinct to be a builder. Then you need to be resilient and understand that you will scrape your knees when you fall.

Do you need to fail?

Absolutely.

When you think you have a good idea, establishing that idea will always take much longer than you envision. You have to make a series of mistakes to get the product up. If you get it up too early you will have a major fall in time. Mistakes help you refine your product and your business model.

Consistent learning makes the difference between success and failure.

What have you learned along the way?

By going through danger you learn confidence and survival skills along the way. If you are not in that situation you will never learn survival skills.

Readers of interviewiq.com.au can download a free version of Cloudsafe365 for the WordPress website from cloudsafe365.com

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Blog Spotter Five

by Richard , updated on November 3, 2020

Kool  Kwerky Kwestioning . . . . . we’re found the best of the best for you.

Stephan Wiedner has written a blog packed with useful information on how to Help Yourself By Helping Get Your Friends Jobs First, including some interesting links. Stephan contends that it will help you see things from the employer’s perspective, increase your network of contacts and get you out of your heads pace to give you some much needed perspective. I think he might be onto something! You can follow Stephan and other life coaches on Twitter @noomii.

Who knew 50 cent was providing life and job success advice these days but Brian Batchelder does and passes it on in 50 Cent Wants you to be a Fearless Job Seeker. Some cold hard home truths here some of which you may not want but probably need to hear. You can follow Brian on Twitter @B_Batchelder.

On Jessica Merrell’s Blogging4 Jobs, Raeanne Thorn reminds us in There are no Do-Overs in Life what a negative (and positive) impact our thoughts can have when we’re faced with failure in life and work. She implores us to be alert to opportunity and go for it! You can follow Raeanne on Twitter @ray_anne and Jessica @blogging4jobs.

I know, I know, this blog dates back to 2009 but I’ve included it because I think it answers How to Answer the Weakness Interview Question much better than most! What I like about Scot Herrick’s approach is that he addresses all the common (and in my opinion somewhat dubious) suggestions that your friends and professional recruiters might give you, before he gives some damn good advice on a much better response. You can follow Scot on Twitter @CubeRules.

In The Effectiveness of Relationships, Bonnie Titgemeyer provides a compelling personal example of social media’s career impact when you fully engage with it. Bonnie has also blogged about her 10 day experiment to massively increase her Twitter engagement, so check it out at The Engagement Project. You can follow Bonnie on Twitter @bonnitoronto.


 

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“Funny” Job Candidates and the Recruiters that “go public” with their story

by Richard , updated on November 3, 2020

I know when you read this blog that some of you may accuse me of being either:

1. the Grinch that stole Christmas or,
2. completely humourless or,
3. the original party pooper.

But I’m afraid I have to take that risk because this is something that I feel very passionate about.

Last time I checked, one of the basic tenants of being a Recruitment Consultant or HR Professional was that candidate information (including the candidate assessment process) is strictly confidential.

In fact recruiters when joining a new company will typically be asked to sign a candidate confidentiality agreement.

And yet, I have but to Google “funny candidate interview” and a veritable online tsunami of stories from Recruiters and Human Resources professionals floods my screen.

I can then choose from a smorgasbord of juicy and delicious tidbits that may include quotes from job candidates that the recruiter found amusing, “strange” and “unusual” candidate behaviour or perhaps some left-of-centre resume information.

Interestingly though I don’t often find any whiff of a suggestion that the candidate has been counselled by the recruiter to get them back on the path towards their goals.

The candidate often as not appears to have simply been written off and I suspect has then become an anecdote to be shared around (and far beyond it would seem) the water cooler.

Two questions spring to mind.

1. What message do we think this behaviour sends to our clients (employers and employees)?

2. Does this behaviour promote or undermine our clients’ trust and respect?

I sit here rather nervously awaiting your response.

Blog Spotter Four

by Richard , updated on November 3, 2020

Here’s what I found for you that’s funny, interesting and clever this week in the Careers, HR and Recruitment blogosphere.

For those of you that seem to be hitting brick walls in your job search, Jacob Share and guest author Dave Thomas have some timely advice in 5 Quick Questions to Review Your Job Interview Progress. Sometimes when you’re in the thick of it all it’s hard to see the wood for the trees. Dave’s blog might just help bring the trees into focus for you! You can follow Jacob on Twitter @JacobShare

3 Ways to Deal with Whiny and Complaining Employees is good advice from Mike Rodgers. We’ve all worked with people like this and who knows, if the advice works, you or they may not need to look for a new job? You can follow Mike on Twitter @Secondgleader.

I thought it was time we raised the intellectual tone of this blog. So I’ve done some research through my alumni network and discovered a very enlightening short doco which I believe provides real insight into just how long humans have been conducting job interviews. Take a look at Job Interview Origins.

The one where it’s in the family is another “hitting-a-brick-wall” story but seen from a very different angle. In a heart-felt post Rob Jones questions why he’s hitting a job brick wall and concludes it’s because of other peoples’ limitations.  Make sure you read the comments as well because they’re just as enlightening. You can keep in touch with Rob through his blog.

And finally I love Bringing something to the party . . . just because it’s a personal, from-the-heart post and reminds us that sometimes it’s not what we do or don’t do, but rather what we say to ourselves that holds us back! Wish I could tell you who posted it but she seems to value anonymity.

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