Over the Christmas – New Year break my wife and I had the opportunity to spend two wonderful weeks with our children and grandchildren. Included in this cohort was our daughter, her husband and four young children (newborn, 14 month old twins and 3 year old). A fun time was had by all (I have […]
We all want to be liked.
Wanting to be liked is a basic human trait and conversely, we usually don’t enjoy the experience of rejection. At Sportspeople Recruitment we understand the emotional investment every candidate makes when they decide to apply for a role and how important the job will be to their future. That’s why we spend a lot of […]
Awareness of inequality is not enough.
So, there I was reading Helen Razer’s piece, “Species of Stupidity” in the latest copy of The Big Issue (No 470 24 Oct-6 Nov, 2014) in which she proposed that in the context of the mental health debate at least, “awareness and talk” alone was “cheap”; when it struck me the premise was equally relevant […]
Jobs of the Future
Members of the Sportspeople Recruitment team are fortunate to be regular invitees to speak at conferences, seminars and career workshops. One of the common questions, particularly when speaking with an undergraduate group, is our take on the where the jobs will be in the future. That’s a bit of an open ended question so it […]
A month is a long time in sport.
Many years ago I recall attending a function where The Hon. George Souris was announced as NSW Minister for Finance and Assistant Treasurer. George had been the NSW Minister for Sport and I’d had the pleasure of working very closely with him, his staff and the Premier’s Office over the period where NSW successfully bid, […]
Where is the sport management voice?
The strength of the Australian sport management talent pool has been widely recognised for many years, with the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games a notable catalyst establishing the profession as world leaders. Over the past 20 years there has also been an exodus of this talent overseas, pursuing coaching, high performance and management roles with national […]
No Place For Discrimination In Recruitment. So, why does it still happen?
For me at least, Thursday 24 June, 2010 will be one of those “where were you when…” moments. While I did get up and watch the Socceroos’ valiant effort as they attempted to claw back a spot in the World Cup knock out round, it was Julia Gillard’s appointment as Prime Minister of Australia that […]
Satisfaction in the Workplace Translated
A few years ago news emerged of Virgin Boss, Richard Branson’s plan to eliminate restrictions on the amount of holidays his employees in the US & UK can take each year. Under this arrangement, employees will be allowed to take time off without prior warning so long as their work is kept up to date. […]
The Order Of Candidates In Shortlist Interviews; Does It Have An Impact?
I’m often asked whether there’s any particular science behind the order of candidates when conducting shortlist interviews. Having participated in close to 600+ shortlist interviews I’m a firm believer other factors have a much greater bearing on the outcome. Firstly, an interview is just one of the selection tools generally available to the employer. Background […]
Happiness At Work
A worldwide survey by recruitment firm Robert Half Finance and Accounting shows that, rather than money, a good relationship with co-workers and bosses is the most important motivating factor in the office for middle managers. Four out of ten people who took part in the research rated good interpersonal relationships as their gateway to work […]
A good appointment needs a good shortlist
The issue of how many candidates should be shortlisted for final interview is often raised early in our recruitment work. Many clients have a set idea that they want to meet say 4 or 5 candidates while others are open to simply meeting the candidate group that best meets the job profile and selection criteria. […]
Does Parenthood Disadvantage your Career?
One of the great privileges of doing what we do at Sportspeople Recruitment is getting to know our candidates before we refer them for a role. Given the importance of “work” and “career” in the lives of these candidates, the screening and interview process allows them to openly share their experiences, talk about their personal […]
Finding Balance in Your Career
For those of you who can actually find the time to sit back and read the newspapers, not just the Sports and Employment Section, you might have read Daniel’s Petre’s Father Time (Macmillan – 1998). Petre’s theme is simple and one which rings true in the sport context. “Take a successful senior male executive with […]
Work/Life Balance
Whenever I read about an “unexpected resignation” of a profile public figure, it is a timely reminder of the pressures of high office and the impact not only on the individual, but in particular the family unit. I recall writing an article on finding balance in your career way back in 1999. At the time […]
Graduates need hard office skills to prepare them for their first job
In the past and as a representative of the sport sector I have attended the UTS Business School review of its specialist Management programs, including the undergraduate and post-graduate programs. Enhancing employment potential was identified as a key driver in the design and content of all courses, ensuring UTS can continue to develop graduates who can meet […]
Are Double Degrees Better In This Economic Climate?
With an oversupply of candidates and a relatively small supply of jobs, the sport, fitness and aquatic sector is a tough nut to crack. One of the best tracking sources for graduate destinations and salary trends is found at the Graduate Careers Council of Australia website. The Graduate Careers Council of Australia places sport, fitness […]
Is the number of applications a valid measure of success?
We are often asked by our clients during our recruitment briefing meetings what are our expectations regarding the likely number of applications for a particular role. The catalyst for this question is the misconception a high number of applications is a measure of a successful recruitment strategy. In our experience and mindful of the recruitment […]
Is One University Better Than Another?
Sportspeople Recruitment was recently contacted by a job seeker interested in undertaking a University course in sports management. Specifically he was asking whether the University at which he completes the Degree will have any bearing on his job prospects. He went on to ask whether employers look at the Degree conferred and whether they might […]
Moving from Talk to Action – How Your Business Culture Can Engage and Retain Great Employees
Culture within a sport organisation is not purely a set of boundaries that provide a picture of what is acceptable behaviour for employees and what defines ideal behaviour. It exists as those underlying channels by which organisational values are built from strategy, evolved out of debate and conflict, measured against failure and success and embraced […]
If Men Are From Mars And Women Are From Venus, Get Set For Gen Y To Rule The Universe
With the first batch of GenY fast approaching their 40th birthday, we are finally starting to see the influence of this generation on the workplace. The most famous GenY of all, Mark Zuckerberg, has already made a significant and lasting impression on the way people connect and share information. GenY have lived through the age […]
Succession planning – a great idea that is in need of a re-think
There has been a long held myth that unless you are working in a large commercialised sport the opportunities for succession planning are reasonably limited. While smaller resourced organisations certainly operate lean and reasonably flat, in isolation this should not eliminate opportunities for succession planning. However, we need to shift our thinking on succession planning […]
The Importance of Honest References
Reference checking a candidate’s experiences and credentials is regarded as a fundamental part of any job process. However the success of these checks depends entirely on the propensity of the referee to be honest in their assessment of the candidate and trust the recruiter or employer in keeping their responses confidential. If you have ever […]
Media fails the public interest test in naming names
I’m always intrigued by the amount of speculation surrounding high level appointments in sport. While I understand the nature of water cooler discussions and the fact casual gossip in the workplace is commonplace; publicly naming candidates has the potential to harm or even ruin careers. And the sad thing is, based on my experiences at […]
Vale Deirdre Hyland
A long, long time ago when I was just 29 years old, I was appointed as National Executive Director of Netball Australia. In 1985 we didn’t have the lofty title of Chief Executive Officer, but essentially that’s what I did for 3 years and what I regard as one of the most enjoyable and rewarding […]
