Global Economic Depression

Mental health is not something we tend to talk about all that often. I mean, if we have the flu, most of us are quite comfortable with ringing in sick, and some will even bring the gory details of their illness into work with them when they recover (please note: I’m not mentioning this by way of endorsement. I don’t like the words “mucous” or “diahorea” and I hate more the anything the phrase, “it was coming out both ends”).

But what about if we’re feeling bad. Emotionally, I mean? Are we happy to give the boss a call and say, “You know, I’m just not coping with life, I feel as though I’d rather die than face people today and really, I’d like a few days off to recover”. Even if this is the truth, I’d be willing to wager most of us would be keen to avoid the stigma attached to being mentally unwell.

So what’s happening in recruitment offices where you are? How are recruiters coping with the decline in revenue, with job losses and with the constant looming threat of job losses? Is morale high? Are you all bonding as a result of the common enemy - lack of income? Or is it every person for themselves out there?

Perhaps a more important question: How are recruitment companies dealing with a workforce who may be suffering higher rates of depression, lack of morale and motivation and an increase in anxiety as a result of economic uncertainty? Are you offering counseling or, at least, support? Or is this something not at all of concern for you - you’re just focused on getting through this thing at minimal cost?

Tell me your stories (gory details and all - just don’t mention the “m” word:)

BEWARE of Job Scams

Dodgy job ads are a very hot topic at the moment.  The ramifications of making fake job ads a part of a business repertoire are serious.  This practice can hijack the level of trust the community has for a business and the businesses in the industry; but it also affects people on a personal level.  It raises hopes where there were previously none.  Nasty.

As the market leading job board and the main target, Seek are the end of the line when it comes to the publication of job scams. Are they doing enough to prevent these? Do they have dedicated people on board tracking this?  Or, indeed, do they bear little responsibility for the integrity of their advertisements?

The forum most used for discussion on this topic is Whirlpool. They are moderating these discussions concerning this topic at a rapid pace.

One such discussion - Beware Of Job Scams - only three hours old - was pulled.

Here’s what it said:

Samepoint.com - The Conversation Search Engine

Some of us are at the point in our social media evolution where we recognise the importance of building a personal online brand.

This idea becomes even more pertinent as unemployment rates rise (or, at the least, hiring freezes mean those out of work will struggle just a little harder for a role).

In the past, it’s been difficult to manage your social media profile. All your stuff was disparate and difficult to track. Of course, the net’s adapted, and this adaptation has taken the form of sites like samepoint.com. Search yourself here (see mine) and it’ll give you the lowdown on all your social media activity. It also has a panel displaying recent conversations from Twitter. Here’s the other bonus (and now I’m beginning to sound like a TV flogger of knife sets), it’ll give you a rating by searching negative or positive comments in your personal information.

This site has a two-fold application. Recruiters can use it as part of their background checking. Candidates can use it in the way described, to check their online profiles.

Enjoy your new knife block. i hope the bonus steak set comes in handy. (Psst. Don’t just use it for special guests).

Confessions of A Jobaholic

This can’t be that hard a task - finding a new job. I have experience. Knowledge. Some might even say there’s a charisma in the way I speak. Yep, okay. I’m articulate.  I play well with others in the class.

This won’t be difficult.

Monday 23: Log
Today I revised my CV. It was patchy in places and I wanted to make it concise. I altered it ever so slightly for the new career direction I’m considering. I used some example CVs on the net as a guide.

By the time I’d done this, and caught up on a few odd jobs that needed doing around the house (ignored due to the demands of my previous job), the day was over.

With my new CV complete, however, tomorrow I intend to blitzkrieg the job market. Job boards…here I come!

Tuesday 24: Log
I can’t believe how many opportunities the job scene holds. And people are saying there’s a recession!

Seriously, I sent my CV to at least 20 highly-suitable roles, and 30 or so roles more peripheral to my experience, yet still suitable for a person of my skills. Now, I guess I wait for a call from the recruiters…it should be a very busy few days. Made sure my mobile is fully charged.

Wednesday 25: Log
No calls from recruiters for interviews. Called a few recruiters directly, just to let me know I’m available. Unfortunately, they were all in meetings. I believe in persistence, however. I intend to call them frequently over the coming few days. They’ll see that I’m keen. They’ll believe in me, and they will take me on as a project. Of this I am certain.

While waiting for a call back, watched an episode of Dr Phil. What an interesting fellow.

Thursday 26: Log
Still no calls back from recruiters. Left a message with each of the main players in my industry.   While I was at it, thought I’d give some of the agents I posted my application with a call. Left a message where I could. One very promising lead: an application for a job. Secretary said he’d make sure the appropriate recruiter would return my call. Said I sound like an interesting candidate.

A hot, hot lead, I’d say. Better get as many episodes of Dr Phil in as I can. I’ll be back in the game by next week. Of this I am certain.

Friday 27: Log
Applied for a position as a traffic controller for the local council. While this is not at all related to my area of expertise - IT - I figured it would be good to hedge my bets. Just in case. No one called today. I guess this is a Friday thing.

Ate three packets of chips and watched ten episodes of Dr Phil in a row.

(One month has passed for our hero…)

Log
I forget what bloody day it is. Time gets hazy when you’ve nothing to do. Dole forms were processed today. My wife says I have put on “at least” 15 kilos.

Not one recruiter has returned my calls.

Dr Phil is a farkwit.  Of this I am certain.

* This story is based on a fictional character and no recruiters were hurt during the making of this story.

CareerOne Delivers Christmas Price Rise

Any shenanigans reminding me (even remotely) of our elected w*nkers in Canberra leaves me with a taste in my mouth akin to the tempting flavors of a post-NYE binge.

So you’ll have to excuse me for a moment, while I go rinse, ‘cos CareerOne have been up to some no good that should set the folks there up for fabulous post-corporate careers in gummintal politics.

In true, “kick ‘em while they’re down” form, while recruiters (whose nuts and ovaries are already slightly shriveled due to the impending gloom bought on by lower rates of employment blah blah) folks at C1 got together under the mistletoe and, in between kissing each others’ asses, decided some price hikes were in order.

Merry Bloody Ho Ho.

And if this isn’t bad enough, those that they decided to hit the hardest, were the recruiters on smaller packages.  Folks on a 20-ads a month package will now pay a whopping 32% more than they did pre-Festivus.  What are larger recruiters on 50-ads-a month paying extra?  Not a penny.

There’s equity for ya.

A comparable 20-ads package on Seek is now 35% less expensive than the CareerOne option.  Tell me again why I should shift my business to the distant second-placer in the job board egg and spoon?

Network Your Way Through Christmas

For the jobseeker and employers, Christmas is a quiet time. Thoughts of changes and restructures (and all those jazzy keywords that mean positions are available) are put on hold until post-festivities. job boards continue to exhibit their wares, of course, but activity tends to slow a little.

Sites like Hoojano and 2vouch will help provide more choice of 24/7 access for the recruitment industry into the future. In the meanwhile, however, there is always LinkMe.

Here’s my suggestion: subscribe to LinkMe over the break. While it is true that movement in the job market is put on ice for a bit, the new year brings with it a bunch of changes to workplaces that recruiters and jobseekers can take advantage of.  So now, more than usual, is the time for networking.  And the opportunities won’t arise from the mitigated job board activity. They’ll come from more passive means like networking sites.

Sleeping With The Enemy

This week, Jobspeed, a new IT job board website was launched. Superficially, the marketing propaganda is probably making recruiters prick their ears up to listen. The site’s run by a consortium of recruiters, thus the we-know-what-you-need-come-over-here-and-be-with-others-of-your-own-kind spiel. It’s promising a faster service, real jobs and the pay per application fee seems, at the outset at least, to be fair.

Let’s look a little more deeply at this, though. We might find that if we scratch the surface, all that glossy, almost-dry paint might start to chip off in slimy chunks, only to reveal something that recruiters might want to steer clear of.The main problem with this concept is that it is run by recruiters, lead by Lloyd Harrington Recruitment. Even if you’re a recruiter and you’re prepared, say, in a moment of conciliation and peace to all the brothers and sisters to overlook the fact that by paying them instead of Seek, you’re feeding the opposition, would you want that same opposition plumper and stronger but also with access to all the applicant information from applicants applying for your jobs? Nup.

While employers aren’t discouraged from advertising, I don’t see how they could be encouraged to recruit from the site at the same rate as recruiters are charged. Perhaps they are being offered a different rate?And if you’re just reading this article for my witty banter, and if you don’t give a stuff about outcomes for employers or recruiters, but one day, it might be 40 degrees outside and the aircon at your office is broken and the woman in the next cubicle is munching like a cow on a packet of Thins, and they stink because they’re cheese and onion, and you decide to go to Jobspeed to check out their ‘real jobs’, then ask yourself how they’re going to verify the realness of the jobs. Are they going to check each and every one for credibility, or simply black card the recruiters known for posting false positions. Ask yourself that.

I have always been an advocate of recruiters running their own job boards. I think that if we are ever to become independent of job boards such as Seek, that this is the way to go. But with Jobspeed, as it is a consortium, there is really no difference from the recruiter’s perspective. We are still paying someone else to sell our wares.