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Career Insights Blog & Articles

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Posted by on in Job search
How to Choose Between Two Job Offers

If you’re in the position to choose between two job offers, well done! Deciding which one to pick requires more effort than looking at the salary package though. Today I’m sharing with you the same process I work through with our clients who are fortunate enough to be in that position.


Using the Decision Matrix to Choose Between Two Job Offers 


When we work through this process with our clients, we usually work through it with some specific decision making tools to figure out what really matters. One of my favourites is the Decision Matrix.

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9 Tips to Help You with Your Salary Negotiation

You’re about to enter a salary negotiation with your current or future employer. Good for you! A pay rise is a topic many employees struggle to bring up or avoid altogether. We get it, it can be nerve racking but most employers are happy to discuss. After all, they know you are the right person for the role and that it’s cheaper to retain you than to search for a new employee.


Talking about money feels awkward to many of us. A survey by Salary.com showed that 18% of people never negotiate their salary, and 44% have not asked for a raise during a performance review. We believe that it is the right of every employee to enter a salary negotiation, and today we’re sharing some tips to help you do just that.

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5 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Outplacement When Restructuring

Your business is about to enter a period of restructuring, and job losses are inevitable. Although there is no requirement for employers to help laid-off employees transition into new jobs; the cost of not providing an outplacement service can be high. 


Investing in an outplacement program when restructuring, pays dividends for both the employees who are moving on, as well as those who remain. It is the best way to help your team move through this period, and face a positive future. It also supports the business management team and owners through this highly emotive and challenging time. 


As outplacement specialists, our skills are continually sought by small and large businesses to help make this process smoother and fairer for everyone involved. When we enter the picture, there are five main benefits.  Let’s look at each. 

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What Will You Achieve in the First 90 Days?
You're at a job interview, and it’s all looking positive until you’re asked, “what will you achieve in the first 90 days of working here?” You draw a blank. You know that the 90 day trial period is about to be abolished, unless the company has fewer than 20 employees. This means they can no longer end your employment without giving a reason during that time. So why are they asking?

The truth is, many employers ask their job candidates this question to give them an understanding of how they solve problems and how they set goals. With the 90 day trial disappearing, it’s possible this question will become even more common.  Sure, you’ll still be working there at the end of 90 days whatever happens - no longer can you be treated as a disposable resource. But let’s face it; employers are terrified they’ll discover they’ve made a huge mistake. 
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Why You Need Onsite Redundancy Support During Notifications
Having onsite redundancy support when notifying employees of their job loss is something we strongly recommend. Once you’ve decided that redundancies are necessary, and which employees will be leaving, the emotions can hit you hard.

Having the support of an outplacement provider with you on the day you notify employees is incredibly valuable. Not only can they provide support to you when faced with what is a difficult task, they can also help support your employees on their journey forwards.

Let’s look at thespecific benefits having onsite redundancy support can provide to you and your team.
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Are You Making These LinkedIn Profile Photo Mistakes?
A picture says a thousand words, and the same is true for your LinkedIn profile photo. While it may seem more important to you that your profile content is done well, the photos you use are equally important.
 
Just like your appearance at a job interview, your LinkedIn profile photo helps people shape an opinion about you. Right or wrong, your chosen photo can help you land your dream job – or not.

Today we’re explaining the most common mistakes people make with their profile photos, plus tips on how to choose the right photo to create a positive impression.
 
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Social Media Recruiting: Does It Work & How to Do It

Have you considered using a social media recruiting strategy? With the average internet user having more than five accounts, social media is a hive of potential candidates just waiting for you to pick from. However, there’s more to social media recruiting than simply messaging candidates to gauge their level of interest in your position. Today we discuss how you can find new employees using social media, plus why it works so well for small businesses like yours.

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Posted by on in CVs
Is the Best CV Format Paper Or Digital?
In our online world of job applications, is the best CV presentation no longer paper? Is the paper CV now dead, with digital CVs reigning supreme? Today we discuss the merits of using both a digital and paper CV format when applying for jobs, and whether the paper CV is a thing of the past.
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I’ve Been Made Redundant? What Should I Do Now?
You’ve wondered what you’d do, and now it’s finally happened. You’ve been made redundant, and your job will be dis-established. Whether you heard whispers that it might happen, or it came out of the blue, being made redundant can be challenging! However, it can also be a positive time, providing you with the incentive to make a change and improve your long-term career prospects.
 
 
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Guide to Managing Redundancy in Your Workplace

A workplace restructure is never easy for anyone, which makes managing redundancy within your workplace a key priority. Redundancy occurs only when your staffing requirements have changed due to genuine business reasons. These may be that you have sold the business, you no longer need as many employees or the role being filled by the employee is no longer needed.


Once you’ve really thought about what you want to achieve with the restructure, the potential cost savings and which employees will be affected and how; there are eight steps which must be followed as an employer if a redundancy is on the cards. These are:

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Posted by on in CVs
How to Pick the Right CV Format for You

You know the importance of having a professionally written CV when applying for a position, but did you realise that the CV format you use is equally as important? It makes sense depending on the job you are seeking or your level of experience, that the way you present and position information will change. For instance, if you are a new graduate or have limited work experience you might position your education near the top of the CV.  While for a managerial job, your relevant experience would be more important than your degree.


Then there comes the decision about which CV format you will use. Let’s look at the three main types of CV formats: reverse chronological, functional and combination.

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Posted by on in Interview
Tips on Choosing What to Wear to an Interview

You’ve been shortlisted, and an interview time has been set. But what should you wear? Something casual like jeans and a shirt, or super smart like a tailored suit? We’ve asked two New Zealand personal stylists for their best tips, plus included a few of our own in this handy guide on what to wear to an interview.

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Top Tips for Effective Employee Onboarding

Bringing on a new employee costs a lot of money. So, when you hire one, you want to ensure that they stay for a long time and quickly become a productive team member. This is when effective employee onboarding should become your top priority. Today we’re going to discuss what employee onboarding is, what it involves and how to ensure it occurs successfully within your workplace.

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How to Recruit Team Members Who Stay: Your Guide to Employee Retention

It sounds simple enough. You want to hire great candidates who will stay long term in your business. The problem is, employee retention is a tricky one to balance. We look at the benefits of having a high employee retention rate, plus the best ways to recruit new long-term team members.

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5 Tips for Setting Goals You’ll Actually Achieve

So how are those New Year’s resolutions working out for you? 


We’re almost at the end of January and I’d be willing to bet that for some of you, they’re not working out that great.  For those of you who are well underway with making them happen, go you!


Now I can’t say I’m a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. Mainly because in the past I’d get carried away with the excitement, set way too many of them and give no thought as to how I was going to achieve them.


Result: epic failure!


Don’t get me wrong, I believe in setting goals and I can see how the New Year is an opportune time to pause and assess where you’re at.  I just don’t think the resolution setting always needs to happen on January 1st.  It can happen any day. Today is good, so is tomorrow and any day next month would work too.

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Planning a Career Change? Here’s What You Need to Know

Are you thinking about planning a career change, now or in the future? You may have discovered you’re just not passionate about your current job anymore. Or you’ve had your hand forced by being made redundant. A career change is something which is often underprepared for, making an already challenging situation even more stressful. But it doesn’t have to be that way.  As career transition specialists, we help clients everyday plan for and change careers. Here are our top tips for maximum success when changing your career.

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Things not to say at interview if you want the job.

My favourite type of job interviews are the ones that feel like you’re having a friendly conversation with a new person you’ve just met at the pub.  They’re relaxed, informal, yet still focused on finding out more about the candidate, what they have to offer and how they would fit the role and the company culture.


It’s certainly a better approach than quizzing the candidate with a list of ill-conceived questions, in a manner better suited to a police interrogation.  Having been on the receiving end of one of those, I can tell you it was no fun.  The recruiter rushed from one question to the next before I’d finished answering, made next to no eye contact, never smiled and berated me for not giving her the answers she wanted to hear.


The problem with the more informal approach however is when candidates feel too comfortable with their interviewer, they tend to say really dumb stuff!  

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Posted by on in Career Management
Loss of Job, Loss of Identity

Jobs are a significant part of our lives and identity so when we are made redundant, it can often trigger a personal crisis. 


People who identify themselves by their job may start to question who they are when they suddenly become unemployed.  As one of my client’s said to me recently “I always tell people I’m an IT programmer, but I’m not anymore so what do I tell them now”?  


When your identity is so deeply embedded in what you do, it’s not surprising that redundancy can be stressful and devastating.  Redundancy isn’t an easy thing to bounce back from but bounce back you must if you want to move on.  If you don’t, there is a risk it will lead to emptiness, anxiety, depression and a lack of direction.  


So what should you do to get your head back in the game?

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How to Make a Successful LinkedIn Profile – A Graphic Designers Take

Let us start out with a bit of honesty shall we? LinkedIn and me personally, do not have the longest history together. I have only had a LinkedIn profile for about a year.

I’ve been chosen to be a guest blogger for the amazing Ali Hunter from Career Insights. I have the privilege of working alongside Ali as an expert for Network NZ, and I also get to do some of her design work. Let me tell you right off the bat that she has a world of knowledge with all things LinkedIn and beyond. Get in touch with her if you have any questions or need her help.  You will not be disappointed.

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Posted by on in Career Management
Stop Complaining!

Complaining, blaming others and making excuses is easy. We all do it.  Mainly because we can and because….well, it lets us off the hook.

This is particularly true when it comes to making a career change.  Never mind that we are desperately unhappy turning up to the same job we’ve done for the last 10 years.  Never mind that our passion for the job, (if we ever truly had it) has slowly eroded.  Never mind that every day we’re doing our job, we wish we were doing someone else’s.  It's not our fault!


Yes making excuses is easy.  Certainly much easier than putting in the effort needed to make a career change.  You don’t need to look too far to find plenty of great excuses to justify why you’ve failed to make a change.

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