How much does Johannesburg weigh?

How many people in Cape Town are on Facebook on any given Friday at 11.30pm?

What??!

You are right when you say to yourself that no one can know. These questions are not meant to be answered; they are in fact designed so they can’t be answered with calculators, years of experience or even the all-knowing Google.

These questions are called brainteasers – oddball questions which test your ability to think laterally. Large IT companies and consulting firms use them to test their future employees on their abilities as problem solvers, watching the thought process very carefully to see if creativity is combined with intelligence. (more…)

The guys over at wisebread.com posed an interesting question: how much of what you “say” is actually interpreted through body language and tone of voice? According to Professor Albert Mehrabian only 7% of a message is conveyed verbally, through words. The other 93% is split between tone of voice (38%) and body language (55%). In fact, it’s widely known as the 7-38-55 rule.

Now we all know to prepare answers for a wide array potential questions but how many of us practice positive body language to help us get our next dream job? (more…)

Growth in economic activity in the informal sector is rising in South Africa while official employment is under pressure.

This trend in South Africa’s labour market environment is highlighted in the latest monthly Adcorp Employment Index, released in Johannesburg this morning, which has tracked employment trends for the month of September 2011.

Loane Sharp, Adcorp Labour Market Analyst, says: “The size of the informal job sector has peaked at almost half that of officially recorded employment in South Africa. In September alone, this sector grew at an annual rate of 7.7%.” (more…)

Considerable uncertainty surrounds the current condition of the South African economy. According to
Statistics SA, mining and manufacturing figures for July indicate a decisive slowdown in production levels,
suggesting that global economic weakness continues to affect South African producers adversely.
However, Investec’s Hard Numbers Index produced by Prof Brian Kantor suggests that the consumer – as
measured by domestic vehicle sales and the demand for bank notes – is generally buoyant, while
liquidations and insolvencies continue to improve suggesting that consumer indebtedness and small
business earnings are improving. (more…)

I did an experiment this evening. I asked my six year old daughter to hold her hand against mine. She looked a bit puzzled but was curious as this was something mommy usually does not ask her to do, out of the blue. She cautiously put her hand against mine. I applied pressure to push her hand back and she pushed mine back.

Of course this was a load of fun for her and we spent the next 10 minutes with the hand pushing exercise eventually enrolling dad in the fun as well! I wanted to try this exercise because Richard Pike, CEO of Adcorp, delivered a tremendously heartwarming and poignant recollection of his life story at our offices in Sandton. He demonstrated this hand push back example, to illustrate that as human beings, if we are pushed, we push back. (more…)

Unnerving discussions with your boss about needing to step out of the office again, impeding nerves, clammy hands, uncomfortable silences and then months with no feedback. Don’t you think it is time to make those distressing job interviews a success?  After talking to clients and colleagues we have put together a number of overwhelming blunders or misconceptions made by candidates during job interviews to try and help you make your next interview a success! (more…)

I’d like to ensure that all my clients and candidates are able to find meaning in their work and I’d like to recommend an awesome book by Robert Holden PhD entitled Success Intelligence. As a starting point, if you have looked at what success is and what it means to you, you might be surprised by the results! What are you striving for at work and in your career?

I’d like to share some insights on a few day-to-day “small” things that could make a BIG difference and move you into a better place in your working relationships: (more…)

Remember this: interviews are a two-way discussion. Most candidates don’t realise that their interviewer not only welcomes questions but in fact expects them! By preparing questions that will gain you a thorough understanding of expectations and show your potential employer that you are interested in the company and the role. However there is a caveat; make sure they are relevant to industry, market, company and role.

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There are a few basic questions that all interviewers ask to get to know you as a person and as a potential employee. Knowing what to expect will help to prepare concise and on-topic answers before the time giving you the edge on your way to your dream job.

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Congrats! You got the job! The first 90 days is make or break time in a new job so make sure they count

1. Start learning during the interview process. Why are they hiring for this position? What happened before? What will it take to succeed? What are the expectations for the person coming into this position? Can you talk to a friend that is also a customer? How about researching the competition? You don’t have the pressures of the job yet so now is the time to get up to speed as much as you can.
2. Once in place continue to ask lots of questions. Talk to everyone, keep an open mind and listen. Look for trends amongst multiple people. Don’t assume anything, feel free to ask: “what is the ROI?” or “why is this so complex?”

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