unemployed & employees
Individuals are unemployed for many reasons. A new parent may have resigned to care for a new family after having a child, and are now looking to return to work with a new employer. An employee may have been terminated. A young adult that has completed high school or university may want to embark on their new career.
These days, gaining employment is very challenging, and most particularly because the number of applicants the job seeker is competing against is astronomical. You start off feeling very energetic and positive about searching for that new job, yet over time, due to lack of success, your confidence drops, you begin to feel quite despondent, and you may give up. Those who do not give up often settle for a job they don't want, a job that is menial, that does not match your career objectives, and so on.
The challenge of gaining employment is even more challenging, practically and emotionally, when your employment was terminated, whether justly or unjustly.
There are many tools, skills, resources, and strategies available that can boost your success rate and land you a great job that you really do want, and that you know you really can perform well.
What many job applicants do not realise is that many of the other job seekers they are competing against do not possess the skills, experience, and qualifications needed for the role. In my career as a Human Resources Manager, when performing my recruitment role, I have most often received over two applications in response to one job advertisement for one singular job role.
On most occasions, I would only be able to sift out ten to twenty suitable applicants that have demonstrated they meet the skills, experience, and qualifications I am looking for. And, I am busy, run off my feet. I do, and have every entitlement at law to, only focus on those applications that address the requirements I have set out in the job advertisement. Many job applicants do not realise that the primary reason for lack of success in job hunting is because their resume does not adequately meet the specific requirements as stated in the job advertisement. Many times, the employer has not actually outlined the specific requirements adequately, or at all. At other times, the job seeker is not specifically tailoring their application letter and resume to the specific requirements outlined in the job advertisement.
Generally, when recruiting, a human resources professional will not contact job applicants that have not met all specific requirements in their job application unless the first batch of applicants that were shortlisted did not prove to be suitable. And then, the human resources professional will sift through the next 100 job applications received and not yet reviewed.
On many occasions, job applicants are not successful because they have been absent on parental leave, and the gap in their employment history has set them back. Yes, this is discrimination, but you will have a very difficult time proving it. Do not let this dissuade you, I am simply being honest. Sometimes the employer will make mistakes, in writing or verbally, that make it quite easy to establish discrimination, but most often, they are smart and now how to avoid those pitfalls.
Regardless of your reason for seeking a new or other job, you can overcome the challenges that you experience. You simply need to create a marketing plan for yourself. You need to identify and address the challenges you are going to encounter. It may be that your application is perfect, but your interview techniques are lacking, and this most often occurs because job seekers have not developed a marketing plan, they have not identified challenges, and they are nervous and anxious during interviews.
Clients of mine that have developed a marketing plan for themselves have all succeeded. What is a marketing plan? A marketing plan identifies your objectives and goals, it identifies your competitors, and it identifies your challenges. The marketing plan identifies where you are going wrong and it incorporates strategies to overcome those inadequacies.
From my experience, as a job seeker myself, as a recruiter, and when providing recruitment support to employers, I have learned there are very few companies that offer a full scope of capable and competent job hunting services, and time and time again I have learned this is because they just do not know.
Professionals that possess legal qualifications and who are working in employment law will usually apply to practice law, be admitted to the bar, and commence their career practicing through a law firm. Yet, the employment law industry is deregulated, which permits professionals without legal qualifications to practice in industrial relations, otherwise known as workplace relations. And this is generally the source of most landmines encountered by job seekers.
There are not many professionals working in the deregulated industrial/workplace relations field who possess an LLB or similar legal qualification. I possess legal qualifications, and I have chosen to remain practicing in the industrial/workplace relations field for this reason. Access to the services provided by a lawyer is costly, these days starting at no less than $350 per hour. Lawyers charge in six minute increments for all work performed, and this includes reading emails, responding to emails, and taking or making telephone calls. Costs accrue very rapidly.
I am primarily focused on improving access to legal services, and this is why I continue to practice as a Human Resources and Industrial Relations Consultant, rather than as a practicing lawyer. I charge $165 per hour. I offer packages, which allow a combination of services to be provided without counting and charging six minute increments. You pay $165, or the price I offer for a particular package, and I generally include emails, telephone calls and other ancillary services in the price quoted. If you have paid $165 and meet with me for a one hour consultation for job seeking support, I will have to make phone calls at a later stage, I will send emails, I will meet with prospective employers. Those services are included in the $165 you have paid. I will often reclaim those costs through the employer as a component of the recruitment support I provide them.
Please read through the services we offer, the packages available, and other resources we provide to obtain a clear perspective on how we work, and how we can help you.
My fees are negotiable and I offer discretional discounts for individuals that are able to evidence financial hardship.