Article published in The New Zealand Herald on 17 September,
2008
With the average person now facing three to five career changes over a
lifetime, job planning has become an important aspect of many workers’
professional development.
Michael Scott, organizer of The New
Zealand Herald Your Career Expo in association with South Australia, says
everyone should undertake career planning, no matter how far into their working
life they are.
“Whether you are just starting out in your first job or eyeing the finish
line of retirement a decade away, it is always sensible to take stock and assess
the best way forward,” he says.
“It’s an old cliché, but people don’t plan to fail but they do fail to
plan.”
The Your Career Expo, which will be held at the ASB Showgrounds on September
27-28, will feature two days of free sessions by planning experts from Sheffield
Career Seminars, giving people key insights into making the most out of their
working lives.
Sessions will include topics such
as:
• Searching for a job from a candidate’s
perspective
• Psychometric testing – the real story
• You could
do the job but do you want to? Testing your motivational fit
• Searching
for an ideal employer
• Developing skill sets to improve career
prospects
• How companies are recruiting today
• Career advice
for graduates
There are also eight personal career counseling sessions from Sheffield to be
given away across the two-day event.
The Your Career Expo will bring employers and potential employees together in
the biggest careers event in the country with a series of workshops,
presentation and exhibitions across four pavilions.
The Great Places to Work Pavilion, sponsored by JRA, will host a range of
top-ranking companies searching for talented workers.
JRA senior consultant Leighton Abbot says there is one crucial differentiator
that sets great workplaces apart from those that are not - leadership.
He points out that leadership is not only the chief executive’s job but also
that of the senior management team, middle managers and team leaders.
A vital quality of leadership is visibility – the top 25 per cent of
organisations from the 2007 unlimited/JRA Best Places to Work survey rated the
accessibility of their chief executives and senior management teams as
“excellent” compared with the bottom 25 per cent of organisations who rated
their leaders as “moderate to good.”
A frequent comment from the 32,000 employees surveyed was their clear
preference for leaders who not only “talked the talk” but also “walked the
walk.”
“Leading by example should be more than just a throwaway management term,” Mr
Abbot said.
“While this may seem like old news, it is still surprising how many people in
key leadership positions remain physically remote from their staff communicating
through emails and staff newsletters.”
Visit www.jra.co.nz/poll
