Carrera News
30 April 2012
New to the Carrera Team
Two new consultants have joined the Carrera Team recently. We’d like to warmly welcome Rona Horsfall to the Brisbane office and Georgina Mantjaris to the Melbourne office.
Rona comes to us with over 20 years experience in the recruitment industry, specialising in corporate affairs, communications and marketing for a number of sectors including FMCG, Property, Government, Professional and Financial Services.
To find out more about Rona, click here.
Georgina has joined Carrera to head up our contracting division and brings with her over 17 years of contract recruiting experience. She will be recruiting for contract roles in the communications, PR, Marketing and Digital areas, plus much more. If you’re interested in exploring contract opportunities, contact Georgina.
To find out more about Georgina, click here.
2 April 2012
Costumes & Carrera
The 30th of March marked Dare To Wear Day - a fundraising initiative run by not-for-profit organisation Fitted For Work. Brave individuals donned outrageous costumes to promote confidence for disadvantaged women returning to work.
So far Fitted For Work and their ambassadors have raised a total of $76,786 which will help approximately 700 women go through their outfitting service, extensive interview training and career coaching.
Sam from our Melbourne office strapped herself into a vinyl jumpsuit for the occasion. To see the photographic evidence, click here.
There’s still time to donate so if you are interested in helping disadvantaged women gain the financial freedom they so greatly need, visit Fitted For Work.
If you’re impressed with Sam’s vinyl jumpsuit, pledge a donation by clicking here.
20 February 2012
Dare to Wear Day
Over the last few months, our consultants have been volunteering their time in support of the not-for-profit organisation Fitted for Work. Fitted for Work helps disadvantaged women find work and keep it. They provide free interview appropriate clothing, job counselling services and resume advice. Carrera has volunteered our services as industry and recruitment experts to help coach Fitted for Work clients. The program has been very successful thus far but they need donations.
The 30th March, 2012 is Dare to Wear Day, where people can nominate themselves and others to dress boldly in their workplace and help raise funds for this great organisation.
The target is to raise $120,000 to help empower 1000 women.
Sam from our Melbourne office will be dressing to rival Lady Gaga – if you’d like to sponsor her, please click here. We promise to follow up with photos!
If you’d like to take part in the day and raise funds for a great cause, click here and register.
1 February 2012
Tarnishing a Brand
Children entertainment supergroup, The Wiggles, became a household name in 1991 and have enjoyed immense success around the world. Their brand has always been held in high regard among families with young children.
Recently however, their brand of wholesome family values and fun was somewhat tarnished by their treatment of the Yellow Wiggle – Sam Moran, who replaced the original Yellow Wiggle, Greg Page, back in 2006 when Page fell ill. Page recently made the decision to return to the band, resulting in Moran being dismissed.
While both performers smiled for the media and Moran handed over the coveted yellow skivvy to Page, it became apparent that Moran was treated rather poorly in the exiting process. This is a great example of how all the boxes of due diligence and legalities can be checked off during the dismissal process, but the empathy and human touch of this process can be ignored, and therefore result in damage to a company’s internal brand. In the case of The Wiggles, the damage to their brand probably won’t affect sales; however it certainly has made the world think of the group as less of a family-friendly brand and more of a business.
Despite ten years of service, first as back up performer and then as lead, Moran was kept out of the loop in discussions about Greg’s return. Referred to as the ‘hired hand’, the group seemed to dismiss his contribution and did not inform him of his necessary departure until just before it went to press. In fact, they pulled him away from his family holiday to give him the news.
Although all legal requirements were met in the dismissal of Moran, what the group did not consider was that after five years as the Yellow Wiggle, Moran had accumulated his own fan base, all of whom were left shocked at the abrupt departure. Moran was also given no real chance to say his goodbyes and farewell his fans after finishing their recent tour.
This case demonstrates how important empathy is when terminating an employee or making them redundant. How a company treats its staff in these situations is crucial to the brand and image of the business. Showing some empathy, giving the person some time to adjust to the news before making it public and giving the employee a chance to gain some closure, will cost the company very little (if anything), but does wonders for its internal culture and brand. Treating someone who has dedicated themselves to a job as a ‘hired hand’ is a sure-fire way of damaging your status as an employer plus it can lead to negative PR, as evidenced by The Wiggles.
The saying “It’s nothing personal, it’s just business” does not stand up in the corporate world anymore, with companies now seeing the benefits of treating their employees with respect. Longer tenure, better results, a happier culture and a strong brand are but some of the advantages. Companies need to think hard about how they handle exiting employees. Dismissals, redundancies and terminations are all part of business but are also inherently personal and bad publicity is still bad publicity.
17 January 2012
Two New Consultants Join Melbourne Office
Carrera Partners would like to introduce two new team members to our Melbourne office: Shane Brigham and Tanya Williams.
Shane is a seasoned recruiter with a background in industrial and B2B roles. He has a wealth of experience in the industrial, manufacturing and retail sectors and will be focussing primarily on building up our industrial recruitment sector.
Tanya joins us with over ten years experience in FMCG sales. She specialises in B2B Sales and relationship management. Her strong FMCG background makes her the perfect addition to our already successful FMCG recruitment sector.
We’d like to warmly welcome Shane and Tanya to the team!
21 December 2011
The Silly Season
Carrera Partners would like to wish all our clients, candidates and suppliers a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. We look forward to working with you all in 2012 and seeing what the year has to offer!
The Melbourne office will close from the 26th of December and will re-open on the 3rd of January.
Carrera Brisbane will be closed from Friday 23rd December till Tuesday 3rd January
Our Sydney office will close from the 28th December to 3rd January.
You are welcome to continue sending applications through during this time and these will be reviewed after the holiday break.
If you have an urgent enquiry, please contact:
- John Davies in our Melbourne office on 0416 081 957
- Gary Marsh in our Brisbane office on 0418 150 786 or
- Christine Williamson in our Sydney office on 0424 279 841
7 December 2011
Melbourne Office Welcomes Two New Team Members!
New to the Melbourne consultant team is Rebecca Ketteringham, and Sharyn Cocks. Sharyn is an experienced recruiter across many industries including Sales, Marketing and General Management/Operations roles. She will be focusing on recruiting for the FMCG sector. Rebecca has a background in recruiting for Comms and Services and will be focussing on building up our services sector. We’d like to warmly welcome them to the Carrera team!
1 November 2011
Are You Unintentionally Stunting Your Career?
An interesting article was posted on the Harvard Business Review blog regarding how women often unintentionally stunt or even sabotage their careers. Being overly modest, blending in and not actively seeking promotions are considered to be the key contributors to the stunted development of a career. According to the studies undertaken by Europe's Institute of Leadership and Management, women are more likely to be passed over for promotion because they do not highlight and take ownership of their achievements, they do not speak up enough in meetings and their confidence levels are lower than that of men.
Click here to read the article.
Debate has ensued as to whether the study and findings are too simplistic in their view. For a cross-section of opinions, have a look at the comments below the article.
The big question that seems to arise from this article is whether or not this is an issue of gender or an issue of dominating personality traits.
12 September 2011
Are you a Sales Narcissist?
Sue Barrett recently wrote an interesting blog piece on "Sales Narcissism" that identifies the qualities of the slick Salesperson stereotype we all try to avoid. To read her thoughts on this particular deal-breaking menace, click here. Particularly interesting is her comment that one bad experience with a Sales Narcissist can undo twenty good experiences with good Sales people. A fascinating read for Sale Managers!
16 August 2011
New Additions to the Carrera Team
Carrera Partners adds two new members to our Sydney and Melbourne teams!
Carol Farnsworth has joined the Sydney team as a consultant, bringing a wealth of recruitment experience from FMCG, Pharmaceutical and Medical sectors and Sharlene Wheaton joins the Melbourne office as part of the admin team.
We’d like to warmly welcome both Carol and Sharlene to the Carrera team!
27 July 2011
Effective Business: The Tour de France
The media is buzzing over the recent Australian winner of the Tour de France, Cadel Evans. But the reality of winning the Tour de France is not a solo job. Competitive cycling teams are a carefully crafted, well-oiled machine. Each cyclist has a different job to do depending on their speciality, and as one, they work towards the end goal of winning. There is much more to it than just being fast!
Climbing specialists work on hard inclines; Sprinters save their energy for short bursts of speed to obtain points and position; Time Trialists keep speed high over great distances; and Domestiques guard the team from rivals and carry food and drink to their Leaders.
If only business teams functioned like this! Each employee would work at their own specialty to achieve their set goals, which in turn amount to the one common goal of business success. It sounds logical, however many businesses fail by not following this simple rule.
5 July 2011
An Interesting Read...
The below article, found on Linked In, details how 80% of Startups are launched by people over the age of 35.
Click here to read it.
At Carrera Partners, it has been our experience that many of our candidates dream of owning their own company and plan to do so once they have had thorough experience of the industry they are in, and have expanded their networks as much as possible. The myth that entrepreneurship is a young persons game is not statistically true. Though many internet based companies are run by young-guns who were the first to flourish in the dot com environment, the Mark Zuckerbergs of the business world are rare. Knowledge, experience and developed networks are the real key to successful business.
20 June 2011
Giving Back to your Community
As we approach the end of the financial year, it is easy to get caught up in finalising business, meeting budgets, submitting reports and of course… taking advantage of sales!
But it’s also important to remember that business is a vital component of a community, and your community still needs to be thought of in the bigger picture. If you work in an office or a team, there are great opportunities to give back to your community without hurting your bank account.
At Carrera Partners, for example, a group of our staff donate blood every three months. This is an extremely worthwhile cause as every blood donation saves three lives in Australia.
Members of our staff also take part in charity-related marathons. Eliza Otte from our Melbourne office will be running in the Run Melbourne Half Marathon on 17th July, representing Alzheimer’s Australia.
Alzheimer's Australia administers leading edge national dementia programs and services as well as providing national policy and advocacy for the 257,000 Australian’s living with dementia.
There are many ways a business and its employees can contribute to charitable causes. All it takes is a little initiative! Organise a group at your workplace to volunteer at a charity, take part in a fun-run or donate blood.
For more information on blood donations, visit http://www.donateblood.com.au
If you would like to make a contribution to sponsor Eliza in her run for Alzheimer’s Australia, please visit http://runmelbourne.everydayhero.com.au/eliza_otte
4 May 2011
What's New in the Office?
This week Carrera Partners farewelled Heidi Cremasco, our fearless Marketing Manager, who has gone on maternity leave to have her second child. Heidi will be returning to Carrera Partners, but for now we wish her all the best!
Faye Cormick, who previously worked for Carrera Partners as a consultant will be handling our marketing initiatives until Heidi is back. Welcome back Faye!
In other news, Dawn Grundy, Nicola Davy and Chris Khor will be running 8km in the Mothers Day Classic to raise funds for breast cancer research. We wish them the best of luck!
If you’re interested in supporting this cause, you can make a donation by clicking here.
6 April 2011
Flood Appeal Donations
In response to the devastating floods that occurred at the start of this year, Carrera Partners pledged that for every placement made, we would contribute a donation to the Flood Appeal.
We are happy to announce that a sizeable donation was made recently thanks to the support and continued business of our clients.
Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria are still in disaster recovery mode and we urge you to continue supporting the relief fund by making a donation. There is still a long way to go, but every dollar donated helps rebuild the towns affected by this tragedy.
Please give generously.
Donate to the Australian Red Cross
14 March 2011
Three New People Join the Carrera Team
Carrera Partners is pleased to announce the addition of three new team members! Narelle Cambourne and Ben Maurer have joined the Sydney office and Robbert Sindorf has joined our Brisbane branch.
Narelle will be using her recruitment and contracting expertise to head up Sydney’s new contracting division. She will be specialising in short and long term contracts within Sales, Marketing and Communications.
Ben comes to us with extensive recruitment experience in the industrial sales and marketing arena and will be developing Carrera Partners’ involvement within this sector.
Robbert joins us after a successful sales career within the wine/liquor industry. He will be lending his expertise to recruit for sales and marketing roles in the FMCG and liquor categories.
We’d like to warmly welcome Narelle, Ben and Robbert on board! To have a look at their profiles, please click here!
7 March 2011
Sydney Office Refurbishment
Since mid December 2010, our Sydney office has undergone total refurbishment for our ever-expanding Sydney team! The renovations finished only a few weeks ago and the result has been an astounding success.
Prior to the renovations, Carrera Partners only occupied half of Level 13. Now our Sydney team occupies the entire floor, doubling the work space as well as adding an additional three interview rooms. This expansion of space is preparation for more new team members set to join the Sydney office. For pictures of the office facelift, click on our photo gallery.
9 February 2011
New Year's Resolutions - Making and Keeping Them!
We’re now in the second month of 2011 and some people may be tempted to break their New Year’s resolutions (if they haven’t already!)
We all have an innate desire for self-improvement; whether it is intellectually, psychologically or superficially, and the concept of a New Year’s resolution has become a tradition that allows us to actualise these goals.
Statistics show that approximately 45% of adults in Australia will make a resolution on New Year’s Eve. 75% of people make it past the first week and 46% keep their promise until the six month mark. However it’s only a measly 12% that actually achieve their goals.
The statistics may be disheartening, however it has been proven that a person who sets a specific goal will be ten times more likely to achieve it, rather than people who make ambiguous or vague aspirations. A recent study showed that in setting small, measurable goals, men are 22% more likely to achieve them. Interestingly, women are 10% more likely to achieve their goals when they talk openly about them and enlist the help of friends.
At Carrera Partners, one of our key commitments is to ‘do what we say’ and this year has begun with a fitness focus.
Chris Khor and Nicola Davy trained hard for the recent Brazilian Butterfly Queen of the Lake run that took place on Sunday 6th February. Their fitness regime paid off, however rumour has it they also trained themselves to visualise chocolate and a glass of Sauv Blanc at the finish line. (We all need extra motivation!)
Carrera Partners Melbourne held an inter-office Biggest Loser competition, with Chris Hughes winning the challenge, confirming he really is the Biggest Loser… whether that’s in terms of weight is yet to be determined.
Lauren from the Sydney office has maintained her “Get Healthy” resolution and has already lost 4.5kg. Charlotte has made a promise to herself to be clutter free this year, throwing out or recycling an unused item in her house every day. She’s calling it ‘Unshopping’.
We’ve all made personal commitments to ourselves that we intend to keep and in the same way, Carrera Partners will continue to keep its word: We do what we say. Simple and true.
1 February 2011
New Staff Join Carrera Partners
Just as our universe continues to expand, so does Carrera Partners. We would like to warmly welcome two new staff members to our team. Tony Siddons has joined the Melbourne office and will be specialising in B2B consulting and Darren Foord has joined the Sydney office, specialising in FMCG, Consumer Electronics and Hardware.
2011 is proving to be an exciting year for Carrera Partners as we prepare to welcome more new staff over the next few months. Through our expansion and development, we hope to continue our strong relationships with clients and candidates, as well as meet and assist new companies and job-seekers along the way!
12 January 2011
QLD & Northern NSW Flood Appeal
The floods that have crippled Queensland and Northern NSW have devastated the nation and are worsening significantly as the rain continues. It is difficult to watch the news footage of entire towns destroyed and communities under water. Carrera Partners sends its thoughts and sympathy to those who are struggling through this tragedy. Our thoughts also go out to the families of people who are still missing and those that have lost loved ones in this disaster.
Having an office in Brisbane and so many clients, candidates, friends and loved ones located around Queensland, it is especially significant to us. Therefore Carrera Partners pledges that for every placement made in the next 6 months, we will make a donation to the flood appeal.
We also encourage people to donate generously to the Red Cross Flood Appeal by clicking the link.
21 December 2010
Tis the Season...
Happy Holidays! The silly season is upon us once more and Carrera Partners will be closing to celebrate the end of another annum. Our office will close from 12pm, 24th of December and will reopen on the 4th of January. You are welcome to continue sending applications through during this time and these will be reviewed after the holiday break.
If you have an urgent enquiry, please contact:
John Davies in our Melbourne office on 0416 081 957
Gary Marsh in our Brisbane office on 0418 150 786 or
Neil Ford in our Sydney office on 0411 172 299
Carrera Partners would like to wish you health and happiness over the festive season!
7 December 2010
New to the Carrera Partners Team...
Carrera Partners would like to welcome three newcomers to our Sydney and Melbourne teams. Dawn Grundy has commenced as Sydney’s newest Recruitment Consultant and Tim Allen (no, not the Toolman) will be taking on the role of Business Development Manager. Chris Brooking will be joining the Melbourne team in the new year and will be heading up our Services sector.
We’d like to warmly welcome these new additions to the Carrera team and look forward to another year of doing what we do best and having fun while we’re at it!
22 November 2010
We celebrate a significant milestone - our 10th birthday
Our 10th birthday was celebrated in style on Friday, with a masquerade themed soiree hosted in Melbourne.
'Movers & shakers' of the industry, clients and candidates joined us at Studio 3 at Crown Casino for a night to remember. Impressively, our first client (Rita Williams, Simplot) and candidate (Jennifer Clark, Kraft) were guests at the event, both of whom are still working with us.
The glamorous and fun-filled evening was enjoyed by all and it was wonderful to see so many faces from the last decade there to support us, even if partially hidden under the array of fabulous masks.
Guests were entertained by the Nudist Funk Orchestra, who made sure the dance floor was pumping until the wee hours!
It has been an amazing 10 years and we are very proud of all that we have achieved.
Our director and co-founder, Christine Khor, spoke of her elation at reaching such an impressive milestone.
“Our success can be attributed to the relationships that we have built with both clients and candidates. The first client we worked with is still our client. In fact, we even know where our first candidate placed is and are still in contact. Our job is to know where great talent is and to track their careers. We would like to thank each and every person who has worked with us over the last 10 years,” said Christine.
We are excited to have entered our second decade, so here's to the next 10 years!
The lucky winners of our prize draw were Tara Allsop who won the Crown weekend and Helen Purdy who picked up the Whirlpool whitegoods package. Well done!
To see some great photos of the night click here.
13 August 2010
Our team is expanding to deliver a specialised service to our clients and candidates.
We have really grown in the last 6 months having doubled the size of our team, adding the functions of dedicated marketing and business development resources. We now stand at a grand total of 26 employees spread across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, all specialists in our own fields.
As the close family of Carrera, we had a fabulous and productive time at our recent Annual Conference. Held in Melbourne at the new Crown Metropol last week, we spent many an hour working on where we had come from, where we were at and what we are going to do in the future, all of which of course helps to enable us to ensure we work closer and more effectively with both clients and candidates. This was all then interspersed with much fun and laughter “ trying” to ten pin bowl, relaxing in the fabulous atmosphere of the Metropol (highly recommend a stay there!)and generally misbehaving at Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant, Maze. Delicious food and delicious company!
