News Limited and Monster Worldwide Announce Joint Venture

“Monster Worldwide, the parent company of Monster.com, the premier global online employment brand, will own 50% of News Limited’s employment website CareerOne.com.au in the new joint venture.”

What does this mean for the Australian job board space? Probably not much. Here’s the reason why - Monster have previously folded in Australia, CareerOne has never been any threat to market leader Seek.  Two wrongs don’t make a right, two positives don’t make a negative.  there’s no reason to suggest that this partnership will achieve any more than either entity achieved separately.

What does this mean for the advertising market?  Big dollars. Monster’ll no doubt be putting truckloads into the promotional needs of this alliance…a bit of a boost in a low ebb.

It’s the job seeker who may receive a nominal benefit from the new lovers.  Monster has created some innovative career mapping tools targeted at the job seeker, probably similar to that of Mycareer’s Headhunter offering.  This might make the process of job seeking a little more efficient.

Things Are Not Always What They Seem…

You might recall my article on the launch of RecruitMeNow.com.au back in April. Also, this article JOBX and Recruitment Academy Plugging Leaky Bucket.

RecruitMeNow claims to be “The first exclusive Recruitment Industry job and candidate board“.  I like that, a niche job board, a job board that knows what it’s about.  Straight to the point.  No nonsense.  This sort of self-knowledge gives me tingles.

I thought I’d do a little update on RecruitMeNow.  It’s been a while, and I’m always interested to see how new sites are progressing.  The site looks good (certainly a relief after my interlude with Groovy Jobs).  Just mucking around, I typed in a search for ‘Accounting’.  This is what I got.

Not one job in the recruitment industry…

I didn’t sleep well last night.  It was one of those hot nights, where the air is steamy.  Plus I went over my coffee quota during the day.  Point is, I’m a bit hazy-brained this morning.  But why would the site claim to be exclusively for jobs in the recruitment industry, but deliver a search result like this one.  Have things changed?

Doncha just get sick of things not being what they seem?

Ridgy ‘Didge’ Blogging

The media is not my area of speciality, but I’m here writing because I know some stuff about online recruitment that I like to share with others. Having said that up front (an intimation about the topic for today), I reckon it’s time we had a little chat about the process of blogging.

Some things don’t require too much expertise to work out. For instance, blogging is like any other form of media in that it offers information and opinion. I don’t always get my facts right, but I endeavor to, and when a reader tells me I’m wrong, I accept the criticism with grace (and gratitude, because it’s not my intention to mislead folks).

Likewise, when I offer an opinion, I do so in an arena where I have stated clearly what my interests are. Readers can then use that information as a bouncing point for the validity of my opinion. In other words, I’ve nothing to hide. You all know who I am and I say what I think and am prepared to back my case if need be. I don’t write anonymously and never would. It takes away from the strength of my claims.

Some bloggers write anonymously and I often wonder what is the point of such an exercise. It doesn’t liberate their opinions. It waters them down because it makes readers suspicious of their intentions.

Astute blog-readers in the industry may have noticed that today I called into question the identity of the writer of “The Didge” blog. I asked the author of the blog if they worked for JobsJobsJobs (JJJ). In response, they asked why I had asked such a question. This was my reply:

# Geoff Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation.
November 23rd, 2008 at 2:55 pm

I was nudging you to declare your interests, Peter (ahem, sorry, I mean “Didge”).

Your comments are skewed against Seek and towards JobsJobsJobs.

You write in the plural “we”, but all your postings have a similar tone (indicating the same writer).

Audience disclosure is important. Everything that’s written in this space is contextual and the readers need a bouncing point from which to view your editorial.

If we are asked to take what you say seriously, it’s about time you told us what your interests are.

After I had replied, these things happened:
1) All previous comments pertaining to this question of identity were taken off the site
2) I received no response from The Didge
3) My reply was not posted

I wanna know if The Didge is ridgydidge…or is this blog a sad attempt by JJJ to disguise advertising as editorial?

Oh groovy baby… yeah…

Seek had better be prepared for some hefty competition. Groovy Jobs is on the scene, man. (Hang ten, dude, I just need to readjust my bandana. Okay, there, that’s better. Bloody thing gets uncomfortable after a while).

Groovy Jobs’ point-of-difference is made clear in their press release: candidates are important (der), so don’t advertise with us unless your job is creatively remunerated, described in terms of it being exciting, challenging and offering a variety of experiences, and set in “an environment where the employee actually looks forward to getting out of bed in the morning.” These criteria, according to Groovy Jobs, are what differentiate a “groovy” job from one that is…”square”? Man. I’m running out of cliched fifties vernacular to whack in here, so I’ll cut to the chase.

Firstly, this is obviously nothing more than a marketing ploy. How the heck are Groovy Jobs really going to monitor a company’s level of groove? And if they’re not going to monitor it, isn’t this simply about companies being required to present a role in terms that it may not be able to fulfill in reality? Isn’t that misleading? And not everyone wants a job that is groovy. And what of the companies that can’t find their groove? What about the ones who are on the dance floor, trying really hard to find the beat, but becoming more and more out of time with each step? Are these nerds of the job market less worthy in terms of their ability to make employees content at work? Moreover, some folks like consistency, solidness. Some people want to be remunerated in terms of cash, and are less interested in so-called “benefits”.

Call me square, but when I look for a job, I want to see that the environment is safe and professional, the company is established and growing, and that there may be a real possibility of growing with it. And I’d prefer not to advertise on a job board that is forcing me to put more time and energy into meeting its requirements for grooviness, and therefore fewer resources into getting acquainted with the right candidate for the position.

I’ll leave you with these thoughts. My kids are laughing at the stupid bandana on my head, and frankly, flares never suited me anyhow. Peace. Man.

The Office David Brent Motivational Seminar

David sings the Blues…

His best work.

No News Is Bad News

Newsletter (def): a small publication (as a leaflet or newspaper) containing news of interest chiefly to a special group (taken from Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary).

This is worth talking about.  I don’t give out my details easily online.  As far as I’m concerned, nobody gets to know stuff about me for free.  It’s a quid pro quo arrangement.  I hand over data in return for a service.  Newsletters are an example of when I’m prepared to enter into this arrangement.  It goes like this: I give over my details, I then receive information about whatever the organisation is offering in the newsletter.  I don’t sign up to receive 100% advertising.  My Latin’s not ace, so perhaps someone out there can help me with this one.  All the same, when I get nothing in return for something, it makes me fume.

Case in point: JobX’s recent “newsletter”:

Read through it.  Please tell me where the “news of interest” is here.  You’ll have no trouble finding the advertising.  It’s manifestus.

To Lie or Not To Lie - There Is No Question

When creating your resume, it is important to maintain a balance between including relevant information without overwhelming the interviewer with superfluous detail.  Further, you should only include details you can provide evidence for, should this be required. There have been several documented cases of people lying on the resumes and suffering the consequences. And the worst outcomes don’t always involved simple job loss.

Andrea Stanfield, for instance, told her employer that she had a business degree, when she didn’t. She paved a well-regarded career for herself in management for several years before the stress of the lie became too much and she decided to come clean. She wrote a book about her experience called “Phony! How I Faked My Way Through Life”. Audio interview: Phony: How I faked my way through life Her story certainly makes you want to think twice about any level of resume deception.

Of course, nowadays it’s fairly difficult to tell too big of a big lie. Background checking by recruitment companies is stringent, and employers often turn to third party investigation firms to make sure that the wool isn’t being pulled over their eyes.

And it doesn’t take a genius in the field of human behavior to understand why people might feel they have to omit information or add some in to increase their chances of employment. So, in an effort at avoidance of this situation and the supremacy of truth over deception (here I go, off with the superhero thing again), here are a few tips to ensure that your resume remains clean:

- When you are writing your resume, make sure that you include current addresses, phone numbers, and names of the places and jobs that you’ve listed. This saves time and confusion for a prospective employer.

-Don’t leave out previous jobs, even if you have left them on bad terms. A potential employer will call them, that’s true, but a previous employer is only allowed to say if they will or won’t hire you again, and the dates that you worked there. If they say that they won’t hire you again, it’s not something that will make or break your chances of getting the job. Be prepared, however, to answer questions about it in your interview. If you do omit jobs that you have held in the past, these positions will come up in a background check and the potential employer will realise the omission. This will make you look as though you are hiding something.

-Remember what your parents taught you: don’t lie. When you lie on a resume, or omit information, a potential employer will eventually find out and you will lose your chance for an interview or, if you have already been hired, you can be fired very easily. So, it is always in your best interest that you provide the most accurate information on your resume to demonstrate to an employer that you are an honest person. This counts for big bonus points in the hiring process.

Friday Funny

The Office Jelly Stapler.

David Brent is Made Redundant…

Get On Board

Is this where the job market is heading? Get on board…

Anxiety and the Job Interview

It’s not uncommon for people to approach a job interview with a sense of trepidation.  For some, the idea of traveling in a plane at thirty-thousand feet is horrifying.  For others, it’s the thought of being face-to-face with a spider.  In the same way, for some people the idea of meeting new people, speaking confidently, and being judged makes them tremble at the knees.  When we consider that the symptoms of anxiety include sweating, an increase in breathing rate, muscle tension, lack of concentration and decreased sense of humor, the outcomes of anxiety can mean that perfectly competent people miss out on jobs because of poor performance during an interview.

Each of us has our kriptonite.  But while Superman’s only management skill was avoidance, here’s a list of methods that will help you face your fear:
- Prior to the interview, begin visualising your desired performance, rather than focussing on ways you might stuff it up. Picture yourself striding into the interview room with grace and confidence, chatting eloquently with the interviewer, being calm and relaxed. If sportspeople can use this technique effectively, so can you.
- Correct breathing helps too. To prove my point, try this experiment. Just while you’re sitting in your lounge chair at home, take a series of rapid, short breaths. If you do this for long enough, your mouth will go dry, and you’ll begin to feel dizzy and disoriented. If you’re prone to anxiety, your body may interpret these physiological symptoms as fear, thus triggering further “flight or fight” symptoms, such as sweating and gastric upset. When you are nervous, your breaths become quicker, therefore, the anxiety response increases. Belly breathing overcomes this problem. Instead of breathing through the upper parts of your chest, try taking breath right down into your belly, making it move in as the breath comes in, and out as it comes out. Watch your belly moving as you breathe. As silly as it may look, this form of breathing has a calming effect.
- During the interview, do a bit of acting. People who interact well with others do so partly because they know how to follow a few basic rules: eye contact, smiling, remembering another person’s name, good listening. In the same way that you learnt to write and ride a bike, these are skills you can acquire. Do some role-playing, acting out the role of a charismatic person. Practice. Makes. Perfect.
-There are loads of books on managing anxiety at local libraries and book shops. Read up a bit. Be proactive, rather than a victim to your tendencies.

Grown men who go around with Superman symbols on their tee-shirts definitely need a styling overhaul. But I can see the fascination with superheroes. They’re empowered, and strong and usually get to wear fab costumes. But each of them also has some sort of fear. If meeting new people and being under the social spotlight is yours, don’t let it stop you from flying.

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