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It is widely accepted that the best predictor of future performance is past performance. Accordingly, reference checking is one of the most critical phases of the hiring process. Here are some tips to ensure that referee checks maximise your chance of identifying and placing the candidate who is the best...

Few people career plan – most people have accidental careers. Career planning and development is: “A goal that you desire to achieve in a selected field or occupation with a well thought out plan to get you there.” Most people, at a relatively young age, choose a career based on...

When you’ve secured a job offer, you may believe your search is over. But you’re not done yet. After you receive an offer, your employer may make a counteroffer. HR and recruitment experts say that accepting a counteroffer is career suicide, period. But in the last several quarters, many recruiters...

Businesses have for many years recognised the importance of planning in the deployment of financial capital, selecting projects in accordance with the projected return on investment. Today more than ever, it is recognised that a company’s ability to effectively hire, retain, deploy and engage talent is really the only true...

Are there seasons in recruitment? Just as there are seasons in nature, there are seasons in recruiting. Most employers are not likely to have given much thought about recruitment seasonality, but it is a real factor and deserves to be given some thought. For example, the best time to look...

Employee retention matters. Organisational issues such as training time and investment, lost knowledge, mourning, insecure co-workers and a costly candidate search aside; failing to retain a key employee is costly. Various estimates suggest that losing a middle manager costs an organisation up to 100 percent of his salary. The loss...

With regional centres bearing the brunt of some of Australia’s largest population declines in recent years, how can agribusinesses outside the big smoke attract top talent? Nearly two thirds of Australia’s population resides in one of our greater capital cities, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics*. While the country’s...

Your cover letter or introductory email is often the first thing a potential employer sees when reviewing your job application. It's your first opportunity to impress but can also be your first opportunity to disappoint. Listed below are a number of potential pitfalls: Too short or too long A cover...

By Dr Ray Johnson, Managing Director Agricultural Appointments At the Universities and agricultural colleges offering rural and veterinary courses in Australia, there has been a dramatic change in the gender balance of students over the last 25-30 years. In many instances women now make up the majority of such training...

Patrick Lash was a successful city financier until a short course in agriculture ignited a dream. Here’s how Agricultural Appointments helped turn that dream into a totally new career path. “I grew up in Sydney on the lower north shore at Cammeray, which is pretty green and about as suburban...