April 11 Newsletter

Welcome to our newsletter!

‘How attached are you? It is a big question we are asking in Beaumont Consulting this month. Ever joined a company where it hasn’t lived up to expectation? Or as a manager would you like to have happier and more productive employees? I am sure the answers to both are yes and yes please!

As we believe very strongly in adding value to your business (and your employees), we are very excited to be ‘first in class’ to offer our clients complimentary employee attachment reports, in partnership with Sork HR for any new employee provided by Beaumont Consulting.

With the cost of attracting, recruiting, inducting and on-boarding a new employee often in excess $100,000 in direct and indirect costs (and that’s without the headache costs thrown in!), this new simple, very time effective tool can help you take away the headache and reduce your attrition in what is going to be a very tight market this year.

To compound this, last month we reported on the significant increase in the jobs we were working on at Beaumont Consulting. Well it certainly seems like market confidence is continuing with another bumper month ahead, making it all the more important for companies to keep attrition down and attraction high. The team at Beaumont are on standby to help you, so please call us anytime!

To other news, our North Shore Branch is working hard on a new events calendar for our local clients and would welcome any ideas for topics or speakers you would like to see, just call or email me on the details below.

Finally, the Beaumont Running Team is training hard and fundraising via CanToo for the SMH Half Marathon 15th May –so feel free to turn out to support them or why not join in!?

Dawn
Chatswood Branch Manager

news

Market News

The job market continues to tighten as the unemployment figure remains static.

Indications that the labour market is reaching full capacity have been heightened with the unemployment figure remaining at 5% for February based on the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

According to the report, the number of people employed dropped by more than 10,000 to 11.41 million in February, despite the market expecting a 20,000 rise.

SEEK, the online job board have also released data showing the number of job advertisements placed nationally increased in February by 1.5%.

Managing Director of SEEK, Joe Powell said the economy continues to demonstrate resilience and show signs that a return to a tighter labour market is not far away. “Following February’s figures, it will be interesting to see how the employment rate pans out over the coming months,” Powell says.

temp

Temp of the Month

This month our $100 Temp of the Month prize goes to ….. Sam McCallum.

This is what the client had to say:
" It has been a joy to work with Sam for the past 6 months. She is shown great commitment to her role, she has fitted in with the team effortlessly and has proved to be 100% dependable. Sam is a superstar! “

Well done from the team at Beaumont!

express

Express Temp

Our Temporary Services Team Leader Renee Johnson in our city office has been hard at work implementing new ways to make our service and delivery to you even better.

Have you ever just had one of those mornings when the person you are depending on is sick and you just don’t have the time to cover their work?

Our new efficient Express Temp Service means that if you need an extra pair of hands at a minutes notice our ‘Express Temp’ is ready to leave our offices on Margaret Street to be at your offices.

Every morning the temp team will be inviting the very best general administrators, corporate receptionists, data entry operators and Personal Assistants into our offices where they will be provided with a buffet breakfast coffee/tea, fresh juice and have access to internet facilities.

If you need this service, please call Renee, Amy, Tracy or Karen on 9279 2777

rejected

Application Rejected : Dodgy Resumes

March 4, 2011 – James Adonis

Since the resume is usually the first chance to make an impression, attention-seeking jobseekers often do whatever it takes to jazz it up. CareerBuilder in the UK recently surveyed almost 200 employers, and even though nearly half admitted to spending less than a minute looking at each résumé, it was still enough time to spot some tragic faux pas.

One candidate thought it’d be sublime;

If his curriculum vitae was written in rhyme.

Another candidate, more pressed for time, submitted a résumé with nothing on it except for her name, phone number, and a pithy little phrase: “I want a job.”

Many people, in the ‘Hobbies and Interests’ section, invent stuff they think sounds impressive. It’s not uncommon to find ‘computers’ noted down even if the candidate is still using a Commodore 64, while others write ‘volunteering for charities’ even if the last time they volunteered was while they were in high school. Regardless, they’re both preferable (maybe) to the survey respondent who had a candidate list his hobby as “lion tamer”.

Under the ‘Experience’ heading, one candidate cited her prior job as “Mystery Shopper”. She wouldn’t, however, disclose the name of the employer because “it’s a secret'.

And then there are those that are just dumb. One guy submitted a résumé with a photo that didn’t match the person to whom the interviewer was speaking on Skype. Even the ethnicity was totally different.
In the lazy category belongs the candidate whose résumé wasn’t emailed or typed or formatted in any way. Instead, this person thought it’d be a good idea to rip out a page from an exercise book, scribble her credentials, and send it off.

A similar survey conducted in the US, also by CareerBuilder, revealed some job applications that were just as wacky. My favorite was the person who had God as his personal reference – but didn’t include a phone number. Just as intriguing was the candidate who claimed to be a direct descendant of the Vikings.
So, weird CVs aside, what turns an average résumé into the best possible chance for a job interview? I asked Jason Hemens, the Corporate Communications Manager at recruitment firm Michael Page, for his top three tips.

His first suggestion is to worry less about specifying particular job tasks, and focus more on outlining big achievements. “Highlighting key responsibilities is important, but don’t list your daily workload,” he says. “It’s equally important to include your accomplishments as a way to demonstrate the practical skills and experience you would bring to a new role.”

The second piece of advice is to avoid having a stock standard résumé that you send to all employers. Instead, Hemens recommends tailoring the résumé for each job. He adds: “Don’t fabricate information, but emphasise your most relevant strengths and eliminate details that are unrelated to the position.”
And the third piece of advice is in regards to formatting: “Keep the layout of your résumé simple with lots of white space, bulleted information and a plain, readable font. Avoid using graphics or coloured text.”

If you’re an employer getting inundated with résumés, here are some tips on identifying the best out of a similar-sounding bunch.

1. Start with an updated job description so that you have something objective to compare each résumé against.

2. Look for warning signs. For example, unexplained gaps in employment, spelling and grammatical errors, and inconsistencies between what’s said and what’s demonstrated (such as a person who claims to have attention to detail, yet has a sloppy résumé).

3. Read between the lines by being conscious of what hasn’t been mentioned, especially when vague terms are used, like “experience in”.

4. Watch out for your own biases. Sometimes, employers inadvertently hire people who are just like them, rather than the best person for the role.

5. Conduct a short phone conversation to see if it’s worth getting the candidate in for a face-to-face interview. It saves everyone’s time.

Poor recruiting is one of the major factors contributing to many workplace ills. But out of all that can go wrong in the long and risky process, the résumé is just the beginning.

events

Beaumont Complimentary Events

Don’t forget to join our linked in group (LINK) and make sure you are the first to hear about upcoming seminars, experts we are meeting and have a say in what events you want us to put on next. You're our clients, we provide these events for your benefit, make sure you have your say!

We were inundated with people wanting to come to our Social Media breakfast, “How To Engage Your Customers Through Social Media” with Lara Solomon.

So, on the 14th April we are going to give you another opportunity to see Chief Rabbit of Social Rabbit, Lara Solomon who will introduce you to the wonderful world of social media.

As Lara has said herself, “I LOOOOOVE social media. But I didn't used to, I didn't really see the point of using it until I really focused on Facebook for my Mocks business. I started a Facebook page and got 12,000 people on it in under 3 months and so the social media addiction started!”

The one hour breakfast seminar will explain what social media is (tip: it’s more than Facebook and Twitter!), who is using social media and how it can be used in business to engage your customers and promote your brand.

Some feedback from our session on 24th March:

“What a brilliant speaker and a great insight into the world of Social Media. More on this subject please”

“What an eye opener, I cannot believe how many medians there are and how much more productive we could be as a company. Lara makes it all so easy!”

This new session is nearing capacity so book your space quickly! Email Taheeya Rahman at Taheeya.rahman@beaumontconsulting.com.au.

star

Volunteer for Starlight Day, May 5-8th

We all want our children to be happy and healthy. However, for thousands of Australian families, their child’s health and happiness seem to be just out of reach. The diagnosis of a serious illness or accident has a tremendous effect on the whole family, and from this moment things will never be the same again.

The Starlight Children’s Foundation provides opportunities for seriously ill children to be distracted from the pain and stress of their treatments and to simply be a child again. Through Starlight they experience transformational moments that bring happiness to the whole family.

One day of volunteering will transform the experience of ten hospitalised children, replacing fear, pain and boredom with fun, joy and laughter through access to all of Starlight’s In-hospital programs throughout their stay.

You can make a difference in the lives of seriously ill and hospitalised children this Starlight Day. Register to volunteer at www.starlight.org.au and together we can brighten their lives.