The Executive Monitor 2011 report is ready for download.

The annual study is an on-going attempt to better understand the behaviour of executives and high-income earners in Australia. This year we revisit familiar themes, addressed in the first study, like education, remuneration and work, but also touch on new subject matters. In particular we looked at the issue of workplace diversity and discrimination. We also explored the view of executives on recruiters, jobs, social media, best places to work and study.   Read more...

We started the Job Board Awards project in December to recognise excellence in online recruitment. 

Given time restrictions, the original plan to have the public (advertisers) vote for their favourite job boards did not materialise fully. In the end, a panel of judges selected winners in five categories.

Finally, we present below, the job boards who stood out (and we think deserves your attention) in the last 12 months.  Read more...

We are embarking on a project to better understand the adoption of social media by the HR and recruitment community. Our approach is two-fold:

1) Social Talent Report: A study to monitor the behaviour, perception and intention of social media users in the context of attraction and recruitment of staff. This is a national survey open to the general public, especially recruiters and HR practitioners. Click here to take the Social Talent survey.

I just received a new report from AESC which offers, true to its title ‘Executive Search in Transition’, an overview of the changing global executive search industry. The report is based on a survey of 200 members of the association. AESC, you may recall, is one of the few professional associations that regularly produce reports on the state of the executive recruitment industry. Often, in their studies the sample size for the Australian market is small. But I think the findings in the latest report has immense relevance to the Australian market. Besides, there aren’t many studies that addresses the perspectives of executive search firms.   Read more...

Andy Klein, Communication Director, Fortune Group, a training service provider offers advice on how to overcome rejection early in the sales cycle.

The very foundation of any sale is a solid relationship between the salesperson and customer, one in which the customer has developed respect for and trust in the salesperson and the company they represent. Of course, not every relationship that reaches this point results in an immediate sale; sometimes the timing is simply not right for the customer.  Read more...

The 2011 Executive Monitor survey has started.

This year we are paying particular importance to the issue of discrimination and diversity in workplaces. We will also measure, one year on, how executives fare in areas like remuneration, education and work. The main brief is to monitor and track the intention of executives for the next twelve months.  Read more...

Nominees for the Australian Job Board Awards has been announced in the following categories: Best Job Board (Generalist), Best Job Board (Profession)
Best Job Board (Demographic), Best Newcomer and Best Talent Database.

Check out the nominees and vote for your favourite job board.

Due to the size of the New Zealand market there is only one category – Job Board of the Year. There is no formal nomination process; anyone can vote for their favourite job board here.  Read more...

[Note: This post has been written after the AHRI technology conference. My intentions to combine this post with a detailed review of some of the vendors at the conference hasn’t materialised. So, here’s a belated post on the conference]  Read more...

We are introducing the first Job Board Awards to recognise the contribution of job boards in sourcing talent. In particular, we wanted to recognise companies who excelled in the area of online recruitment. 

We will honour the best in the following categories: 
- Best Job Board (Generalist)
- Best Job Board (Niche, Profession) 
- Best Job Board (Niche, Demographic)
- Newcomer of the Year
- Best Talent Database  Read more...

Last month I ran into Joris Luijke at the AHRI conference where we briefly discussed about his new plans to work with recruitment firms. Atlassian revealed their new engagement process last week.

Atlassian, of course, is not new to innovating their HR/recruitment processes. When you are growing at great speed, there is little choice, but to innovate. Trial and error often rules the roost, but a key driving force for Joris is ‘not wasting time’. Running a team of three and servicing offices in three continents is no easy task. It’s easy to see why Atlassian frequently experiment. Standing still is not an option.  Read more...

The RBA revealed new ABS data on employment trends yesterday.

There is no real surprise that the Australian economy is dominated by the services sector (refer chart below). Over a period of one year, sectors like professional service and health care added 60,000 full-time jobs. In contrast, the manufacturing sector shed more than 20,000 jobs in the same period.

Meanwhile, the Australian Industry Group released its latest PMI (Performance of Manufacturing Index) results, which recorded a slight increase in overall employment numbers. However, long-term prospects are not rosy.  Read more...

The use of social media to find employment is not widespread amongst graduates, according to the latest OneTest report.

Popular social networking sites like Linkedin is primarily a playground for more accomplished professionals to find new opportunities; it’s less useful for a new graduate who’s looking for her first job. So, it’s understandable that a large percentage (40%) do not find social media useful in their job search.  Read more...

Gender Equality in Workplaces: Consulting firm Bain takes a look at gender inequality in Australian workplaces and offered three views (inhibitors) on why this culture persist. I think setting targets, rather than just paying lip service to the issue, is the right way forward.

Information overload & work: Information overload is making us less productive. In Australia 49% of professionals report feeling dejected and frustrated at being unable to manage all the information; situation is unlikely to improve. There’s no doubt social media itself has contributed significantly to the information overload. Will we now pay more attention to the cost of being social?  Read more...

Using an online questionnaire to screen and vet candidates is not entirely novel. Hire Hive, a US based start-up, takes a fresh look at candidate screening by allowing  employers to use video, images and text to vet job applicants.    Read more...

Take a good look at The Loop, it has all the characteristics of a job board, but it also embraced the ideals of social networking by allowing users to connect and collaborate. In fact, it is promoting itself as a networking site for the creative industry.

What doomsayers fail to recognize is the ability of  job boards (or the business model) to evolve with the times. Be prepared to see more blending of the traditional with the new.

SMH did a piece on The Loop (Pip Jamieson and Matt Fayle are Co Founders).