Last month I wrote about how important ‘candidate care’ is to us at DAV. We do not want you to feel like you are constantly being disappointed by regret after regret after automatic response after cliché after apology. We realise that this is what so many candidates can experience and that to the majority it might seem like our industry it set up to let down.

I am referring back to this because soon after writing last month’s blog I experienced a real life example illustrating how much we do care and I wanted to share it with you. It’s a great story.

I was working on a job assignment and the clients requirements made me think of a past candidate who we had successfully placed about 3 or 4 years back. She had since then moved on and we stayed in touch to update details, network and she had also referred some great candidates our way. So I gave her a call to chat to her about this particular job. She wasn’t actively looking, but after I shared the details of the opportunity with her she got very excited. It appealed to a number of her career aspirations as it was with her dream company and the role meant more growth and expansion of her skill set. So she went for it. (more…)

Hitachi Power Africa (Pty) Ltd is a global leader using comprehensive construction expertise and project management abilities within the engineering industry. We manufacture, supply, construct and commission mega projects within South Africa, such as the Medupi and Kusile Power Plants. Exciting opportunities exist within the power generation industry for the following positions (click to enlarge):

We are looking for results-orientated persons with the ability to work in a multicultural/multinational team with a specific focus on health, safety and the environment. Salary will be commensurate with the seniority of the positions. If you are ready to take on any of these challenging career opportunities, don’t hesitate to send your CV to Hillary Myburgh at hillary.myburgh@dppg.net

Closing date for applications: 14 December 2012

To recruit or not, that is the question…

Some of the most common questions I receive when people find out that I am in recruitment is “Did you study for that?” “How did you get into recruiting?” “What does it involve; do you just find people jobs?” As it turns out, recruitment is seldom understood by many people and it’s enjoyable for me to open their minds to the roller coaster that is recruitment and what it takes to be in recruitment and most importantly to love it… the way I do

Recruitment is not something you study for. You can be trained to recruit, given the tools and methods to search candidates, interact with them and present them to clients, all the while upholding the most professional of names in the industry. To build a career in recruitment takes something more than learnt skills. It takes heart, a strong heart, and a lot of it. (more…)

Sunday Times 4th November 2012

What is goal setting? Is it something you do at the beginning of the year? Is it a rendition of a resolution? How many of you set yourself a goal each month? Be it in business or in your personal life, have a goal to work towards keep you focused and productive, it gives your daily activity purpose and develops a deeper sense of self-actualization by realizing we can achieve and control results through determined efforts.

Every month as a company we set our goals for the coming month. Each of us have a set target to reach and we declare it in front of our team mates to ensure accountability and to realize the reality of the goal we have set. Some might be thinking now, why would you set goals in recruitment? We operate in a high level sales environment, and every month is driven by stretched targets and increased performance. It is a daunting meeting, and yet exhilarating! Every month you get to start again and do even better, regardless of your results from the previous month. (more…)

You may have read about it on the Internet, in the media, or on our DAV website. You may have heard about it through your own friends, family, colleagues or word on the street. DAV has been recognized as South Africa’s leading professional placement company by its clients and candidates alike and is proud to have received more awards than any other South African permanent recruitment company.

BUT, what I have learnt more and more from my job and in working with people every day is that we are all motivated by different things and not everybody is driven by or impressed by ratings or awards.

In today’s blog I would love to tell you more about DAV and shower you with more reasons why we believe you should work with us. (more…)

A change of perspective is all that is often needed to refresh one’s mind and soul. A break away from the bustle of the city, to reconnect with the beauty of African wildlife and nature is exactly what I needed at the point of third quarter 2012 push.

Over the long weekend in August, I was privileged to go on an incentive trip with my Engineering team to a luxury resort in the Pilanesburg. Aside from the hysterics over new team names, sand plastered quad bikers and the freezing cold of game drives in the early mornings and evening, the weekend presented me with many opportunities to evaluate lessons we can learn from the beautiful African bush. (more…)

We recently had a presentation by our newest (and incredibly successful) division – Africa.
They, together with a few dancing girls and a couple of pirates, brought us lessons from the “World Famous Pike Place Fish Market” in Seattle, lessons you can read in the book ‘Fish!’

For those of you who have not heard of it, Pike Place Fish Market is an open-air fresh fish and seafood market, established in 1930, that is famous for its ‘flying fish’
The market takes up a long stretch of land and the workers shout orders down the line to those working in the ice house, which select the fish and literally throw it through the air to one another.
This is an efficient and well-oiled system, and this, together with the cheerful and happy attitude, is what has made Pike Place famous.

The book – ‘Fish!’ – inspired by the business lessons of Pike Place, has four main points to apply to any business in order to increase productivity and become more effective. These are:

1. Choose Your Attitude
You can have a bad day or a good day at work- it’s up to you to choose what attitude you walk in with

2. Be Present
Are you taking up space or are you living and breathing the values, ethics and actual business actions you need to take to make your business successful?

3. Make Their Day
Your customers and clients pay your salary- why not take a little bit more effort and make their day?

4. Play!
People are happier, more productive, sick less and more successful when they are happier- and this is what I want to focus on

At DAV, we encourage fun. We also encourage hard work, but fun is a part of this. At my previous job, fun was a dirty word. We got in at 07h50, took our lunch either at 12h00 or 13h00, were back at our desks half an hour later and at 17h01 there was no one left in the office. In the 3 years I spent there the sales team went out for drinks once and no managers joined us. There was very little talking or noise in the office and the building’s interior was drab at best. I hated it. My colleagues hated it. The middle management hated it. Even the directors seldom wore a smile. The morale was low and as a result, the company’s performance dropped steadily year after year.

If a sense of fun and community existed within the organisation, perhaps this loss could have been slowed, halted, or even turned around. But the directors responded by closing ranks and making it an even more miserable place to work.

Then I came to DAV. Bright colours, infectious energy and every now and then a peal of raucous laughter – from every corner. In training, we laughed. In meetings, we laugh. We all laugh. Now don’t get me wrong, anyone who knows DAV knows we work extremely hard, but most importantly we have fun while we work. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and we are not afraid to embrace an opportunity to enjoy ourselves. I have seen the truth of the fact that happy people work harder. I see it every day and count myself lucky to be part of such a dynamic organisation.

So in closing, should the saying go: ‘Work hard, play hard’ or ‘Play hard to work hard’?