Flexible recruitment for tips for employers

- If you are considering flexibility in your business, look beyond customer service, telemarketing and administration roles. There is a huge amount of untapped talent offering marketing, accounting, legal, media and creative (just to name a few) expertise. Consider this: skills, experience and expertise in exchange for flexibility.

- In a job advertisement, steer clear of the line 'ideal for students or mothers returning to work'. Quality candidates will run from you. The two market segments are worlds apart when it comes to experience and salary range.

- Recently, I have been talking to more and more employers who are offering training to prospective employees. The national skill shortage is making it harder for employers to find the exact personality and matching skill set for the job. So the idea is to find quality candidates who offer some of the skills you are looking for - and then provide them with on-the-job training to meet the skill requirements for the job. When you think about it, it takes any new employee around 3 months to settle in, understand the processes, and follow procedures.

- As the skills shortage tightens, it will become more important to consider how your business can utilise mums returning to work. The skills and experience you are tapping into is enormous. Consider how flexibility can be incorporated into ALL areas of your business, rather than administration, customer service and telemarketing roles only.

- Job share is an ideal option if you are having trouble filling a full time position. It can work particularly well if the 2 employees know each and their work styles are similar. Communication is critical in a job share role so ensure a communication plan is in place to ensure a smooth transition of work during the week

A Game plan for your career in 2010

The holidays are a great time to start planning your career in 2010. Sit back, take a fresh perspective, and make work work for you.

View our guide for parents returning to work or our guide for working parents.

http://www.careermums.com.au/content/guide_returntowork

We want to hear from you

- Do you have a good story about how you negotiated flexibility at work?
- Have you progressed your career as a working parent?
- Do you have some great tips on balancing work and family?
- Have you embarked on a completely new career since becoming a mum?
- Have you started your own business?

Please contact us if you would like to share your story for a book to be launched next year. We will send you some questions to answer via email.

http://www.careermums.com.au/index/contact/

Coming in January 2010 - TechTalk webinar

Lost when it comes to today’s technology? Clueless as to how to re-establish your network? CareerMums’ newest resource – Expert Training – allows you to brush up on business, networking, and technology trends in just one hour.

In partnership with renowned technology consultant Michael Specht, our interactive Expert Training webinars will bring you up to speed on what you may have missed while on the off-ramp.

Just $49 a course – you cannot afford to miss the opportunity to review the skills crucial to today’s workforce.

TechTalk – Love it or hate it, technology is here to stay! In this 60 minute, unplugged TechTalk class, you’ll learn about current technologies used in business today. Learn about the web, online marketing, blogs, VOIP, remote set-up, LinkedIn, YouTube, podcasts, twitter, RSS, Microsoft Office, Goggle Docs and more.

More info and register now: http://www.careermums.com.au/content/careermums_webinars_returntoworkmums

National Employment Standards - Update

The Federal Government has released the Fair Work Information Statement (FWIS). The FWIS can be downloaded from Fair Work Online at www.fairwork.gov.au.

The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (Act) requires that a copy of the FWIS be given to all new employees who commence employment after 1 January 2010. For casual employees, who may be engaged a number of times during the course of any year, the employer is only required to provide the FWIS once in any 12 month period.

For more information, visit:
http://www.fairwork.gov.au/Pay-leave-and-conditions/Conditions-of-employment/Pages/Fair-Work-Information-Statement.aspx?role=employees

Tap into your network

Women are the most natural networkers. In general, we have the gift when it comes to communicating with others. Think of the people we meet through our children, school, pre-school, child care, exericising, our neighbourhood, at work, the local shops etc etc.

At some stage, the efforts we have made to build our network will reap rewards in many ways. One of the ways you can utilise your network is to find a job. We regularly recommend to our users to use their networks to look for work opportunities. Send an email to everyone you know (social, ex-managers, ex-colleagues, family etc) letting them know that you are looking for work. You may also want ot use Facebook and LinkedIn. Be clear on the type of work you are looking for and your flexibility requirements e.g. can only work 3 days per week. Drop into local businesses and see if they have any work available.

Using your network can be the most effective way of finding a job because people know you and they can recommend you through word of mouth.

If you are not ready to find a job yet, use your network to learn more about a particular industry you would like to move into. Your confidence and self esteem will bounce back once you start meeting people and gathering information.

Valuable advice for women about to become parents

Very few women give their careers any attention in the lead up to taking parental leave. And why would you? It is such an exciting (and tiring) time awaiting the arrival of your first child. However, The benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing and the gift of experience is being able to share it with others about to embark on the same journey.

1. Talk to your manager about flexible work options before going on parental leave. Review the flexible work policy and the parental leave policy.

2. Write down your 5 year plan and discuss this with your manager.

3. Have a game plan for keeping your skills up to date while on leave. This will help to maintain your confidence when it is time to return. For example, attend work meetings once each month, have lunch with colleagues, ask to be emailed any internal newsletters and other company information.

4. Talk to other employees at your work who are return-to-work parents.

5. Start talking to your partner about how you will share parental responsibilities.

6. Know that in over 65% of families, both parents work. You are not alone.

Are employers becoming more flexible in general?

Bosses are certainly becoming more flexible for the following reasons:
- There is an ageing population – by 2050, 26% of this country will be aged 65 and over.
- Women now account for half the workforce.
- More than 50% of graduates are women.
- 1 in 4 people in the workplace care for someone. The most cared for group are aged 15 and under. The second most cared for group is people aged 75 and over.
- National Employment Standards – one of the Standards is on the ‘right to request’ flexibility for parents with children under school age.