July 08 Newsletter

World Youth Day

World Youth Day celebrations are going to affect many areas of the city and CBD. Hyde Park, The Domain, Sydney Opera House, Darling Harbour and Randwick Race Course are just few of the locations that will be disrupted during the July festivities.

‘Journey of the Cross and Icon’, ‘Papal Motorcade’ and ‘Pilgrimage Route’ are some of the events that are happening during World Youth Day. Due to the celebrations there are a number of road closures and detours for the special event. Extra trains and buses are being put on to enable visitors to attend the religious celebrations.

To ensure you don’t miss a deadline for a job interview due to traffic congestion for the week of World Youth Day, details for the road closures and special clearways are available on the RTA website.

Vote, vote, vote for Beaumont

Beaumont Consulting have entered into this years SARA’s, (Seek Annual Recruitment Awards). This is the industry’s premier Award and is an opportunity for great recruitment agencies to be properly recognised and celebrated.

Jobseekers vote for their favourite recruiters (like Beaumont ;0) hint hint..), which determines the SARA finalists and winners. Free from industry bias or influence, these Awards are a true reflection of performance as seen by the candidates.

The SARAs aim to both;

Recognise and award the outstanding performance of recruitment agencies in Australia.
Give jobseekers a chance to identify and vote for their favourite recruitment agency in 2008.

So, if we have impressed you this year, it would be very much appreciated if you could take just a minute to vote for us.

How to negotiate a payrise?

The beginning of the new financial year provides an opportunity to seek a pay rise from your employer. However negotiating a salary increase may be difficult or nerve-racking! Asking for a pay rise isn’t easy and you must be ready to negotiate.

Many companies have a structured remuneration review process in place, usually annually, sometimes every six months. While remuneration is often an important factor for employees, it is important to keep in mind other attractive benefits of the position before approaching your employer about a possible pay rise. There is a right and wrong way to go about it should you feel you are not being paid what you are worth. If this is the case, we hope this is of some help.

Negotiate From a Power Position
The more power you have, the better. This means that if your business unit or role is critical, or your team is at an important stage of a project, or you are in a revenue-generating role then you have bargaining muscle.

Get a Good Idea of Your Market Worth
Talk to people in your industry and use the salary surveys. Check in with your personal and professional network, professional society and your favourite recruiter at Beaumont Consulting.
No one is going to pay you more than the top end of your market value. If you have friends working in the same industry, ask them what they believe the salary range is for their role – not what they earn. Also if you work for a large corporate, utilise your HR department.

List Your Duties Outside Your Original Job Description
All jobs change because organisations are not static. Record all the extra things that you now do that are additions to your assigned job. This is always useful for when you sit down for performance reviews with your Manager, and may well justify your salary being reviewed positively without you having to ask.

A Matter Of Timing
Timing is critical. Consider your bosses deadlines and workload, and ensure you approach them when they have the time to properly consider your proposal.

Interpreting the Answer
If your boss says ‘we can’t right now but let’s look at in three or six months’ then they probably mean it.
If your boss delivers an outright ‘no’ then seek justification. Are the reasons they provide valid? If there is a significant difference in your perceptions of your role, and your bosses, it maybe a good time to ask for a performance review.

What To Do If You Are Turned Down
It is a good idea to have a “reaction plan” in case you don’t get the pay rise that you wanted. Is there a compromise that will suit you?

Rewards could include time off to accommodate a lifestyle or study commitment. It could be having your name put forward to work on a particular project or committee, getting the next parking spot, a new laptop, working one day from home per week, a mobile phone allowance or even extra annual leave.

Three Points To Remember:
1. When asking your organisation for anything your starting point has to be your strong performance over the last year.
2. Your rewards also have to be a direct link to improving your work performance over the next year.
3. “If you don’t ask you don’t get”.

What to wear for a job interview

Job interviews can be intimidating, and first impressions in most cases are always remembered!

Deciding what to wear is usually influenced by the job role or industry. The visual message you send is a big influence on how your future employer perceives you. Here is a basic guide to suitably impress:

Men
• Two piece suit (darker shade is more professional)
• Long sleeved collared shirt (preferably white because it looks sharper)
• Matching tie and belt
• Don’t forget the shoe polish!

Women
• Two pieced suit (skirt or pants)
• Blouse, but don’t over do it with frills or ruffles, keep it simple.
• Shoes, make sure they are sensible but professional
• Don’t overkill the makeup

The conventional suit may not be appropriate for your industry. Make sure you stick to the simple rule of wearing modest and sharp clothing. If you are unsure of what people may wear it is always better to be overdressed than underdressed.

What’s on in July

July School Holidays at the Library - Monday 7th - Friday 25th July

World Youth Day 08 - Tuesday 15th - Sunday 20th July 2008

National Tree Day - Sunday 27th July