This Week in Talent (2nd September)

Hi there,

Happy Thursdays!

This week I took Monday off work and had a long weekend. Even though we’re in lockdown, it was so nice to have 3 days to potter about, watch butt-loads of movies, exercise mid morning, walk in the sun, and just … not stress or think about work. I’ve been experiencing burn out recently – massively, actually. I feel bad complaining about it because there are people who don’t have work right now, but the brain fog is REAL and I feel like my resilience levels are non-existent. I’m usually a pretty bubbly, optimistic person … but that person doesn’t really exist at the moment. After having a 3 day weekend, it’s seriously got me considering a future where I work 4 days a week … foreverrrrrr.

All the articles I read about the ‘Future of Work’, or at least some trends that are starting to become more prevalent, are that a standard 4 day work week (and 3 day weekendddddd) might not be that far in our future – the studies say that most people are just as productive, if not more so, working a 4 day work week for the same pay. Check out this timely LinkedIn post by Reanna Brown that also talks about “pandemic burnout” and the need for a shorter work week.

Lots of people are starting to highly value the “life” part of “work/life balance” and are negotiating part time/flexible work options. Having kids is a very valid reason to work part time, but it’s no longer the ONLY reason … there’s nothing wrong with just wanting to work less to have more mental space for other things that are of equally high value to you. The only sucky part is having to take less money to do it … but I wonder if in the future that whole set up will change?

Anyways – working part time has been on my mind this week after my 3 day weekend – I enjoyed it SO much I just want to have 3 day weekends FOREVER! Or win the lotto so I can retire early. Divine.

On that note – I noticed this week that Edan Haddock has set up a recurring Wednesday afternoon ‘Rubberband Hump Day Catch Up’ for recruiters as part of his Rubberband initiative. What a great idea – something I so dearly miss about pre-covid life is networking with other recruitment people, and so I will be going along to this every week if you care to join – find the link and details here.

Hope you’re all doing okay 🙂

2021 ITAs Finalists

ICYMI, Finalists for the 2021 Internal Talent Awards were announced this week. The team of judges, comprising of 21 industry experts including ATC’s Jo Vo, reviewed a whopping 97 nominations across 16 categories. PHEW! Can’t wait to see who wins! Also love the cheeky news bulletin update on who the finalists are.

Key To Top Talent Acquisition: First Captivate With Job Descriptions 

I mean … this is very much only 1 part of a successful talent attraction strategy, but it is important. Make sure your PD and your job advert are on point! This article has some pointers to help you do that.

How Australian Organisations Are Reimagining The Talent Supply Chain

This is an article for the workforce planning and supply chain nerds out there. It goes into detail about how to effectively manage your contingent workforce throughout the employee life cycle. Even for me (definitely not a numbers/strategy person) this was interesting.

Young face ‘prolonged disruption’ as degrees no longer guarantee careers

Young people are tending to put off full time work to focus on their gruelling education and study requirements, but are they shooting themselves in the foot by doing so? Things aren’t that linear anymore. It’s all well and good to have a degree in something, but it’s incredibly difficult to employ someone in a full time job who has all the book smarts but no hands on experience. When I was a teen I was always told that having a degree meant I’d be successful. I have a Bachelor in Design, majoring in Photography … and I’ve never, ever used it. When I graduated I had dreams of being a fashion photographer, but I ended up becoming a recruiter. Go figure 😛

How Flexible Work Arrangements Will Impact Demand For Multifamily Amenities

Bit of a random article, but I found it interesting. How property developers will need to reimagine how they design apartments and townhouses moving forward, particularly for renters or buyers who don’t want to upgrade to a 2 bedroom place but still want somewhere to call a “home office.”