Close to 1,500 executives participated in our study, so far. Participants offered a rich kaleidoscope of stories, experiences and viewpoints about remuneration, work and the labour market, particularly in the comments section of the survey.  I am reproducing one by Brian Conradsen (with his permission) below:

I am an unemployed  C.P.A. AND Chartered Accountant, with a Master’s in Applied Finance and Investment, who immigrated to this country 6 years ago! SIX YEARS ago …   REPEAT SIX YEARS AGO.  I have no network, I have no prior Australian experience. I have a full log of over 510 resumes submitted to the recruitment industry.  These are the resumes I took seriously – involving focus and long hours to tailor cover letters and re-articulating resumes. I have also submitted countless more – more flippantly perhaps, with a hopeless sense of c’est la vie and abandon. I have not received ONE reply. I have never seen a potential employer, nor less, talk of one.

CPA Australia says we ought to import more CPA’s and motivates that permission through its ties, weight and influence at DIMIA and immigration.  Oy Vey! Why, pray God, would they do that?  Would that they realise they are at game with real peoples lives.   My circumstance is well know through my expatriate network, and these circumstances alone would probably account for  at least 10 Chartered Accountant’s seriously considering my circumstances here in Australia – and declining  Australia as a viable or fair outcome (Please note that my employment pursuit predates the GFC). These are people who have contacted me,  to talk and discuss with me, having heard the potential dour outcome here, and these are mostly past colleagues at KPMG  (South Africa). But I am not sure what the ‘multiplier’ effect is, as I imagine their account is embellished as my incredulous and sorry tale is passed about the SA’n network and water fountain. 

So do I care for perks, or salary sacrificing. Are you serious? What a joke, I have earned $264 GROSS over the 6 year period. That  is slightly in excess of what I used to GROSS hourly – eight years ago. The fact of the matter is – betwixt me, and the labour market, is a buttress of poorly skilled Australian HR consultants, who will forever deny me a fair go…and who will never allow me to recoup my earnings foregone over the prime earnings period  of my life.  It’s my fault, though, and I take full responsibility.  I made a grievous error in my judgment, wrongly assessing my marketable skills and the transportability of those  skills.   But I also sadly misjudged the ‘idiot’ factor in HR, and I mean that with no malice.  As an anecdote I spent about an hour and a half talking to a ‘financial sector’ recruitment consultant, about work availability that could utilise my FINSIA Master’s qualification.  After completing the interview, and as I was shaking hands to say good day, and goodbye, when I was politely asked by him, "err, what is FINSIA?"  Bloody hell, and I don’t have the wherewithal to get a salary! For me – I could care less, but sadly, in my case, its my children who have had to pay for the above misadventure.  

PS I hope my perspective helps you assess the extreme outcomes in the market. Which, damningly, my circumstance has become, and I thank you for taking the time reading to this point, in my grumpable tale of woe!   Cheers

Sincerely   Mr. Brian Conradsen  B Comm (Wits) CTA (Cape Town) MAppFin (FINSIA) SA Fin CPA  

When a qualified individual fall through the cracks who/what is to blame? As recruiters can we do more? As employers have we explored all possible outlets to connect with talent? Can advances in search technology help? As a nation is our skilled migration policy faulty?

There are no easy answers, but that shouldn’t stop us from asking more questions about our industry’s processes and performance. It’s cases like Brian’s which reminds us that we still have a long way to go.

P.S: If anyone can help, let me know.

Related posts:

1. Recruitment Training – Conversation with Ross Clennett
2. Recruitment lessons from universities
3. Recruitment is marketing
4. Talent Talk – Do you have something to say about talent?
5. Where there is a community there is a job board – part 2