Last night, I attended an excellent event organised by University of Sydney on the theme of ‘Global Talent Search & Challenge’.  Overall, for me, two things stood out. First, while everyone else is preoccupied with short-term issues related to the downturn, in the long-term Australia face major workforce challenges, many dictated by global forces. Secondly, the movement of talent across national borders is happening with gusto.  Read more...

Last week, I attended an information session for post-graduate students held by my alma mater UTS, exploring if a PHD is a mountain I dare climb.

Information sessions conducted by universities are often slick marketing affairs aimed at winning new students. And UTS didn’t disappoint. From the day I received an invitation as part of my alumni club membership (How universities capitalise from their alumni network is a story for another day) to being entertained with drinks and food on the night of the event, the whole affair to recruit new students is a well oiled operation.  Read more...

A new report by Staffing.org  reveals why job seekers do not apply to a particular company.  Time to have a relook at your career portal?

There is a lot of buzz on the best job in the world. The fact that the job ad really is a larger marketing campaign to promote tourism in QLD is besides the point.

The question is -  why aren’t your job ads brilliant (no I am not talking about the graphics or flashy site)?  Read more...

The past often reveals what the future holds. I looked back at some of the major job board related trends in the Australian marketplace.  Read more...

Part of the reason recruiting ‘talent’ remains challenging and complicated is because there is no one universal way of doing it.

It is clear, what works for one group of profession will not necessarily work for another group. For instance, the tools and services utilised to find and recruit a receptionist is going to be different from how a CEO is sourced and recruited. In the same breath, recruiting tactics used by a small and medium size company will have little relevance to a multinational company. Adding to the challenge is having to deal with a product that can say ‘no’, is very well informed and armed to the teeth with choices.  Read more...

If there is anyone who doesn’t need to write a good job advertisement, it is Seth.

Seth’s books sold millions, and his blog is one of the most popular on the web. Credited for coining the phrase ‘permission marketing’ and widely regarded as one of the brightest marketing visionary in the world, any marketer worth his salt would want to work with someone like Seth (myself included).

Seth’s employment brand is strong. He does not need to work hard to attract talent.  Read more...

How far are you willing to go to acquire talent? Would you be willing to work with other companies, even competitors, to find talent? Would you commit yourself for three whole days to really get to know candidates (not just interview them)?  Would you be willing to offer free travel, food and accommodation in order to meet talent from other geographic locations? Would you do things differently, even if success cannot be guaranteed?

Some companies do .  Read more...

The Google powered T-Mobile’s G1 smart phone was launched yesterday, heralding what some analysts called a paradigm shift in how we will access and consume information.

A report by Universal McCann found that consumption of content outside of websites has increased by 153% in the last nine months. 53% of online users are consuming content outside of a publisher’s site.  Read more...

Recruitment is marketing, full stop.

At its core, talent attraction and recruitment is marketing.  If you are an employer, you are faced with job seekers armed to the teeth with choices.  Bad luck, the skills shortage problem is not going away soon, either.

So,  Sydney University’s student recruitment function is placed under the marketing department. It’s a sign of the times. Whether it is about acquiring new new staff or students, recruitment is all about reaching out and selling your brand.

If you are thinking of hiring staff, talk to your marketing department first.