Make Team Building Fun – Video Interview with Leona Watson
December 6, 2011
Leona Watson, owner of Cheeky Food Group, a company that uses the fun and interaction of cooking together to provide team building, conference and client entertaining activities across Australia and New Zealand.
In this video interview we discuss:
- How Cheeky Food Group makes team building fun
- How her large-company experience helped her start her business with almost no budget
- How to leverage in business, step back and delegate
- How to manage the mood in your business by managing yourself and more
Enjoy this interview with Leona Watson.
Watch this interview on the Australian Businesswomen’s Network website now.
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About the In Her Shoes seriesIn Her Shoes is a regular video series presented by the Australian Businesswomen’s Network and BNet.com.au. Each interview features an inspiring businesswoman and her strategies for success. New episodes are released regularly. Become a Community Member for regular updates. StartUp and Growth Members get updates automatically. Become a Community Member with the Australian Businesswomen’s Network. |
Thinking Outside the Box: How to Prosper in a Candidate-Short Market
November 21, 2011
By Kristy-Lee Johnston, Footprint Recruitment
I seem to have spent a lot of time lately discussing with clients the pitfalls and frustrations of a marketplace that seems void of quality talent.
Business owners, managers and decision makers have been questioning whether it’s their business, their culture, what they have to offer, their clients, projects, salaries, benefits or any other tiny detail that has caused them to be in a situation where they are finding top quality talent hard to attract.
In most cases, the simple reason is: there are not enough quality candidates in the market to fill available positions.
In our local marketplace, we see this in many technical, specialist and professional areas, such as engineers, chartered accountants and technical managers. But the same situation could apply to any market at any point in time – it’s a matter of pure supply/demand economics.
So how do you attract candidates to your business in this market?
In my opinion, there are two key things to look at:
- Rule out the obvious; you need to look really carefully at your business, and attitudes, to make sure it’s not in fact you and your pre-set ideas which are excluding your ideal candidate. What I mean by this is:
- Are you paying a fair market salary which would attract your ideal candidate?
- Are you looking for a candidate with ‘all the bells and whistles,’ but in fact are not allowing this applicant to use all of these on the job?
- Are you looking for more in a candidate than what the role really needs?
- Are you looking for someone who actually doesn’t really exist?
- Once you have ruled this out, you now need to think about how you can attract the candidates you want in a market that is not on your side. And my simple solution is this – think outside the box.
The reality is that it’s not going to be easy, but if you fight on the same grounds as every other employer, you’ll probably lose in one way or another. So think laterally, think like a candidate and think left field!
Like when assessing your sales and marketing mix, you look for your Unique Selling Point, do the same as an employer.
What can you offer a candidate that’s better, different or more exciting than other employers in your marketplace?
While salary is always important to candidates, it’s often not the deal breaker, and many candidates are happy to ‘trade’ a little on salary if their other desires are met within a role.
So can you offer more exciting projects, creative outlets within work time, other non-monetary benefits like flexible work hours or multiple locations? Get creative, think outside the box and get your applicants attention!
MORE GREAT POSTS BY KRISTY-LEE JOHNSTON:
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Kristy-Lee Johnston – Footprint RecruitmentKristy-Lee Johnston is the Director of Footprint Recruitment, a Central Coast based Recruitment and HR agency which is run by locals, for locals.
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Secrets of Casually-Employed Staff
November 15, 2011
Susan Williams is the founder of award-winning business The Finishing Touch.
From modest beginnings 16 years ago, The Finishing Touch now employs more than two hundred casual staff nationally, and has a franchise in New Zealand. It has been independently recognised with more than 20 major industry and government awards.
In this video interview we discuss:
- How Susan has differentiated her business, The Finishing Touch, from competitors
- The strategies Susan uses to manage over 200 casually-employed staff
- Why employing mature aged people has proved to be a winning formula and
- The challenge of having such a wide network of operation, and how technology helps overcome this
Enjoy this interview with Susan Williams.
Watch this interview on the Australian Businesswomen’s Network website.
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About the In Her Shoes seriesIn Her Shoes is a regular video series presented by the Australian Businesswomen’s Network and BNet.com.au. Each interview features an inspiring businesswoman and her strategies for success. New episodes are released regularly. Become a Community Member for regular updates. StartUp and Growth Members get updates automatically. Become a Community Member with the Australian Businesswomen’s Network. |
What is an Internship in Australia?
November 3, 2011
By Yvette Vignando, www.happychild.com.au
In this last fortnight, I have been looking for one or two interns for the happychild website, which is nearly 18 months old now. And I had to do some thinking about why, and whether, an intern would be a good thing for both the business and for any prospective intern. I know, through my work as an executive coach, that mentoring others can be one of the most professionally rewarding exercises – so I have been thinking about how happychild could be involved in this.
Why offer an internship?
As the happychild website grows and blooms (it really does feel like blooming now), I have been able to offer more opportunities to writers and bloggers to showcase their fantastic writing and ideas on the website. And I am proud to say we even have one commissioned writer – it may not sound like much to you, but it’s a big deal for a micro-business!
But I’m always looking at opportunities to publish more writing and I cherish the chance to pass on ideas and skills to other people. So I started thinking about offering an internship. It seemed like the ideal opportunity to offer work experience to somebody in a flexible way that only an online business can offer. Sure, the work an intern may do is likely to be wonderful for the website also – but if you’re thinking of offering an internship (particularly unpaid), you need to be sure that you can offer more than you take.
In the case of the happychild internship, we have offered a flexible arrangement to suit an applicant’s parenting or work arrangements and that can even be worked off site. But this can be tricky of course – so it’s important to think carefully about how to give useful feedback, how to mentor your intern and how to create diverse opportunities for an intern that will deliver them the educational and work experience they are after. I’ll get back to you in a few months and let you know how that worked out!
Australian Employment Law and Internships
Before reading this, please take note that I have no expertise in employment law – although my former career was in law, this was not my specialisation. So before entering into any paid or unpaid arrangement with an employee, work experience placement or intern, you should consult an expert lawyer or at least talk to a relevant government department such as Fair Work Australia.
However, to get you started in thinking about what an internship means, I can give you the following tips:
- Employee: Just because you are not paying somebody to work for you, does not mean they are not an “employee” in Australian law. If the way someone is working for you is part of a legally binding contract for example, they are more likely to be considered an employee. However, you may choose to offer a contracted paid internship in which case you’d be obliged to pay that person the relevant minimum wage for the work they are required to do.
- Obligations to employees: If somebody is an employee, then you have all sorts of obligations towards them and they of course have rights – think about things like pay, leave and superannuation.
- Hours and length of time worked: If a person is working for you as an “intern” then they should not be working for you on a long-term (or possibly full time) basis. An example is given on the Fair Work website of ‘Stuart’ who works full time for three months at a newspaper and who is given specific tasks and deadlines to meet – in that example, Fair Work Australia said Stuart may be considered to have been engaged as an employee.
- Intern is there to learn: Your intern should not be a critical part of your business’ producitivity – they are with you to learn and get experience.
More information is available at the Fair Work website.
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY YVETTE VIGNANDO
- What are Your Favourite Business Books?
- Starting a Business – What Do You Want to Know?
- Overwhelmed by Your Own Deadlines? Think Again.
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Yvette Vignando - www.happychild.com.auYvette is pursuing her passion – to take action that helps children develop great social and emotional skills as a foundation for a happy and successful life. Formerly a lawyer and then successful executive coach specialising in Emotional Intelligence, Yvette was encouraged by her experience of MentorNet to launch her business – a website for parents that publishes practical and engaging information about raising children with emotional intelligence. Yvette looks forward to sharing the challenges and successes of her experience as she navigates her way through the adventures of launching a website, and tackles online sales and marketing, an evolving business plan, and the growing universe of social media. Yvette hopes that by following her personal and professional development as an entrepreneur you will also be inspired to follow your passions.
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Which Celebrity Apprentice would you have fired?
October 26, 2011
I got caught up watching this week’s launch episode of Celebrity Apprentice — the first Aussie version of the series made famous by Donald Trump and which Mark Bouris of Yellow Brick Road hosts in Australia.
Like the original The Apprentice, in Celebrity Apprentice participants (celebrities) take part in business challenges, mostly in teams, and someone from the losing team is fired each week.
The cast is a hodgepodge of athletes, business people and other ‘celebrities’. This season has athlete Wendell Sailor, reality ‘star’ Polly Porter, politician Pauline Hanson, ‘dance guru’ Jason Coleman, comedienne Julia Morris, beauty queen Jesinta Campbell, model Didier Cohen, footy ‘legend’ Warwick Capper, AFL’s Shane Crawford, Olympian Lisa Curry, Businessman Max Markson, and entertainer Deni Hines as the contestants.
After an entertaining first episode where teams ran a charity car wash (the team who raised the most money won) the men’s team lost and someone was fired by Bouris last night.
The show, while created for ratings (of course) and obviously heavily edited for viewer value, shows enough about a character to have the viewer decide if they like the contest or not.
As a business owner, I watched the show from the point of view of whom I would want on my business team and who would I definitely not want.
Would it be the savvy, well connected Max Markson, the funny and entertaining Julia Morris or the soft but powerful Lisa Curry? And what about the guys?
The footy players impressed me. Well, two of them. Wendell Sailer and Shane Crawford both behaved like team players. They were willing to take leadership, they worked (really) hard in the roles they were assigned and they were willing to work hard towards the team goal. One black sheep, or is it blonde sheep, Warwick Capper was as useful as (enter your own bit here) – i.e. not very! (I realise the show is edited but based on what was shown on the show, he’d be first to be fired if he was on my team.)
In many of the contestants I could see the qualities that I value in team members, qualities that I admire regardless if it’s a team I’m leading or whether someone else is leading.
- Clarity in communication – Jesinta who lead the women’s team was strong but a little harsh in her communication. Her team mates seemed to forgive her for it and to encourage her bravery and leadership.
- Willingness - Most of the guys jumped in and did whatever it took. Capper stood out as the one not willing to take direction or to participate til the end of the challenge.
- Courage - While she’s not someone whose politics I’ve been a fan of, Pauline Hanson stole the show for me when she stripped down to some AussieBum gear to wash a car for a $50,000 bounty which all went towards charity
- Calling it as you see it - Model Didler Cohen not only looked great (he is a model after all) but was willing to call a spade a spade and to put those older than him who disregarded him as just a pretty face, in their place. I hope he shows more of that in coming episodes.
- Drive - While he comes across as arrogant I had to admire Max Markson’s clarity that he had one job to do – to help the team win and (again, despite not agreeing with his leadership style) he pulled out all stops to raise the money they thought would win them the challenge. He was very focused on the prize and the goal. Unfortunately his treatment of his team wasn’t ideal.
Lessons that I drew from the show:
- Leadership matters. Clear direction and participation from the leader is vital.
Mark Bouris - Suzi Dafnis (Kochie's Business Builders 2011)
- Teamwork – No matter what your role, play it and play it to your best ability
- It ain’t over until it’s over – Until the finish bell rings, the game is still on and you can still steal the leading position if you stay focused.
Last night Bouris fired Warwick Capper . I know who I would’ve voted off. Capper!
You? Who would you have fired? And, why?
Desperate Times and Desperate Measures
October 24, 2011
By Kristy-Lee Johnston, Footprint Recruitment
When your business is short staffed, there can be nothing more frustrating than a candidate short market.
You and your team are already under the pump and as an owner or manager, you constantly find yourself being pulled into working ‘in’ rather than ‘on’ your business. This only impacts on your ability to focus on growth, client acquisition and product & service development.
But despite the temptation, it’s important to remember that desperate times shouldn’t mean you take desperate measures.
When you simply don’t have the resources to make ends meet, and fulfil the workload you have coming through the door, it can seem like a good option to appoint new employees who don’t fit in with your usual criteria and are a mis-match with your culture and values.
But this in fact can do more harm than good.
Here’s why:
- A new team member who does not encompass your values and work in a way which reflects your business quality standards, ethics and systems will never be long term, so ultimately you spend time, money and effort training, developing, coaching and guiding for them only to leave before you have recouped your costs
- Appointing a new team member who does not fit in with your existing team, who are committed to your vision and goals, will potentially upset them and have the reverse impact for you. To unsettle your existing team may result in less productive staff, or worse still those staff leaving the organisation because of the new person
- In a candidate short market, your judgement can be blurred by desperation. You need extra hands on deck ASAP, and the candidates in these markets know this. So they become more demanding with their expectations around terms, conditions and salaries. Ultimately you agree because you need someone, but long term it creates a situation with is no longer sustainable because the business workflow ends up structured around them and their demands, rather than the potential for a strong structure for growth.
Clearly, there needs to be a solution to help get you and your business through this time.
Here are a few things I recommend to help relieve the load!
- Communicate openly with your existing team and support them – create an environment which keeps them engaged, motivated and focused. This way they will be as productive as possible for you. Share with them your efforts to locate a like minded team member, and even ask for their help with this, you never know who is around in their extended social circles.
- Think outside the square. Clearly your usual ideal candidate is not out there right now, so how else could this work get done? Can the work be re structured in the office to create a different skills gap, can you promote or retrain an existing team member, can you systemise or streamline anything to help make processes easier and faster?
- Think about outsourcing. This won’t be an option for all roles and all businesses, and certainly may not be long term. But in the short term could a contractor or outsourced supplier help you to get through this busy period?
- What’s not urgent and taking up your time? Can it be put on the shelf for a short time? This can often be hard for business leaders who spend time and energy structuring things to enable them to spend time on their business and its overall strategy and development. But sometimes, especially in small business, the ability to switch between working in and on the business can be priceless for getting through these tough workflow periods
- Get an outsider’s perspective. Ever felt like you can’t see the forest for the trees? It can happen so easily when you are snowed under, overwhelmed and unable to see a real solution. Getting an outside consultant, mentor or trusted advisor in to have a ‘birds eye’ look at your business might reveal some light bulb suggestions for easing the load, which had been in front of your face the whole time but just hadn’t crossed your mind.
Above all else, it’s important to remain positive and focused. Be clear about your vision and direction and the sort of people you want in your business to help you achieve these goals. If you remain clear on that, it will help ensure that even in the times you feel like you’re drowning in work, you make the right decisions about who you engage in your business and why.
MORE GREAT POSTS BY KRISTY-LEE JOHNSTON:
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Kristy-Lee Johnston – Footprint RecruitmentKristy-Lee Johnston is the Director of Footprint Recruitment, a Central Coast based Recruitment and HR agency which is run by locals, for locals.
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The Value of Association
October 6, 2011
By Kristy-Lee Johnston, Footprint Recruitment
As business owners, leaders and managers, we often put a great deal of time and effort into our ‘brand’. This includes our business brand, our personal brand and often, in a wider capacity, the brand of our industry and local business community.
We put countless hours and huge amounts of money into building our brand, ensuring the image is right, the consistency is there and the marketability of the brand is as strong as it can be. We know our brand, and many of those leaders who really have a strong understanding of, and synergy with their brand, represent their brand in everything they do.
They act in a way which reflects the brand, talk in language which speaks of the brand, dress in a way which reflects the brand and communicate in ways which suits the brand and its consumers.
So the brand is good, and we know how to represent it – but then there are the staff.
How can you make sure that the people you engage in your business represent the brand as well as you do?
The people you engage in your organisation, whether as employee, supplier or contractor, naturally become associated with your brand and one thing I believe we can’t underestimate is the value of association and the impact this has on our brand.
You can work as hard as you like perfecting your reflection of your brand, but if the associations you keep in your business do not appear consistent with the brand you are trying to portray, you are undermining and possibly damaging the quality, consistency and overall impact of your brand by those who view your business.
At the heart of this for me is the people within your business. The staff, contractors and service partners you align yourself with who, by nature of their roles, act as an ambassador to your business and ultimately are responsible for projecting your brand to your consumers and the wider community.
Whether employed by you directly or indirectly via an agreement, engagement or supplier relationship, you need to be certain that they represent your brand to the extent you expect and the level you demand.
To do this, here are some tips to help get things aligned:
- Understand for yourself the values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviours which define your brand. By understanding this, you can then ensure all future relationships align with these core values and as such, reflect your brand.
- Assess new employees with these values in mind to ensure they reflect the brand from the inside out, so to speak.
- Think about your brand when you engage a contractor or supplier and ask yourself this question, “If my top customers knew this person/business was associated with me and my business, how would they feel?”
- Trust your gut and follow your instincts!
Associating yourself and your business with the right partners can be a valuable addition and compliment to your brand and conversely, the reverse can apply.
Never underestimate the value of association and the impact that those representing your business, whether directly employed or not, can have on your brand image and reputation in the marketplace.
MORE GREAT POSTS BY KRISTY-LEE JOHNSTON:
- Job Seeking Etiquette
- Top Questions for Job Seekers to Ask at Interview
- How to tell if they really want the role, or are wasting your time!
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Kristy-Lee Johnston – Footprint RecruitmentKristy-Lee Johnston is the Director of Footprint Recruitment, a Central Coast based Recruitment and HR agency which is run by locals, for locals.
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Grammatical glitches that spell “disaster” for job applicants
September 26, 2011
By Susan Wareham McGrath
I was driven to write today’s post by the number of grammatical errors and misspellings I come across regularly, on resumes, application letters, websites, jobseekers’ blogs and their professional social media profiles.
It’s a fact that grammatical glitches, clunky copy and sloppy spelling do not impress employers. And the bad news for job applicants is that such semantic saboteurs can impact negatively on their prospective employer’s opinion of their application.
So here’s my personal hit list of errors that dumb down personal brands – and turn off prospective employers.
The Wandering Apostrophe
In my eyes, the worst offender of all is the wandering apostrophe. As a punctuation symbol, it looks innocent enough, but can grate on an employer’s nerves when it’s used incorrectly, particularly when it’s used to denote a plural.
Apostrophes are generally happiest when used to indicate the omission of one or more letters (for example, the contraction of “it is” to “it’s”); and to indicate the possessive case (for example, “the cat’s fur”).
The use of apostrophes to denote plurals (for example, “the sentence contained two comma’s”) is wrong, as is a significant exception to the possessive case rule above – the use of “it’s” to denote ownership.
Whenever I see “it’s” used to indicate possession, I can’t help but expand the contraction – to me “the cat licked it’s fur” reads “the cat licked it is fur”. Such errors are not only grammatically wrong, but can smack of unprofessionalism to prospective employers who care about such things.
Heterographs
Almost as bad as the uncorralled apostrophe is the incorrect use of “your” versus “you’re”, “too” versus “to” and “their” versus “there”. It’s really not that hard to take a few seconds to think about what you’re trying to say and check that your words reflect your intent. In fact, it’s so easy, why would you not do so, when initial impressions of your ability to value add as an employee are at stake?
Weasel Words
Weasel words are words that are deliberately used to gloss over bad news, or to make a statement misleading; for example, “Send in your details and be in the draw to win a car every day for a month.”
The reality is, of course, that a draw will be held each day of the month in question, with a car allocated as the prize of each individual draw. But the sentence above was written in such a way that it implies the winner of the draw would win between 28 and 31 cars, delivered in daily increments over the period of one month.
Weasel words fool very few employers and can lead to a perception that the applicant using them is at best spindoctoring, or at worst being evasive about their employment history – not a favourable impression to leave with a prospective employer.
Comma casualties
Reading text that places commas incorrectly, or fails to use them at all, puts me into a state of punctuation paranoia – for example, the difference in meaning between “Let’s cook, James” and “Let’s cook James” is quite significant – and all due to the strategic use of a comma.
Dangling participles
“Eating my lunch, the sun shone brightly.” Really? The sun was eating the writer’s lunch while shining brightly? Of course not. What the writer meant to say was “As I was eating my lunch, the sun shone brightly”.
If the meaning of a sentence is anything less than crystal clear, it’s time for a redraft!
In Australia’s highly competitive job market, it’s essential to use every tool at your disposal to excel throughout the application process. Proofread, double check, and preferably have someone else review your professional website, LinkedIn profile, blog, CV and cover letter before you submit your application.
Remember, you only have one chance to make a first impression!
Check back tomorrow for the next blog post in 30 Days to a Great Career! 1-30 September 2011
MOST RECENT 30 DAYS TO A GREAT CAREER POSTS
- Making A Good Impression: 7 Keys To A More Professional Image
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Susan Wareham McGrathSusan Wareham McGrath is a skilled and experienced Australian visa and immigration consultant; jobsearch strategist and career management consultant; professional writer, blogger and social commentator. She holds a degree in psychology, an advanced diploma in human resource management, a post graduate qualification in public policy development, a national training accreditation and registration as an Australian migration agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Susan is a strong advocate for the personal and professional advancement of women, and after serving as an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network since 2007 is now the ABN’s National Special Projects Manager.
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Resolving Conflicts (when they happen)
September 21, 2011
By Karen Adamedes, Career Chick Chat
Conflict is a fact of life. In business, it seems to be inevitable. It can occur when people are working towards different goals or outcomes. Or when people who have an unfortunate history are brought back together and simple misunderstandings can also cause conflict.
The reasons are many and the implications can be disastrous. Conflict at work can be an inhibitor that damages relationships, delays projects, causes rework or even stops business from moving ahead.
On the other hand, it can be an opportunity for you to demonstrate your skills, style and your ability to work in any environment. Conflicts are not only crisis points – they are opportunities for you to shine in challenging circumstances. The way you respond to and resolve conflict in the workplace is a defining characteristic of your personal operating style.
How you handle conflict can impact your reputation more than how you resolve it.
Here are some tips of how to approach conflict in the workplace:
Approach Conflict Strategically
The best approach to conflict is to be strategic. It is unlikely that all aspects of a conflict are equally important. Decide what must be resolved and which battles you really need to win. Pick what is most important to you and the business.
The Earlier, the Better
The best approach is to resolve important issues early. A small misunderstanding left unresolved can grow out of all proportion the longer people think about it. The earlier the resolution, the less potential damage a conflict can cause. Relationships stay intact, negative business impacts are minimised and people are more willing to compromise. Plus, you are seen as more resolute and skilled.
Know Your Facts
Like any negotiation, the first step is to prepare: make sure you know your facts. You’ll look incompetent if you try to resolve conflict with incorrect information or insufficient research. You may even damage your credibility if you haven’t spoken to all the stakeholders. When you know your facts, you can be confident that you have the information you need and that there won’t be any surprises later on. You’ll also have the support of those who think they need to be consulted.
Develop Alternatives
As you would for any negotiation, it’s vital to identify the key issues and develop some potential alternatives to resolve the situation. For the best chance of success, your potential resolution should look for a win for all parties, be expressed in the language that the people involved are comfortable with and allow others to save face.
If you can develop alternatives that allow the other people involved to have a choice, or at least be involved in the decision-making process, they’ll appreciate it. This will also assist with any big egos involved.
Be Generous
Often, whether someone is right or wrong about a business issue ceases to be the key issue to resolve a conflict. Anyone can be embarrassed if they are shown up publicly as wrong. People’s concern about potential embarrassment can lead to stubborn behaviour and unwillingness to concede – even when they know they are wrong or there is a better alternative. Be aware of the egos involved and explore the options to help others save face.
The right way to resolve a conflict with one person can be different for another. Whether you think the other person is right or wrong – try to appreciate the issue from their perspective. Demonstrating that you have respect for the experience and knowledge of others shows them you are focused on the issue, not making a personal judgment. The acknowledgment of past successes, experience, expertise and skills is appreciated by everyone. It allows you to recognise the past, accept the other person’s contribution and then deal with the issue at hand. Which is what business is all about.
Be proactive and deal with conflict. It will reflect positively on your skills, credibility and professional reputation.
Check back tomorrow for the next blog post in 30 Days to a Great Career! 1-30 September 2011
MOST RECENT 30 DAYS TO A GREAT CAREER POSTS
- Interview thank you letters – a simple branding strategy for jobseekers
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Karen Adamedes – Career Chick ChatKaren Adamedes is a career strategist, speaker blogger and author of the best-selling career guide for women, “Hot Tips for Career Chicks.” Working for market-leaders in Australia, Karen has pursued a successful career in business, managing national teams and multi-million dollar budgets. She is an accomplished senior executive with a proven track record of success in driving the delivery of business results and the development of high performance teams. Karen’s experience has provided her with insights into what works and why for women in the development and management of their careers and the realisation of success. Karen’s career advice has been featured in the pages of national magazines including Cosmopolitan and Cleo, newspapers and international publications.
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Interview thank you letters – a simple branding strategy for jobseekers
September 20, 2011
By Susan Wareham McGrath
It’s a fact that the process of job-hunting is essentially a marketing exercise, where, with all other things being equal, the most strategic marketer will win the job.
The competition for good jobs across all levels of Australia’s job market is tough; and with many excellent applicants competing for a limited number of good jobs, it’s crucial to the success of your jobsearch marketing plan that you make the most of every opportunity to stand out from the competition.
An easy way to build your brand in the eyes of your interviewer or interview panel, but surprisingly, one that is followed by very few job applicants, is to follow up each interview you attend with a simple thank-you letter.
Apart from demonstrating your knowledge of workplace etiquette, following up an interview with a thank you letter can be used to reinforce your position as the outstanding candidate in a number of other, less obvious ways. You can use a thank-you letter to:
- Focus the thoughts of the interviewer or panel on you, while they’re deciding on the successful applicant
- Highlight the areas in which you can value add to the job and
- Mention anything you forgot to tell the panel at interview
Thank you letters should be succinct and strategically written; three paragraphs are adequate. Your focus in drafting the letter should be on reinforcing your message about why you are the best applicant and what you can bring to the organisation.
The first paragraph should be used to thank the interviewer or the panel for the opportunity to attend the interview. In the next paragraph, you should reiterate the areas in which you could value add to the position, and you could also include any relevant information you forgot to mention at interview. The last paragraph should thank the interviewer or panel once again and indicate that you are looking forward to hearing from them in due course.
While some consultants suggest that you should send a thank you letter to each member of an interview panel, I disagree. I believe it is more professional to write directly to the Chair, because that demonstrates a stronger understanding of Australian corporate protocols than writing directly to panel members. Also, the impact of a thank you letter is somewhat lessened if everyone on the panel receives an identikit copy.
Should you send a thank you letter after second and subsequent interviews? Yes – the content of your first thank you letter could have been one of the elements that helped to swing opinion in your favour. Subsequent thank you letters should be tailored to the interviews to which they relate, because each preceding letter is likely to be included in your interview file and will be read by future interviewers and panellists.
It is best to send a thank-you letter as soon as you are able after an interview, so that it is received preferably within 24 hours and definitely within three days of the interview, as the decision making process could be well underway by then.
As a job seeker in Australia’s tight employment market, can you afford not to use every means at your disposal to differentiate yourself from your competition? Try sending a thank you letter after your next interview – it could make all the difference!
Check back tomorrow for the next blog post in 30 Days to a Great Career! 1-30 September 2011
MOST RECENT 30 DAYS TO A GREAT CAREER POSTS
- Signals it’s time to move on
- How to write a winning board CV
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Susan Wareham McGrathSusan Wareham McGrath is a skilled and experienced Australian visa and immigration consultant; jobsearch strategist and career management consultant; professional writer, blogger and social commentator. She holds a degree in psychology, an advanced diploma in human resource management, a post graduate qualification in public policy development, a national training accreditation and registration as an Australian migration agent with the Migration Agents Registration Authority. Susan is a strong advocate for the personal and professional advancement of women, and after serving as an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Businesswomen’s Network since 2007 is now the ABN’s National Special Projects Manager.
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