Posts RSSIs 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.
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!
Our Kristin Bell
By Anna Whitlam | March 22nd, 2009
This week we introduce Kristin Bell (erm, our Kristin Bell, not the American actress - hmm let’s see how many hits we get this week on the blog!). Kristin is our ever efficient Operations Manager and a really dedicated operations professional. She observes:
One of the biggest trends I see at the moment is the urge for businesses to cut costs by cutting operations. Many businesses struggle to make a direct link between operations and revenue. But for me it’s simple. If my team are working smart, and we do our job well, we make sure that the consultants are out doing face-time with clients and candidates. This means operations are integral to a high performing team.
As you will see in the 7 things below, is she is the proud mother of a 17 mth daughter. When Kristin came to us last August, we were quite sure we wanted a full-time Ops Manager, but Kristin was only available part-time. However, after we met her we were very keen to work with her regardless of part-time or full time. We have been fortunate to find some-one where there is a real fit between both our values. Like most working mothers, being away from the child presents a real tension, and the value fit is necessary for Kristin, as she says:
I need to know there is a purpose to what I am doing, to justify being away from my daughter. I really appreciate that Anna supported my request to be part-time to assist me with work life balance. If anyone out there has some tips or hints on how they manage the juggle, leave a comment!
Anyway, as promised here are the 7 things.
- I spent 3 and half years working & travelling around the world, mainly in the UK, Europe, US, Canada, Central America, Middle East & South East Asia. During that time I worked on a Summer camp in Connecticut, America called Camp Wah-Nee. Yes it was just like the movies with very affluent America kids but I loved it so much that I worked there as the Waterfront Director for 5 summers.
- My 4 year university qualification is actually a Graduate Diploma in Exercise Rehabilitation. While I worked in the area of Rehabilitation & personal training for a number of years I soon recognised that my main strength was “organising” and hence why I now work in Operations.
- I have a daughter called Taylah who is now 17 months old. Being a Mum is one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Every day she makes my husband & I laugh with her antics.
- I grew up on a farm in a place called “Leneva” which is between Wodonga & Beechworth. I had a cow which I reared from 4 days old called “Tori” & had a horse called “Kamel” who I used to riding in shows, winning lots of ribbons!
- I am a qualified snowboard instructor & worked in the French Alps & Whistler, Canada where I was fortunate to do some amazing snowboarding including some heli-boarding.
- I worked for a year with the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games organising committee in the Broadcast team which gave me the opportunity to attend lots of events in some of the best seating and work in the International Broadcast Centre which was amazing.
- I grew up singing in many choirs & vocal groups & even got paid to sing Christmas carols at Kmart. It was at about 20 years ago & back them $15 an hour to stand there & sing with your friends was fantastic money!!!
Say hello to Kristin!
The “One Good Suit”
By Anna Whitlam | March 12th, 2009
With all the talk of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), the job losses and the need to pull in the spending, it’s getting a little difficult to justify going out and buying a new outfit/suit/pair of shoes for the job interview you have next week. Just what does a job seeker do with a limited budget?
At Market U, we are a big fan of the “One Good Suit”. We don’t think you necessarily need a large wardrobe or even an expensive wardrobe to clinch the job. Yes, admittedly, new threads may make you feel more comfortable, but provided you have a clean contemporary (eg the last two years) suit, and clean shoes / bag / briefcase then you really don’t need to spend up big. Once you have your “One good suit”, then use it sparingly and make sure it is dry-cleaned. There are a number of retail chain stores that provide options that are affordable, and appropriate.
Account manager Dyana Ronsisvalle says:
By and large, marketing communication candidates are acutely aware of the importance of making a first impression and communicating through visuals, But this awareness can be over exaggerated in times of stress, and the candidates insist they have to spend up on a brand new suit and outfit! It just isn’t so…
Here are some things to think about when making a first impression
- Confidence is the key attribute. There is no point wearing a new outfit or new shoes if they are not comfortable and you feel unsure.
- The only time when your label would really matter is if you are applying for a job in the fashion industry.
- There is scope for style differences depending on your role (eg Advertising, marketing, corporate communications), but this is not as great as the candidate usually thinks.
- There are great second hand consignment shops around to hunt through if premium labels are your thing (we lurve Secondo, in Toorak), and don’t forget outlet stores like DFO
- Shoes should match your handbag / briefcase
- Play with colours to work out what colours really work best with you.
- Update your one good suit with an on-trend accessory (eg scarf/necklace/tie in the current colour palette / texture)
- Dry-clean immediately after the interview - you never know when you get called in for the next!
- Avoid over powering scents (cologne /perfume)
- Similarly - err on the side of conservative with jewellery and make-up.
- Call on your network - if you really have nothing, then can you borrow from a friend?
- Organise a clothing swap - purge your wardrobe, get your friends and neighbours together and swap items
But enough from us - what are your tips on being savvy with the savings and on the job market? Share for the sake of a candidate in a fashion crisis!!