December 2008 - Cameron Recruitment Newsletter

Season’s Greetings

Let’s pause for a moment to reflect on the positivity of the year, despite being bombarded by daily news of economic collapse and job cuts, it’s crucial to remember that this is cyclical. Just as America can elect a new President and ideological regime, so to will the economy re-ignite. In the meantime as we all buckle down for as long as the storm lasts it’s prudent to focus on our strengths and take stock of our goals for 2009. In the New Year, Cameron Recruitment is delighted to be introducing an HR counselling service providing mentoring, guidance and support for those of you considering a career change, seeking a new employer or unexpectedly caught up in rationalisation.

We look forward to hearing from you and helping you perfect your career path. Above all our team would like to extend our warmest wishes to you for the festive season and the New Year.

May 2009 be prosperous, productive and positive for us all.

Thank you for your support in 2008.

Kindest regards,
Diane Humphries, CPA
Director | Cameron Recruitment

The Gift of Rejection

The economy is in restructure mode, which means job cuts and more competition than ever for the positions that are out there. Unfortunately this means that coming to terms with rejection is something that needs to be taken on board as part of your job hunting armoury.

The reality is that even though your resume may be A1, you dazzled them in the interview and to you it’s a dream job and company - the answer is still often “no”. It’s a numbers game, so take a Nietzschean approach and vow that “what does not kill you makes you stronger.”

The first thing to keep in mind is not to personalise it and to separate emotion from logic. You may not have had the right experience mix for that particular role but for a different role, it will be perfect. The key is to stay focused and positive no matter how your ego may be buffeted and use the experience to enhance your next job opportunity.

Here are some fast tips to keep your energy primed:

Surround yourself with positive people who can provide morale boosts and positive examples of job acquisition strategy. Negativity and dwelling on past failures can destroy the prospects of the highest calibre executive.
Never lose faith in yourself.
Stay current. When in between jobs it’s easy to stop engaging in the market you operate in. Keep reading the business press, trade magazines and use online resources to keep informed and on the ball about recent executive moves, restructures and trends.
Hire a career coach if you can. It provides you with a supportive environment and bolsters your confidence in tough times. It will also help you create a targeted action plan and help you reach your goals.
Don’t be afraid to ask the recruiter or employer that rejected you for constructive feedback, it can help refine your approach or skills.

Don’t forget that career setbacks are temporary and that while change can be challenging it’s a door into a new world.

How to discern a good company from a bad company

For the last three years in a row, Google had been topping the charts for the best company to work for. Sure the salaries at the search giant are industry leading but it’s those little touches that makes it a pleasure to work there.

When researching your hit list for the best companies to work for you need to look at not only how well placed or market leading it is within its industry sector but how well it treats its employees and what incentives it offers for overall job performance. Google is a great litmus test. Not only is it considered ‘the future’ in terms of being the game changer across the technology, media, online and advertising sectors, it is one of the few listed companies that have some security in riding the stock market fluctuations and it is one of the most sought after places of employment. A snapshot of working life at Google includes a gourmet cafeteria for staff open from breakfast to dinner; laundry facilities; dry cleaning; car wash; gym; subsidised exercise classes; massage facilities; hairdresser; a language learning centre; personal concierge facilities for dinner or entertainment bookings; US$5K towards buying an eco friendly car; US$2K for new staff referrals; and during maternity leave you get US$500 for take away food. These perks may sound like fantasy but they are all part of the Google ploy to keep their 10,000 employees happy, secure and working as many hours as possible with little disruption to their daily lives. In reality not many companies can match this level of comfort but Google highlights the key points that define the mark of a stand out company.

When looking at a prospective company, ask yourself:

Does the company have a proactive HR model to keep staff motivated and happy? This means providing food and recreational facilities during and after office hours.
Does the company offer ongoing training both in your areas of expertise and in a broader capacity such as language skills.
What is the company’s stance on maternity and paternity leave?
What is the management structure like? Is it a participatory environment that fosters innovation and growth or is it a dictatorship?

Once you have discerned whether your potential new workplace fits into your cultural expectations try and get an insight into management culture. The company may have great PR from the outside looking in but it is the day to day machinations that really define whether your workplace is a pleasure or a prison. Things to look for here is the promise of staff mentoring, a commitment to staff retention and the fostering of strong company morale. The presence of management training is also essential. It will provide an impressive ROI in terms of increased morale, productivity, retention and the ability to attract quality staff.

Navigating new IR Laws

Labor’s proposed workplace changes, which are due to come into affect from July 2009, if they are passed in the senate, are set to shake-up HR practices. With bigger businesses set to be the most affected. Under the new laws employers will find it more difficult to retrench staff and may be forced to re-deploy employees elsewhere in the business instead of letting them go.

Under the Liberal government’s Work Choices scheme unfair dismissal cases became much more difficult to fight from the employee side as one of the key exclusions was genuine operational reasons for dismissal, which gave employers a broad brush to dispose of unwanted staff. The new laws are much more specific and while they allow for “genuine redundancy” they also stipulate reassignment of roles as key.

Under Work Choices, unfair dismissal rights were abolished for businesses with staff of less than 100, but while Labor's changes reintroduce it for small businesses, the qualifying period is longer when there are fewer than 15 staff. Under the new law, unfair dismissal has been reinstated to small business which will affect an extra 100,000 businesses and 3 million employees as part of the system.
Labor's 575 pages of legislation are slated to go before the Senate in early 2009 and could face amendments from independent senators and the Opposition.

A range of fact sheets on the new laws are available at www.workplace.gov.au

HOT JOBS

Accounting Manager

Career Position
North West Location
$80-$85k + super + benefits

This multinational is a highly successful organisation with operations throughout Australia. They have been established for over 50 years and Sydney is the head office for the interstate and regional operations. The company has enjoyed a period of growth along with low staff turnover due to practising succession planning and promotion from within whilst offering stability and career path options. They also believe in offering numerous training opportunities and other generous employee benefits.
This current role has come about through an internal promotion and we are now seeking an experienced accountant to step into the Accounting Manager’s role reporting to the Finance Manager. You will manage 4 employees including an Assistant Accountant and the Accounts Payable team. This role is required to provide quality financial advice to facilitate accurate and timely corporate decision making. To achieve this you will liaise with employees at all levels and all locations throughout Australia.
Duties will include:

Monthly financial reporting
Budgeting and forecasting
Setting up project costing and expenditure budgets
Monitoring capital projects and variance analysis
Cash flow management
Evaluation of capital expenditure proposals
Maintenance and reconciling the general ledger
Fixed asset management
BAS preparation
Overall management of accounts payable

To gain the greatest success in this role you will run the team autonomously and continually maintain open lines of communication to all stake holders as well as bring new ideas and methods to achieve overall results and deadlines. You must have managed a team of people previously and be capable of driving a succession plan. You must have superior communication skills to advise and deal effectively with all employees. Technically, you must possess an Accounting degree or equivalent, ideally have completed your CA/CPA qualification and be familiar with large Accounting systems. Intermediate to advanced Excel knowledge is also required.

The company offers a generous array of employee benefits including phone, parking, employee assistance program, training and discretionary bonus. This is a long term career role for the right individual and the role will ideally start at the end of January.