RecruitR: Blog

Runge Mining Town Series

Mon, 24 May 2010 05:32:04 GMT

The Queensland Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) is currently holding a pro-am series in Central QLD. Runge is the lead sponsorand this year RecruitR was invited to be a partner sponsor in this great event. We jumped at the opportunity to be able to support the communities in which we do business.

I just returned from Emerald where Minerva Mineswas the major sponsor and it was a fantastic weekend. There were so many highlights including the friendly organizers of the event, the excellent clubhouse and their staff and of course the chance of being able to play with the pros. My form was nothing that deserves a mention but it was great to see Damien Jordan and Marcus Cain (both really great guys) go about their business. On top of all of this there will be fundraising for charity. The RACQ CQ Rescue is the preferred charity for the Runge Mining Towns Series 2010.

The series is off to Middlemount next so get out and have a look if you can. I can guarantee you won't regret it!

Resources super tax

Tue, 04 May 2010 23:09:07 GMT

"A man and his wife had the good fortune to possess a goose which laid a golden egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough, and, imagining the bird must be made of gold inside, they decided to kill it. Then, they thought, they could obtain the whole store of precious metal at once; however, upon cutting the goose open, they found its innards to be like that of any other goose"

The new tax reform proposed by the Rudd government cannot be good for any involved in the mining industry. Increased taxes on mining companies will lead to a review of mining projects and business strategies; whilst I believe that most will go ahead, undoubtedly some won't.

Now I'm no accountant (far from it) and don't have the hard figures but it seems like this is going to have long term impacts on both the local and global economy. When governments make changes like this it puts off companies, mining and other, and they'll reconsider investing in Australiabecause the goal posts can change frequently depending on the government.

Here is a link that shows how it may effect the Oil & Gas sector as well.

For the other side of the argument see here.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Do you think some of the majors will go a bit cold on Australia and if so what negative and positive effects do you believe this will have? Will the Rudd government be guilty of killing their Golden Goose?

Forrest Briggs
Principal Consultant - Mining

Australia's most popular recruiter

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:48:58 GMT

Last night RecruitR was named the most popular recruitment agency in Australia in the category of small specialist at the Seek Australia Recruitment Awards

These awards recognise the efforts of recruitment agencies that are committed to high quality recruitment, the way it should be. It was great to see so many companies represented at the awards, all of them nominated because of their first class service; not how much they spend on advertising. It was also very interesting to see which companies were not present at the event...

Seek presented us with a few select comments that were added to our votes which I thought I would share with you.

"They are the best because of their friendly and professional service".

"The professional and yet supportive service I have received from a Senior Consultant at RecruitR has surpassed all other agencies that I am currently on the books with. I work in a very specialist field and they have provided very knowledgeable and efficient service with a personal touch. I would highly recommend them to anyone else looking for professional positions within the oil and gas industry at least though I suspect that their professionalism and excellent courteous service would extend to other industries."

"Prompt response to my initial inquiry and full support through interview process and subsequent recruitment. Caring, supportive and anything that went wrong was fixed promptly. Good team."

"The company makes me feel like a valued professional, and their personal touch is most welcome, caring and sympathetic. I couldn't wish for better."

"Simone Moore and her team were available and genuinely showed an interest in my career without being over the top. Importantly Simone did not try to push me in a

particular direction, yet provided me with information and advice in order for me to make an informed decision. Good job."

Two choices

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:40:59 GMT

It seems that business leaders have decided that there are two options available to them due to this economic downturn we are experiencing at the moment. Some seem content to sit in the corner and cry about it, hoping that those bigger and braver than they will do something about it, whilst the others are taking advantage and stepping on the front foot, getting their house in order and in many cases, bringing on board new staff with skills that were not available in recent times.

Many of our clients fit into the latter category, actively searching for talented individuals to bolster their teams in preparation for the inevitable upswing in the market. Further evidence of this can be seen at RecruitR, far from sitting in the corner and crying, we are actively seeking experienced Recruitment Consultants to join our team. History will tell you that those companies who remained positive and acted on long term business needs prosper in such an economy whilst those who start to cry fall by the wayside.

Hiring talented people?

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:34:56 GMT

Firms around the world are always on the lookout for hiring highly talented people. Most companies are admittedly not short of applicants, but they are continually competing for the highest quality talent that all their competitors are also looking for. So is the answer in how you market and promote yourself as the preferred Employer in the market place?

Arun Kottolli, an Indian Engineer writes some interesting articles on attracting and retaining talent and using marketing to hire and retain talent.

So what is the answer?

At a recent function held for our clients in Brisbane, the guest speaker, Mike O'Hagan, founding Director of MiniMovers brought about some thought provoking and challenging points.

In this competitive war for people, employ unskilled staff and train them YOUR way. "Why employ 'experienced' people when unexperienced are much better for your business"

Easier said than done you might say, but there is a lot to be taken from the above statement. Qualifications are one thing, but attitude and willingness to learn are another, no less significant factor. Investing in unskilled or less-skilled staff may see them take longer to get up and running, however, you are guaranteed that you will have more loyal and long term employees that will be doing things YOUR WAY.

An explanation of the stock markets

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:48:08 GMT

With all the ups, downs and media hype surrounding the "credit crisis", "upcoming recession", "time of economic concern" or whatever the current clich? du jour is, I have found a diagram that explains what is happening on the stock markets in great detail.

This insightful piece from the NY Times is from 1987 though it does help explain the current confusion on the economic markets.

SARA

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:02:36 GMT

Yesterday RecruitR was announced as a finalist in the Seek Australia Recruitment Awards (SARA) in the field of Small Specialist Recruiter (is that a spelling mistake?). The whole team is very proud of this, we commenced trading in February 2007 and to be named a finalist in our second year is unexpected, though not undeserved (I have to say that).

As you know, our catch cry is "The way it should be" indicating our commitment to high quality recruitment; a couple of days ago I was sent this link that made me chuckle at some points, though at the same I found it quite disappointing to think that some agencies in our industry operate like this, it's nice to know that our point of difference is that we are doing it right.

Generation "Why"?

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:00:52 GMT

At the end of a job interview, the interviewer asked the young Graduate what starting salary he was hoping to get.

"Around $75,000, depending on what extra benefits there are", the graduate replied.

"Well, that would be six weeks holiday; we would pay your private health insurance fees, give you study leave and pay your university bills, and give you a company car."

"You're kidding!" replied the Graduate

Interviewer: "Yes I am, but you started it."

But, who really started it? With over-inflated packages being touted by many of our competitors, is it wrong for a candidate to expect an employer to deliver? Let us not forget that Generation Y is the creation of Generation X and the "Baby Boomers"! Also, let's not forget that Generation Y have received the best education that has ever been available, have grown up in an age of great technological advancement and as a result are better qualified than their predecessors.

Is it right for the blame to be put on "Gen Y" when in reality, jokes such as the one above are fuelled by true stories of employers offering "lifestyle benefits" that 10 years ago would have been unheard of. What should we do, write articles like this outlining our jealousy or our disdain for the "stereotype" in general? How about embracing the new found benefits that employers bestow upon us, why not take advantage of technology and learn new skills and if all this is too hard to take in, why not take a 6 month sabbatical to "do Europe"?

Susan Anderson , Principal Consultant

susan@recruitr.com.au

RecruitR's community commitment

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:00:17 GMT

I believe there are positive flow-on effects to local community not only from the creation of employment opportunities but also due to the benefits of an advanced training program to advance the careers and future opportunities for their employees.

With my fellow directors I appreciate our role and commitment within the local community. We have pledged to donate 1% of RecruitR's total annual net profits to a charitable cause, as decided by RecruitR staff on a yearly basis. My hope is that in the next twelve months we will be able to extend this community giving to providing financial assistance in the form of bursaries to Queensland tertiary students studying in the specialist fields of mining, engineering and construction design.

My great belief in education is further demonstrated through our company's participation in a research project on entrepreneurship: CAUSEE, or The Comprehensive Australian Study of Entrepreneurial Emergence research project. This research project is administered by the Queensland University of Technology and is committed to improving understanding of independent entrepreneurship in Australia. It will be the largest study of business start-ups ever undertaken in Australia, and the only large-scale study to track particular ventures over time.
RecruitR have also recently taken on platinum sponsorship of the Queensland Under 16 Girls Futsal team, to provide funding for players to travel to the 2009 National titles in Sydney in January next year. http://www.causee.bus.qut.edu.au/

Clinton Moore...Director, RecruitR

Definitely not "The way it should be"

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:10:21 GMT

Whilst enjoying my recent holiday I was relaxing reading The Sydney Morning Herald careers section (what holiday?) when I came across an article by one of their journalists that really annoyed me. Now I am not easily annoyed, but this article really got to me. The article in question was about how to "get the results you want" from psychometric testing and then went on to explain how to "beat the test" for those that "have a fiery temper and are prone to fly off the handle" or those that are "not so good at being a team player".

The fact that a careers lift out that is paid for by employers and recruitment agencies can print such a piece baffles me - This article advocates cheating and employing underhand tactics to dupe an employer that clearly values the recruitment process more than the author.

At RecruitR we go to every effort to match our candidates to roles that suit their needs and by doing so we are careful not introduce parties that have differing needs. Many of our clients do use psychometric or personality profiles though do so as a management tool not a selection tool.

What are your thoughts? Get the job at any cost or get the job that's right for both parties?

Clinton Moore, Director