Why the Recruitment Industry is Finally Getting a Promotion

Why the Recruitment Industry is Finally Getting a Promotion What are the most important developments to have impacted business strategy in the last 10 years? The influence of the Internet on business models? The rise of new and fiercely competitive emerging markets? The end of job-for-life careers? These and more, but there’s one which is only now getting the attention it deserves as business leaders realise it will fundamentally change the way they run their organisations. For decades, HR and recruitment has traditionally not had a seat at the boardroom table, too often remaining a back-office function whose resourcing and role in the company usually came as an afterthought. Times are changing, and fast. For talent leaders in organisations of all sizes across the world, there’s an opportunity there to be grasped. The increasing availability of reliable data and robust analytics has enabled recruiters to speak the same language of numbers as their counterparts in finance, IT, sales and marketing. If your business hasn’t cottoned on to this yet, let me share three  reasons why it should. Strategic talent planning â€" no surprises Recruiters are now able to plot the probability of a particular strategic decision succeeding based on the availability of talent in the market to staff it. Thanks to social media, it’s now possible to identify the right candidate for the right job at the right time from among the global professional population. A business looking to make a decision on which market to expand into can now discover in seconds whether the right skills exist in that market, and in numbers where the chances of recruiting the right talent support market entry. The power of talent branding beyond recruitment Secondly the value of a strong talent brand is immense and, by borrowing the best practices of great marketers, you can have impact beyond talent. Just as social media gives employers new insights to find the right talent, it also hands professionals the ability to find new insights about potential employers. As such, companies are realising that great candidates they don’t yet know, already know them. In this era of increasing transparency, consumers are increasingly making purchasing decisions based on more than the quality of a companys products and services, and are now also interested in the company behind the product, e.g. the mission and vision, culture and values, the way the company sources products, how it gives back to the community. These qualities are now a key part of the companys overall brand equity, bringing the CMO into the talent branding fold, while also putting the recruiter at the centre of building a company’s brand. Competitive talent advantage Lastly, the ability to plot the probability or hiring success can become a competitive advantage in its own right. Whether recruiting for software engineers in Silicon Valley, or drilling engineers in Azerbaijan, companies often find themselves competing to win the same finite talent. This is expensive and time consuming. Access to data about the world’s workforce enables companies to identify pools of talent with the right skills which no one is competing for, simply because they’re not in the ‘right’ geography. As talent flows more easily across borders â€" particularly in markets such as Europe â€" there’s an opportunity for recruiters to focus their efforts on talent pools they can win more easily, creating a potential competitive advantage. There has never been a better time to focus on talent. And it’s not just about plugging short-term skills needs. The CEOs that prioritise their talent function are also equipping their organisation with the right information to make better strategic decisions, giving them a strong competitive advantage for the future; those that don’t, will miss out. Author: Ariel Eckstein is the Managing Director for LinkedIn in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

How to Calculate the Value of Your Gold

How to Calculate the Value of Your Gold Gold bullion is one of the best investments there is. The fact that it is the oldest currency to ever be present until today is enough to make one appreciate the irrevocable value of gold. It’s even more valuable when you know the basics of gold and learn how to deal with them. Whether you’re buying or selling them, having the right amount of knowledge will go a long way in earning profit from your efforts. In this article, we help you determine the value of your gold bullion. Not only will you become wiser when dealing with gold, you’ll be able to get the best deal every time you do an exchange. Before you begin calculating and approaching Melbourne’s trusted gold dealers, you need to know the factors that will be considered in the calculation. Weight Weight is the biggest determinant for the value of a gold bullion. The heavier your gold is, the higher the value. Dealers have different measurements for weighing gold, but the most common is by gram. Others will measure it by pennyweight, milligram, troy ounce, or by kilo. When selling gold bullion bars in Melbourne, make sure it’s weighed by gram as this will get you the most value. So make sure to only go for a dealer that will weigh your gold in gram and not pennyweight. Purity Karat is the term used to measure the amount of gold content in a gold bar. The highest is 24K which is 100% pure gold and has zero traces of other metals. Below is a chart showing the amount of gold each karat has. 24 karat 100% gold 22 karat 91.7 % gold 18 karat 75.0 % gold 14 karat 58.3 % gold 12 karat 50.0 % gold 10 karat 41.7 % gold The lower the karat gets, the lower value your gold will have. Currency Every day, the value of the Australian dollar changes which is dependent on many values that affects the value of gold too such as inflation, interest rates, trade, and economic performance. Gold spot price Gold spot price is simply the current price of gold. This is determined by the most recent average price that is offered by professional traders from around the world. The spot price can change every minute depending on the bid, ask, or fixing price. The bigger your gold is, the more favourable the spot price will be. Now that you know what factors are taken to consideration when calculating the value of gold bullion, it’s time to take a look at the tools that help you calculate the value of your gold bullion. GoldPricOz.com  â€" this site has a free gold price calculator where you can take a look at how much your gold is for. Simply type in the weight, currency, measurement unit, karat and spot price to get the amount. CoinApps.com com â€" this site also offers their own gold bullion melt value calculator where you only need to type in the currency, purity, and spot price per ounce. Remember that these tools simply provide you an estimate and they are not the exact value that is shown in the results as the spot price and currency value can change every day. For the most accurate results, it’s better to visit a professional valuator who can take a look at your gold bullion in person and inspect other factors that make a difference to its value. We hope these tips have helped. What are your thoughts about the current standing of gold in the market? Let us know in the comments. Image Source; Image Source; Image Source

If doing a degree was a job, what would it look like University of Manchester Careers Blog

If doing a degree was a job, what would it look like University of Manchester Careers Blog Often when we speak to graduates  they say they would treat  going to University more like a job if they could have a do over! You arrive at university for the first time, its crazy, exciting and scary and no-one is around to tell you  what to do and when! (Amazing complete freedom! Or is it?) Your ideas of what to expect may be hazy and no one is telling you what is expected of you (beyond attending a few classes), so how do you know if you are getting it right? What is the expected outcome other than a degree? So here it is    Your University job description A successful candidate will have a passion for learning and a clear understanding of their goals and how to achieve them. They will not only achieve a good degree but also benefit the academic and local community during their studies through engagement with extracurricular activities and work experience. Role description Attend lectures and seminars as required by academic schools. Participate in opportunities to work in groups and present to peers. Engage with and help to improve your local community through volunteering where available. Ensure fees are paid, top up funds using  available part-time or vacation jobs and internships. Improve the student experience and your own through participating in societies. Gain a range of employability skills via extracurricular and work related experiences. Engage with peers and academic staff to contribute to and give feedback on the academic experience. Identify opportunities to explore career options. Use ICT and social networking tools to own advantage. Identify and promote personal brand. Person specification Enthusiastic about gaining skills and open to new experiences. Inquisitive â€" must be prepared to seek out and research opportunities as they arise. Communicative â€" must be willing and able to network with stakeholders at all levels, employers, academics peers. Resilient â€" must be prepared to learn from experiences and able to adjust behaviours and attitudes accordingly. Self-starter â€" must be able to motivate self and others under pressure. Able to work to tight deadlines and able to multitask in an ever changing environment. Knowledge experience Good understanding of self and motivating factors. Understanding of skills gained through education and extracurricular activities. Thorough research in the areas of career aspiration using traditional and new media and personal connections. Previous learning experiences including A-levels or equivalent, as required by individual degree or graduate  programme. So now you know some of the expectations, are you ready to meet them? All Undergraduate Undergraduate-highlighted employability First year students Getting started Internships job hunting job market networking Options skills summer internships Volunteering work experience

Top 5 Reasons Why You Didnt Get the Job

Top 5 Reasons Why You Didnt Get the Job People often ask me what am I doing wrong in a job interview? They’ve sent out fifty resumes, they’ve landed ten or so interviews, yet they’ve missed out on the job. This strike rate says to me that this person’s resume is working for them to a reasonable extent, so it probably does come down to a few things. Here are some reasons you may not be offered the job. 1) Too many people at the one job interview. This is pretty much market dynamics and not a lot you can do about it at the time, although you should be thinking strategically about how you can stand out, whether that be by upgrading your skills, doing some thorough research prior to the interview or by really focusing on the value you can add to the job. 2) The job has been withdrawn. This happens more often than you think. Sometimes employers will interview just to test the waters. They may not tell you this. After the interview they may fill the job internally, restructure the organization or outsource the role. 3) You may threaten or intimidate the interviewer. This can happen. You may have more experience than the person who interviews you. We all have egos, and the interviewer may be questioning how well they will manage you on the job. They may also ask whether you will want their job, or how long you will actually last in the job. 4) The job does not exist. One of my clients recently had a recruitment consultant interview her over the phone. They offered to forward her resume along with two others. She waited 10 days and rang the consultancy again. Her first consultant had left, but the replacement said she would follow up with the client. Four days later and still my client had heard no answer, so she rang the employer client directly and asked about the job. The employer had not formally given the job to the agency. The agency were responding to an advertisement. This is the topic of a whole other blog post, but be warned, it does happen. 5) You don’t interview well. Here’s where it gets tricky. There are many things people do that will see them eliminated in a job interview. I’ve covered some of these in this post, on job interview nerves. It may be that you don’t answer questions, you talk over the top of your interviewer, you give the wrong information, you talk too much or you talk too little. In other words, many many things. A lot of what I have just said comes down to communication skills. Different from “hard” technical skills, how effective you are as a communicator is hard for you to gauge. With software skills, for example, you know when you have them. How well you communicate can come down to how “self aware” you are. The reason this is hard for you to pick personally, is you can only really see your success as a communicator reflected in others. Have I just confused you? Stay with me on this. I’m about to explain what I mean. Other people are good at hiding their reactions to what you say and how you say it. Lots of people, especially interviewers, are good at looking like they are listening, when they’re not. In work or in your personal life, few people will be really honest with you, if you do something routinely to annoy them in the way that you communicate. It can also be confronting for the other person to say how you make them feel, as in a sense they are bringing up unpleasant aspects of your personality. Often you may never hear the truly honest feedback you need, as deliverer may sugar coat it. Or you simply shoot the messenger who gives you bad news about how you come across. If you want to improve your job interview skills, I suggest you do an audit. How do you really know that you are a good communicator? Ask yourself is it me or is it you? See also: 10 Classic Job Interview Blunders You Must Avoid. Image: Shutterstock

Creative Writing Publications - How to Prepare a Creative Writing Publication Resume

Creative Writing Publications - How to Prepare a Creative Writing Publication ResumeWhen you begin to prepare your resume for an online creative writing publication, there are a few key things that you should keep in mind. While the resume is only one part of the resume, it is one that needs to be a well-organized and focused document. If you have the proper mindset when it comes to your resume, it will be easy to construct one that has an impressive resume for the writing industry.When you are preparing your resume, you should always keep in mind that your resume is not the only piece of information that will be needed. All the other information will need to be supplied by your potential employer as well. You will need to have a few pieces of information for the resume to work. First, you should be able to provide a brief description of yourself in relation to the position that you are applying for.While the resume is a great way to get your resume to the employers, it is not the on ly thing that will be needed to create the perfect writing job. You will need to have completed a short writing sample from one of the leading writing magazines or publishing houses. It does not need to be a traditional writing sample; you may find that you will have plenty of options available for that.Once you have done this, you will need to make sure that you have all of the current industry buzzwords and buzz phrases that are floating around. Having your own personal description for yourself on these terms can make a big difference to your overall resume. While you are preparing your resume, it is best to remember that it will be one that is going to be read and not read instantly.By having a resume that will be read slowly, you will be able to write something that is grammatically correct and clear. This will also allow you to present your previous experience and expertise in a manner that will be easily understandable by your potential employer. In order to have a quality res ume, it will be important that you have the ability to write a general resume and outline to go along with it.Writing an outline for an online creativity publication resume is a very important step to making sure that you have the education and experience that you need for your potential employer. The reason why this is so important is that your CV should be part of the package that you are sending to a prospective employer. Even if they are hiring someone from within your own company, you should still include your skills and education when you are preparing your creative writing publication resume.When you are thinking about how to make your resume look professional, make sure that you have access to a computer that is approved by your employer for doing writing jobs on. You may be asked to send your resume to your boss after you have been hired for the writing job. Your computer is going to be one of the first places that the person from your company is going to check out to make sure that you have all of the skills that you need for the writing job.If your resume is not professionally written, the potential employer is not going to be impressed with it and you are not going to get the job for the writing job that you want. There are many things that you can do when you are preparing your resume. All of them can make a big difference to the final product.

Advice for First Time Managers on the Job

Advice for First Time Managers on the Job Jennifer King, HR Analyst for Software Advice, wrote a great blog on advice for individual contributors recently promoted into a people management role. Her blog is well-researched and I feel there are some important insights in her post for both managers as well as non-managers. Discuss Career Goals with your Manager King’s first point recommends that managers get to know those they manage in new and different ways. We often coach our clients who are not in managerial roles how they can help their manager in this process. We advocate that the employees make sure they are having career goals conversations with their manager as their manager is someone who may be able to help them in their career. I’m glad to see King is advocating it from the manager’s side as well. We also tell our non-managerial clients that a great item to discuss during the initial meetings with your manager are: Your communication style (i.e. how you prefer to be communicated with) The level and type of recognition they prefer (i.e. a note of thanks, the preferred employee parking spot, etc) Managers should also let the employees know how they like to be communicated with. Managers and those they manage can come up with clear expectations of communication preferences that will make it much easier to work together. Managers will need to spend a lot of time upfront learning from their team members, but it will pay dividends in the end. Work with High-Performers Too King’s second point is for managers to learn to see their work through others. This advice can help managers reach new levels through their high performers. Oftentimes, new managers spend more time with performers not meeting expectations. However, spending time with the high-performers and helping them reach new heights,will not only help the employee improve but may also allow the manager to see even more results from her team. Managers do need to spend time with all their employees, but too often, the squeaky wheel gets most of the grease. Spending some concentrated time with high-performers also can lead to great dividends for all involved. The Management Style You Shouldnt Choose The last point we will speak to is developing your own style. We agree that each manager needs to have her own style. One tip we give to our clients who are moving into managerial roles is to think about the managers they didn’t like working for. What about their style bothered you? How can you change that? Another important consideration when creating your own style is to learn how individual members of your team need to be managed. How do you need to tweak your style to help ensure the success of your team? Not every employee is cut out to move into a people management role. Many don’t want that type of responsibility and others learn pretty quickly that they enjoy being an individual contributor. A manager can have a big impact on projects as well as individual’s lives, both positively and negatively. Reading King’s blog will help new managers put this new challenge into perspective and learn what they can do to make it a successful transition.

15 Tips To Help You Succeed In Your Next Job Interview

15 Tips To Help You Succeed In Your Next Job Interview 15 Tips To Help You Succeed In Your Next Job Interview Job Interviews / Job Transition Job interviews are nerve-racking to say the least. In many cases, this is the first “personal” connection you’ll have with someone at the company. Your resume got you in the door. Now it’s up to you to show them your best self. Here are 15 tips to help you make the most of your next job interview. You’ll notice that half of them involve planning in advance. Before the Interview Plan more than enough time to get to in-person job interviews. Visit the location a day or two in advance to eliminate surprises. Use a landline whenever possible during phone interviews. If you must use your cell test the connection before your scheduled interview. If you are taking a phone interview at your office find a quiet, out-of-the-way place. Avoid the rest room, hallway, or stairs where someone from your office is likely to see you. Research the company in advance. Read through their website, it may give you come insight into the company culture. Review the company’s social media presence. What do they post? If there any interaction or just automatic posting? Research the people you’ll be interviewing with in advance. Many organizations have information on staff members. Take the time to look them up on LinkedIn too. Prepare answers to the most commonly asked interview questions like “Tell me about yourself” and “Tell me about a time when you made a mistake” and “What is your greatest weakness?” Have a few questions ready for when the interviewer asks “Do you have any questions?” The advance research you’ve done will help with this. During the Interview Be nice to everyone you meet during the interview process. It’s not uncommon for the admin to be asked what he/she thought about you. Have a firm handshake. Somewhere between the “limp fish” and “grip of death.” Maintain eye contact with the interviewer. If you’re not comfortable making eye contact practice with a friend. Avoid fidgeting during job interviews. That includes glancing at your phone, looking out the window, playing with jewelry, etc. Interviewers do notice. Ask everyone you meet with for a business card so you will have their contact information and the correct spelling of their name. After the Interview Send a thank you email within 24-hours of your interview. Follow up with a thank you note to really stand out. Use your thank you to continue to sell yourself. Provide a possible solution to a problem discussed during the interview or give them a preview of your 90 day plan. Bonus tip: Calm jangled nerves before the interview with deep breathing or confidence-boosting exercises like the Superman stance.