I will be starting next week as Lead Electrical Engineer for the company XXXX based in sunny Rockhampton, QLD (yes, a big move from Melbourne!). The role involves electrical and automation design for underground mining machinery mainly used for coal mining and will be supervising a small group of other electrical engineers.  It is a big change, a big role, a big company and I'm really excited about it. They also have an established professional development program and are keen to send me to the US and possibly China for further development. The salary is good, the people are nice but professional, the conditions are good, it really ticks all the boxes on my career objectives that you helped me define. Hugely exciting .

You will be pleased to know that I was also offered another role in Melbourne, but this one was "just a job". Initially I accepted the offer but persisted in my efforts and was able to land something better. It was so nice being able to tell them a better offer had come my way.

I value greatly the career planning and advice you provided, but it was really your great inspiration a connection you were able to make with me that made the difference. I look forward to seeing you again when the next career challenge comes my way.

Kind regards,

M.L."

C-F-S Career Management has a newly created Graduates and Students division to offer a series of affordable modules to our younger clients. Ms. Jillian Williams appointed as the Head of the Graduates and Students Division.  C-F-S Career Management has individual programs ranging from assisting Year 10 and Year 11 Students to gain meaningful work experience assignments before committing to a specific tertiary education, all the way up to the University Graduates who work with us while they are undertaking their degree to ensure they are “Career Ready” before graduating into the work force.

Ms Williams said, “Applications and making a start in the workforce is always the hard part.  Our job is to coach and mentor the younger clients to make the best decisions for their future”.  She says “further to that, we are working with organisations and presenting specific programs to introduce the bright young minds of Australia's future to different industries they may not have thought of as interesting.  The response from both sectors has been incredible”. 

Ms Williams is an experienced executive who has been through the C-F-S Career Management process herself and is extremely excited about growing the division and becoming a leader in the field.  Jillian has said that one of the most exciting aspects of this work is "I am working with the business community and the education sector to understand how to resolve the issues and obtain a good talent base for organisations to assist Australia’s future". 

If you would like to have a further discussion with Jillian please contact her on ph: 1300 133 812.

About C-F-S Career Management
C-F-S Career Management has been in operation for 12 years and specialises in assisting career focused individuals or time poor executives achieve better career development outcomes than they would normally secure through their own resources and in less time.

C-F-S Career Management is a member of industry bodies including the Association of Career Professionals International, which is party to the strict standards of Career Industry Council of Australia, CICA (the accrediting peak body for career professional associations in Australia); and The Career Development Association of Australia (CDAA), Australia’s largest international organisation of professionals who work in the career development industry.

We are also proud to be the main sponsor of Career Management training in Australia under the banner of The Association of Career Professionals International to ensure the quality and calibre of career professionals in the future.

About Jillian Williams
Jillian Williams – Senior Consultant

An accomplished executive with a proven ability to develop and implement strategies that support business and financial objectives, Jillian has an impressive commercial background.

As Key Account Manager with Maersk Australia Jillian played a pivotal role in managing international supply chains for global retail corporations. A respected leader, she coordinated internal and external personnel in a multi-national projects environment working with other Key Account executives for Australia’s largest retail, FMCG and automotive clients.  With an international background, Jillian has worked in hospitality management in the United States. She won a university scholarship for a Human Resource Management Degree and scholarship support from the Renaissance Group while working with the global hotel chain. After nearly 7 years working and studying in the United States she was chosen to represent her city in a 1 year English teaching assignment in Japan, while also studying the language and learning the culture.  In 2001 Jillian relocated to Australia to pursue a challenging career change in the Logistics and Supply Chain Industry. She has experience in domestic transport with Toll Group, Australia’s largest transport company; air and logistics with UPS a U.S Organisation, prior to being invited to join Maersk, a leading multi-conglomerate shipping company.  With 20 years experience in the services industry working with people within the international business community, Jillian has a long standing interest in assisting people with career development and career transitioning and is an active proponent of career management in Australia.  Throughout her career Jillian has utilised her cross-cultural communication skills and motivational expertise to foster the personal and professional development of her staff. She has employed development programs to challenge, stretch and develop her staff whilst fostering an inclusive and supportive culture.  Jillian believes her empathy in dealing with people, her optimism that everyone has opportunity to succeed; and a persistence and go-get attitude to inspire will assist our clients seeking to make a paradigm shift in their working life or needing to move up the corporate ladder.

Many people trying to break into the Australian resource industry are investing money into obtaining credentials without being sure if it's a good way to spend their money.

We asked industry employers what they would recommend we tell jobseekers who wonder what investment helps their employment chances and which don’t.

Now we know two things for sure.

It depends

There are as many answers to our question as there are jobs.

Julianne van Kessel, People & Culture Senior Advisor at OZ Minerals, said it best, “This all depends on the job!!”

While everyone wants to know whether they’re wasting their money by getting certain tickets, we understand Julianne’s point.

It all depends on the job at hand, the type of mine, the employer, the location and a multitude of other circumstances no one can predict well enough to include as solid advice in a blog post.

Jocelyn Milbank, Human Resources Manager – Resourcing & Workforce Planning at Boart Longyear, reassured us that workers are not penalised for having tickets or licenses but if you’re applying for a trade role, you should have your certificates to prove you’re qualified.

Show stoppers

Regardless of the role, if you want a job in mining or are going for an offshore job, you’ll likely have to qualify for two certificates:

Pre-Employment Medical – Before you start on a job, you’ll be required to pass a two-part test. Each medical consists of a written exam and a physical assessment. The requirements for the test differ from employer to employer – and even from job to job – but you must be fit for work if you expect to get a job in the resources industry. For more information, check out our article about the Pre-Employment Medical in the Careers and Industry Guide.
National Police Clearance – While not every role will require a national police clearance, having one in your possession is always good to have and could put you above other candidates who haven’t provided one. For some roles, it’s an essential part of the candidate vetting process. Ms. Milbank advises, “The show stopper is the police clearance for drilling roles.”

A national police check can take 15 days or more to complete. The fee for individuals is $45. For more information, visit the National Police Checks page on the Australian Federal Police website. Read More…
 

And we're not even talking about Washington.

Office politics have gotten a bad a rap for some very good reasons. Just ask a woman. Over a multi-year period we examined the 360-degree performance reviews of hundreds of managers and conducted follow-up discussions with the executives themselves. Part of what we've heard is that men are much more likely to report that they are skilled at office politics, whereas women say they want to avoid it at all costs.

In our coaching interviews we've learned that women perceive political maneuvering as a violation of their moral code, saying things like, "I'd rather be a straight shooter," "I tend to look people in the eye and tell it like it is," or "I don't play favorites or trade favors."

When we talked to the ace political consultant Mary Matalin about this, however, we seem to have struck a nerve. "This business about politics at work being sleazy drives me crazy. Virtue can be the essence of politics. The reality is that politics can be just as virtuous or as sleazy as you are." Amen.

The reality is that politics is how power is managed on a practical basis everyday. And from what we've seen women are great at it. It has very little to do with morality and everything to do with managing relationships and getting the job done. In other words: it's not optional.

We've seen in performance discussions that women on average get strong nods of approval for how they forge relationships — managing clients, vendors, peers and direct reports. However, we tend to get lower marks when it comes to managing up. Some say it's a matter of confidence, others site a lack of sponsorship in the sink-or-swim environment of upper management. Either way, here are a few of the tips we give women to help them flex their political muscle:

Make a map. Most organizations have informal social networks that are just as important as the obvious corporate hierarchy — if not more so. It's worth your while to chart the peer groups that have influence. Is there a cross-section of functional experts who meet monthly to solve difficult problems? Get to know these people and understand their spheres of influence. Being aware of informal teams and alliances will help when you are trying to get buy in or influence a decision. Read More…

SHRM’s JOS examines hiring and recruiting trends based on a biannual survey of public- and private-sector human resource professionals who have a direct role in the staffing decisions at their companies. Respondents come from small, medium and large for-profit and nonprofit U.S. organizations as well as government entities.

Employers Remain Cautiously Optimistic

The results for the second quarter of 2012 show that hiring activity and optimism about job growth have improved compared with the second quarter of 2011. But many employers are struggling to find workers with skills that match their open positions.

A total of 58 percent of respondents have some level of confidence in the U.S. job market for the second quarter of 2012 and expect job growth. Forty-eight percent are somewhat optimistic about U.S. job growth, while 10 percent are very optimistic and expect job growth during the quarter.

“That represents a sharp increase from the fourth quarter of 2011, when a combined 34 percent of respondents expressed some level of optimism about job growth in the labor market,” said Jennifer Schramm, GPHR, SHRM’s manager of workplace trends and forecasting.

Thirty-five percent of respondents report their companies will hire in the second quarter of 2012, up slightly from 33 percent in the second quarter of 2011. Large companies (500 or more employees) will be the most likely to add jobs (38 percent) during that time. In the first quarter of 2012, 40 percent of companies added jobs, up from 36 percent in the first quarter of 2011. Only 10 percent decreased staffing levels in the first quarter of 2012, down slightly from 12 percent in the first quarter of 2011.

There are some industries that are still struggling, however, which is also reflected in the survey results. For the second quarter of 2012, a combined 18 percent of respondents have concerns about the job market and expect job cuts in the U.S. labor force. That is down significantly from a combined level of 36 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 but is an indication that some industries are still struggling to rebound from the recession.

Also, more than 8 million people are employed only part time for “economic reasons,” because their hours have been cut back or they are unable to find a full-time job, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Looking ahead, though, it appears that most of the hiring in the second quarter of 2012 is for full-time work, according to the SHRM JOS survey: 75 percent of respondents report that they expect to grow payrolls during the quarter by hiring full-time, positions. Another 10 percent expected to add part-time jobs in the April-June 2012 time frame.

Only 7 percent of respondents surveyed overall said their organizations will conduct layoffs during the second quarter of 2012. The government sector (14 percent) is most likely to trim payrolls, followed by nonprofits and publicly owned for-profit companies (both at 6 percent) and privately owned for-profit companies (5 percent), according to the survey report.

April 2012 LINE Draws Parallels

Although the rate of job growth will fall short of levels reached in April 2011, hiring will continue in the manufacturing and service sectors in April 2012, according to SHRM Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) survey results released April 5, 2012.

The LINE Employment Report examines four key areas: employers’ hiring expectations, job vacancies, difficulty in recruiting top-level talent and new-hire compensation.  Read More…