This month we are focused on a crucial part of the job hunt, which is often unfortunately out of your direct control – reference checks. I’ve pitched a few frequently asked reference questions to recruitment expert, Kirsty McLaren, Director of McLaren Associates – a recruitment firm who specialises in not-for-profit recruiting throughout New Zealand.  Kirsty […]

Getting a job you love is one of the BEST feelings imaginable, but what about the unanswered applications, sad-face interviews and straight-out rejections strewn along the way? We feel your pain. Here are five perspective shifts to help you stand back up when you don’t get your dream job. My phone rang. Finally! I’d been waiting […]

  You’ve just wrapped up an interview, and you’re wondering if you need to send a thank-you card or email to your interviewee – the answer, YES! Here’s Jane’s HR perspective on post-interview thank-you best practice and what to expect in the days and weeks post your interview. — After your interview send an email […]

Job interviews tend to hold a special place in hell for introverts. Small talk, self-promotion, over-stimulation. . . the list of challenges is long. Can quiet folk triumph against the odds? Liz Willoughby-Martin says yes. Introversion has undergone a HUGE makeover since Susan Cain’s Quiet came crashing tiptoeing onto the non-fiction scene in 2012. But despite massive changes […]

  Cover letters, eh? I’ve written three this week (so far) and it’s starting to feel like going into battle. So, how can we ensure our hard work will actually pay off and our cover letters will blow the enemy’s  future employer’s ships out of the water? It’s time to get combat ready! Here are ten […]

I recently spent time facilitating a number of interview panel workshops. Part of this training involved participants’ having a go role playing as an interviewer. This meant it was necessary for someone to play the part of interviewee (me!). While the focus of the session was on the panel’s activities, observing numerous mock interviews did give […]

As an HR practitioner with around 15 years in the field, I have sat on a huge number of interview panels. These have been across a range of industries as well as in a number of different countries. Certain things have stood out during my time on the ‘other side’ of the table, with this […]

It was a perplexing phone call. My job application had been successful and they had narrowed applicants down to 12 from 100+ applicants. I was excited about the role. So this was good news… Would I care to join them for a group job interview? I would need to prepare some sort of activity for […]

You have a big interview looming. You’re nervous. You’ve heard that the questions are tough. No doubt you have prepared all the answers to the cliché questions focusing on your strengths and weaknesses….What you may not be as prepared for are the dreaded behavioural questions that are increasingly common in job interviews. These questions are […]

  How approaching a job interview can feel like making a celebrity comeback From Puff-daddy to P-diddy, from Prince to the artist formerly known as (rest in peace), from Beyonce to Sasha Fierce and back; what do these celebrity reinventions have to do with job interviews, you ask? Each time you approach a job interview, […]

Maya Crawley, Organisational Psychologist on career well-being.

Long ago I applied for a job involving child care. Beyond quoting Whitney Houston – ‘I believe that children are our future’, I had nothing much to say. My CV showed zero contact or interest with kids – no volunteer work, no sports coaching, no teaching, not even a stint of babysitting. If my referees […]

No one likes being rejected. This is why getting useful feedback after an unsuccessful interview is hard. It takes courage and confidence to go back and find out exactly why they didn’t want you. The more you wanted the job, the harder it is. To be honest, even if you had decided against taking a […]

Last year I was preparing for a job interview when I happened to stumble across this great TED talk from Amy Cuddy, a Harvard Business School professor, about how tiny changes in your body language can radically change your job performance and career. She says certain “power poses” immediately change your body chemistry. I took […]

Behavioural based interview. The words alone used to make us want to run for the hills, but not any longer thanks to a fantastic chat with Rohan Wakefield. He gave us some key points and top tips to pass on to you all. Check them out, try them out and be better prepared and more […]