Social media is no longer just an emerging trend and is accepted as part of our world. Facebook alone has over 800 million users. Will social media turn our business world upside down and change the way business is done? Perhaps looking back to the emergence of the "world wide web" (as it was called) will help answer the question. With the emergence of Web 1.0, instant accessible global communication and information was upon us. Market commentators, manufacturers and retailers were either rubbin...

When I was four years old, I wanted to be a professional tennis player and work part-time at Bakers Delight. At ten, I wanted to be a novelist who also just so happened to be an on-call astronaut for NASA. At thirteen, I wanted to work for Donald Trump and compete in The Amazing Race. This year, I’ll be turning eighteen. Although I now have an overarching goal to pursue a career in the film industry, the underlying truth is that I’m still very much ‘undecided’. There are still days when I wake u...

First Foundation is an educational trust that aims to help financially disadvantaged youth by awarding scholarships to those who may not otherwise be in the position to pursue tertiary education. The First Foundation Scholarship is based on a four-year programme that includes financial assistance, a mentor, and paid part-time work experience with a scholarship partner. In 2011 I was awarded the First Foundation Scholarship through the Madison Group. This particular scholarship was in memory of R...

I was recently lucky enough to meet with Gayl Roden – 2011 CCINZ winner - Contact Centre Team Leader of the Year to chat about what makes a good CSR and why she thought contact centres were a good career move.When Gayl spoke about contact centres being the place of the future her points truly resonated with me. My life is busy and if I can get queries dealt with over the phone and online it certainly makes my life easier.  I think this is why we will see growth in the contact centre world o...

When I graduated from Uni in the late 90’s, I can’t say that working in a contact centre was ever a job I considered (or even knew existed!). But nowadays with the numbers graduating and the New Zealand job market tightening, gaining any form of permanent employment in a large organisation is a positive step to starting a successful career. The contact centre is a great entry point for grads with little work experience to learn a business from the ground up. They develop patience and empathy thr...

WAIT...!  Before you let out that big sigh of relief (thank goodness the interview is over!), or bolt straight for the front door, there are a few essentials to remember to successfully close the interview. At the end of the interview The last question is usually “do you have any questions?”  This is your chance to convey your interest in pursuing the opportunity.  Only ask questions where you can’t find the answers for yourself.  Some ideas are: What is the process for induc...

The day has finally arrived.  You’re five minutes early, and look like you’ve walked off the set of ‘The Apprentice.’ You know your CV, the position description, and information about the company inside and out.  You’ve practised your behavioural/competency based questions and feel ready to take on the world!  Before embarking on what could be the most life-changing hour of your life, check out the tips below to ensure you ace the interview!First impressions count!  It is cla...

Interviews are nerve wracking, but the key is planning and preparation. The more prepared you are, the more comfortable and confident you are likely to come across! Over the next three weeks, my three part series will cover three stages – before, during and after the interview. PART ONE - HOW TO PREPARE FOR AN INTERVIEW Research – Learn as much as possible about the company you are interviewing with. Research its products or services, people, competitors and current market conditions they fac...

10: WAIHI GORGE, New Year’s Eve, 1999… camped out in dewy knee-high grass, we had to dodge the cow pats on the way to long drop toilets and bathe in a river that was not at all reminiscent of a Hollie Smith song. Watching the countdown on an old 12volt black & white (and grey fuzz) TV we witnessed everyone else partying like it’s– well it was, and quite frankly if Y2K did hit that would’ve been a highlight9: CHRISTCHURCH was a lovely little city before the quake hit, but if you’re working th...

Typically at this time of year we see the last flurry of client recruitment activity prior to the summer Christmas break.  This is predominantly being seen in the private sector as many public sector organisations are still under cost containment pressures resulting in more strategic stakeholder analysis over spending and workforce planning. We predict this trend will continue at current or even greater degrees throughout 2012, especially now that the National Party have another three year ...

Over the weekend our former Olympic Gold Medallist Hamish Carter competed in his age bracket at the ITU Champs in Auckland. Admittedly he is no longer competing and has not been training like the old days...but he is a similar age to Kris Gemmell who won the Elite Men's. Though once the best in the world, yesterday he came 6th and was beaten by some enthusiastic amateurs, guys who have never reached the heights he has. Another bloke – Mr Martin Crowe, hung up his cricket boots for the secon...

In the afterglow of the Rugby World Cup final and watching our boys take it out, I have a real appreciation of what the failure in 2007 World Cup did for that group of players and management who were involved. Failure is a chance to begin again more intelligently and this is what the All Blacks did - they took the lessons learnt from 2007 and the years before, stuck to their game plan and persevered towards an end goal. As the final whistle blew and Richie held the Webb Ellis Cup high after 24 l...