Christmas Wishes

We wish to take this opportunity to thank our existing clients for their Patronage in 2009 and referring others to HRSolutions services.  It was also great to see so many clients move on to bigger and better things, taking on a new position or career path.  It just proves that you can "extend" yourself and reap the benefits once you have taken control and grasped your career aspirations firmly in both hands.  We are delighted we were able to offer assistance.  

Holiday Operating Hours

A quick note to all our valued clients, the office will be closed from the 18th December 2009 and will reopen on the 11th January 2010.  If any emergencies arise, please contact us on 1300 133 812. 

Foreword

 
Luck or careful planning?

2009 has been an interesting year in which Australia continues to find itself in a stronger position than most other advanced economies.  Due to the resilience of the Australian economy, sound financial system, natural resources and relationship with our Asian neighbours, Australia’s economy is viewed by many experts as now well beyond the worst of the global financial crisis. According to Malcolm Edey, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s assistant governor, financial system, “The past year has been an extremely challenging time, but Australia's financial system, like the economy itself, has come through it in better shape than most," Mr Edey said. Source: James Glynn article from DowJones 28.10.09

With skilled vacancies on the increase, jobseekers are more vulnerable to ‘market demand’ for their skills and experience, requiring individuals to constantly update their skills and learn new ones.
  

You are responsible for almost every aspect of your career. Career management is something you have to think about as your employer doesn’t do it for you. It is now quite acceptable that workers will have up to 5 different “careers” at a number of different companies throughout their lives.  If  an opportunity happens to come up, will you be in a position to explore it?

Each person is a unique package of POTENTIAL-

comprising of skills, achievements, experience, strengths, interests and qualifications.  Ask yourself this:

· What do I have to offer?

· What do I want?

· How am I going to get it?

If an opportunity happens to come up, put yourself in a position to explore it.  January is the perfect time to  prepare.  We will help you develop skills in research, developing a résumé as your marketing document,  getting the most out of interviews, and, perhaps, most importantly, creating and maintaining a network to provide you with ongoing career opportunities.

Bruce Gregory

Chief Executive Officer

Employer hiring intentions at best level in 10yrs: Survey

Australian employers are more confident about the future and their intention to hire more workers is at the highest level in 10 years.  The financial services sector, which was the hardest hit by the global financial and economic downturn, was the sector to show one of the best increases in hiring confidence. Source: AAP NewsWire, 29/10/2009  

Presenting Your Personal Brand

Are you projecting the right image? Throughout a career, individuals often need to re-brand themselves. The key to doing this is to discover what people find compelling about you and building on that,  whether this is in the context of looking for promotion with your current employer or seeking new job opportunities.

Personal branding is much more than personal presentation.  In the case of your current employer it will include the perceptions of your colleagues across a number of areas:

                         · A tendency to raise your voice could lead to the perception that you are unreasonable.   

· How you deliver against deadlines.

· Your demonstrated strengths or weaknesses

· Consistency of performance; and

· Interaction with all levels within the  organisation.

These are just a few examples.

If your personal brand has been tainted in some way, opportunities for promotion will be few and you may need to consider rebuilding your personal brand somewhere else.

In this respect, it has become important to develop certain skills relating to career management in order to sell yourself effectively.  For example, seeing oneself in various lights, reinvention, and reflection, asking for help and seeking information, learning fast and fitting in, and networking both inside and outside the organisation.

In building and presenting your personal brand you need to develop a high degree of self awareness and a good understanding of:

· Your career preferences.

· Preferred work environment.

· Personal, corporate, ethical and moral values.

· Management Style.

· Marketable, professional strengths.

· Development needs.

If you would like to learn more about building and presenting your personal brand, contact a senior  consultant on 1300 133 812.

Looking For a Directorship?

The Australian Institute of Company Directors is pleased to announce the launch of Directorship Opportunities, a new service to assist in finding board positions. Directorship Opportunities has improved features allowing subscribed members to search, view and apply for board positions advertised on the AICD website.

News In Brief

Skills Shortage on the horizon

The Australian Industry Group (AI Group) and consultant Deloitte warn that the skills shortage will re-emerge when trading conditions improve¹.   During the economic downturn, as an alternative to laying off staff, employers adopted shorter work hours, salary freezes, enforced annual leave and cuts to the training budget.  Deloitte Australia chief executive Giam Swiegers said he had no doubt a skills shortage would be evident before the end of calendar 2010¹. Triggered by cutbacks in training and apprenticeships are likely to see fierce competition for labour across many  industry groups.¹Recovery ‘will revive skills shortage’ 29/10/2009 2:43:02PM

The Mobile Executive

This recent article highlighted a growing number of executives working outside the office and adopting a more mobile approach.  The mobile devices mentioned under “Online tools for the road warrior” were Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile 2007; Skype 3.0 for mobiles and Samsung NC10 netbook.Source: “Never Stuck Behind the Desk” by Julia Talevski” 13.10.09 SMH Business Day.

 Human Capital is the Double Edged Sword

Employees are an organisation’s largest asset, but they also pose significant risks.  Recruiting and retaining skilled employees has been identified as the most important factor for organisational success.  The importance and sometimes difficulty in gaining employees that suit the business has been highlighted due to significant changes in the Australian workforce, these are summarised below:

· Demographic shifts; namely caused by the baby boomer phenomenon and Australia’s increasingly aging population.

· Changes in the Australian workforce due to shifts in social values and expectations.

· The importance of career development as a reason for moving jobs or changing professions.

· The impact of changes in the nature of business, specifically how most developed economies in the world are built upon the service and information industries.

 Source : Human Resource Leader 20/10/2009, written by Ingrid Selene