This Week in Talent (18th November)

Welcome back to another week of TWIT!

So I had my first game back at basketball this week after the Locky D hiatus. I forgot how hard chasing a ball up a court is. I’ve also been back at the gym, and doing boxing again, and hip hop dancing. I’m starting to think now that I’ve really overcommitted myself 😐 With that AND all the social activities back again, and work being insanely busy, I am EXHAUSTED. Clawing my way to the end of the year, as I know most people are.

I know I’m on the brink of burnout when I start struggling to switch off from work. Work and personal life start to meld into one, and I find myself thinking about candidates and hiring managers whilst I’m trying to fall asleep at night. I wake up in the middle of the night and email myself with reminders about things I need to do the next day.

Seriously though – I need to start re-instating some structure and boundaries into my work life again – “no meeting” time holds, declining meetings if my day is too full already, and resisting the temptation to reply to emails and Teams messages outside of my normal working hours – particularly because it sets a bad example for my team (… they might think I need a response straight away), and my hiring managers (… they might start expecting a response after hours ALL the time). It’s also so detrimental mentally to be constantly “on” AND… apparently it’s now illegal in Portugal. Watch out, micromanagers in Portugal… you’re in trouble!

Give this poddie a listen – I love Jamila Rizvi, and it was nice hearing her talk about how she works throughout the day, and how she has given up on the illusion of “work/life” balance and instead structures her day so she’s working with her natural energy and creative flow (aka not clearing out her inbox as soon as she logs on in the morning because that’s when she’s at her most creative!)

Something else I’ve been thinking about a lot this week is just how flippin’ awesome Gen Z’s are. All the articles and stats I’ve been reading recently say that they simply don’t stand for certain things anymore that millennials and baby boomers always just put up with – they refuse to work for organisations that are bad for the environment, they don’t want to work hours that don’t suit them, they campaign for the rights of others that are less fortunate than them, and they tend to have more than 1 source of income and no qualms about quitting their jobs for another one if necessary.

Here’s me – an anxious, workaholic, people-pleasing millennial wishing she had the balls of a Gen Z. They’re amazing, and the world will be a better place once there’s a few more Gen Z peeps in charge (and… it’s not far off!) My next question is … what generation comes after Gen Z? Do we loop around and start again with Gen A?

That’s all for this week 🙂 Have a good one!

LGBTQ Employees Are Quitting the BBC Because They Say It’s Transphobic

This is amazing. It’s something our beloved Reanna Brown talks about a lot as a Futurist – the rise of employee activism. People simply won’t stand for racist, homophobic, misogynistic leadership or organisations anymore. I’m here for it!

Here’s What Happens When You Post A Photo With No Alt-Text On Social Media

I really need to get better with alt-text. I use the built-in alt-text function on LinkedIn when I post a photo, however, I don’t add it to any other social media platform and after reading this Twitter thread from a blind Twitter user explaining the hoops they have to jump through when someone doesn’t use alt-text … I am going to start doing it. It takes 2 seconds – there’s no excuse not to.

Lessons we’ve learned from every hire we’ve ever made.

If you haven’t heard of The Digital Picnic yet, or don’t follow them on social media … start educating yourself! They’re a small, Melbourne-based social media marketing company that I’m obsessed with because every piece of content they put out is in a style that reminds me of my own. It’s like … I’ve found my people, without actually working there LOL. So I really enjoyed this article – hiring observations written from the perspective of someone that doesn’t work in recruitment.

Worker shortages inspire incentive-based recruitment drive for aged care staff

Incentives are the new recruitment love language. In the Talent War, the Battle Of The Best Incentives is about to begin… watch out!

Google will pour $1 billion into Australia’s digital economy over the next five years to foster local innovation and talent

Cool – this is pretty exciting. Google are spending the big bucks on expanding our cloud infrastructure, “incubating” local talent, and parting with local researchers on projects that will benefit Aussies and the world. I’m excited to see what they do here!