This weeks blog is a bit different… The latest research shows that regular consumption of omega 3 fatty acid, increases concentration not to mention the other cardiovascular and dietary benefits. So next time you have an interview and want to nail it have some fish! Oily fish such a salmon and swordfish are rich in omega 3. You can also find omega 3, or fish oil capsules in any pharmacy and major super markets.

Here’s a few yummy recipes you might want to use:

Potato and herb hash brown with smoked salmon
Ingredients:
• 700g potatoes
• 1 small brown onion
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 2 tbsp oregano, chopped
• 2 tsp plain flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp sour cream
• 2 slices smoked salmon

Instructions:
• Preheat oven to 180C.
• Peel and grate potatoes and onion. Tap dry with paper towels.
• Place mixture in a bowl with green onions, oregano, plain flour, lightly beaten eggs, salt and pepper.
• Preheat grill to high. Heat olive oil in a 22cm ovenproof pan and shape to make small hash browns. Cover and bake in oven for 10-12 minutes, then place under grill until top is golden.
• Turn out, season with salt and pepper and cut into 4 wedges.
• Serve with one poached egg and 4 slices smoked salmon

Roasted Salmon with Potato and steams asparagus
Ingredients:
• 4 x 120g Tasmanian Atlantic Salmon fillets
• 440g potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• A bunch asparagus, sliced into 3-4 cm strips
• 2 tablespoons light olive oil
• 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 4 spring onions, trimmed

Instructions:
• Pre-heat the oven to 220°C
• Microwave potatoes for 2 minutes to soften a bit.
• Place potato in greased baking dish and drizzle over half the oil.
• Cook for 20mins and flip for 10mins more until soft.
• Add thyme, onions and salmon on top of potato.
• Season, drizzle over remaining oil and bake for a further 8 – 10mins until salmon is cooked.

A new international workplace survey has found that Australian job seekers topped a list of countries in their use of the Internet to find jobs, with a majority finding their most recent position online.

Online recruitment eclipsed all other forms of recruitment including direct approaches, newspaper advertising and ‘word of mouth’ according to the international survey.

The survey also found that more than a quarter of Australians have concerns about how they perform during face-to-face job interviews while one in three have doubts as to whether their CV presents them to potential employers in the best possible way.

The Kelly Services global survey sought the views of more than 115,000 people in 33 countries including almost 19,000 in Australia on a wide range of issues about how they find work and how they deal with aspects of the recruitment process.

Amongst the key findings:

1. A majority (54%) found their most recent job online, the highest of any country in the survey followed by Thailand (52%), Hong Kong (51%) and China (50%), New Zealand (43%) and Indonesia (43%)
2. 8% admit they have been untruthful on their CV
3. 37% have doubts about whether their CV presents them in the best possible way
4. 27% have doubts about how they perform in face-to-face job interviews
5. 62% nominate ‘waiting for a response’ as the worst part of the recruitment process
6. 80% believe that employers treat them fairly in job interviews

“This shows that candidates have embraced the Internet as the preferred way of finding a job,� said Kelly Services Country Manager, James Bowmer.

“People are now very confident about applying for jobs online while employers are becoming much more skilled at dealing with the online recruitment phenomenon�.

While 54% of those in the Australian survey found their most recent job online, 9% found work as a result of a direct approach to an employer, 9% from a newspaper advertisement, 8% from a direct call from an employer or recruiter, and 7% through other methods.

Online recruitment is considered by candidates to be a better way to find a job, with 83% pleased with the outcome compared with 51% for traditional written and posted applications.

James Bowmer said however that online recruitment should not be seen as a shortcut to proper evaluation of candidates.

Eight per cent of candidates admitted to being untruthful on their CV or in an interview. The most likely untruths were omitting negative details from the past and claiming experience that a candidate did not have.

When 72% of respondents said they performed well during face-to-face job interviews, 12% said they did not and 15% were unsure. Men were more confident in their ability in job interviews than women.

Some 37% of candidates also had doubts about the quality of their CV with 11% certain that it did not present them in the best possible way and 26% unsure.

And even though the task of applying for jobs and facing an interview can be daunting, it’s not the worst part of the recruitment process according to candidates.

The worst aspect of the recruitment process, nominated by 62% of respondents was ‘waiting for a response’, followed by ‘searching for jobs’ (13%), ‘attending interviews’ (12%), ‘filling in applications’ (6%), and ‘preparing resume/CVs’ (6%).

The factors that best determine a person’s job suitability were also canvassed in the survey. When asked what single attribute people considered to be the best indicator of job suitability, the overwhelming factor was ‘attitude and personality’, cited by 42%, followed closely by work experience (38%). Other factors such as interview performance, level of education, reference checks and psychological test results all rated low.

Despite the uncertainties on the part of some candidates about their capacity to perform well in the recruitment process, most feel that they get a fair hearing from employers. When asked if they felt employers treated them fairly in the interview process, 80% said they did, 18% said ‘sometimes’ and only 2% said ‘never’.

My Career - 4 February 2008

This week Logic Recruitment is rejigging their radio ads that air on 96fm and 6pr. With this thought in mind we look at some stats on the effectiveness of radio advertising.

Effectiveness of radio advertising
For products targeted at younger people - 80%
For use in an integrated multi-media campaign - 76%
For creating awareness of a new brand - 45%
Radio was seen as being particularly effective for prompting an immediate response. The most popular sectors for radio advertising were seen as retail, fast moving consumer goods and finance. Eighty-per cent said radio was an effective way to target younger people and 76 per cent said it was effective in integrated multi-media campaigns.
( Source: http://www.commercialradio.com.au)

Across Australia, radio is the most easily accessible medium. There are approximately 37 million radio sets across the country, every household will have at least one radio and on average will have 5.1 sets, 99% of all cars having a radio and almost 8 in 10 Australian’s will listen to commercial radio every week. (Source: All Australian Listening Report, 2000)

King of the Airwaves ?

What sort of radio advertisements do you find effective? Can you name any services ads and what they were selling? When thinking of radio ads this blogger has Lube Mobile and those annoying screaming discount clothing sales come to mind.
So this weeks question: What makes good radio advertising?
Don’t forget to listen out for Logic Recruitment’s new ad hitting the airwaves soon!

It is a well known celebration that 14th February Valentine’s Day!
There is no discrimination of who can celebrate this day, young or old, women or men, from all walks of life.

People celebrate this day in many different ways; it could be sending cards, flowers, gifts, romantic dinners, or a weekend away. Of course there’s also the present advanced technology, which makes some of us think it’s more efficient sending an email or a text message, buying gifts or vouchers online.

No matter what we choose to do, it is to express our deeper, romantic feeling towards the people we care about. It is almost an excuse and that it is okay for the ‘shy’ ones to allow themselves to express emotions and affections.
So what is Valentine’s Day? Why do we celebrate it in such a way?
First of all, there are many stories told of how Valentine’s Day was originated.
It was mostly believed that during the third century in Rome, Emperor Claudius II felt single men would be better soldiers without thinking of they loved ones, wives and children, and their desire of going home. Therefore marriages were not allowed.

Valentine who was a priest disagreed and thought of it as an injustice, continued to perform marriages for lovers in secret.
His disobedience was discovered, was jailed and died in prison.
To add to this most believed story was that a blind girl who is believed to be the prison officer’s daughter visited him whilst he was in his confinement and he cured the girl’s blindness.
Before he was sent to be beheaded, he wrote a letter to this girl and signed ‘from your Valentine’. Of course to this day this expression is still very popular.
Based on this story, I wonder why is it ‘a gift’ almost a must these days to express our feelings? Does a gift have to be associated with spending money? Does spending more money means greater love? Or have we simply been fooled by clever advertising.

Employee Beware! Next time you think of having a sick day arm yourself with this information.
Twice as many medical certificates are being written as a decade ago to meet employers’ demands, a survey has found.

The demand for sick notes is so great that employees will soon be able to get them from their local chemist.

A major study of the way GPs use their time has found patients made 800,000 more requests for “administration procedures” – most often medical certificates – in 2006-07 compared with 1998-99.

About one in 60 patients visited their doctor primarily to get a certificate, compared with about one in 120 nine years ago, the report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found.

Now there’s some food for thought!
Whatever happened to the trustworthy employee and transparency within a business?
So maybe next time you feel like you have “earnt� a sickie or had a really drinking session the night before, you might have gotten yourself into a difficult situation.
So we are asking have you had any horror sickie stories?
Ever been sick with the cold taken a day to rest only to come back to work with your employer demanding a doctors certificate?

These days are long gone.