The Hudson Report: Employment Expectations was released today. Our findings show that there is a further increase in sentiment for the fourth consecutive quarter. Sentiment is now at its highest level in almost two years. Up 2.4 percentage points (pp) Australian employer confidence now stands at a net effect of 31.5 per cent of employers reporting plans to increase their permanent staff levels during the April - June 2010 period.

The direction of sentiment is mixed across industries with some industries reporting an increase and some reporting a decrease from last quarter, however all industries are reporting levels of sentiment well above those seen during 2009. The resources industry reported the strongest increase in sentiment with confidence up to 49.1% of employers intending to increase their permanent staff levels in the April - June 2010 period.

The overall result is being driven by a very strong, continuing shift towards intentions to increase headcount as well as a continuing strong shift away from plans to decrease headcount. These shifts have been in play continuously for four consecutive quarters.

For full details, click here to download The Hudson Report: Employment Expectations.

Juan Fernandez, sailing from Chile in 1576, claimed he had discovered this Southern Continent. Luis Vaez de Torres, a Spanish navigator working for the Spanish Crown, proved the existence of a passage south of New Guinea, now known as Torres Strait. And Pedro Fernandes de Quieros, also sailing for the Spanish Crown, saw a large island south of New Guinea in 1606.

From that time onwards the southern land of the Holy Spirit seemingly slipped from the Spanish radar, and it was ultimately settled as a far-flung outpost of the British Empire. And the British saw fit to use the continent as a receptacle for its criminal detritus, rather than as a grail wherein to discover the Holy Spirit.

Our recruitment consultancy aims to rekindle this Spanish interest in Australia. And we’re going to make a profit while we’re at it. So consider the following three paragraphs, and you’ll begin to learn how. We want to recruit for the BIG picture, and while we’re not sure that the BIG picture will unfold in the near future, we do take comfort in ’shampoo wisdom’: it won’t happen overnight - but it WILL happen.

Australia is home to 375,000 Spanish-speakers, of whom less than one third are native speakers. Spanish-speakers comprise only 2.3% of our 21 million-strong population. Contrast this with other Anglophone cultures: The United States boasts 15% of its population as Spanish-speaking, the United Kingdom 6.5%, Canada 3%, and New Zealand 0.5%. And consider the same statistics for our major regional Asian trading partners: China counts only 0.001124% of its 1.3 billion-strong population as Spanish-speaking, Japan only 0.1%, and India doesn’t even bother to count.

Now consider that, in 2010, 358 million people speak Spanish as a native language, and that a total of 500 million people speak it worldwide. Spanish is one of the six official languages of the United Nations, and it is further recognised as an official language of major trade and political blocs such as the European Union, the Organisation of American States, the Organisation of Ibero-American States, the African Union, the Union of South American States, the Latin Union, the CARICOM, and the North American Free Trade Agreement Area.

Finally, consider that Spanish is the second most natively-spoken language in the world, after Mandarin Chinese, and the third most spoken language by total number of speakers (after Chinese and English). And global internet usage statistics for 2007 show Spanish as the third most commonly used language on the Internet, after English and Chinese.

To our minds these are a beautiful set of numbers that speak of two important facts. First, Chinese-speakers and Spanish-speakers are the two largest markets in the world, and at some point they are going to want to talk to each other. Second, Australia doesn’t have enough people capable of bringing these markets together, or capable of bringing the Spanish-speaking market to other Asian powers such as Japan or India.

So how do you create a business around bringing the Spanish and Asian worlds together? Well, we certainly don’t have any experience in exporting Spanish wind turbines to Australia. And nor do we have experience in building Chinese civilian nuclear energy plants in Argentina. We don’t sell paella pans to Mumbai, and nor do we know the first thing about getting Spanish cava onto a menu in Shanghai….

….but our clients do, and when they want to expand their Asian businesses in a convenient, politically-stable, well-regulated, sensibly-taxed and foreign-capital-friendly investment destination like Australia, then we’ll be there to help them. And we’ll help them by finding them the talent they need, speaking the language they need, and at the time that they need it.

Alternatively, you might have miner with more than 6 years experience of working in underground mines as a Shift Supervisor. The hours are long, but the $USD pay is fantastic. They’d be great for the role if they spoke Spanish, because this position is based in Ecuador! My client is mid-tier mining company

Contact: Thomas Mitchell thomas_mitchell@mac.com

Vampire Weekend released their eponymous debut album in 2008, reaching 15 in the UK charts and peaking at 17 on the US Billboard 200. This New York band met while attending the famous Columbia University together, and list their influences as African popular music and Western classical music, and like to describe their genre as “Upper West Side Soweto”. Their second album, Contra, was released in January, and it hasn’t disappointed me. Rated 4 starts by Rolling Stone Magazine, which describes it as “ brainy, confident and generally awesome”. America obviously agreed, as this album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200.

Grizzly Bear are another New York band I have been listening to recently, particularly their latest album, 2009’s Veckatimest. Using both electronic and traditional instruments, Grizzly Bear’s sound has been categorised as psychedelic pop, folk rock and experimental. With fans such as Radiohead, the band’s latest album reached number 8 on the US Billboard 200. Uncut give the album 4 out of 5 starts and say that it’s “a lovely record and it deserves to be heard on land, sea, indoors and out.”

Finally, Damon Albarn’s virtual band, Gorillaz, released their third album, Plastic Beach, only days ago. Of this album, Albarn is quoted as saying “I’m making this one the most pop record I’ve ever made in many ways, but with all my experience to try and at least present something that has got depth.” With guest performances from superstars such as Snoop Dog, Lou Reed, Mos Def, De La Soul and others, it certainly can boast a star pulling power. Crave Online begin their review by stating “Damon Albarn’s melting pot of collaborations achieves an odd sort of greatness.” Despite Albarn’s admission about the poppines of this album, the reviewer claims the album is “about as complex in flavor as a mouthful of Jelly Bellys”, and  ”the album isn’t nearly as pop friendly as the first two Gorillaz releases”. Despite these comments, once you listen to the album a few times, “a strange new sun shines through, and the Gorillaz soar to entirely new heights”. The album is given a good 7 out of 10.

I am in the midst of a major adult holiday right now, and I imagine that some of you readers might be too. When I say “adult holiday” I’m euphemistically referring to a period of prolonged unemployment. I’ve been unemployed since July 2009, and I believe I was “underemployed” for six months prior to that date.

In the depths of the financial crisis there was a lot of commentary in the press about “what to do”. There was one view offered by the Chief of Staff to the US President, Mr Rahm Emanuel, that really struck a chord with me. He said: “never waste a good crisis”. So I took his advice: I quit my job with a specialist legal recruitment consultancy, and I chased the sun to Europe where a friend of mine was getting married in France. This was the start of my “summer holiday”.

I met my girlfriend in Spain, and my life has since been transformed. I’m now studying a Masters course on-line, studying Spanish daily in intensive classes, and writing freelance for magazines in Australia. I write on any topic that comes to mind - I’ve had stories published about mastiff dogs, sailing, hunting in Spain, vintage cars, and military history. I know next to nothing about all of these topics, but as every recruiter knows “it’s not what you know but who you know” that counts. And I know people that think my work warrants publishing (and payment!).

I’ve swapped the cold streets of Melbourne and the “look-at-me” dazzle of Sydney for the sunny parks of Valencia. I’ve even turned my hand to recruiting again. I’ve established a “proto-consultancy” that specialises in placing Spanish-speakers into roles in Australia. It’s a tiny niche, but thankfully my competition is limited. You might be interested in my website at www.mitchellallied.com.au if you’re curious.

My new consultancy also provides information about Human Resources-related issues in Australia, and we are currently providing Executive Coaching services to professionals in Spain. For example, I am training one client to harness the power of effective networking, as he is about to assume the Presidency of a pan-European medical society. Another client needs coaching because he wants to make a good impression with his new clients in Libya. Another aspect of the consultancy is the conduct of research for the purposes of headhunting. If a client needs a Spanish-speaker for a role in Australia, then we can help them with the aid of our networks. Similarly, we conduct headhunting research in any industry - our established specialties are for white collar roles in the legal, financial and construction industries. Our location in Spain is no barrier to our work, as we’re well-adapted to a global economy, and much of our work is conducted using the internet and Skype (did you know that Skype offers a silent number service, or that you can make a Skype call appear as though you are calling from a Australian telephone?).

I felt the need to establish a new business for several reasons. First, it appeals to a certain entrepeneurial spirit. Second, the recruitment business it is a great way to meet people. And third, it is potentially (wildly) profitable. We are convinced that business-standard Spanish-language skills will become increasingly sought after in our lifetimes, and our early specialisation in this niche should give us that all-important first-mover advantage.

I was also wary of returning to recruiting in Australia in any great hurry. The financial crisis of late 2008 ensured that the recruitment industry was going to suffer a difficult 2009, and while 2010 looks promising (at first glance) I think there is still a difficult year ahead. I can’t justify this view in this short article, but I encourage you to look at publications like The Economist or the excellent commentary on the Bloomberg website if you’d like to learn more. I think it would not be too pessimistic to counsel you that “we aren’t out of the woods yet”.

I look forward to continuing to blog for Recruitment Cafe, and I encourage your comments and discussion!

Respect

One very effective way to get more done everyday is to start scheduling - and turning up to - ‘Very Important Meetings’ (VIM’s) with yourself. During these VIM’s you get to focus on the key tasks you need to achieve without distraction, and that’s where the key to getting more done every day lies.

It’s important to understand how breaks in concentration can cause havoc when it comes to effectiveness which ultimately dictate how much we achieve in any one day, and how successful we are both personally and professionally. Research into worker habits and distractions shows that we tend to change tasks every three minutes on average, and often take about 25 minutes to return to that original task. Even more staggering is that 28% of each 9-5 period is depleted by such interruptions and one estimate suggests that these interruptions can take up to 2.1 hours of an average workers day! Is any wonder that so many people are stressed and struggling to maintain a balance in their life?!

By blocking time out in your diary to focus on a particular task or project without interruption will allow you to fully concentrate and therefore increase your levels of productivity. When you’re working to your full potential you will get more done in less time, creating more precious spare minutes - or even hours - in your day.

This isn’t a ground-breaking discovery, it’s simply a fundamental part of smart time management. However it’s easy to forget what you should be doing when your email alert keeps going off, your twitter updates are pinging onto your screen and your mobile phone’s vibrating frantically! With all of these modern day distractions, combined with gossiping colleagues and ringing phones it’s more important than ever to make sure you block out time in your diary to get the important tasks done in the most time-effective way possible. This also helps create a sense of satisfaction, reduces stress and overwhelm, and allows you to reach your goals more rapidly. All in all, it’s a receipe for success and one that doesn’t take a lot of ingredients - here’s what you need to do:-

1. Write down 3 key tasks you need to get done today that will help contribute directly to your goals. Pick only 3 - no more, no less! Having a long list of ‘to-do’s’ distracts the mind which impacts your level of focus.

2. Schedule ‘Very Important Meetings’ with yourself, blocking out chunks of time in your diary to get each task done.

3. For each block of time, imagine it’s a meeting with the CEO who’s about to give you a big pay rise - have respect for that time-slot, turn up, pay attention and focus on the end result!

4. Where possible book a meeting room or shut your office door, turn off your mobile, disable email alerts, and avoid social media like the plague. Again, you wouldn’t distract the CEO with this kind of stuff, so show your work the same respect.

So what do you want to achieve today? And what are you going to do with the time you save? Start scheduling your VIM’s now and look forward to getting more done in less time!

Got a question about smart time management? Email me now - fayehollands@outshineconsulting.com

Like most salespeople, recruitment consultants are paid commissions on the amount of recruitment fees they bill. The more money they make off of their clients in the way of candidate placements, the more money they can make personally through commission. Each recruitment organization has its own commission structure, some much more lucrative than others.

But like with most salespeople, as a client, how do you know who you can trust? How do you know when you engage the services of a recruiter that you are going to get someone who will work in your best interest? How do you know that they are not going to drive up the salary because “the more money the candidate makes, the more money I make” (especially if the recruitment fee is calculated as a % of the salary package). How can you trust the advice of a recruitment consultant, when potentially, all they may care about is ‘filling’ the role instead of ‘finding you the right talent.’

The only way to get some assurance, as a client, is to do some minor background checks. You may ask around and ask others if they’ve ever worked with the recruitment consultant and their organization. Or like many employers nowadays who embrace social media and networking technology, you can find out more about a recruiter, through networking sites such as LinkedIn. By reading ‘recommendations’ written by other clients you’ll be able to determine whether or not a recruiter or agency is reputable and has a good track record or whether something sticks out that doesn’t seem quite right. It may not be a reference check, but it’s the closest thing a client has to one.

After all, as a client, you are still ‘recruiting’ the recruitment consultant to work on behalf of your organization. You want to make sure that the person you engage has the same values and guiding principles that you would look for in any prospective employee. After all, they may not be on the company payroll, but they are still working for you – whether you see it that way or not!

The most significant finding, that 29.1% of employers intend to increase permanent staff levels during this period, should provide a level of stability to recruiters in Australia. This is the highest level of confidence for nearly 16 months.

Western Australian employers have shown the greatest level of confidence, with a whopping 43% expecting to hire, while confidence in NSW has risen 9.9% to above 27%.

Leading the way in NSW is professional services, with over 43% of employers indicating an intention to hire. Strong sectors also include IT, Resources, Financial Services, Telco, Construction/Property/Engineering and Healthcare.

Click here to view the full report.

The 5 Key Steps To Success

It doesn’t matter what you want to achieve - perhaps your goal is to find a new job, change careers or find a partner - the same principles apply so I urge you to print this article off, or at least make some notes on the following 5 steps, which combined with a good dose of’ ‘action’, will help you achieve your goals:-

Step 1: Know What You Want

There are far too many people who aren’t clear on what they actually want to achieve and as a result flaff around, never feeling the sense of success or satisfaction they crave. It is imperative to be clear on what you are striving to achieve, so for example if you want to lose weight you need to be crystal clear on HOW MUCH weight you want to lose, or if you want to change jobs get clear on what type of career or industry you want to work in. Your first step is to set a specific, measurable and timely goal that you are driven to achieve. Please also note that it’s important that are you are driven by your own personal reasons rather than wanting to achieve a particular goal for someone else.

Step 2: Know How To Get It

95% people don’t achieve their new year’s resolutions because they don’t spend time planning HOW they are going to actually get what they want, and goals set during the rest of the year are no exception! There’s no point in having a goal if you don’t have a strategy to achieve it so make sure you spend some quality time planning your approach and getting advice where appropriate.

This is a significant step where many fall down because they put together a strategy, take action on it, and then when it doesn’t produce the results they want they continue to follow the same plan of attack. Unless you want to end up in a straight jacket it’s important to avoid the definition of insanity and instead refine, tweak or overhaul your strategy until you have a well-formed plan in place that actually works for you.

Step 3: Get The Right Skills

Now that you have a plan of action in place it’s important to do a self-audit to recognise whether or not you have the skills required to reach your goal. For example, if you want to get a new job but have no idea how to construct a good resume or how to behave in interview you could up-skill by working with a Career Coach. If you’re an Accounts Assistant but want to become a Chartered Accountant you would need to take on some additional studies. Or perhaps you want to get fit but need some help putting together an exercise plan.

Either way, up-skilling doesn’t have to be expensive or time-intensive, and there are nearly always options available to suit your particular needs and current abilities. The important point here is to recognise what you need to learn in order to move forward - your personal development is vital!

Step 4: Create The Right Environment

Once you have a clear goal, a strategy to achieve it and the skills to physically reach that point, it’s critical that you do your very best to make sure that your environment supports you. By that I mean ensuring that the people around you support your goals, that your living and/or work space are appropriate, and that your habits and patterns of behavior support you.

So for example, going on a diet but having a KFC sitting on the kitchen bench that your partner brought home is NOT a supportive environment! Similarly, being distracted by incoming emails, text message alert and Facebook updates when you’re trying to study is not a conducive environment to facilitate focussed learning. Make it a priority to create an environment that conspires for your success.

Step 5: Get Your Head Straight

This is a major ingredient when it comes to achieving your goals. You can have steps 1-4 in order - so, your goal well stated, your plan of action in place, the right skills to achieve your goals and a supportive environment - but if you don’t believe you can achieve your goal, or if you have any other limiting beliefs about yourself, you will sabotage your own success time and time again. It is therefore critical to deal with your inner demons, flush out the negative self-talk, check in with your beliefs, and get rid of your fears and phobias!

As with Step 2, this is a major stumbling block for many, but it doesn’t need to be. I’ve helped so many clients deal with challenges that are mentally holding them back, some big but most small, and the reality is that as we get older we bring a bigger collection of old habits and negative behaviors into the mix each time to look to achieve something new. It therefore goes without saying that it’s a smart move to work with someone to help spring clean your mind and get you mentally prepared for success. For more information on how you can do this click here or contact Faye today on +61 2 9548 5434 or fayehollands@outshineconsulting.com.

If a recruiter is retained they are done so on a project fee basis, incorporating staged payments. The fee is negotiated up-front and is usually based on a percentage of the EXPECTED final salary package. The very act of up-front negotiation ensures that both the recruiter and the client are very aware of the salary on offer. There is no room for surprises down the track at offer time, so the low-balling scenario will not exist and the recruiter’s and client’s reputations will not be compromised. Further it commits both parties to a ‘shared risk’ model. Under the contingent model, all the risk lies with the consultant, hardly an equitable fair contract!

The other point to note is that if a client is offering a very low salary for a role and will not change their mind or their offer, why accept the assignment in the first place? If the role is going to be impossible to fill (or retain an effective candidate in) why do work that you ultimately won’t be paid for? It will make better use of time to use that non-billable time to find better new clients than to spend billable hours doing unbillable work recruiting for roles that can’t be filled due to low salary offers.

In summary therefore the Daryl Keeley’s accurate consequences of low-balling can be effectively negated with the retained model and a more selective approach to the work a recruiter actually takes on.

Mindset Group