Posts RSSIntroducing Andrew Rouse
By Anna Whitlam | October 7th, 2009
This week it’s time to meet Andrew (Andy) Rouse, our Lead Consultant within the Marketing Practice in Sydney. Andy arrived in Australia last year from the UK, and started with Market U in March this year. He brings with him almost twenty years’ experience of marketing recruitment experience and he is responsible for building up the marketing side of our business with a particular focus across the Financial Services, FMCG and Retail sectors. Andy is a great fit for Market U, and aligns very closely with our values of honesty, integrity and quality. As he says “It’s better to be the best for a few, than an also-ran for everybody”.As some-one who has had to establish his own personal brand, Andy has some great insights for recently returned ex-pats who may be struggling to re-enter the Australian job market.
- Do a LOT of research. There’s a lot of background and contextual information that is assumed knowledge for the local marketing talent. If you’ve recently arrived back, you have to catch up quickly.
- Use and abuse your networks. OK, “abuse” is a bit extreme, but now is not the time to be backward about being forward – ask for introductions and recommendations. Likewise if someone in your network approaches you for help be quick to reciprocate – any assistance you provide will be well regarded and may return dividends down the track.
- Use Linked In. Join industry groups and reach out to those who work in companies you aspire to work for.
- Market yourself as you would a product! Apply the same principle to yourself as you do to the products you market – starting with the question “Who is my consumer?” Think about your USP’s; then develop your messaging including the packaging; select your channels to market; and lastly set a realistic price!
- Make life easy on yourself and use a good recruitment partner, they should be able to advise, steer and support you to ensure you have all the right bases covered.
As per our usual practice with the team, we needled Andy into confessing 7 things we didn’t know about him. Given he is the introvert in the team, these really were unknown!·
- Despite measuring only 165cms in height I played competitive, kitted American Football for three seasons in the UK. My height had to be measured wearing my boots, as without them I would not have met the minimum height requirement! ·
- I survived being run over by a jet ski whilst snorkelling in the Caribbean. It did leave me with a small physical scar but no lasting damage – tho’ my wife may dispute this! ·
- At different times in my life I have signed two celebrity autographs for people who were convinced I was somebody I was not – one aged 17 as Adam Ant and one aged 35 as Phil Mitchell (from the UK soap EastEnders) – for those who know the characters concerned this will demonstrate how much I aged during the intervening years. ·
- I have just completed a Myer-Briggs profile and discovered I am the only team member with an introverted personality type!·
- I have a mild kleptomania which has led me to collect a variety of bizarre items over the years including matchboxes, beer bottle tops, wine corks (and latterly screw tops) and rocks and minerals! ·
- I will have a go at most sports and presently still enjoy golf, skiing, water skiing, tennis and squash – however I have zero interest in gyms, jogging and swimming – I realise this may jeopardise my chances of PR! ·
- I secretly like DIY – in a world dominated by meetings, email and report writing – it’s hard to beat putting up a good shelf!
Welcome Andy.
Is our economy REALLY improving?
By Anna Whitlam | August 4th, 2009
Are we experiencing improvement in the employment rate, and therefore in the number of Marketing and Communication related vacancies?
You may recall in February this year our post confirming that there was no doubt we were in a challenging market and that there was a diminishing supply of marketing and communication roles. At that time we were also faced with an oversupply of talent, which wasn’t helped by the influx of ex-pats returning to Australia.
So what’s happening 5 months on?
The good news is that Analysts are reporting that the outlook for the economy is looking bright! However, before we see improvement in the employment market, we need to see stability in the housing market, which has begun to increase for the first time in many months. This chain of events should bring about positive change to the unemployment rate by early 2010.
For those looking for roles, 2010 may seem like a long way off, however the good news is that we are seeing positive signs in the number of roles available within the disciplines of marketing and communication. In saying this, the demand for high caliber talent continues to rise, as does the competition. As a result, ‘standing out in the crowd’ remains a priority for all job seekers…
For those who haven’t read our previous article on ‘positioning’ yourself to secure an opportunity during tough times it is important that you consider the following tips when preparing your resume, applying for a role and attending an interview;
1. Position yourself as a marketing and/or communications professional who can deliver greater value for money. How? By ensuring your resume/interview answers demonstrate broad experience within your discipline, rather than a narrow specialisation.
2. Again via your resume and at interview demonstrate an ability to take a ‘solutions focus’ to problem solving. Organisations’ are now demanding greater flexibility from their people. So one minute we can be expected to be working at a very tactical level and the next at a highly strategic level i.e. from writing press releases to presenting at Board level.
3. Show that you are/have been an accountable leader. This will be demonstrated by your examples of involvement in broader business related activities.
4. All too often marketing and communications practitioners position themselves as ‘service providers’ to organisational departments. Unfortunately this approach will only position you as an ‘order taker’, rather than a ‘decision maker’ or a valued ‘reputational leader’. ‘Order takers’ are replaceable, ‘decision makers’ and ‘reputational leaders’ are highly valued and not easily replaceable.
Also see ‘Marketing yourself in a Recession’ by Andy Rouse our Marketing Practice Leader who is based in our Sydney office.
Interviewing - the refresher
By Anna Whitlam | July 5th, 2009
Earlier in the month, we posted about the importance of making sure you have prepared for your interview well. In particular, we talked about the increase of candidates presenting for interview who have not dealt with their disappointment and anger over their circumstances very well. The bottom line was vent first, then prepare for your interview. Do not vent in the interview.
However, for those who want a refresher on things to think about with the interview, here are some tips which may seem obvious, but curiously we see them overlooked from time-to-time.
- Be on time. Once you have worked out how long it is going to take you to get to your interview, add 30 minutes, just to make sure you have some wriggle room if there are transport issues. This is not the time to over schedule your diary.
- Stay in the moment. Focus on your interviewer, what they are asking, and providing responses. This is not the time to be planning how you will move within the organisation once you have the job.
- Dress appropriately: See our One Good Suit post for thoughts on that. If unsure, it is better to over-dress than under-dress.
- Breathe. Exhale. Slowly. Studies show the relaxation part of breathing comes from the exhaling, not the deep breath in! This will help with nerves (which are natural, normal and expected). Use some of your extra travel time, to focus on breathing and think of your “happy place”.
- Don’t interrupt. Listen thoughtfully, and paraphrase if you think you may not understand the question. “So that I have understood you, you are asking….”
- Think clarity and brevity. Be very careful to respond to the question the interviewer is asking. Practice responding to interview questions in 1-2 minute grabs. You can always expand if asked to.
- Use the STAR model to assist in behavioural questions: Situation, Task, Action & Result.
- Don’t be coy if asked about salary expectations - be clear and transparent and consistent. Changing your salary expectations after you know you are a preferred candidate annoys both the recruiter and the client. It indicates that you may not be dependable.
- Follow up. Ask for feedback and confirm the process. Send a thank you letter.
- Be graceful. Either way, whether you get the job or you don’t. It makes a very good impression.
Have you got a sticky interview situation you would like some advice on? Let us know and we’ll cover it in future posts.
Jillian’s back!
By Anna Whitlam | June 15th, 2009
It’s a very warm welcome back to Jillian Henderson, Principal Consultant Contract. Originally starting in April 07, Jillian took a short break end of last year, and is now back with renewed vim and vigour.
I asked Jillian her take on the current market and implications for job candidates.
“Now, more than ever, it is critical to be respectful of candidates time and aspirations. There may be a surfeit of candidates on the market, but in the long run, Australia will recover and recruitment companies that take candidates for granted now will struggle to attract good people in the future. Certainly, the nature of the job has changed a little. We are doing more counselling of candidates around salary expectations, whether to change industry or not, and in managing their expectations of the process. And fortunately, at Market U this is easy, as we have very strict processes in place to ensure quality of experience for the candidate. We are always careful to ensure that the people we meet are people we feel we can genuinely help. If we can’t help and know of some-one more suited, we direct them to these contacts. We won’t leave them out in the ether. You just can’t take your candidates for granted!
With clients we are adding value in different ways, more consulting back to the client on structure, and process, and assisting clients to review position descriptions and skillsets to determine what their needs are”.
While Jillian was away, everyone else has been through the “7 things we don’t know about”…, and while we know her very well as she is the longest serving team member, we thought we’d see if there was something we didn’t know. There was. Can you guess which one?
- I was born in Ireland, and came to Australia 10 years ago. I met my husband 2 months later, and then five years ago we married, and I shattered my parents dreams by not going back.
- My husband and I are the proud owners of two gorgeous pugs (Seamus and Denzel). We got Seamus as a puppy, but Denzel came to us from the Pug Rescue Association. He needed a lot of rehabilitation, but is now the most affectionate little thing. They are the ultimate hedonists. They love food, walks, and my bed.
- I am a massive Harry Potter fan, and when Dumbledore died, I wept and wept. : (
- I hate spiders, and scream when I see them. My husband is very necessary here.
- I had childhood aspirations to be an Air Hostess. They seemed so galmourous and friendly. My family used to travel from Ireland to Canada when I was a child, and I loved the hosties. I did revisit the dream and got into Virgin Blue’s program, but alas was not keen to move to Queensland. I really love Melbourne.
- I absolutely love Coldplay and in particular Chris Martin. Their music is just fantastic and was by far the best concert I’ve ever been to.
- The place I would most like to travel to is Paris…yes, a romantic at heart.
Vent first, prepare next, interview later!
By Anna Whitlam | June 3rd, 2009
Our GM David Grant had a great interview published in last months’ Marketing Magazine. In it he made the observation that over the first quarter of the year, we were interviewing a lot of people who were carrying a lot of psychological trauma over their redundancies. It’s natural to feel shock, loss, and confusion when you have been unexpectedly let go. It’s really important though, that you deal with those feelings before you walk into an interview.
Interviews with recruiting firms are about making great first impressions, and establishing how good your fit is with the company, the culture and the role. If you spend much of the initial interview painting a negative picture of your former company and stressing how unfair the process was, we are not going to get a great first impression, nor will we get a sense of what culture you will fit into.
It’s really important to take some time to grieve the loss of your former job. Get out a piece of paper and draw two columns. In one column write a list of all the things you will miss about your former job. In the second column write a list of the lessons learned (so for instance, what you definitely want again, what you wouldn’t want to repeat, what you could do differently in another job)
Then on a new piece of paper, write all the action steps you need to take to resolve the hurt and ensure the lessons get learned.
Maybe you want to:
- Enrol in a short course on negotiation
- Attend a professional development session on a new skill
- Organise a morning tea / evening drinks session for other colleagues you will miss
- Write letters of thanks to all the people in the former company who have made a difference
Once you have taken these steps, then spend some time thinking about your future career goals. In preparation for the interview can you:
- Clearly and calmly summarise the circumstances surrounding your departure from your former role?
- Assertively discuss your value proposition - what makes you unique?
- Speak to your STAR framework (hint: we discussed this in March (point 7)
- Edit your resume to highlight the most relevant and most impressive experience in relationship to the job you are interviewing for
- Find additional information about the company or people you are interviewing with. Don’t forget to use Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter. Do search for company background online.
- Practice questions and answers with a trusted friend before the interview
We have to say though, we’re seeing an optimistic turn with the major restructures and redundancies having been carried out in the first quarter. Nevertheless, it’s important to think about preparing for an interview in a competitive market. In the next few weeks, I’ll take this further and talk about interview tips. Send me your questions, and I’ll weave the answers in.
Have you ensured that your team is valued?
By Anna Whitlam | May 7th, 2009
Tough economic times call for tough and disciplined strategic action. Those communication teams who have not established primary value for the organisation are at threat. We are hearing of many situations where corporate communications teams are being cut in size. My question to you is ‘what have you done about protecting your team?’
Is your functional strategy aligned to the corporate strategy?
By this, I don’t mean last year’s corporate strategy, but the current “How we plan to survive the global economic crisis strategy”. There can be a significant difference from the published corporate strategy of last year, the current strategy being employed. You need to make sure you are across the differences and have worked through how you can contribute from your functional perspective.
Have you established metrics that are tangible, trackable and tell a good story?
The communications teams that are really struggling at the moment are those that have not established clear metrics on performance, outcomes and deliverables and cannot demonstrate how they are relevant to the bottom line. If you are struggling with this, then you need to seek help in how to do so.
What do you need to do to increase your personal worth?
If you were to conduct a personal skills audit, where are you weakest. What are you currently doing to upskill, and make sure that you have a broad and wide reaching skills set that ensures you are flexible and a recognised asset to the business? Those used to using company training and development opportunities may have to consider this as a personal investment in continued career success and seek further training / education outside the company.
How have you positioned yourself as a leader within the organisation?
It is critical in the current environment to be flexible enough to transition from tactical to strategic roles in the current environment. However, can you point to a list of leadership achievements, or activities where you have demonstrated leadership, innovation, and initiative? Again, like the point on training and development it doesn’t have to be your current company that provides these opportunities. It may be that you seek these achievements externally through professional associations or opportunities to speak at industry events.
These are my initial thoughts, and will be discussed more in an upcoming article in Communication World. I would love to hear your thoughts on what else can be done to protect your career, your team, and your role. Please share…
Size doesn’t matter! Meet Callum Silcock
By Anna Whitlam | April 29th, 2009
There’s a new boy in town, and we’ve snapped him up. Callum is one of the latest new additions to the Market U team, and based in Melbourne. Callum has a really strong background working in recruiting firms since leaving school, and has worked up through administration and research roles, and then had quite senior exposure with Executive search companies, developing relationships with Executives and Managing Directors. He says:
I found this really challenging, as I am young, and you have to establish credibility with people with extensive industry experience, but I seemed to do well at it, and really enjoyed the role.
Recently, Callum took an extended break overseas and experienced a traveller’s epiphany:
”I am a control freak and my strengths are in organising”.
Thus, he joins us as part of Kristin’s operations team as the new candidate and consultant coordinator. Given he has recently moved to Melbourne, we asked him what his insights were on the differences between the two cities.
Well, Melbourne is clearly a lot smaller, but size doesn’t matter! In fact the size is part of what makes Melbourne so cool, it’s made up of lots of small communities, little pockets of action, culture, really interesting things to do, see, eat, and drink. I’m really enjoying exploring all the different parts of the city.
[Ed note: Melbourne is 3.8 M people, Sydney is 4.2M. We love Melbourne, we love Sydney, we love Brisbane, Perth, Canberra, Darwin and even Hobart too.]
You get the sense, that behind Callum there is a wealth of very interesting experiences, we think we got more than we bargained for when we asked him to tell us 7 things we didn’t know about him…
- I was born in England, have Jamaican ancestry and lived in Bahrain during the first Gulf War.
- I spend the majority of my free time producing music or skateboarding.
- I have an encyclopaedic knowledge of hip hop released from 1993 to 1997.
- I am self diagnosed as having Chaetophobia, which is a fear of hair, I hate the stuff!
- I have never had a licence and I’ve attempted to drive a total of two times during my life, part of my ongoing battle with avoiding adulthood.
- When I was a kid I wanted to be a ninja when I grew up. This is still my long-term career aspiration.
- I can pop (a style of breakdancing that most people associate with ‘The Robot’), and I have challenged many a colleague to a battle at previous company Christmas parties.
Between the karoke king and our breakdancing ninja, this year’s Christmas Party is going to be something to see! Everybody, welcome Callum. If you are Melbourne based leave a comment and let him know what you think he must experience as a newcomer to Melbourne!
Just when do you mention you are pregnant?
By Anna Whitlam | April 24th, 2009
Not surprisingly (disclaimer, I am six months pregnant), maternity leave and pregnancy has been a frequent topic of conversation with clients (both employers and candidates). One of our recent candidates asked me - is a candidate obligated to mention her pregnancy in a job interview? It’s a good question - with the market being tight at the moment, some women need to work up until the birth of their child and may be in the interview process and pregnant.
The simple answer is that in Australia there is no legal obligation to disclose your pregnancy in a job interview. As simple as the answer is, the debates surrounding the topic are quite complex.
Many women tell me they feel uncomfortable withholding this information as they feel it is only fair to provide some advance warning. Others argue that fairness is not a reciprocal factor: the organisation rarely considers the employees’ situation and gives fair and advance warning of job dismissal. The proponents of keeping quiet on the pregnancy in interview process suggest that good candidates let themselves down by announcing their news during an interview process.
The difficulties of negotiating this situation don’t end in ‘interview and offer’ stage either. In Australia we are significantly behind much of the world on paid maternity leave, in fact we are only one of two OECD countries where it is not compulsory for organisations to offer paid maternity leave. Examples of what other countries offer are:
- Canada pays 50 weeks compulsory paid maternity leave
- Italy pays 47 weeks compulsory paid maternity leave
- UK pays 39 weeks compulsory paid maternity leave
- Japan pays 14 weeks compulsory paid maternity leave
- Sweden pays 18 months maternity leave
- Belgium pays 15 weeks maternity leave
- Switzerland pays 8 weeks leave
- Israel pays 12 weeks maternity leave
In Australia, a job is held open for you for 12 months after you have been in a permanent position for 12 months, but there is no obligation for an employer to pay employees during maternity leave. This is something that for most women you have to negotiate as part of your contract prior to commencing. We do have some companies who stand out for their family friendly policies and are considered employers of choice as they do offer paid maternity leave (eg Sensis, NAB, Myer, Mission Australia, Woolworths and Westpac)
Some of the benefits of a paid maternity leave system include better physical and emotional health for the mother and child (as the mother is not stressed in returning to work quickly). The Australian Government Productivity Commission also showed that return to work rates are as high as 90% when maternity leave is paid. This decreases the need for additional training and development expenses in bringing new people on board.
Here is a link to the NSW government Maternity Leave policy statements. You do need to check in your own state for the specific details. We would love to hear how you have handled the challenges of negotiating pregnancy in a job interview though - drop us a line.
In the next couple of weeks we will follow this up and we’ll look at negotiating return to work and creating family/work balance.
And here is Katherine
By Anna Whitlam | April 16th, 2009
This week we introduce you to Katherine Anrath. Katherine is the delightful staff member you are most likely first speak to when you call us or visit in Melbourne. Katherine joined us as my Executive Assistant last year. She has had some really interesting career moves from medical practice administration, to hospitality customer service, to trainee milliner, before joining us. The one thing that has remained consistent is her dedication to exemplary customer / client service, so much so, she won a trip to China as an award for her Best Service for a major Hotel group! I asked her what her secret was to making clients feel comfortable when they first arrive. Initially, she was bemused by the question:
Oh gosh - isn’t it natural to welcome people and make them feel at ease? When pushed further she explains. “For me it’s like they are a guest in your own home and you want them to feel comfortable. Be Kind. Big smiles. Be mindful of who they are and how they would like you to speak to them. I really do believe that formality is the best way to greet people.
So in the time honoured tradition we are introducing all our staff to, here are the 7 things you didn’t know about Katherine…
- I would like to be a milliner / designer. I believe that we have to support local designers to grow the fashion industry in Australia. How else are we going to get the quality / talent to stay here in OZ. I ♥ fashion TV
- I am petrified of snakes. Having said that, I love snakeskin and love to work with it in my millinery work.
- I am a massive fan of Liverpool football club and Carlton football club. Two teams who work for their fans and that’s why their fans love them. I love going to the games on the weekend at the “G” and would love to sit in the Kop one day .
- I love action and comedy flicks and some old films, my favourite movies are Ronin, The Castle, The Lord of The Rings, Dodgeball, and my all time favourite “Guess who is coming to dinner?
- When I was 6 I wanted to look after animals. Monkies and bears mainly.
- I have nearly drowned! I got caught in my first real rip, while swimming in Biarritz in France. I was not so tough in the water after that. I lived in The UK, mainly in Romsey and London for 4 years. I loved Europe and still miss bits of it but I think that Melbourne is brilliant. .
- I totally believe that you only get what you put in. I work hard and play hard. I think for a female I have umm…er balls of steel! Can I say that? (heh heh)
Ed note: You just did.
There you go readers, say hello to Katherine.
How to stand out in a crowded market
By Anna Whitlam | March 26th, 2009
While we are still sticking with our ‘tempered optimism’ , we do recognise that the market is getting increasingly crowded, particularly with the more junior to mid-level candidates. This begs the question “How do you stand out as a candidate in a crowded market?”
Together, David, Dyana, Patricia and I have pooled our collective experience to provide you with 11 ways you can ensure you stand out in the recruitment process.
- Be professionally well presented and on time.
- Be clear on what you want in your next role, practice explaining this to a trusted friend, it needs to be natural, succinct and crystal clear. It’s not just your role but also what type of culture you desire.
- Come prepared with relevant examples of your past work experience.
- Research the client (via website and other means) and be ready to demonstrate knowledge of their business (for instance, their clients, customers and strategic direction). Hint: use Google alerts to keep up with things that are happening with the company through the process. Search Facebook and Twitter to find out what other people say about it.
- Research the agency you are interviewing with. Know their areas of expertise, roles they have recently advertised, management/consultant team as much as possible.
- Be ready with relevant examples of prior work experience relevant to the job you’re applying for in order to give targeted responses to behavioural questions (which are those “tell me about a time” type questions).
- For each example talk about the Situation, the Tasks you conducted, the Activities around these tasks and the Results you achieved. This is a STAR response. If you follow the procedure you are a FOUR STAR candidate. This helps you stay focused on the question and not wander off in other directions. If you feel you have more to offer you can always ask if your response has answered the question satisfactorily or if the interviewer would like you to develop any aspect of the answer further. If there are confidentiality concerns around the results, you can talk in %. If the results did not reach target, say so.
- Know your strengths and have good concrete examples to demonstrate them.
- Don’t feel compelled to talk constantly, let the interviewer do the talking and make sure you listen, listen, listen to what is being said and allow enough time for a thoughtful answer - never interrupt!
- Don’t be frightened to clarify a question prior to answering if you’re not clear in order to ensure your response is relevant.
- Follow up: be prepared to chase up your applications with employers / agencies to ensure it has been received and acknowledged.
Good Luck!