http://www.inc.com/matthew-swyers/5-things-i-look-for-in-a-jgreat-job-interview.html

http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2012/01/09/the-secret-to-answering-why-did-you-leave-your-last-job/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

1. We are so confident that the people we place with our clients stay for a long time, and this has been proven many times, we are giving you a SIX (6) month replacement guarantee. What’s the benefit for you? It means that should the person placed with your firm not work out for various reasons, then we will replace them for you  FREE of charge. The industry standard replacement guarantee is only three (3) months.
2. If within the first month the person doesn’t work out^, we are prepared to give you a full refund if you don’t wish to use our services to find a replacement.
3. We understand that staff retention is paramount in operating a successful business and so we will give you a $500 discount on the next placement if someone we place with your firm leaves in less than 15 months.

Discover how easy it is to find the right staff with us! 

If you mention reading this article, you will also receive an introductory offer for your first placement with us.  That’s $3000*  ONLY  (An experienced property manager will incur an approximate fee of $6500*).    And you still receive our full service.   WARNING ! You may never recruit anyone yourself again once you’ve used us to find you that right person. 

^ Refer our terms and conditions regarding this

* All costs exclude GST

Do these people really expect to get a job? Have they read any tips on writing a good one? There are so many websites with this information available. On our Real Positions site for instance www.realpositions.com.au

I endeavour to reply to every single application I receive, to at least let people know that it has been received.  Even if I know they didn’t read the ad properly, because they don’t even fit the basic criteria required, and just clicked on the Apply button, attached their resume and then off it went into cyberspace. Then there’s the people who apply from overseas who aren’t even Australian residents. Obviously they don’t read the notation at the bottom of all the ads!

Howwever when people send cover letters to me that are:

• Addressed to someone else
• Applying for a job I haven’t advertised
• Waffle on and on and on
• Barely legible

That really takes the cake! A definite sign they don’t pay ‘attention to detail’ and wasn’t that one of the qualities asked for in the advert?

If you can’t be bothered to change the name and address on your cover letters, or the job you are applying for, and make some kind of effort to look like you are genuinely interested in applying for my roles, then maybe I won’t be bothered responding to your application.

*Delete* Oh yes.

• Reduced wages for new trainees under the National Training Wage
• Employer incentives ranging from $4000 – $5500 (eligibility criteria applies)
• Significantly discounted training fees for traineeships and
• Existing workers can also qualify for a traineeship

The REIQ is offering a choice of Certificate Level IV traineeships in six streams: sales, property management, licensing, agency support, business broking and commercial. With REIQ, your staff are trained by industry specialists in best practice, legislation and practical skills.

Email correspondence between a customer who complained about the behaviour of the retailer’s staff and an unnamed customer service representative has been posted on twitter and widely circulated by email.

Keara O’Neil, an employee of retailer mantoman, was shopping for bridesmaids’ dresses on Saturday (24th of September) at Gasp’s Chapel Street store when she alleges that she was harassed by a staff member.

“I have worked in retail for 12 years and have come across an array of customer complaints over the years, none of which come even close to what I encountered on Saturday at your store,” O’Neil said in an email to Gasp Customer Service.

“I wish I was exaggerating but unfortunately for your company this person actually exists and is working in one of your stores.”

“Ring me, don’t ring, not fussed. I’m just one retailer notifying another of an extremely inappropriate sales assistant,” she said.

O’Neil received a reply from an anonymous Gasp employee claiming to have spoken to the employee concerned.

“From the very outset, one thing that you should be mindful of is; our product offerings are very, very carefully selected, so to ensure that we do not appeal to a broad customer base,” the employee said.

“The reason for this is to ensure that we only carry products which appeal to a very fashion forward consumer.”

“This by default means that the customer whom is acclimatised to buying from ‘clothing for the masses’ type retailers, is almost frightened by our range, sometimes we have found that this type of customer, almost finds our dresses funny, and on occasion noted comments such as ‘it looks like a dead flamingo’.”

The employee then goes onto list a number of celebrities that wear the company’s range including Kim Kardashian and Katy Perry.

“Now, as one might appreciate, the style counsel for these types of celebrities are not ones to pick ‘run-of-the-mill’ type clothing, and they do so on the basis to ensure that the styles are cutting edge, and only worn by a select few.”

“Similarly these items are priced such that they remain inaccessible to the undesirable.”

The unnamed employee then went onto defend the behaviour of the sales assistant. “Insofar as our employee goes; Similar to our product offerings, our employees are selected with a similar approach.”

“Chris whom served you is a qualified stylist whom has a sixth sense for fashion, and Chris’s only problem is that he is too good at what he does, and as I am sure you are aware, people whom are talented, generally do not tolerate having their time wasted, which is the reason you were provoked to leave the store.”

“So if you would like to do us any favours, please do not waste our retail staff’s time, because as you have already seen, they will not tolerate it.”

The viral backlash hasn’t been restricted to twitter with a number of angry comments posted on the Gasp Facebook page, many of which have subsequently been deleted.

The above is an edited version of the email. The full email does not improve their reply at all. Anyone interested in reading the full email please contact Real Positions on info@realpositions.com.au and we will send you a PDF copy

How will this affect the REA & Domain sites? And where does that leave Google who last year also entered the Real Estate market, although working out how to put a property on their site proved a trifle difficult for some agencies.

At this stage, the REIQ site contains mostly residential properties for sale, with over 52,000 properties listed versus residential rental properties at just under 8000 listed.  On the commercial side,  there are around 2500 properties for sale & and the same for lease, with under 1500 business listed for sale. However, this will undoubtedly grow as time progresses, especially as it’s free of charge. Certainly an enticement to be a member of REIQ if an agency isn’t currently one.

So what then will be the future of online real estate for the real estate websites that charge what most real estate agents consider to be high fees to list their properties? With the ability of mobile phones now to scan property signs and be taken automatically to the site and find out all about the property, it is going to be very interesting to see how all of this new technology pans out and who will win out.

Peter Morrissey was the key speaker & how spellbinding it was to listen to him tell his life story and impart his knowledge of the fashion industry, learnt of 30 years.  There was never a dull moment listening to him tell some amazing and sometimes humorous stories.  His advice along with that of the others on the panel, Shirley Jones from Triumph International Australia, Simon Griffin from Kitten D’Amour, Joshua Jones from Jean Brown and Bronson Olsen from Morrissey, was excellent for the students and hopefully some will take note of all that was imparted to them. It was definitely a rare opportunity to hear such an Australian fashion identity not only impart his knowledge but also be happy to answer questions put to him by the students.

To also see one of their own, Bronson Olsen, who graduated in 2006 from MSIT, now working as Head Designer for Morrissey has to be wonderfully inspiring.

Thanks to Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE for organizing and hosting this terrific event. I look forward to next year’s!

Have you heard of an m-site? Well now, you have to ensure that your website is turned into an m-site (one that works just as well on Smartphones). This year, IDC Australia, a market research company,  says that for the first time the clear majority of mobile phone units shipped will be Smartphones – 70 per cent, up from 57 per cent last year. And more & more consumers will be accessing the internet via the little black box in the palm of their hands.

So don’t get left behind!

The documentary concentrates on Le Bon Marche, the first  department store in Paris, Selfridges of London, Wanamaker’s and Macy’s in USA, and Myer, the first department store in Australia. It also  tells of how some of the founders of these stores began their careers.

If you missed one or both episodes of this eye opening show on retailing, and how a lot of what happens today in retailing has its roots back in the late 1800s, go to the SBS website www.sbs.com.au/television and you will be able to view this show for a limited time.