people2people news | September 9, 2010

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Welcome to the people2people news site. It is intended that this site will be used as forum for the sharing of ideas and news about people2people, the jobs market and experiences from our clients and those who are seeking new opportunities. We welcome comments and should you wish to start your own discussion contact: news@people2people.com.au

Will I get a salary increase at my review?

Posted by manda: October 30, 2008

As published in 9 to 5 magazine on 3 November 2008

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Is it Doom, Gloom or an Ongoing Boom?

Posted by Lisa: October 28, 2008

The media is telling us every day that the economy is on a nasty slide into recession. The US financial market is a wreck and governments all over the world are having to stabilise banks and financial institutions. But is it all that bad in Australia?

53.7% have told us that they want to “..wait and see what the market is doing before I consider leaving [my current employer].”

Whilst experienced recruiters have a very good idea of what is happening out there, and what is likely to happen going forward, we thought it was a good idea to find out what candidates are actually thinking and if their motivations have changed.

We surveyed over 4,000 candidates and the results certainly give employers some food for thought.

Firstly, some general results:

49.14% of people who responded to the survey have been in their current role for less than 12 months, and a further 23.28% have only been in their job for 1 - 2 years - a strong representation of people who have changed jobs frequently during the ‘boom’ period

There are some signs that people are getting nervous in the market and that, perhaps most significantly, their motivations when considering a new employer have changed. It is a well documented statistic that a lot of people look for a new job because they simply do not like their current manager. And in a bouyant job market, this is certainly reflected in a candidates ‘reason for leaving’ a job.

But when we asked our candidates what their motivations for looking for a new role were, only 3.16% told us they are looking because they don’t like their manager. Alternatively, 37.89% told us that they are now focused on finding a stable company where they can stay for a long period of time. Given that a high percentage of job seekers have been the long maligned Generation Y - is this perhaps indicating that this generation is getting ready to settle down? Only time will tell, but what we can say is that if people want stability and to be with one company for a long time, we should expect to see fewer job seekers in the Sydney market - not more.

Of those people who are not currently actively looking for a new job, 53.7% have told us that they want to “…wait and see what the market is doing before leaving [my current employer] and a further 22.22% of people do not particularly like their current employer, but are reluctant to leave in the current market. This indicates that candidates who may have been considerably more active 6 - 12 months ago are now more likely to stay where they are.

People are noticing changes in how their employers are operating - 21.43% of respondents have noticed cost cutting measures and a further 17.86% say that budgets have been reviewed and revised downwards. As a result, 24.39% of people are worried that they are not going to get a pay rise this year and a similar amount are concerned that their may be redundancies in their company. But despite the doom and gloom in the media, 36.59% of people who answered our survey told us that they have absolutely no concerns about their job at all - everything is great! In fact:

51.76% of respondents described their employer as being ‘currently stable and seems to be doing OK’

Active job seekers have noticed changes in the job market - 49.45% told us that the number of jobs being advertised has dropped and another 32.97% tell us that whilst they still see jobs being advertised, employers are taking a lot longer to make decisions.

So overall, the results are a bit of a mixed bag. But perhaps we can say:

Companies are not doing as badly as the media wants us to believe
Many people have no real concerns about their job or the stability of their employer; however
Job seekers are now more focused on stability and long term career development
People are less likely to be looking for a new role right now - they want to wait and see what happens
Employers are advertising fewer positions and taking longer to make a decision - perhaps indicating that they too are in ‘wait and see’ mode

Whilst it is early days in the current economic ‘crisis’ employers should still expect to be operating in a candidate ’short’ market and the competition for good people is still going to be fierce.

Lisa Johnson
Manager

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The Talent Has Turned

Posted by Elizabeth: October 24, 2008

‘It’s been a dream of mine to work with this company; I am devastated I’ve missed out on this opportunity.’

Recently my colleague and I found a fantastic candidate for a unique opportunity within a recognised organisation. We scheduled interviews with the client and both parties were happy to proceed. However the candidate had a holiday planned for 5 weeks in between the recruitment process. She was not willing to resign from her current role without the written contract.

The client was very honest and said whilst she was away they were going to continue their search. The candidate was very shocked when she received the news that the client filled the role during this period. She thought that she was worth the wait and was confident they weren’t going to find anyone better.

Unfortunately in today’s market candidates are no longer in the box seat. Employers can pick and choose from a number of immediately available and capable candidates. As recruitment consultants we can negotiate and update the client with the candidate’s expectations but ultimately if you don’t want to miss out on an opportunity you need to be accessible and flexible.

Elizabeth Punshon
Consultant

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How often should I call?

Posted by manda: October 23, 2008

As published in 9 to 5 magazine on 27 October 2008

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More Things that Recruiters Hate About Job Applications

Posted by Lisa: October 22, 2008

7 People who don’t provide appropriate referee details; or worse who invent their referees / references

OK, let me just say that your Dad is not an appropriate referee. He may be if you have worked for him, but even then, a good recruiter would prefer to someone who is not related to you and would ask you to nominate someone else. Your girl friend is also not a good referee – she might like you a whole lot, but a future employer isn’t likely to take what she says seriously.

The best referees are people who have supervised you in a working environment. In the event that you are a school leaver or uni-student with no work experience, then a tutor, teacher or lecturer will be fine. We know that there are situations where it’s just not appropriate to talk to your boss. In those situations, try and find a manager who has had day to day contact with you and who has left the business or perhaps a colleague who has left the business and who is going to be able to provide a reference. Just remember to get their permission to use them as a referee before you start bandying their name about.

As for faked references or fake referees – there is nothing good about these. You are so much better off telling a recruiter up front that you cant get a reference from Company XXX because you had a personality clash with the boss than panicking and getting your mate Tom to pretend to be your boss and to give a made up reference. For a start, providing a misleading reference is a criminal offense. So if your mate Tom tells Company YYY that you are a terrific salesperson with outstanding results in getting new business and Company YYY then employs you and finds out that you couldn’t sell lollies to a two year old, Company YYY can sue Tom for providing misleading information.

8. When people don’t turn up for interview and don’t call to let us know

In our business, we call it the ‘no show’. - the interviewee who never shows up for a meeting with either the consultant or (God forbid) the client. If someone has taken the time to call you and arrange for you to meet with them so that you can find out more about the advertised job and you have agreed to a particular time; it is only common courtesy to call them if you can’t make that appointment.

We all know that things crop up that change your schedule. Changing an appointment time is perfectly reasonable. Taking another job or changing your mind about looking for a job is also perfectly reasonable. But not calling someone and saying “Listen I can’t make the meeting at 12 today because…” is just rude.

And as for interviews booked with the Client / Employer? Never ‘no show’ for a Client. If you are running late or get lost getting there, call the recruiter you are working with straight away and let them know. Most clients are happy to wait 15 – 20 minutes if they know you are on the way. If you take another job and don’t want to attend the interview, let the recruiter know sooner rather than later.

Just remember, the client’s perception of the recruiter can be directly affected by your behaviour. If you don’t show up for an interview and don’t call anyone to let them know you will end up with a disgruntled client and a furious consultant.

9. People who only intend to apply for other jobs so they can manipulate a pay rise or better job with their current employer

An experienced recruiter can usually spot one of these people from a mile off. But we can all be fooled by the person who sits in an interview and vents for 20 minutes as to why they hate their current employer. If you tell us that you are looking for a new job because you are underpaid and there are no career opportunities in your current workplace; we want to believe you. These are genuine reasons for applying for other jobs.

But what is so frustrating is to go through the process and obtain an interview (or worse yet) a job offer for you elsewhere only to discover that you only wanted that interview/job offer so you could negotiate a whopping pay rise with your current boss. The cynics amongst us will tell you that this doesn’t work in the long term anyhow; and that a high percentage of people who take a counter offer from their current employer to stay will still end up leaving within the next 12 months.

Lisa Johnson

Manager

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6. 6. People who outline their career objectives as one thing but apply for a job that is completely different

Posted by Lisa: October 14, 2008

Ok, on with the show! Number six in our list of ten things that recruiters hate about job applications:

The best example I can give you of this is a recent resume sent to one our consultants for a permanent accounts clerk role. In the resume she outlined her career objectives as ‘…developing my hands on experience in the hair and beauty industry.’

To be fair, the candidate could have meant developing hands on accounts experience in the hair and beauty industry – but the obvious interpretation is that this person would really like to be a hair dresser but has applied for an accounts role as she isn’t having any luck in her chosen field.

Changing jobs is great – but you need to ensure that your resume is focused towards where you want to develop your career. So if the candidate here had said “…take my experience in the hair and beauty industry and translate that knowledge in an accounts role…” the consultant may have viewed the application in a more favourable light.

Lisa Johnson
Manager