This Week in Talent (12th April)

Hello Again from Lauren & Craig from TaPod.

It’s our final week in the BIG chair and we’ve absolutely loved it! But just before we jump head-first into the week that was in TA, we thought we’d present you with a little research into the term TWIT…

According to that font of sophisticated thought – Wikipedia – The Twits is a 1980 children’s novel by British author Roald Dahl. The story features The Twits, a spiteful, idle, unkempt couple who continuously play nasty practical jokes on each other to amuse themselves, and exercise their devious wickedness on their pet monkeys… Hmmm that’s nothing at all like us… but Lauren is currently researching monkey ownership requirements in Australia as we speak.

This week we travelled to Adelaide for the Talent Meet up and it was fantastic! We were pleasantly surprised with the sophisticated charcuterie boards, micro-brewery specialist beers and Adelaide Hills wines on offer. There was even an expert on hand from New Era Vineyard to take us through the wine tasting. At first we thought they were really rolling out the red carpet for us, but soon discovered that the special guest for the night was Dr Susan Close – Deputy Premier of South Australia – now that’s impressive!

If you haven’t been to a TA Industry Meet-Up event yet – get yourself along quick smart. Most of the Big Cities around Australia and NZ host events and they are a great opportunity to learn and network.

Guess What? We’ve had a heap of discussions this week with industry leaders and we are finally seeing some embers of life flicker in the TA Job Market. Given the sh*t show of the last 12-18 months it’s some of the best news we’ve heard since rumours of a Spice Girls reunion. We’ve seen new opportunities in the NFP sector, Tech, Consulting, Education, Sport, FMCG, Mining and more. Our discussions with TA Leaders are becoming more and more positive about growth and this extends to roles around Data, EVP, AI, CX and other streams. Hallelujah!

One of the other challenges that just won’t go away is the Office-WFH-Hybrid conundrum. In Australia, we are seeing businesses offer all kinds of incentives to get more bums on seats. From pet sitting to extra annual leave to tennis lessons and more. It’s a glorious time to be alive if your employer wants to tempt you back to the office. On the flip side in the UK, the right to ask for flexible working arrangements comes into force. It’s fascinating and challenging all at the same time – and changes weekly.

Before we sign off on our TWIT stint we just wanted to speak to you about our podcast and the ITAs. If you do immerse yourself in the crazy world of podcasts (and don’t forget, now that MAFS is finished we all have a little more time on our hands), please do give us a listen at TaPod. We’re over 320 eps in and we think there might be something in it for everyone… And then there’s the Internal Talent Awards – the ITAs (pronounced like the name Ita… not I…T…As…). The ITAs are the BIGGEST Awards night in the region for our industry and in September over 400 of our finest will gather in Melbourne for a night of glamour and celebration. Please come if you can, better still put a nomination in – they’re open right now.

Finally, thanks for having us over the past fortnight – it’s been a blast! And as always check out below for some of the articles that have had us talking this week.

Ciao


Graduate Job Market Comes off the Boil

Yes… levels are still higher than pre-pandemic, but we’re off our record highs. Up to 20% lower than this time last year. What does that mean for businesses and more importantly, our precious little Gen Z-ers?

Enhanced right to WFH comes into force

Wouldn’t you love to be living in the UK? (rhetorical question). Our queue loving friends from the Motherland are making it a God given right to ask to be able to WFH… SMH

NZ to tighten Visa Regulations

Do you recruit in the land of the long white cloud? Well after record migration the powers that be are changing up the visa rules to make migration tougher. So fill up the chilly bin, grab your jandals and order your hot chups… Who’s going to shear the sheep?

And finally… More Funny Recruitment TikToks 

Yes we put this in last week, but the beauty of TikTok is that people keep adding new content… Genius!

Article By
No items found

Get more articles direct to your inbox

Upcoming Events

Long Lunch Series for Talent Leaders

Ongoing

Restaurant Bar
ATC2025 Annual Conference

28 & 29 October

TA Brew for Internal Talent Teams

Ongoing

You may also enjoy reading...

Jo Vohland and Medibank’s Andrew Retschko created interview questions to help HR and Talent Acquisition leaders prepare for a 4-Day Work Week (4DWW) pilot. From system redesign and cross-team alignment to EVP positioning and candidate experience, these questions highlight the leadership skills needed to deliver a successful 4DWW transformation.
As AI and new work models take hold, expectations on HR and Talent Leaders will intensify, with new role requirements quickly emerging. Interviews will test not only your past expertise but also your ability to lead the evolving programs of work. Jo Vohland collaborated with HR & Equitable Design Leader, Aubrey Blanche to map out some examples of Interview Questions you may soon be asked.
Thinking of hiring in APAC? Forget one-size-fits-all. From China to Vietnam, Singapore to Japan, every market moves to its own beat - culturally, economically, and legally. What worked yesterday won’t work today, and what works here might fail there. Talent pools shift, policies tighten, and candidates’ priorities evolve faster than most playbooks can keep up. Dive in to uncover the realities, myths, and strategies that actually work when expanding across East Asia - warts, wins, and all.