A lot of you will have started 2020 with a clear goal of finding a new role – new year, new career! But arguably the majority of HR professionals should always have at least one eye on the job market. Indeed, in many ways, if you are not an ‘active’ candidate, then you are almost …

It’s sometimes hard to get feedback about your CV. It’s particularly hard if you don’t even get to interview when you at least get the opportunity to talk with the recruiter and ask the question. So here are some key reasons CVs are rejected. If you aren’t getting through to interview stage have a read …

Never was the saying ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’ more relevant than when it comes to asking for a salary increase. Preparation is an absolute essential, this is not a time to wing it. These tips will help you understand what you need to be clear about before heading into that negotiation. These tips …

It’s resignation time. Your new role is everything you always wanted; greater responsibility, scope to lead, broadening of your skills, some interesting project work and a real development opportunity. You hand over your resignation letter and explain to your boss that you are leaving for pastures new, for all the reasons that you’ve probably been …

Interview preparation makes no difference. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. An interviewer can always tell if you haven’t prepared and that is taken as an indication of how serious you are about the job. It also limits your ability to answer well and to ask relevant questions. Interview technique comes naturally. This is ok if you …

Researching a potential employer is just common sense. It’s the least you can do to ensure you make a good decision about your career. Being able to speak confidently about an organisation at interview also demonstrates interest and enthusiasm and most companies appreciate that interest. However, the greater value of doing that research is more …

The problem with getting onto a shortlist is that straight away your expectations are raised. Understandable as now you have a good chance of getting the job you applied for. You head off to your first interview and it goes well, you go back for a second and suddenly you’re dreaming about your new job, …

We were delighted to have QHR present at our Lunch event yesterday. Alicia Roach and Chris Hare shared insights into how organisations can successfully apply the principles of Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) to align their organisation and workforce to the future now. Businesses must navigate their way through a rapidly changing world to survive, and …

Drive and ambition are essential in today’s commercial world and with the right strategy you can achieve your career goals. But asking for promotion can be a stressful. In times of high pressure working environments, competitive markets and equally competitive internal and external candidates, how do you get the promotion and career development you want? …

So, how do you start the process of moving job sector and navigate the obvious hurdles? How do you get past it being just wishful thinking? Sector experience is a comfort blanket for many recruiters and hiring managers. It minimises risk, cuts out the steep learning curve, shortens induction times and often provides instant credibility. …

Around this time each year there’s a spike in people starting to think about the all-important question. Should they consider changing jobs early in the New Year? For many this is a straightforward situation and you have a clear career path to pursue. But for others it’s more a case of wanting to ‘run from’ …

Supporting Bereaved Employees. Don’t leave it all to your EAP to deal with. It’s a fact. Many people struggle when it comes to interacting with a colleague who has suffered a bereavement. Bereavement is not something that is neatly addressed by a few days compassionate leave and then everything goes back to normal. For the …

The contract situation throws up many challenges for both contractor and client alike. Contractors may not have the same bond with their new employer so it’s easier to break it. That’s never encouraged but what do you do to stop it happening? The answer is don’t throw them in at the deep end and walk …

Sometimes interviewers just don’t realise how much the interview process impacts a candidates impression of the interviewer as a manager, leader and HR professional as well as the company overall. So while PR is busy looking at the company Facebook page, the canny candidate is assessing the tell-tale signs that will help form their opinion …

New entrants to the HR job market are finding out fast that when they sit down to format the content for their resume it’s difficult to do when you don’t have much work experience. So what should your resume focus on, what should it look like and should you include any other documents? Here’s some …

We are often struck how little guidance there is for candidates when it comes to the opportunity for asking questions at interview with a prospective employer. Yes, you can find the same old questions everywhere but what about the opportunity that time affords you? Little seems to have been said about this and we think …

Today I put myself in the shoes of a prospective applicant looking for a CV Template. I got 21,200,000 responses, many claiming to be the best and the only one that will get you that job! Of course as we know, a CV does not get you a job. It gets you an interview, you …

It’s the question every entry level graduate is asking. How do I stand out from the crowd when I’m applying for a job and I don’t have much work experience or skills to differentiate me from the other applicants? Well there are ways, some are to do with your application itself but others are more …

I’ve long-held the view that the term Exit Interview is misleading. I prefer to think of the exit interview as more of a feedback session, the opportunity when you, as an employee, are asked to review the performance of certain aspects of the company you’ve been working for.  And that’s how I advise you approach it, just …

Given we are dealing with HR professionals we rarely see the resume horrors other more general recruiters report. However, horrors aside, we do come across some content that makes us groan rather than reach for the phone to arrange an interview! Here are our top 10 things to avoid in your resume

Congratulations! You’re starting a new job. You’ve cast aside the security blanket of your previous working environment. You’ve survived the rigorous hiring process. Now, brimming with confidence, you arrive for the first day of work secure in the knowledge that of all the candidates, you were the one that was identified as having the right …

Like it or not, your social media profile is now part of the recruitment process. In this item we review how Social Media is gaining ground as an assessment and reference tool in the job application process. Surveys carried out have revealed that many recruiters and potential employers google applicant names and then look at …

Q. How much is your resume worth to you?A. Potentially thousands of dollars, payable annually! And there’s more good news…. A new job could lead to a further $10,000 a year for the next 5 years or a terrific new career..…or both. Something to think about if you need a bit of motivation to pay …