The year I turned seventeen, I received a scholarship from First Foundation, an educational trust aimed at helping financially disadvantaged youth pursue tertiary education. In addition to paying for my university fees and supplying me with a mentor, the scholarship offered me part-time work experience with Madison. Four years on, I’m twenty-one, graduating with two…

Entering into 2016 as a young leader in recruitment, I find it timely that I put on paper a few lessons that I have learnt in my current role. I think back to 2013 when my CEO, Simon Bennett, gave me the chance to step into a leadership position. I was excited, pretty naïve (if…

A minor avalanche of recent media reports has painted a bleak future for our employment landscape, casting robots and automation as villains destroying jobs by the million. A possible genesis was a September report from the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, Australia’s Future Workforce. The report found “a high probability that 40% of Australia’s…

This time of year is a funny one. If you are anything like me, it’s the time of year that makes you feel like you are holding out for something. It’s the final stretch before the finish line and you are tired. All you want to do is lay in the sun (umm, Summer, where…

With a career spanning over thirty years, Antoinette Wilcox is a true gem among Wellington’s Executive Assistant professionals. I sat down with Antoinette to hear more about her journey from an office junior role at the age of 17, to her current position as the Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive at The New Zealand…

Resilience; I really like this word. It makes me think of the many times in my life where I felt frustrated, stressed out, and unhappy, only to have “queen resilience” help me through the adversity. Working in IT recruitment, I’ve been lucky to meet many people and witness acts of resilience every day! Over the…

A recent conversation with a colleague inspired me to write this piece. It was about a scheduled Skype interview with someone who decided it was appropriate to conduct it at a bustling café. The proverbial nail in the coffin was when they lit up a cigarette! In my previous blog, I noted that first impressions…

I was on a client visit the other day. During the conversation with the client, we talked about Madison and how we pride ourselves on delivering excellent service. The client made a very good point when he said that everyone expects excellent service now as the norm; having service that’s just ‘good’ will get you…

You’re five years old, your backpack is on, and your lunch is packed. You walk in with your parent and stand in front of the door. Congratulations, you have made it to the first day of primary school. The opportunities are endless; you can be anything you want to be when you “grow up”, life is simple, you’re…