While it’s true that the pandemic has caused the unemployment rate to be at a record high, lots of companies are actually still hiring. And with the help of technology, job interviews are still being conducted — albeit not IRL.

So how do online interviews differ from in-person ones? And if your resume caught a potential employer’s eye, how should you prepare for the interview that’s being done via Skype or Zoom?

Online Interview Tips

Test your technology (and have a backup plan)

Even those of us who are very adept at using technology can still get a little overwhelmed by it from time to time. Make sure this doesn’t happen to you during your online job interview by getting comfortable with the application or method that the interviewer prefers (e.g. Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, etc.) ahead of time.

Test your tools such as your mic, headphones, and your internet connection before the interview, and always have a backup plan. Whether that’s an extra set of headphones or a backup internet connection, make sure you have a plan B.

Pick the perfect spot

Keep in mind that bad lighting can be just as distracting as a barking dog so pick a space that isn’t too dim but also isn’t painfully bright. If possible, natural light coming from a window is your best bet. Make sure you do this step at least 24 hours before your interview so you have a chance to test them out without having to rush moments before your interview. 

Eliminate distractions

This could mean turning the music off, closing the door and windows, switching your phone on silent, making sure the dog and the kids are attended to, and so on. On your computer, make sure the only tab that’s open is the video platform you’re using and any other necessary information you might need during the online interview. 

The standard dress code still applies

Some suggest you should even go a notch above the company’s dress code. A jacket is a great way to give your outfit that “extra” touch. And while it might seem odd, wearing your shoes during a video interview actually has more of an effect on you than you think.

Adam Sanders, director of Successful Release, an organisation that helps felons find work after reentering society, “It might seem strange to wear your shoes during a videoconference, but it has an important psychological effect on you.” so if you’ve been looking for a reason to wear your shoes in months, this is a great chance for you to finally do so.

Be conscious of your body language

Be extra aware of your nonverbal cues as body language is harder to read on video. Remember to nod and smile as the interviewer speaks, and sit up straight, just as you would during an in-person job interview.

Calm your nerves

If you tend to get nervous during job interviews, try practising your main talking points. Take a deep breath before the interview, remain calm, and remember to slow down. You’re far more likely to leave a lasting impression on the interviewer if you can communicate confidently. And a great way to relieve interview anxiety is by practising potential questions and answers ahead of the interview.

Boost your profile and get hired by an awesome company. Start the conversation with the best IT recruitment consultants in Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane by emailing office@redwolfrosch.com.au or calling 1300 544 652.

As a company, if there’s one lesson you should take from the Coronavirus Pandemic, it’s that in order to stay competitive, businesses need plenty of creativity and resourcefulness. 

After budget slashes, hiring freezes, and more budget slashes, organisations are left with a collective feeling of being beat. But the HR department could play an important role in cost reductions across the organisation.

No matter the department or tribe you belong to as a leader you should be considering both the short term and long term effects of the decisions you make, and the HR department is no exception. 

One example would be headcount reduction helping with cost reduction in the short term, but having longer-term negative effects such as demotivation and anxiety in the other remaining employees, which could then lead to lowered productivity and competitiveness.

In other words, giving plenty of thought to what the right HR reduction cost strategies for your organisation are of utmost importance. Here are a few to consider this 2021.

Pausing big software projects

There’s no reason to just leave this one out to the IT department. Freezing hiring for large software projects can be a smart play at reducing short term costs. You can always reconsider this decision once the IT department has had time to further assess things and determine whether there is sufficient value and funding to continue the project.

Looking into software license renewals  

Speaking of software… many of the software and cloud-based applications that HR and other departments use are licensed based on monthly or annual headcount. It’s important to look into the way these software companies invoice your organisation and ensure that the correct headcount is being used for the equation. 

Maybe you no longer need that whiz bang product you were sold 18 months ago and nobody seems to use? Maybe another program has recently increased functionality such as onboarding or EAP and you no longer need a separate application to do that? 

Reducing outsourcing work to third party companies

Look into things and where possible, department leaders could decide to bring in work done by third-parties in-house. 

It’s easy to overlook some things when we’re occupied by hectic and ongoing processes, but as things have been dwindling to near-stop or slowed down for some industries (or even departments within organisations), there could be enough time to analyse things and see which internal resources are available, what skill sets are required for certain projects, timelines and availabilities, and which ones can be done in-house.

Outsourcing nonessential work

On the flip side if there’s work in your organisation that is nonessential to your day-to-day operations, consider outsourcing it to a third-party. While this move might reduce headcount initially and could even cause a bit of friction, in the long run, it may help your company survive a sharp downturn and prevent more drastic cost cutting and headcount reduction measures. 

Engaging a part-time, temporary or contract workforce

Sometimes a full-time permanent employee is not needed to complete a piece of work and tightly assessing the requirements of each vacancy against the expected deliverables, it’s possible you may discover that instead of hiring a permanent employee, it may be more cost-effective to hire a part-time or contract employee. 

We often see very talented and experienced people (especially women) who have decided to re-enter the workforce after having a child but they can only commit to part-time work. Companies often ignore this highly capable segment of the workforce under the assumption that someone must be working full time in order to deliver value and be effective. 

Questioning this assumption and exploring part-timers can provide a mutual benefit to the company and to those individuals who only can work part-time. 

Hiring Freeze

This is probably one of the most common cost reduction practices and one that is often swiftly implemented within companies in the event of an economic decline. 

Make sure to reevaluate all your open positions because a full freeze might be necessary sometimes, but it will always depend on the situation that your organisation is in. Together with other leaders, you should determine which among your open positions are key roles that require to be filled in a timely manner and how this changes in a rapidly changing work environment. 

Reduce or eliminate (when possible) nonessential external training

While training is essential for both the employees and the organisation as a whole, if circumstances land you in a spot where there isn’t enough funding for them anymore, have a look within your own workforce and see if you have subject matter experts who can fill in the gaps. 

You wouldn’t want to freeze all training altogether, but you can look into reducing the number of sessions given for the year or quarter until the funding opens back up again. 

Encourage employees to use their leave credits

This one doesn’t offer a cash benefit, but having employees use banked leave time, such as annual leave will reduce the company’s debt and exposure during a time where there may not be as many projects happening. 

This is also effective when there are new social distancing rules with office environments and could be an effective way of rotating staff in and out of the office and providing rest during stressful or tumultuous periods. 

Need help finding ways to reduce HR costs this 2021?

Redwolf + Rosch offers a range of services in addition to recruitment, such as team and workforce assessment and HR consulting. 

Contact us via office@redwolfrosch.com.au or calling 1300 544 652.

Unless you’re actively looking for a job, it might be easy to ignore your LinkedIn profile. And this approach is more than understandable. After all, LinkedIn isn’t exactly your typical “fun” social media platform. It’s not where you and your friends exchange memes and videos of dogs.

But truth be told, as a digital recruitment company, we know there’s a lot of benefits to be gained from ensuring that your LinkedIn profile is in top-notch shape, always updated, and the best it can be.

It can sometimes feel selfish or a little self-centred to focus on marketing ourselves, but the reality is that when we neglect personal branding, it’s also a big missed opportunity from a professional and marketing standpoint. And in the professional world, your LinkedIn Profile is the heart of your personal branding.

Choose a great photo

Some say your LinkedIn Profile is like your digital business card. Well, we think the profile photo you pick for your LinkedIn Profile is the business card of that digital business card. As visual creatures, images strike us before words do. Make sure that the first strike is a winning one.

Make your headline more just a job title

But be sure to stay on course. You can make your LinkedIn Profile headline by sharing a bit about, what you do, why you love what you do or how you view your role. The more you can be specific about why you stand out from your peers, the better. There’s no reason for you to just stick to your job title or company when writing your headline. In fact, if you’re actively looking for a job, we suggest against it. Something like “passionate about designing great user experiences” or “helping to develop world-class mobile applications” or “project manager, pet lover, amateur basketball player” are all great examples of a LinkedIn headline.

Get more out of your target job descriptions

When you’re scoping out the platform for ideal jobs, keep note of the job descriptions that you come across. The words that stand out the most are the ones that most recruiters likely use when they’re looking for talent like yourself. You can create a browser folder and save the links for jobs you apply for as shortcuts in that folder so when someone calls you back you are not left asking them what job they are referring to (because you have applied for so many).

Write a winning About Section (FKA Summary Section)

An ideal LinkedIn Profile About section should walk the reader through your key skills, work passions, unique qualifications, and a range of industries you’ve been exposed to over the years. You should be able to cover all that in about 3 to 5 short paragraphs. Make sure to include something about your values and personality, remember that recruiters and employers look for a culture fit, not just a technical fit.

Steer clear of buzzwords

And when we say steer clear of them, we really mean avoid them like the plague. We’re talking about words like expert, entrepreneur, industry leader, guru, experienced, skilled, motivated, strategic, passionate and other similar ones. These words are the most overused words on LinkedIn. And if you ask us, we think you can do way better than that. Try to be more specific around what you do and what value you can bring to a potential employer.

Write as if you’re talking to your target recruiters

It’s easy to consider your LinkedIn Profile as if it were a CV or a resume. And in some ways, it is. But never in the sense that it’s a piece of paper with information about your professional life, and not much else. Try to tell a story to the reader, make it interesting and compelling and include contact information to make it easy for people to reach you.

Don’t forget to highlight your achievements

Effective recruiters know to target high performers when they’re looking for talent on LinkedIn. So it would be in your best interest to highlight your achievements and accomplishments on the About and Experiences section of your LinkedIn Profile. Highlight accomplishments such as promotions, times you’ve been handpicked for projects, contributions to the team and company and what you’re great at doing. This is the place to showcase your strengths and attributes.

Bonus: Get a custom URL

When you first sign up for a LinkedIn account, you are assigned a clunky combination of numbers as your URL. From a marketing viewpoint, it would be much easier to publicise yourself if your URL is custom (think: LinkedIn.com/YourName) not to mention it just looks cooler and has a more “official” feel to it.

Need some extra tips to improve your LinkedIn profile? Start the conversation with the best IT recruitment consultants in Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane by emailing office@redwolfrosch.com.au or calling 1300 544 652.

It’s no secret that employee turnover is expensive. So wouldn’t it be nicer if it covered just a small part of the pie? But the reality isn’t nearly as neat because according to 47% of HR professionals, employee retention is their biggest talent management challenge, followed closely by recruitment at 36%.

Not only is poor employee retention going to hit your company as a financial strain and affect your bottom line, but it will also cause quite a bit of a mess structurally.

What kind of impact will the departure of one colleague have on the rest of your staff? We all know that when someone we work with walks out the door, we notice their absence, especially if that person is key to a project or a team. It can even make some wonder if it’s time for them to pack their things and get going too. Mass exodus can occur from time to time.

There’s also the urgent task of finding a worthy replacement for your newly open role. Not a very easy thing to do in a market where skilled professionals are high in demand and on the low side when it comes to supply.

And lastly, you have to tackle all these challenges on top of your usual daily responsibilities…

So how do you improve employee retention?

Here are some tips on building and implementing the right retention strategies for your company.

How to improve employee retention

Retention starts during recruitment

Your retention strategy should start from the beginning. From the application process and the screening of applicants to choosing who to interview and deciding who to hire. And all of that needs to be backed by identifying which values and what aspects of cultures you want to emphasise and then seeking those out in candidates.

Ensure that compensation and benefits are competitive

Offering financial awards for employees who exceed performance goals, flexible work schedules, holiday entitlement, stock options, life insurance, and generous paid leave policies, on top of offering competitive compensation, can go a long way in ensuring that employees feel that they are valued by the company.

Employees need leaders, not “bosses”

People follow leaders, not bosses. But how exactly do you become a leader and not just a boss?

The first step is ensuring that you are available to your employees, which goes beyond just offering the phrase “open-door policy”. After all, it’s not uncommon for people to feel uncomfortable about giving feedback and criticism for fear of reprisal or embarrassment, even when there’s an open-door policy in place.

The key to this is actively creating an open rapport among your employees. No need to try to be best friends with everyone, but taking the time to be friendly and genuinely engaged with your employees is definitely a necessary step in the path to becoming a real leader.

Ongoing mentorship, training, and clear paths to career advancement

Prioritise investing in your employees’ professional development and growth by providing ongoing training and mentorship. And all of that should go hand in hand with promotions from within, which will provide clear paths towards better compensation and greater responsibility, and will also help make employees feel that they’re a crucial part of the company and its success.

Recognition and Rewards System

Who doesn’t like being appreciated, recognised, or rewarded for the hard work that they do? So make it a habit to express your gratitude to your direct reports when they go the extra mile. It could be as simple as a genuine thank you email or something more memorable like a gift card or an extra day off. Some companies even set up formal rewards systems that incentivise great work and helpful ideas.

Showing your employees that the hard work they do is more than just appreciated, but actually helps the company reach its goals and targets, can do plenty in keeping employees feeling motivated.

Keep a Close Watch On Your Managers

It’s not that uncommon: You ask a friend why they left their most recent job, and they spend the next half hour telling you stories about how much of a bad experience it was working with their former superiors.

The saying “people leave managers, not companies” isn’t that much of a reach. After all, people follow as they are led, and a bad manager can create a negative mess even in the most positive of spaces. So while you’re training your managers on the technical skills that their positions require, make sure you train them on them their soft skills too. This might include conflict management, how to encourage and motivate different personalities, crisis and stress management, and so on.

Flexible Working Arrangements

Flexible working arrangements are becoming more and more commonplace at companies and offices, and the trend began well before the pandemic started wreaking havoc across cities all over the world.

It will be in your company’s best interest to offer more flexible working schedules for your employees as it has been proven to be a major stress reliever (and retention booster) for office workers. Compressed schedules where employees work four 10-hour days a week (instead of 5 8 hour days a week), or flextime where people are required to be on the clock for a specific schedule daily, are both common flexible working arrangements that many companies offer their workforce.

Need to talk to someone about improving employee retention in 2021? Start the conversation with the best IT recruitment consultants in Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Brisbane by emailing office@redwolfrosch.com.au or calling 1300 544 652.