“What is Area 51?”, “How to eat pineapple”, “How to floss dance”. These are just three of the most searched for questions and phrases of 2019. In fact, every second of every day, we ask Google over 40,000 of these factual, monotonous, fun, interesting, and, quite frankly, bizarre questions, making it the most visited site on the planet by far.   It’ll be no surprise either that...

What skills will be in greatest demand in 2021? The world of work and the skills required are constantly changing – this year more than most. So, whether you’re looking to get hired or add to your team, it pays to keep informed and understand the most in-demand skills for the year ahead.   With many organisations returning to growth and looking to protect their future, it’s no...

If you are looking to advance your career in New Zealand’s 2021 job market, it’ll require a determined and strategic effort to stand out and a willingness to disrupt your pre-COVID-19 job searching model.   There’s no denying that COVID-19 has – and will continue to have – a hugely disruptive effect on everything to do with the world of work. We’re working differently, collaborating...

For many professionals, maintaining a work-life balance at the best of times can be difficult. Add children to the equation and working parents suddenly find themselves facing heightened challenges. While it can feel overwhelming, knowing how to balance work and family commitments will help you juggle your professional life with parenthood.    Although most organisations now...

Strategically managing your career sometimes involves knowing when and how to say no to more work. After all, you don’t want to regularly work late into the evenings. So, for the sake of your mental health and wellbeing, it’s important to set healthy boundaries and learn how to say no to extra work in a diplomatic way.    If you are good at your job and have reached a certain...

If you love your job and want to advance your career, you’re no doubt working hard to rack up as many successes as you can. At the same time, change and uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic may have left you feeling that you need to prove yourself and position your role as ‘indispensable’. But failing to manage this situation in the right way could leave you feeling overwhelmed,...

After months of being told to work remotely, employers are starting to call staff back into the physical workplace. While some people welcome the return to the office, others are less excited at the prospect of leaving home to go back to their usual workplace. You may even be feeling anxious or stressed about returning to the workplace. Regardless of your perspective, there are some simple...

A job interview has always been a two-way conversation. While the interviewer wants to get a clear picture of your skills, experience and suitability for the role, you’re also assessing whether this is an organisation in which you can succeed and thrive. So, when the interview says, “Do you have any questions for me?”, you need to use this opening to delve into the issues that are important...

There is no doubt about it, the world of work will never return to the way it was pre-pandemic. Every day there are reports of new coronavirus cases, either locally, interstate or overseas, and so uncertainty remains. No wonder then that professionals are taking stock of their mental health and wellbeing. But do we honestly know how good our sense of our own wellbeing really is? Do we...

I graduated with my Bachelor of Science degree back in 1982, almost 40 years ago. Similar to the Class of 2020, I also graduated into a world of global economic volatility and recession. At the time, it was considered to be the worst economic climate since the Second World War. However, what today’s young graduates are facing is undoubtedly far more challenging on so many levels and from so...

What are you looking for in your next job? Most jobseekers have a list of things they ideally want to achieve in a new job. From future development opportunities to mental health and wellbeing initiatives and the salary and benefits on offer, we all prioritise certain things when we job search.   Increasingly, jobseekers are adding an equal, diverse and inclusive workplace to their...

If you’ve been struggling to look after your mental health at work during the COVID-19 pandemic, you’re not alone. We’ve all faced countless and at times unexpected challenges on the long road out of this crisis, which have knocked our confidence and made us more anxious and worried.   According to findings in our new Hays Barometer Report, less than half of professionals now rate...

  To say that 2020 hasn’t turned out the way we were expecting would be the understatement of the century. Needing no introduction at this point, the COVID-19 outbreak is the single biggest disruption of a generation. While different countries are at different stages of this pandemic, personal circumstances continue to play a huge role in each individual’s experience.   We have...

The Covid-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed today’s world of work. Along with remote and hybrid working, perhaps the greatest impact has been on hiring intentions and the skills now sought by employers. The IT sector in Australia and New Zealand has been strong for several years. Driven by business transformations and the adoption of new technology, there have been candidate shortages...

Most of us, at some stage or another, question ourselves. We question our abilities, our skills, our judgement. We worry that we’re not good enough. We listen to the self-deprecating thoughts buzzing around in our minds and we take those thoughts to heart. After all, we’re all human and all of us experience a dent to our self-confidence at some stage or another, some more regularly than...

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced organisations to undergo significant change and adjust to an unexpected new reality. From adapting products or services to adopting new technology to run their business, in a matter of weeks organisations have undergone levels of change that, pre-crisis, we wouldn’t have thought possible in years. Consequently, the people working in these organisations have...

Social distancing rules aimed at stopping the spread of coronavirus forced mass remote working onto a significant percentage of Australia and New Zealand’s skilled professionals. While this was designed as a temporary stop-gap, many employees have come to appreciate the benefits of working from home and wish to retain some form of flexibility once they transition back into co-located...

Our lives will never be the same again. I don’t think that’s an exaggeration, it’s a fact. COVID-19 has already, in a matter of just a few weeks, completely changed our world. If you take a step back and really think about the magnitude and speed of what’s happening around us, it’s remarkable - we probably won’t experience anything like it again in our lifetimes. It feels like a line has been...

Before the COVID-19 outbreak, one of the main concerns employers had over the idea of mass remote working was whether or not they could trust their employees to remain productive. But now that a large percentage of New Zealand’s workforce is several weeks into remote working, the opposite is proving to be the case.    A great number of us, it seems, now feel the need to be seen to...

It’s normal to feel nervous before a job interview, especially if it’s a job you really want. In today’s world of work however, it’s understandable that you may be feeling an even heightened sense of nerves because your interview is also being conducted remotely.  Perhaps you’re afraid you won’t present well or sell yourself well over video. Or perhaps you’re worried about possible...