Candidate

Council Salaries – how does yours rate/compare?

As recruiters, we talk about salaries. A lot. They are crucial – after all, they are the reason most of us work. In the local government sector, something we encounter all too often is regional councils feeling intimidated by equivalent salaries offered by their metropolitan counterparts for similar roles. However,...

Networking as an Introvert

  So as a recruiter, it’s assumed that we are all extroverted and loud, without a shy bone in our bodies… Do I wish that were the case! I am what you would call an introverted extrovert meaning that when it comes to networking events I can sometimes send myself off into a bit of a tailspin because I may not be able to control the situation or the conversation at all times. Not in a...

5 tips that will guarantee your CV to get noticed

  As a recruiter, I assess people’s suitability for a role by reading their CVs, and we read a lot of them on a daily basis. CVs are such an important currency in the recruitment industry and for your job search process. Consequently, we get asked a lot by people: ‘What makes a good CV?’ or ‘How do I write my CV so I can be more employable?’ The best way to answer this is by slightly...

LinkedIn – The Ugly Truth For Graduates

Being a graduate on LinkedIn is a bit like being an ugly person on Tinder. Most recruiters or HR managers are going to scroll passed your profile with barely a second glance, searching for the more immediately desirable (in recruitment terms = harder to find) senior candidates. So the question is how do you make a recruiter/HR manager pause on your profile and look beyond face value to the...

Previous Experiences of Managing Your Planning Career in Uncertain Times

I must admit to feeling like a bit of a fraud when being asked to present recently to the Young Planning Cohort on “Searching for Work in Strange Times”.  I certainly do not fit into the “young” category anymore, but more than that I’ve been very fortunate in my career to not have been forced to search for work in...

Public Vs Private Sector – Who Would Pay More?

Public Vs Private Sector – Who Would Pay More? Both sides of the public and private sector debate think that the grass is potentially more lucrative on the other side.  Consultancies argue that they are not able to compete with the high levels of starting salaries in local and state government; whereas public sector managers argue that there are limitations of the banding system to...

Work – Life Balance – Not Quite Zen

The “Balance” bit of Work Life Balance has always been a term which has eluded me.  A bit like peoples perfect Instagram shots, my life never quite seems like that.  Companies happily tweeting about great new work/life policies, with this smiling staff adding shots to their LinkedIn of what a great morning coffee their...

Applying from overseas

A combination of lifestyle and a relatively buoyant market compared to some nations, Australia continues to be an attractive proposition for many.  With LinkedIn, on-line job portals, email and Skype.  On the face of it, its never been easier to move Down Under but without a deliberate and strategic approach to your...

Leaving Because of Bad Hygiene?

As a recruiter we spend a large part of our week catching up with candidates.  One of the things that we establish is what’s making them talk to us in the first place, or conversely what’s making them want to leave their current employer. Not trained psychologists, it seemed to us that candidates typically fell into...

Is working in government Utopia?

For those who haven’t seen it, Utopia is an ABC comedy/satire show that follows the day-day goings on of a fictional government department, set up to “deliver big projects”, projects – Sydney-Melbourne Fast Rail, 2nd Sydney Airport and cross city tunnels all get proposed and subsequently botched by a mixture of...