Greetings from sunny Western Australia!
I’m stoked to be taking over TWIT for July. I live in Perth and was recently made redundant – so you may see some links to articles on this, but I’ll also be delving into other subjects close to my heart.
Perth is one of the most isolated cities in the world, and home to the famous cheerful Quokka. Here’s some other tidbits that might inspire questions for your next quiz night…
We’re also blessed with a resilient economy, pristine beaches and national parks, boutique wineries and at least eight hours of sun daily whether it’s winter or summer.
Moving on to TA-related matters… for anyone navigating redundancy like me – when it happens, all sorts of emotions hit you. Denial, worry, fear, shock, excitement, or being angrier than a porcupine in a balloon factory.
Keep on going, don’t give up, and don’t go on Linkedin rant rampages.
Redundancy is a great time to step out of your comfort zone! I spoke for the first time at a public event in May, and it was both terrifying and awesome. I know it’s tempting to think ‘why me?’ or sit in your jammies binge-watching Netflix – but all those ‘things’ you didn’t have time or energy to do whilst you were working, do them NOW!
The Perth job market is propped up by the mining sector, but other dominant industry employers are agriculture, aged care and hospitality. There’s also been significant growth in the cyber security space, with initiatives such as CyberWest producing 20% of cyber graduates across the nation.
TA faces some unique challenges – like competing to lure people away from high-paying mining jobs. Companies need to continually review and renew their retention strategies and keep alumni engaged – boomerang employees remain invaluable for rehire.
Speed and timing are critical. We move to hire quickly and offers can go out the day after interviews, even if conditional whilst pre-employment checks get completed. As job seekers are spoiled for choice, us TA folk can expect to get ghosted at interview and offer stage. We just brush it off, move on and always have contingency plans.
… and now, allow me to introduce you to what I refer to as the ‘Smerth Effect’ (Small Perth). At times, it honestly feels like everyone knows everybody – and this can result in hiring managers harbouring opinions about people that may not be fair, accurate or relevant to roles. Many recruiters in Perth will attest to the head-banging or are you kidding me moments when they hit such a roadblock. I’m sure you will agree, people can change right? I am certainly not the same person I was 2, 4 or 10 years ago!
The ‘Smerth Effect’ also renders many popular job boards ineffective for executive or specialist technical roles. Why? Well, much of our in-demand talent secure new roles purely via word of mouth or referrals.
Here’s some links / food for thought I’d like to share with you this week:
How many types of unconscious bias are you aware of? This blog certainly opened my eyes and made me realise how easy it is for bias to creep into hiring processes. As a current job seeker, I implore each and every one of you to leverage your influence within organisations. Let’s do what we can to ensure people aren’t prematurely discounted from consideration due to such biases.
I came across this article in Hung Lee’s weekly Brainfood newsletter. Some thought-provoking and compelling arguments made for both sharing and not sharing. It’s made me wonder, does industry, type or role, level of seniority or candidate demographics play a factor in deciding how much insight we give to people prior to interviewing? What do we actually have to hide and what do we have to lose by making the process so mysterious? (with the exception of commercially sensitive information of course).
This article resonated with me due to my current circumstances. I hope some of you will also find some insights that give you an ‘ahah!’ moment or give you reason to pause and be more honest with yourself.
In case you didn’t see this earlier in year, it’s definitely something worth looking at. Linkedin asserts that AI will do wonders and present challenges for TA / Recruitment. Other topics explored include skills-based hiring, upskilling existing workforces, redefining quality of hire, agility, removing silos and how to engage with Gen Z.
For the Australian insights and data – click here to download report.
Having a bad day or week? This is a fun collaboration to name EVERY colour in the world – with your input! Here’s a thought… can the TWIT community create a collection of TA / recruitment-related colours? I’ve started you off with the colours ‘Recruitment Rampage’, ‘More Please More’, ‘Ridiculous Rants’, ‘Steering Bumpy Rides’, ‘Jobzilla Ninja’ and ‘Impossible Expectations’. Feel free to share and tag me if you want – #coloursoftwit
In case you missed it – the team at ATC are giving you the chance to win a free ticket this year to ATC2024, which will be held in Melbourne on 14 and 15 October. You’ve got until 15 July to enter – feel free to mention that I referred you!
