To ensure cohesive teams and trusted business engagement despite being remote, we need to build authentic connections in the virtual office. Many a Valentine today in the digital age could probably be through an online cupid connection. Fewer outdoor ventures and more Insta scrolling means more relationships begin through social media and dating apps. With many of us working fully remote, we now meet new colleagues for the first time via a PC screen. We meet new clients and candidates on video calls. To ensure cohesive teams and trusted business engagement despite being remote, we need to build authentic connections in the virtual office. Online romances flourish while maintaining virtual courtships. So too, we must nurture and cement professional ties when working remotely. It remains critical that even when working from home, we cement and maintain professional ties. With online dating, profiles get perused, similar interests sought and so the virtual courtship begins. The assumed expectation – with what one can only but hope (and through countless chats, emojis & voice notes (VNs)) – would soon translate into a real-life romantic relationship. But similarly in the workspace of the “Webosphere”, how do we form and solidify co-worker bonds and relationships…
Office Christmas parties are underway. And what’s better than to celebrate with a team that makes you feel a home away from home. If you’re not feeling that fuzzy feeling of home at your current job, we are here to help. Let’s help you find your “work home”. It’s that jingle belly time of year again with Christmas almost upon us. ’Tis the season’ synonymous with spending time with family and loved ones and being surrounded by that warm fuzzy feeling of home. As many businesses wrap up, companies often treat their staff to an Office Christmas aka year end. Either a Soiree with glitz and glam. Or an intimate get-together to enjoy a braai or a relaxing lounge by the pool. Spending most of our lives at work, you eventually bond with your colleagues and become a “work family”. These staff parties can be equated to your “work Christmas” and your colleagues your “work family”. Some people even jokingly refer to their work bestie as a “work husband or work wife”. These terms have come about because we spend the majority of our lives at our jobs. You develop closeknit relationships because that’s the natural course of human nature…
Be it Rugby or Recruitment – being ethical ensures long-term successWritten by: Janis Kinnear After a nail-biting match, the 2023 Webb Ellis Trophy came home to South African soil. The victory is greatly attributed to SA Rugby Team Captain Siya Kolisi’s leadership. in the realms of Rugby or Recruitment, Kolisi exemplifies how being ethical ensures long-term success. South Africans continue to beam with pride after the SA Rugby Teams’ triumph having won this year’s World Cup trophy. Team Captain Siya Kolisi has been lauded for being an ethical leader who genuinely cares about his country’s people. The battle on the rugby field is refereed by strict rules of the game. If you opt to play dirty it can be costly (sorry All Blacks). Our national Rugby team tried to maintain fair play. And this display of sticking to the rules, plus their mad Rugby skills of course, proved that being ethical ensures long-term success and victory. When people are your business, you deal with the element of unpredictability. Practicing ethical recruitment helps avoid bulldozing tactics. It also presents a show of understanding. Particularly during the recruitment process when candidates or clients’ circumstances change at the drop of a hat. Here…
BEING NICE TO CO-WORKERS COUNTS WHEN JUMPING SHIPWritten by: Janis Kinnear When jumping ship to find a new job, you most likely need references – often from your existing company. your persona and actions towards coworkers may need some tweaking if you want to present exemplary attributes to a new potential boss. As a promising candidate enters the final stage of the recruitment process to land a new job and becomes the “Chosen One” – reference checks are done. And being nice to coworkers counts when jumping ship to ensure sterling references to seal the deal. Are you that colleague who’s constantly late for MS Teams meetings? Are you selective when it comes to responding to a colleague’s email? Prefer to go grab a bite to eat first before answering them on a work-related query. Do you neglect to inform your team when it becomes clearly obvious (to them included), that you’re not going to make the proposed deadline? Are you open to working with others or do you participate and show your reluctance by objecting to good ideas? Do you avoid your colleagues like the plague instead of engaging with them. Can you multitask or think critically? These actions fall into…
Datafin and EdTech company HyperionDev are set to enter a joint partnership To get Tech Grads more “industry ready”. And, not only get Grads struggling to find work a foot in the door but equipped with staying power to secure a job. The struggle to find work is realer than ever before. Despite Grads being fully qualified. They either can’t find a job or keep one. That’s why Datafin and HyperionDev have decided to enter a joint partnership to get Tech Grads more “industry ready”. This partnership aims to not only get Grads into the workforce, but secure and keep jobs. Grads come armed for what they believe will be success in the job market. Course Degree or Certificate. Check. CV drawn up. Check. And an ambition to join teams at the forefront of cutting-edge tech. Using code and science to make our lives easier by conjuring up the latest software and gadgets. But despite being prepped for what they hope will guarantee them a job, qualified Grads are still struggling to secure jobs. Even after an Internship – they are not always being kept on. Left back to a LinkedIn status of “Open to work”. Collaborative efforts between field…
AI’s trendiest addition ChatGPT can prove a useful and innovative Recruitment tool. Utilised to creatively word an email and even free up time for Recruiters. but matching people to jobs, requires that invaluable human touch ONLY Recruitment Consultants Can bring to the table. AI technology often sparks fears of mass job redundancy and questions around what it would mean for industries like Recruitment. It’s no secret that AI technology often sparks fears of mass job redundancy. So, with the arrival of American research lab OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT, its impact on the Recruitment industry was questioned. ChatGPT VS Recruiters’ invaluable human touch? Explained as a natural language processing tool driven by AI technology, the AI chatbot allows you to have human-like conversations. Here at Datafin, we had our own questions around what this tech would mean for Recruitment. As a large part of our business is IT Recruitment, there were concerns by some of our specialist Recruitment Consultants. One of them being that the demand for candidates like Software Developers might be indirectly impacted. ChatGPT for example, comes with a Code Interpreter Plugin which allows a user the ability to “complete complex programming tasks”. In-house IT Recruiter Bethany Sellar wondered if…
Utilise your cv profile to not only get a “swipe right” and make a career love connection, but a job match made in heaven GETTING a “swipe right” on your CV in order to make a true career love connection, will fortunately for you, be based on more than just a great selfie with good lighting. One you managed to post on your dating profile to gain attention or to get that favourable “swipe right” like on popular dating app, Tinder. And, in the hunt for that “dream job”, your CV serves as the first visual glimpse into who you might be or present as. WhEN TRYING GET A “SWIPE RIGHT” ON YOUR cv PROFILE, YOUR jOB HISTORY MATTERS MORE – Unlike on your dating profile, it’s your job history compared to a picture of you, that gets your CV shortlisted. Even if an actual photograph of you is displayed on your CV, your work credentials matter more. More than whether you have the look of a possible unsuspecting “Tinder Swindler” or the appearance of having the personality of a pea. Similarly, as you would venture online to find a potential love interest, finding that job that is a good…
Picture having your morning coffee with a breathtaking view of a landscape of ice, glistening freshwater lakes and rocky terrain while cosily tucked away in your hi-tech and luxurious interior designed camping pod. And to top it off, this is your workplace. Yes, that’s what dream jobs are made of and sometimes they do come true. One of our candidate’s will be jetting off to the continent of Antarctica and if he had failed to keep applying, he would have missed out on his new job adventure – an opportunity of a lifetime. Don’t quit the job hunt and keep applying, as behind one closed door, another could open to a career you’ve always been dreaming of The term job hunt is called that for the very reason it physically requires one to scour job sites and to keep applying to as many different positions until you find what matches your skillset or desired job. It can be tedious and what feels like a closed door in your face, every time you receive unsuccessful feedback. In Recruitment circles, these perceived “failures” such as candidates not turning up for an interview without any notification, is a natural part of the job.…
Regular feedback: A critical tool to gain a competitive edge in business & strengthen hybrid/remote staff and client relations Utilising feedback sessions serves as a critical tool in post-pandemic business models to gain a competitive edge by strengthening staff and productivity. With more companies having adopted a hybrid or remote working environment, there is an obvious disconnect when it comes to the human element. With less physical interaction where mostly everyone is no longer collectively in the same space at the same time, video platforms are now where team chats, interviews and meetings take place. The provision of a communication channel or way to have regular catchups, is especially useful to maintain some sort of team synergy and ultimately, ensure that your company performs optimally with or without a concrete office. Bridge the gap with regular check-ins As a fully remote operation itself, we here at Datafin have become more aware of the effectiveness of having regular check-ins with our clients and candidates alike. Human connection is at the heart of our business, and we need to get a feel for the people we deal with. Since Covid, many candidates have more introspection and want to know aspects such as…
IN times of chaos, commit to Small gains to alleviate the stress of reaching big goals While working towards any goal, life happens, and stress can leave you feeling like throwing in the towel. But change your focus instead to commit to small gains chasing your dream job. Ask any fitness enthusiast or IT entrepreneur how they remained on track despite unforeseen hurdles, I’m sure they will tell you small wins are crucial to ensure you don’t quit your dream and keep eye on the prize. If the ultimate goal is making a career move, the ever-evolving landscape of work and life since Covid hit, may be feeling more daunting than ever before. Chaotic times amplifies feelings of stress and uncertainty It doesn’t take a magnifying glass to be aware of how chaotic life has been not only in South Africa, but across the world, ever since a certain pandemic entered our lives. There was the confusion when restrictions were apparently lifted around wearing masks (some of us still wondering about the absence of a formal “family meeting” announcement) and company vaccine mandates. Then petrol hikes fueling the rising cost of living. And let’s not forget, Eskom’s recent switcheroo of…