Employer Articles

For recruiters it can be disappointing to hear when an interview has not gone well for a candidate we know could be a great match for a role. We relish the opportunity to connect skilled IT professionals in roles where they can thrive, enjoy career success and contribute meaningful outcomes to a team, an organisation…

Tips To Retain Top Talent As we continue to navigate through some lingering impacts of the changing landscape of the Australian workforce, it is clear that employee engagement is a fundamental element to attracting and retaining top talent. Each employee embraces their own unique blend of purpose, values and motivations, and understanding what truly drives…

“If You Fail to Plan, You Are Planning to Fail” This quote is attributed to Benjamin Franklin; no doubt you have heard it said, read it written, or seen it dolled up in a fancy font and posted somewhere online. As with many motivational quotes that get trotted out in a multitude of corporate presentations,…

The term “ghosting” recently found its way into the cultural lexicon to describe the awkward and sudden termination of a personal relationship, by cutting off all communication and contact with someone. The term ghosting may be relatively novel, but in recruitment, this story is as old as The Canterville Ghost. Although, the relationship between recruiters…

With almost 30 years’ experience as a specialist IT recruitment agency, Clicks understands that there are some sentiments about recruitment that linger for hiring managers. Recruiting for your team can often feel like a distraction from core responsibilities, and an additional task outside of management’s ‘day job’. That’s partly true. Which is where we come…

And Attract Top Talent A good hire starts with writing a good position description. In the same way that employers gain insights about job seekers through CVs, job seekers gather information about prospective employers through position descriptions (PDs). According to Clicks’ latest IT Recruitment & Retention Report, employers have reported fewer rejections for job offers…

When a role becomes vacant in an organisation, it often becomes a scramble to fill it within a period-of-notice timeframe. This usually means rolling out existing processes (including repurposing old job ads and position descriptions) in an effort to expedite hiring a like-for-like replacement. The role is quickly published on a job board and hiring…

Your recruitment process, for any position, begins well before your job ad hits the market. Your employer brand is critical to attract, engage and retain top talent. A strong employer brand helps reduce the time it takes to fill your vacancy and turnover in your organisation. So, if you’re not investing in an employer brand…

Many people consider recruitment to be quite an intuitive process. The reality is, it’s often not that simple. That’s why we believe it’s important to apply organisational design best practices to ensure an objective and robust hiring process. Designing tailored assessment activities to support hiring processes is one way to apply organisational design. These activities may comprise of bespoke behavioural based interview questions, work samples, group activities, and role-plays. We’ve worked with clients to craft assessments that align with their organisation’s capability framework and include objective rating scales. This enables effective evaluation of the performance of each activity designed.

Clicks is thrilled to have won the Excellence in Business Innovation category at the 2023 RCSA Awards! The win complements Clicks’ recent recognition also being named as finalist in the Industry Leader 2023 category of the awards. The award celebrates the continuing innovation and improvement within its recruitment-based operations. One of the key innovations that…

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is Embrace Equity. I am a firm believer of the adage, “you can’t manage what you don’t measure.” So, if we are truly serious about embracing equity, we need to be clear about our goals and how we plan to achieve them. At Clicks, we believe that a…

After record breaking highs, IT staffing demand continues to hold strong What is the IT Recruitment & Retention Report? Clicks’ IT Recruitment & Retention Report has been in production since 2006. For those new to the report, it collates data from hundreds of organisations across Australian Government and corporate sectors. The information is highly anticipated…

Since 2015, Clicks’ ‘IT Employment Confidence Index’ report has been measuring the confidence of IT professionals. We survey employees and job seekers each quarter to obtain insights into current sentiments. We ask respondents to reveal how they are feeling about: The conditions of the Australian economy and IT job market. Their job search intentions. Confidence…

IT Professionals Want Better Work-Life Balance Clicks IT Recruitment has been surveying IT professionals across Australia for over a decade. Our IT Workforce Insights Report taps into the mindset of IT employees and job seekers to support companies develop data-driven recruitment and retention strategies. The theme for last years’ IT Workforce Insights report was show…

If you’ve ever wondered what makes your staff happy or why they choose to stay – you don’t need a crystal ball. You just need to ask. After all, if you don’t ask, you don’t get. Conducting stay interviews is a great way to understand what motivates your team members to remain in their roles…

Making the right hiring decisions is vital to the success of any organisation. You increase your chances of getting it right by starting with a strong pool of candidates. But how do you increase the quality of your job applications you receive? Here are three simple things you can do! 1. Create Compelling Job Ads…

Including an equal employment opportunity statement (EEO) in your job ad can help you attract more candidates when hiring. 70% of job seekers value an organisation’s commitment to diversity when considering prospective employers. But if you are going to include an EEO statement, you want to ensure its not a box-ticking exercise. If the message is…

I was having drinks with a friend when I bumped into an old colleague. Something interesting happened after I made introductions. My friend – a consummate professional – reached out to offer her hand, but instead of shaking it, my former colleague put up both his hands. It looked like he was being held up…

Culture Fit is a Bad Idea and Could be Discriminating At the risk of being unpopular, in this edition of our ‘Achieving diversity through recruitment’ series, I want to explore using the term culture fit when hiring. Culture fit was a concept introduced in the 1980s to shift the focus beyond skills and experience to personalities and…

You’ll know two critical things about making job offers if you have been following our latest hiring advice series. Firstly, it is essential not to make a formal offer until you know the candidate will accept. The second vital step is to find out what else is happening with your candidates outside of work. If you missed it, make…

We recently talked about the highs and lows of recruitment – finding the perfect candidate for a role, only to have them knock back your job offer. But there are things you can do to increase your chance of securing the best candidates for your jobs. If you missed it, review our top tip in…

Imagine you are on track to close out the roles you’ve been working tirelessly to fill. You have taken the time to optimise your recruitment process, have written great position descriptions, and candidates have commented on the positive interview experience. But when it comes to making the offer, you’re still experiencing higher than expected rejection…

It is often said, “People leave managers, not jobs”. In my personal and professional experience, this is often the case. After all, people tend to look to their leaders to lead, inspire, and motivate. When expectations are not met, disengagement creeps in. Managers can become the source of frustration, mistrust, resentment, or even anxiety. These…

My mum always said, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I’ve tried to adopt this approach in most areas of my life, and it has served me well. That’s why when it comes to achieving greater diversity in your workplace, setting goals is key. It provides you and your organisation with clarity…

Entire workforces rapidly transitioned to remote work at the outbreak of COVID-19. Almost overnight, workers proved their ability to remain productive and engaged despite not being in the office. This challenged long-held misconceptions by more conservative leaders about remote work. Employee and job seeker expectations also shifted, seeking greater flexibility. As a result, hybrid teams…

Data from Clicks’ 2022 Report: Gender Diversity in the Australian IT Market, reveals the proportion of female executives in the tech industry is 15%. This represents a drop of ten percentage points compared to 2019. The pre-pandemic figure – at 25% – was the highest Clicks had recorded since we began collecting the data in…

Rise in Metrics Signals Continued Growth, Highlights Staffing Challenges for Organisations What is the IT Recruitment & Retention Report? Clicks’ IT Recruitment & Retention Report has been in production since 2001. For those new to the report, it collates data from hundreds of organisations across the government and corporate sector. The report is highly anticipated and…

What Aussie Employers Can Do To Combat The Great Resignation The Great Resignation or the Big Quit – whatever you call it – it’s coming. And it has the potential to significantly impact your business. So far in the US, 4 million workers have quit their jobs in the last month alone – setting record…

Tackling unconscious bias Workplace diversity is important to organisations and candidates alike. Research has shown financial performance, innovation and improved decision making are just some of the many benefits of a diverse workforce. 70% of job seekers value an organisation’s commitment to diversity when considering prospective employers. Diverse workplaces help create successful businesses that job seekers…

I believe diversity, equity, and inclusion should be an integral component of any organisation’s business strategy. At Clicks, we wholeheartedly believe our talented and diverse workforce is the reason we’re so successful. This diversity helps us both culturally and commercially. Fortunately, there is a wealth of data available about the benefits of diversity in the…

Our latest edition includes over 1,100 individual responses from IT professionals surveyed in July 2021. Over 1,000 IT professionals working in a range of technical and management roles responded to our most recent IT Workforce Insights survey. The data and insights from this report can be used by any organisation that recruits IT staff to…

IT Job seekers confidence are buoyed by the belief that there are plenty of jobs available, with 38% of respondents reporting a positive perception of the IT job market.

We’ve all heard this one before: “people leave managers, not companies”. In my experience it’s an accurate statement. Great leaders are vital to your organisation. They are one of your most valuable employee benefits, and an excellent retention and attraction strategy. We want leaders who can hold onto our staff, especially as the employment market…

The key to conducting an effective job interview is thoughtful and considered planning. Before delving into how to best plan for an interview, let’s take a look at why structured interviews work: Provides confidence in decision making (and helps with making quicker decisions). Ensures the best fit for the job is hired – not the…

Working Exclusively With Your Recruitment Agency Can Help Deliver the Result You Want. Are you hiring and need to engage a recruitment agency? There’s a range of reasons why you may need some extra support. You’ve already conducted a search without being able to fill the vacancy, or you simply don’t have the time or resources. Whatever the reason may be, you’re probably looking to find the right candidate fast. Before you pick up the phone to call all the recruiters in your contacts list, consider working with only one agency. I’m going to bust some common myths when it comes to engaging multiple agencies. I hope this helps you get the most out of your partnership with your recruitment agency, and most importantly, fill that role.

Clicks IT Recruitment has been measuring the confidence of IT professionals over the last five years. Our survey includes a range of critical social and economic indicators that are measured around the world by leading institutions to inform business decisions. Our latest report shows the confidence of IT professionals has bounced back in 2021 across…

I’ve been working at Clicks for over a decade, which I appreciate in this day and age is a rarity. What can I say – I love my job! No day is ever the same, I meet new people, I work with great people, and I’m constantly learning. Over the years I’ve seen our Contractor…

Why You Should Care and What You Can Do About it My colleague Nick Bacon, recently shared his insights on current hiring trends, and one trend is that hiring is on the rise! As we all vie for top talent to meet our increasing demand, I thought it might be helpful to discuss what job…

2020 changed the way we lived, worked, and hired. This is flowing into this year, however, I am feeling a lot more positive about next financial year. Based on Clicks’ market research, my 20 years’ experience in the recruitment industry, what I’ve read and heard from speaking with hiring managers and job seekers, here are…

Clicks has collated the data from hundreds of organisations across a range of industries to release the results for our 2021 IT Recruitment & Retention Report. The report, which analyses the strength of the IT staffing market, provides insights into areas such as hiring intentions, IT spend, and hiring trends. Based on the results from…

The number of Data Scientist roles grew by 492% from 2015 to 2019, according to an Australian Government report on the top 25 Emerging Occupations for 2020. So what has propelled this demand? With the advancement of technology, the way in which information is stored and organised has improved and become more sophisticated. The accumulation…

The 3rd of December marks the annual celebration of the International Day of People with Disability, first announced in 1992 by the United Nations General Assembly. This year, the International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD) theme is “Building Back Better: toward a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post COVID-19 World”. IDPwD provides individuals, groups and organisations the opportunity…

I recently read about a technical glitch that brought a national retailer’s operation to a halt. There could be a multitude of reasons why that incident occurred. It wasn’t the first time it had happened and I’m not sure it will be the last. Let’s be honest, we’ve all had our ‘bad patch days’ –…

Why I Don’t Think a Robot Will Be Taking My Job (or yours) A number of years ago I attended a recruitment conference. The theme was technology and the keynote speaker highlighted the impact of automation and AI on the recruitment industry. The speaker talked about the threat to the profession, as software would be…

Pre-COVID-19, I would receive a handful of LinkedIn connect requests a week from people who were clearly trying to sell me something, or wanting to increase the reach of their network by connecting to mine. Since COVID-19, that number has increased tenfold. I am cognisant that COVID-19 has caused salespeople to do a lot more…

I started in the recruitment industry in early 2000. I have recruited a diverse number of roles across a wide range of industries, placing thousands of people into jobs throughout my career. The challenges have varied from “the war on talent” through to the GFC. My experience tested and developed my resilience personally and the…

At the risk of showing my age, I remember when recruiters faxed CVs to hiring managers. Nowadays, CVs can be shared quickly via email or Teams or any other collaborative platform with a few clicks of the mouse. I suspect there won’t be too many changes to this particular process. However, this year has taught…

My mother always told me that polite conversation should never include politics or religion. Whilst Jacinda is inarguably a politician, today’s blog focuses not on her politics, but her leadership. Mum, if you’re reading this, I’m sure you’ll let me off the hook this once. I’ve been watching Jacinda Ardern’s career with interest since she…

Clicks has just released the results of its special COVID-19 edition of the IT Recruitment & Retention Report, with survey data collected from Australian employers in July 2020. Typically, we survey the Australian IT business community at the end of each year to release a report at the start of the following year. The report…

Clicks began its relationship with the #TechDiversity Foundation three years ago. At that time, our primary diversity focus was gender balance in the IT workforce. Whilst our gender work continues, we have since broadened our focus to include neurodiversity after an introduction to the talented and capable team at Specialisterne. Since then we have done…

When I think back on some of my best work memories, they’ve included adventures after Christmas parties that ended with sore feet and a sore head the next day, and pit stops for kebabs. Or that time when my colleague made me laugh so hard that I snorted my drink out through my nose and…

I find that lately I’m spending a lot of my time contemplating what’s happening in the labour market. Whilst you could say it’s an occupational hazard, my interest is piqued more than usual. In part due to everything that’s going on in the world, and in part prompted by the results of Clicks’ latest IT…

Over the last two weeks, I’ve shared a mix of general and specific hiring objectives. I hope you’ve enjoyed these insights and they’ve been useful in helping you hire the right candidates. For my final piece in this three-part series, I’d like to shine the spotlight on diversity and inclusion. Research has shown innovation, financial…

Hiring the right people is essential to a company’s success. We all know this. So, how can we set up our hiring objectives to get the right people? Last week I started to share my thoughts about hiring objectives. I hope they got you thinking about planning for success when it comes to your hiring…

I’d consider my knowledge of neurodiverse workers, people with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and how best to recruit and support them in the workplace has gone from less than zero, to an overall solid 4 out of 10 in the last year. And I’ve learned a LOT. It is, of course, a space that is continually…

As a Melburnian who has just entered our second round of COVID-19 restrictions for the next six weeks, I’m sure I’m not the only one who has moments of feeling slightly overwhelmed. The steady stream of online deliveries to my door suggests that I may have been engaging in a little bit of retail therapy…

With our breath nervously held, the team at Clicks sent out its survey for the quarterly IT Employment Confidence Index last month. Whilst we’re aware that few industries are in a positive situation right now, we felt it was important to continue to collect market sentiment data regardless. The first thing that struck me was…

We don’t know if it’s just us, but each year seems to roll around faster than the last. The end of the financial year is always a tricky time, trying to balance wrapping things up and celebrating the year that was, while also starting to plan and shift your thinking for the new financial year….

It’s been a while since I banged my gender diversity drum. Lately however, there has been lots of media coverage on the impact of COVID-19 on female workforce participation. The Prime Minister even tackled it head-on in his National Press Club speech this week. It’s being argued that women have experienced greater unemployment, as the…

Last month was Autism Awareness month. In February, I sat down with Julie Robertson, the CEO of Specialisterne Australia, to agree a national schedule of events which Clicks would sponsor, to promote the advantages of employing people with autism. Then along came COVID-19 and caused us to throw our well-laid plans into physically distanced rubbish…

As quickly as we were thrown into this adjustment of WFH and its challenges, we are now faced with the next unknown. Australia and New Zealand have now been fortunate enough to have restrictions reviewed along with active discussions regarding moving into the ‘new normal’. This will bring new challenges to companies. How do we…

If you’re picturing me with Bob Marley dreadlocks or waist-long Mariah Carey tresses, it would be pretty hilarious, but that’s not where I’m coming from. It’s that time of year. Not only are the days getting shorter and the heater needing to be turned on more regularly, hundreds of Clicks contractors with an end date…

At a meeting with my peers in Clicks’ Executive Leadership Group last week, we reflected on how things felt in general, compared to four weeks ago. In short, the answer was ‘very different’. Yes, there is still huge uncertainty in almost every area of our daily lives. But on a very personal, micro level, the…

The redundancies that so often accompany organisational restructure can be highly disruptive. Damage is done to the morale of those left behind, highly trained and loyal workers are lost, and years of in-depth specialist knowledge walk out the door, at an incalculable cost to replace. Redeployment is a preferable option, balanced with the use of…

An unfortunate reality in situations like this, is that there are people who seek to take advantage of vulnerabilities through phishing and malware attacks. Cybercriminals have already been actively using Coronavirus (COVID-19) to launch phishing attacks via email and SMS messaging. As more and more people begin working from home, it’s important to be alert…

To quote the iconic John Lennon song Nobody Told Me, we are living in ‘strange days indeed’. And they may get much stranger before they settle down. Some industries are in serious trouble, whilst others can’t hire enough people. And through it all, the wheels of basic infrastructure must continue to turn. If you are…

The marketing team has been hard at work over the past 9 months tackling their most ambitious project ever! Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of Clicks’ brand-new website. And it’s a real game changer. We’ve put in all the smarts you would expect a website to have and we’ve got some amazing bolt-on…

Have you ever lost a good candidate because they accepted another offer? Or because you couldn’t get the paperwork done quickly enough? Or because you couldn’t demonstrate your value proposition well enough? Or because you simply didn’t provide a good enough candidate experience? Anecdotally we’ve all experienced at least one of the above. Let’s add…

Working in recruitment, naturally I am surrounded by people who, for various reasons, are looking for their next career change. At the start of each year however, there is always an annual migration of ‘new year, new job, new me’ candidates. I’m not sure if it also being the start of a new decade has…

Welcome to the first edition of Front of Mind for 2020. I am very excited about the employment opportunities in the year ahead for Australia’s neurodiverse community. I am also pleased to see that autism is moving more into the public domain, with shows like Love on the Spectrum and Employable Me enjoying huge popularity….

Clicks has received a strong vote of confidence from its clients in its latest Client Satisfaction Survey. Every respondent rated our level of understanding of their needs as Good or Very Good. For the 23rd consecutive survey, over 90% of Clicks’ clients have also said they are confident in our ability to meet their recruitment…

Wanting to increase your workforce’s diversity is an important goal shared by many organisations. Most start with gender diversity, as it is perceived, rightly or wrongly, as perhaps being more achievable than other forms of diversity. Regardless of the type of diversity however, the most important thing is to have the right mindset from the…

There is going to be a theme in our Hot Talent blogs from now until the end of the year…all of the things that we feel we need to get done, but maybe haven’t or won’t. A number of our clients have been advising us for some months now that they are going to go…

After 20 years in the industry, I’m not too proud to say that I know recruiting is one of people’s least favourite things. It often feels like a distraction from your core responsibilities, and something you need to do in addition to your ‘day job’. That’s partly true. Which is where we come in. I…

Earlier this week Clicks and Specialisterne put together a second collaborative event in Brisbane to highlight the value as well as the unique skills and capabilities that neurodiverse candidates have to offer. We gathered a room full of IT, Business and HR owners and senior leaders. Now before you go any further, if you think…

My mother always taught me that it’s rude to eavesdrop. But when you’re in an elevator hurtling up 35 floors whilst your fellow travellers are having a conversation, discretion is not always possible. Sorry mum. This is what I heard this in the elevator morning. Person 1: How are you? Person 2: *sigh* Things are…

The team at Clicks were beyond thrilled when we got the news! We are winners in this year’s Australian Business Awards, in the Service Excellence category. This is the second time our Contractor Care team has taken out this award, with the first time being in 2017. This year’s submission had a particular focus on…

Clicks IT Recruitment has offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra, and is part of the Outsourcing Inc group of companies, with INDEX Consultants. As the Beddison Group is such a large organisation, we use a high volume of hardware and in order to operate effectively, we are required to regularly update this technology. With…

As the only member of my family to be born in Australia of British and German parentage, I sort of get the ‘Christmas in July’ movement. Whilst us kids were counting down the days until we could break out the Slip ‘n Slide and annual box of Paddle Pops, mum and dad were quietly wistful…

The 2019 TechDiversity awards are now open, and Clicks is proud to be the diamond sponsor for a second year. Founded in 2015, the awards recognise organisations that raise awareness and create change through diversity initiatives across technology programs. We would love your organisation to submit a nomination. Often when working on diversity programs, we…

Have you been to one of my gender diversity workshops yet? If you live in Brisbane, for the first time you might have been able to answer yes. I was delighted to have delivered my first public session in the Sunshine State this week, and connect with some great IT leaders who share Clicks’ views…

I’ve had an interesting week. Yesterday I had the privilege of being a panel speaker at an event run by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo). APSCo is the peak industry body for IT recruiters, and the event was focused on how to better retain our recruitment staff. My fellow panelists were researchers and…

The key metrics from this quarter’s IT Employment Confidence Index illustrate solid levels of employee confidence despite uncertain economic conditions. 61% of respondents to our survey are feeling confident about their ability to secure a new job, and 62% feel positive about their overall employment prospects. The latest quarterly survey of Clicks’ Australian IT workforce…

As the weather heats up, many of us are looking into our crowded wardrobes and trying to get motivated to create some space. Well, now we have the perfect reason to do so! Wear for Success (www.wearforsuccess.org.au) is an organisation dedicated to helping individuals realise their potential and helping them look the part on their employment…

Clicks has just released the results of its latest quarterly IT Employment Confidence Index. The results were gathered over the Jan-March quarter of 2018, from over 300 Australian IT employers and professionals. The metrics in this quarter’s Index point to a narrative of sustained optimism across the market. Optimism about employers is especially in evidence,…

This week I want to focus on an upcoming event in Melbourne that has profoundly impacted my year. About this time last year, my boss, Clicks’ Managing Director, Ben Wood and his wife attended the #TechDiversity Awards + Gala Dinner. Ben came to work on the Monday and said to me, “I went to this…

Clicks has just released the results of its latest quarterly IT Employment Confidence Index. The results were gathered from nearly 400 Australian IT employers and professionals over the April-June quarter of 2018. The key metrics from this quarter’s Index illustrate a stable job market with record levels of employee confidence. 42% of IT professionals are…

For the 13th consecutive Client Satisfaction Survey, over 90% of Clicks’ clients have said they are confident in our ability to meet their recruitment requirements and expectations. This figure has not fallen below 90% in the six years that we’ve conducted our bi-annual survey. Similarly, over 90% of our clients told us that they were…