Get That Job / MGPD Solutions

A really really nice thing happened to me today...and I've decided to use the money to become a Holyoake DRUMBEAT Facilitator.
This is something I've been wanting to do for years.
Thanks Patricio Contreras for the chat today and reminding me of some of my yet to be achieved goals.
What goes around (most certainly does) comes around in the nicest and most unexpected ways sometimes (when you least expect it). 🙏🙂🙏🙂🙏🙂

Food for thought:

Have you ever stopped to think about how you make decisions?

Are you decisive or undecisive?

Is this a benefit to you or is this holding you back?

Did you realise that it's the way we respond that determines our direction and growth. Moving? Or stagnant?

How do you respond?

Do you respond with "maybe" when required to make a decision?

"Maybe" keeps us stuck and prevents us from moving and growing. "Maybe" kills possibility.

Did you know that by being decisive is a compassionate thing to do. It keeps us out of limbo. Being decisive is also an act of generosity. It helps create action and gets us one step closer and feels great too.

What's a decision that you need to make today that can help you get one step closer?

The traditional career pathway was linear, unlike today. Do you think it was easier? Go to school, get a job, same company start to finish. Stability, one or two skills sets, work hard, loyalty, job security. Does this still exist? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Have you ever been made redundant? If so, how many times?

Do you believe in COINCEDENCE??? Or does everything happen for a reason?

Do you know what your FUTURE is going to look like?

The Secrets to Writing a Successful Selection Criteria starts right here....

https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/10-good-ways-to-tell-me-about-yourself/?fb_action_ids=1015802988543107&fb_action_types=og.comments&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%5B944929568959976%5D&action_type_map=%5B%22og.comments%22%5D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

What do you say when someone asks "Tell me something about yourself?"

10 Good Ways to 'Tell Me About Yourself' - Expert Career Advice | Ladders

Interview with Jo (August, 2016)

Jo is a Senior HR Advisor and works in local government. She has been in the position for 12 years.

I recently interviewed Jo after she told me that her department recently advertised for an Office Assistant position online and received over 1,000 applications.

I wanted to know more. I was keen to ask Jo a few questions in relation to the experience of hiring a suitable employee in the current economic state here in WA. (In a post boom economy where applying for a job is very competitive).

I asked Jo about the recruitment process within the company she works for. Jo stated that they “generally recruit for replacement positions. Once per year each branch has the opportunity to put together a business case for approval. This is to identify if and when additional resources may be required.”

Jo’s position includes “working with relevant managers to ensure job descriptions are up to date. We have conversations about the best place to advertise the positions available. A lot of that has changed – we used to be “all about paper applications, people would mail their applications, when I first started working here, now it’s all done online.”

Jo mentioned there is a transition in her current place of employment from paper to online applications. “I think online doesn’t work for all positions” E.g. “I think it works for most of your administration/office type roles. We are still assisting people such as truck drivers and general hands with their job applications.

There is the era of people who haven’t grown up with technology and find it tricky. In generations to come, it probably won’t be an issue as technology is in**ed in all children and children are being exposed to technology at school.”

“Applicants are encouraged to submit applications on line. We provide people with assistance with technology if they express interest in a particular position. We expect staff to submit Resumes and provide assistance to those that have issues in doing so.

Job application letters are optional.

We do ask application questions and have moved away from lengthy, wordy selection criteria. We have simplified the process across the board – this applies to both low level and higher, management positions. The application questions we do ask are more targeted to a specific role.”

Questions could be very simple – “From simple “yes” and “no” questions, to questions such as “Do you have a driver’s license?” And more detailed questions such as “Describe a recent experience where you had to deal with a difficult customer?”

I asked Jo, “What do you look for when you receive job application letters and Resumes?” Her response was, “We look for relevance to the position. We are really looking for those who have put the effort in to actually look at the job advertisement and the position description and can really tell us they are the best person for the position because they can do what we are asking for.”

“It is very much that people have to skill match themselves for the application. Nothing too wordy, straight to the point is what we are wanting.”

I asked, “How do you go about short listing suitable applicants?” Her response was, “At the moment, there are so many people looking for roles, the economic climate has changed and I’ve been around long enough to see the unemployment rates go up and down.

We go from struggling to find applications and we may only receive one or two for a position, to our current economic climate where we are receiving over one thousand applications for an administration role. Generally, when you are dealing with massive numbers, it’s because the applicants are great! They have the skills.”

Another question I asked Jo was, “How do you shortlist suitable candidates?” She replied with, “You can short list someone for an interview because they have had one year more experience than another applicant with similar skills. In the current market, it really does come down to ensuring the applicants really have exactly what you require and it comes down to minute detail as to who you shortlist and who you don’t.”

Jo goes on to mention, “I’ve been in situations where at the end of the process you have shortlisted 20 fantastic people. You know you can’t interview 20 people, otherwise you’ll be interviewing for a whole week. “You start being really picky and look for spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, and as they are applying for an administration role, they will be working on documents for local government, they really need to be able to demonstrate they have the accuracy and skills required. When mistakes in applications are noticed, they go in the “no” pile.”

Me, “There is a lot of competition out there at the moment. Do you find yourself looking at reasons why not to employ someone as opposed to why you would offer that particular person a position?” Jo, “You are relying on people to tell you. You are not looking at applications and thinking, “They sort of have what we are looking for. People need to be able to tell you the skills and experience they have. They need to be really specific.”

At the interview “we are getting a feel for their personality, team fit and culture fit. I still think that people need to make an effort to dress for an interview. I have had people turn up wearing jeans and thongs (laughs). It’s not the “look” we are wanting. People really need to be able to present themselves. We do look at how they “sell themselves” based on their grooming and appearance as well as the way in which they answer the questions asked and how confidently they can do that.”

Me, “Would you agree that you would base your first impression of a person on the first 4 seconds of seeing them?” Jo, “Yes, yes, yes.”

Me, “Obviously we use the job application letter and Resume to identify an applicant has the skills required for a position and the interview process to see if the applicant has the right personality to fit in with the culture of the team, we want to ensure the applicant is a problem solver not a problem maker. Do you agree with that?”
Jo, “You try to keep an open mind. You want to see what makes this person better than all the others. Those small things do ultimately make a difference in the current economic climate. Whether or not they should or shouldn’t, I don’t know.”

Me, “What has stood out for you in the recruitment process in the past?” Jo, “It really does come down to those small details, the shaking of the hand, the looking the person in the eye, the way they can sit in the interview and answer the whole panel, being confident about themselves and being prepared. If they have done their research they have no problems. They are talking about themselves. It’s really about being prepared to talk about their experiences.”

Please share your good and bad experiences. I would really like to hear about your previous job interview experiences.

The Recruitment Process - From the Perspective of a Decision Maker:

Vicki has an extensive background in the Vocational Education and Training Sector. Vicki has worked as a Trainer/Assessor for many years and has owned her own Registered Training Organisation (RTO) for 10 years in Western Australia.

In order to obtain another perspective from an employer, I briefly interviewed Vicki about the processes involved in advertising and recruiting employees. This article includes Vicki’s experience and insight in relation to the job application process and her experience with interviews.

Vicki posted advertisements online when she was in need of staff for her business, preferring to use the www.seek.com website. She generally tried to avoid the (online advertising) process as she found it to be costly in terms of both money and time.

Vicki’s experience was that once she posted an ad, applications would arrive and Vicki would choose 5 – 6 people based on the information provided in the letters and Resumes received.

Vicki believes that from the Resumes she has viewed over the years, most did not reflect the skills, knowledge and experiences of the applicants very well. Vicki felt that many of the applicants were not qualified for the position/s advertised.

She mentioned that many of the applicants were not flexible or suitable for the culture/s of the workplace/s – which ranged from corporate to mine sites to wharves. This reinforces the fact that managers and decision makers require staff who are flexible and adaptable enough to be able to transition from one type of workplace “culture” to another quickly and easily.

In Vicki’s experience, the ideal employee was someone “who is comfortable in their own skin and can go anywhere and work anywhere.”

Vicki believes that her best, most effective employees were those who were referred on to her from her employees, friends and acquaintances.

In relation to job application letters and Resumes, Vicki’s bug bear was illiteracy, including mistakes with grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Vicki mentioned that “there is a lot of fluff in many Resumes,” referring to the fact that a lot of information in Resumes was irrelevant to the position being advertised and did not reflect well on the prospective candidate, e.g. hobbies that were stated were not relevant and did nothing to help promote the applicant in a favourable way.

Vicki much preferred it when job applicants “cut to the chase” and included meaningful and relevant information that suited the position description being advertised.

Information Vicki wanted upfront was “What have you done?" and "What are your qualifications?”

“There is a distinct difference between being “politically correct” and “professional”, and being “politically correct” did nothing for me.” In a nutshell, Vicki found many Resumes “to be disappointing.”

In an interview situation, Vicki described one afternoon where she interviewed four people. Vicki’s summary of her experience as the interviewer is as stated below:

Person No. 1 = A woman who wore way too much make-up, had incredibly over powering perfume and her hair was “too perfect.” “My first thought was, “I can’t see you in on a mine sight.”” Vicki also mentioned that with the overpowering perfume, this woman would have “knocked the class out” and could have “wreaked havoc with anyone suffering from allergies or sinus issues.”

Person No. 2 = “A man who asked me if I “would like a coffee.” I was interviewing him in the training room of my company.” Vicki’s first impression was that she felt this gentleman may have been manipulative. She went with her first impression and “listened to her gut”, which is common for interviewers to do.

Person No. 3 = A man who demonstrated suitable qualifications and experience and kept on promoting that he liked to do things his way. This highlights the fact that companies have set policies and procedures in place, often to adhere with both state and federal law. Employees need to be mindful of policies and procedures that exist and the purpose they have to ensure a safe, effective workplace for all parties.

Person No. 4 = A women with a very thick accent who had experience working in the Workplace Health and Safety departments of mining companies. When Vicki asked her “What training experience do you have?” The woman’s response was “Yoga.” This was for a position as Trainer/Assessor for Workplace Health and Safety. Thus it is essential that job applicants listen to questions being asked very carefully to ensure their response is appropriate.

Overall Vicki found that advertising and recruiting for staff online was “expensive, time consuming and disappointing.”

“Either they have everything I am looking for, or I haven’t a position for them.”

Interviewers and decision makers are very aware that any microcosms in an interview situation are potential macrocosms once you become an employee.

I would love to hear your comments about your experiences with applying for jobs and the interview process. What good experiences did you have? What bad experiences did you have?

The Recruitment Process - From the Perspective of a Decision Maker:

Vicki has an extensive background in the Vocational Education and Training Sector. Vicki has worked as a Trainer/Assessor for many years and has owned her own Registered Training Organisation (RTO) for 10 years in Western Australia.

In order to obtain another perspective from an employer, I briefly interviewed Vicki about the processes involved in advertising and recruiting employees. This article includes Vicki’s experience and insight in relation to the job application process and her experience with interviews.

Vicki posted advertisements online when she was in need of staff for her business, preferring to use the www.seek.com website. She generally tried to avoid the (online advertising) process as she found it to be costly in terms of both money and time.

Vicki’s experience was that once she posted an ad, applications would arrive and Vicki would choose 5 – 6 people based on the information provided in the letters and Resumes received.

Vicki believes that from the Resumes she has viewed over the years, most did not reflect the skills, knowledge and experiences of the applicants very well. Vicki felt that many of the applicants were not qualified for the position/s advertised.

She mentioned that many of the applicants were not flexible or suitable for the culture/s of the workplace/s – which ranged from corporate to mine sites to wharves. This reinforces the fact that managers and decision makers require staff who are flexible and adaptable enough to be able to transition from one type of workplace “culture” to another quickly and easily.

In Vicki’s experience, the ideal employee was someone “who is comfortable in their own skin and can go anywhere and work anywhere.”

Vicki believes that her best, most effective employees were those who were referred on to her from her employees, friends and acquaintances.

In relation to job application letters and Resumes, Vicki’s bug bear was illiteracy, including mistakes with grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Vicki mentioned that “there is a lot of fluff in many Resumes,” referring to the fact that a lot of information in Resumes was irrelevant to the position being advertised and did not reflect well on the prospective candidate, e.g. hobbies that were stated were not relevant and did nothing to help promote the applicant in a favourable way.

Vicki much preferred it when job applicants “cut to the chase” and included meaningful and relevant information that suited the position description being advertised.

Information Vicki wanted upfront was “What have you done?" and "What are your qualifications?”

“There is a distinct difference between being “politically correct” and “professional”, and being “politically correct” did nothing for me.” In a nutshell, Vicki found many Resumes “to be disappointing.”

In an interview situation, Vicki described one afternoon where she interviewed four people. Vicki’s summary of her experience as the interviewer is as stated below:

Person No. 1 = A woman who wore way too much make-up, had incredibly over powering perfume and her hair was “too perfect.” “My first thought was, “I can’t see you in on a mine sight.”” Vicki also mentioned that with the overpowering perfume, this woman would have “knocked the class out” and could have “wreaked havoc with anyone suffering from allergies or sinus issues.”

Person No. 2 = “A man who asked me if I “would like a coffee.” I was interviewing him in the training room of my company.” Vicki’s first impression was that she felt this gentleman may have been manipulative. She went with her first impression and “listened to her gut”, which is common for interviewers to do.

Person No. 3 = A man who demonstrated suitable qualifications and experience and kept on promoting that he liked to do things his way. This highlights the fact that companies have set policies and procedures in place, often to adhere with both state and federal law. Employees need to be mindful of policies and procedures that exist and the purpose they have to ensure a safe, effective workplace for all parties.

Person No. 4 = A women with a very thick accent who had experience working in the Workplace Health and Safety departments of mining companies. When Vicki asked her “What training experience do you have?” The woman’s response was “Yoga.” This was for a position as Trainer/Assessor for Workplace Health and Safety. Thus it is essential that job applicants listen to questions being asked very carefully to ensure their response is appropriate.

Overall Vicki found that advertising and recruiting for staff online was “expensive, time consuming and disappointing.”

“Either they have everything I am looking for, or I haven’t a position for them.”

Interviewers and decision makers are very aware that any microcosms in an interview situation are potential macrocosms once you become an employee.

I would love to hear your comments about your experiences with applying for jobs and the interview process. What good experiences did you have? What bad experiences did you have?

A FREE Seminar - Get That Job - Careers in the 21st Century!!

Are You Feeling Frustrated With Your Current Job?

Do you want a career change?

Thinking of studying but not sure what?

Do You Hate Waking Up In The Mornings And Going To Work?

Do You Dream Of A Better Job?

The Job Market Is Constantly Changing (It’s Not What It Used to Be)

If You Fail To Keep Up With How to Play the Game You Will Fall Behind The Competition in The Ever Increasing Competitive Job Market

Learn How To Play The Game And Win – Get That Job!

Unfortunately...MOST PEOPLE Never Have Any Control of their Career

They leave it up to chance and hope things will fall into place….....

And hope…..

And hope…

(I used to hope and I realised that I was going NO-WHERE FAST!!!!!!!!!)

It’s so common to meet people who are living unfulfilled lives and working in UN-fulfilling jobs.

Why? Because we don’t realise that just like us, careers and jobs have personalities

Crazy? True!!

The GOOD NEWS is that this is possible to CHANGE
With The Right Knowledge and Skills You Can Actually Learn How To Play The Game To Win!

Get THAT job!!!

And Become Your Most Confident Self

Sounds good, right? :) Which is why.......

YOU are INVITED to…………

A FREE seminar On How You Can Take Control of Your Career and Learn How to Play The Game To WIN!!!!

You Will Learn: - The Traditional Approach to Your Career and why it no longer works - The Modern Approach to Your Career and how it can WORK for YOU - Learn how to POSITION yourself to GET THAT JOB!! - Learn to play the game to WIN!!

And much MUCH more : )

A limited number of seats are available so:

1 - RSVP

2 - Save the date in your calendar/diary

3 - Remember to come along to the workshop

4 – SEATS are LIMITED (only 30 seats are available).

Want to bring a friend? Or know someone who needs this? Invite them along as well.

The venue is in Melville and close to public transport and FREE parking. See you there!

Marilyn Garbin
Education Consultant
Trainer and Assessor
Ex TAFE Lecturer (Business, Retail and Career Development)
Careers Advisor
Work Experience Co-ordinator
Post Graduate Certificate in Career Development (ECU, 2013)
Cert IV TAA
Cert IV Small Business Management

PS: These events always fill up fast and are also advertised elsewhere so please book your ticket early to avoid missing out.
See you there!

Are You Feeling Frustrated With Your Current Job?

Do you want a career change?

Thinking of studying but not sure what?

Do You Hate Waking Up In The Mornings And Going To Work?

Do You Dream Of A Better Job?

The Job Market Is Constantly Changing (It’s Not What It Used to Be)

If You Fail To Keep Up With How to Play the Game You Will Fall Behind The Competition in The Ever Increasing Competitive Job Market

Learn How To Play The Game And Win – Get That Job!

Unfortunately...MOST PEOPLE Never Have Any Control of their Career

They leave it up to chance and hope things will fall into place….....

And hope…..

And hope…

(I used to hope and I realised that I was going NO-WHERE FAST!!!!!!!!!)

It’s so common to meet people who are living unfulfilled lives and working in UN-fulfilling jobs.

Why? Because we don’t realise that just like us, careers and jobs have personalities

Crazy? True!!

The GOOD NEWS is that this is possible to CHANGE
With The Right Knowledge and Skills You Can Actually Learn How To Play The Game To Win!

Get THAT job!!!

And Become Your Most Confident Self

Sounds good, right? :) Which is why.......

YOU are INVITED to…………

A FREE seminar On How You Can Take Control of Your Career and Learn How to Play The Game To WIN!!!!

You Will Learn: - The Traditional Approach to Your Career and why it no longer works - The Modern Approach to Your Career and how it can WORK for YOU - Learn how to POSITION yourself to GET THAT JOB!! - Learn to play the game to WIN!!

And much MUCH more : )

A limited number of seats are available so:

1 - RSVP

2 - Save the date in your calendar/diary

3 - Remember to come along to the workshop

4 – SEATS are LIMITED (only 30 seats are available).

Want to bring a friend? Or know someone who needs this? Invite them along as well.

The venue is in Melville and close to public transport and FREE parking. See you there!

Marilyn Garbin
Education Consultant
Trainer and Assessor
Ex TAFE Lecturer (Business, Retail and Career Development)
Careers Advisor
Work Experience Co-ordinator
Post Graduate Certificate in Career Development (ECU, 2013)
Cert IV TAA
Cert IV Small Business Management

PS: These events always fill up fast and are also advertised elsewhere so please book your ticket early to avoid missing out.
See you there!

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/career-advice-i-wish-had-25-shane-rodgers?trk=hp-feed-article-title-like

I was invited along as Guest Speaker to deliver a presentation to the members of the Rotary Club in Attadale: "Careers in the 21st Century."

Resumes – First Impressions Count

Applying for a job is more competitive NOW than ever before. A prospective employer or hiring manager will spend an average of 8 seconds looking at your Resume.

They are looking for reasons NOT to employ you. One of my clients was told that she wasn’t invited to an interview because the hiring manager “didn’t like the font she used”. They are looking for any excuse they can find not to progress your application. They are overwhelmed with applicants and time is of the essence.

The layout and content of your Resume are critical should you wish to create a favourable first impression.

What impression does your Resume give a prospective employer? I look forward to reading your comments. Feel free to ask questions about your Resume.

Are you feeling frustrated with your current situation?
Do you hate waking up in the mornings and going to work?
Do you dream of a better job?

Revamp your Resume

Get your Resume noticed and read by the decision maker

Stand Out From the Crowd when applying for your new job

For a FREE Resume review call GET THAT JOB on 0466 694 511