The Team at Logic Recruitment are excited to announce the launch of their latest media campaign to match the best candidate with the best employer.

Beginning 6th November Logic Recruitment will be on the airwaves.

&
will be airing a number of ads across their prime time broadcasts on a daily basis.
Feel free to let us know what you think

Download Adverts here: CLIENT Mp3 or CANDIDATE Mp3

Logic Recruitment - It’s the Logic al Choice

Article from:
‘Inappropriate’ Questions
Equal Opportunity (EO) guidelines limit the questions that can be asked in job interviews. By being aware of EO considerations you can recognise possibly discriminatory questions when they are asked. If asked a question that you consider inappropriate or that you suspect may be the basis for discrimination, you are under no obligation to answer it.

For example, an employer may ask whether you have children as part of idle chatter, or they may be motivated by their prejudice that working mothers are not able to commit fully to a full-time position. Alternatively, in asking about your childcare arrangements they may for be trying to assess your level of preparation and professionalism.

If you are uncomfortable with any question, politely and professionally refuse to answer it or request clarification on its relevance to the position. Some suggestions are:
“I don’t think we need to talk about this. I would rather focus on issues relevant to the position and the requirements of your organisation.”
“I don’t understand how this question is relevant to the position or my ability to perform in the role. Could you clarify for me why you think it is important, and I will try to provide you with the relevant information?”

‘Difficult’ questions

If you have had a negative experience with an employer (retrenchment or redundancy, sexual harassment, or clashes with colleagues), prepare to be asked about them in job interviews. The best strategy is to be honest, positive, and to avoid criticising former employers or expressing grudges.
For example:

Termination:
“I was asked to leave that company. The grounds my employers gave were dissatisfaction with my performance / attitude…

• “but I disagreed with their assessment and believe that the termination was based on personal differences rather than performance issues. If you check with my referees from other positions you will find that I have not had problems of a similar nature anywhere else and I am confident that they will not occur again.”

• “Unfortunately, that year I had some personal commitments that I had to deal with. I had to make a choice to focus on these commitments or on my job, and I chose to concentrate on personal commitments. Unfortunately, this did mean that my work suffered, but I am now able to fully commit myself to my work again and am confident that I will be able to meet your performance requirements”

Sexual harassment / personal clashes:
“I decided to leave because of some personal issues within the workplace which I would rather not discuss.”
If legal proceedings took place: “There have been some legal proceedings regarding my position there and so for confidentiality reasons I would prefer not to discuss it.”

By Tony Kaye
September 28, 2007 08:59am
Article from:

TWENTYSOMETHINGS are helping to rewrite the rules of the workplace, and employers must keep up with their demands if they want to survive.
IN The Who’s celebrated 1965 rock anthem My Generation, much is made of the generational divide between the young and old of the era.

Step forward more than 40 years and it seems the generational divide is now wider than ever, especially in the workplace, as organisations grapple culturally and economically with a new set of workers known simply as Generation Y.

Born between 1982 and 2000 (or 1976 and 2000, depending on who you talk to), the oldest of these next generation workers, now aged in their mid to late 20s, are setting the scene for a complete rewrite of the employment rule book as businesses learn how to manage young individuals who are both highly intelligent and highly demanding.

Having grown up in a world where job losses are commonplace and company loyalty is non-existent, Gen-Ys tend to prefer workplaces offering strong management and communication, job flexibility, a quick career path and, above all, a good social environment.

If a workplace can’t meet their needs, they quickly move on.

Human resources consultant Karen Gately of Ryan Gately says Gen-Ys are challenging, particularly for baby boomers in terms of understanding them, because they are very different in their thinking.

Plan their next career move

The Number 1 strategy for managing Gen-Y is about career management - being very proactive and deliberate in terms of progressing their careers through your organisation.

If you’re not able to do that, they will just go elsewhere because there is not that same degree of employer loyalty. Employment for life is not a concept they’re familiar with.

Mr Gately adds Gen-Ys are very distrusting of employers, so they’re very much into looking after themselves, taking control of their own careers and opportunities as opposed to trusting an employer to do that for them.

When you do the recruitment process, you need to be thinking beyond the that you’re hiring for. Obviously you’re assessing whether they’re fit for the job in terms of the here and now, but you need to understand what their potential is beyond that job. If you can’t see the potential next steps, then you’re making it a lot harder.

Make their job exciting

Amanda Grace, recruitment director of Dragon Personnel, agrees and says there are a number of approaches business owners wanting to attract and retain Gen Ys should consider.

The sensible approach is to think how to optimise their strengths in your business, Ms Grace says. Clearly identify and sell the value proposition of the role from a Gen-Y perspective, including excitement, variety, career opportunities, flexibility of approach, friendly and relaxed culture and individualised support.

Plan and deliver a thorough induction program, with clear expectations for their new role and identified support, to really link the new employee into their colleagues and company. Use technology as a tool - with low patience and reduced frustration threshold, Gen-Y is unlikely to tolerate unnecessary obstacles and redundancies in workflow.

Get them engaged

BSI People managing consultant Rick Jansz says the major challenge for organisations is actively engaging with Gen-Y.

They comprise 30 per cent of the workforce and rising, and represent a larger divide than any gender, racial, income or other divide in society today, Mr Jansz says.

They are the most marketed to, technology savvy, informed, pragmatic and often sceptical generation yet. They can also sniff a phoney a mile away, so to win them over, you better really walk your talk.

But John Martin of Retention Solutions, a subsidiary of Olivier Group, says it is hard to generalise in terms of Generation Y.

“We make assumptions about Gen-Y based around the most vocal and articulate elements of that particular cohort, and a lot of the ‘I want it now’ philosophy is very much coming from that articulate and vocal cohort,” he says.

“Behind them is a whole set of young people who are motivated and behave in very similar ways to Gen-X and the baby boomers. They are motivated by the same things.”

Overcoming the skills shortage

Hudson Australia/New Zealand chief of staff Gary Lazzarotto says the current focus on generational differences is actually obscuring the larger, more important issue of developing effective leaders who connect with and inspire their people.

Given the current skills shortage, the calibre of leadership in organisations competing for scarce talent is crucial to attracting and retaining high-potential people across the different generations, Mr Lazzarotto says.

The research suggests customised workplace strategies for different age groups are not required. Effective leadership is simply about listening, building sound relationships and engaging with people, regardless of their age.

Give them social interaction

The demands of the Generation Y cohort is nothing new to Danny Wallis, CEO of national software development company DWS Advanced Business Solutions.

Mr Wallis, 44, listed DWS last year and in the latest financial year booked revenue of more than $63 million and a net profit of $16.7 million. The company has expanded rapidly, both organically and through a string of acquisitions across Australia.

These acquisitions have bulked up the company’s staff, and Mr Wallis estimates more than 60 per cent of his 481 employees are in the Gen-Y age band. Given the high percentage in Gen-Y, he has needed to do substantial research into the traits of the younger generation that dominates his organisation.

“We’re in a full job market, there’s no loyalty to an organisation and they’re not driven by money as much,” he says of Gen-Ys.

“They are more interested in social interaction, so you’ve got to get Gen-Ys in the workforce to foster friendships in your workplace if you’ve got any hope of retaining them.”

As an employer of Gen-Y people, he says, you’ve got to work on the basis that if you keep any long term, you’re doing well. The bulk of them will leave within 18 months because they simply can’t work through the ranks quickly enough.

Within his own organisation, Mr Wallis says, he and his executive team are putting in a massive effort to provide Gen-Ys with what he terms a smorgasbord of life.

“Quite frankly, to a degree, work is an interruption to their life - it’s not the other way around. They don’t want to think too much and they want everything handed to them on a platter.”

DWS is in the process of appointing a co-ordinator specifically for Gen-Y staff, whose job will be to arrange social activities to help them build relationships and friendships within the organisation.

“We want to have multiple things on every night of the week for them to do. Gen-Ys are eager to unwind, so we could do things like having a night for them to learn how to cook Chinese food,” Mr Wallis says.

“That’s what they expect, to have things to do. It’s all about them making friends, and if they make lots of friends, we get longer employment out of them.”

Diversity the key

DWS technical team leader Brent McArthur, 28, has been in the company for two years and says his key focus is to undertake work that is challenging and which he has not done previously.

“I want a challenging environment and a friendly environment, somewhere you can enjoy coming to every day. The main reason for me staying here is that I’ve had excellent opportunities in the projects that I’ve worked on, where each project has been new, exciting and my role has progressed.

“It hasn’t been a static environment and if it became static, I think I’d probably start looking elsewhere.”

DWS IT consultant Ruvi Dassanayake, 25, a computer science graduate, has been with DWS for about six months and says she likes her role because it offers broad experience and exposure to different clients.

“In terms of career development it was an ideal job, plus the social aspect of the job is really good as well,” Ms Dassanayake says.

“The people around you are the most important thing because you spend most of your time at work, and if you’re not enjoying it, it’s just going to give you trouble. I want to be comfortable with where I am.”

For Chris Martin, 25, DWS is his first job since leaving university

“I’m not so concerned about my long-term career right now,” Mr Martin says. “It’s all about just enjoying work and having a bit of fun. Going out for a beer on Fridays after lunch is a lot of fun. That makes it easier to come to work as opposed to knowing I’ve got a long-term career.”