WorkPac Blog · WorkPac Recruitment

Australia’s Property Market: Demand, Supply and the Road Ahead

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 03:11:49 GMT

Confidence is quietly returning to Australia’s housing market, and with it, activity. After the fastest rate-hiking cycle in a generation, enquiry is up, listings are getting more eyes, and clearance rates have climbed back above 60% in auction-centric cities. For the first time in four years, all eight capitals recorded quarterly house-price growth. The recovery, though, isn’t uniform and understanding where momentum is building (and why) matters for the year ahead.

Sentiment, spending and the RBA

Three signals are guiding re-entry decisions: inflation, interest rates and consumer confidence. The RBA’s earlier hold at 3.60% was widely expected, but firmer language around Q3 inflation and re-accelerating monthly CPI has softened expectations of an imminent cut, even as the base case still contemplates a move towards ~3.35% if data allows. As household spending lifts with confidence, financing conditions could ease, but the timing may be bumpy, and markets often move ahead of policy shifts.

Signals to watch next quarter:

Monthly CPI and retail spend prints

Auction clearance rates as listing volumes rise

Building approvals and commencements relative to the housing-accord run-rate

Momentum returns - led by the affordable end

The standout feature of this upswing is where the strength sits. Gains are most pronounced at the more affordable 25th percentile, an entrenched yet unusual pattern for Australia. Entry-level stock is absorbing quickly as first-home buyers and investors compete for the same properties, supported by demand-side measures like the expanded Home Guarantee Scheme (5% deposit). Buyer enquiries are rising across the capitals—including previously softer Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, while views per listing are up and vendor-buyer expectations are reconnecting.

City by city: acceleration vs consolidation

Sydney and Melbourne have moved into the acceleration phase of the price cycle. Sydney’s median house price has tipped above $1.7 million ; Melbourne, after a multi-year value reset, is accelerating towards an established recovery, aided by population growth. Victoria is forecast to be the fastest-growing state by FY27. Canberra is also quickening.

Former pace-setters, such as Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth, are moderating as affordability catches up with momentum. Perth remains within striking distance of the million-dollar median mark, but its rate of change is cooling. The broad takeaway: cities most sensitive to rate expectations are back in the driver’s seat, while last cycle’s leaders consolidate gains.

Policy signals and structural shifts

Recent signals imply property remains comparatively attractive to some investors versus superannuation, with flow-on effects for the luxury segment and family trusts. More immediate is the pressure at the entry level: the home-guarantee expansion is bringing forward cohorts of first-home buyers and intensifying competition for precisely the stock preferred by yield-seeking investors. Without a stronger supply response, expect persistent pressure in lower price bands.

Supply, tax and the productivity of existing stock

Here, the constraints are stubborn. Housing is among the most taxed sectors (taxes can account for up to 40% of a new home’s cost), and stamp duty dampens mobility, contributing to under-utilisation (Australia averages 2.3 bedrooms per person). Reform ideas gaining traction include reducing taxes on new builds, transitioning from stamp duty to a broad land tax, and including the family home in the pension test to encourage right-sizing.

New supply is the taller order. Population growth is outpacing dwelling delivery, most states are behind their targets, and approvals are well below the ~240,000 homes a year needed to meet the five-year housing accord. Without faster planning and lower soft costs, demand relief risks turning into price pressure rather than improved affordability.

Infrastructure: uplift is real if hyper-local

Transport infrastructure typically lifts values most within 0–400 metres of stations, with the bulk of the price response occurring between announcement and construction. Units often see sharper, earlier gains that fade faster; houses accumulate value more slowly and tend to hold it better. In practice, micro-location, timing and land-use settings are decisive.

The new shape of demand

Search behaviour tells a story: “granny flat” is now Sydney’s number-one term and rising across all capitals, reflecting affordability pressures, multi-generational living and rental-income strategies. Build-to-Rent is scaling towards an expected 70,000 units by 2030 , adding institutional-grade rental supply that should ease pressure at the margin.

Risk pricing is maturing, too. Buyers increasingly factor bushfire and riverine flood exposure into offers, while many ocean-adjacent assets still attract premiums despite limited pricing of coastal-erosion risk. Expect this to evolve as disclosures standardise and insurance dynamics shift.

Regions: normalising after the surge

The pandemic-era regional wave has eased. Demand remains, but not at 2020–22 levels. Sydney’s affordability challenges continue to nudge young families toward more affordable capitals and select regional hubs, yet as Sydney and Melbourne re-accelerate, their gravitational pull on talent, jobs and development pipelines is reasserting itself.

Practical takeaways

Buyers: Have finance ready, scrutinise flood and fire risk, and weigh near-term infrastructure timelines when assessing micro-locations.

Sellers: Depth is returning - well-located, right-sized stock priced realistically in the first fortnight is attracting decisive bidding.

Investors: Focus on yield plus flexibility - granny-flat potential, station-proximate assets and locations that hold value through rate cycles.

Developers & policymakers: Pair faster approvals and lower soft costs with mobility-friendly tax settings to turn confidence into sustainable affordability.

At Design & Build, we operate where market demand meets delivery capacity. If you’re reshaping product for affordability, scaling project teams or navigating approvals, our specialists can help align people, timelines and market realities, so momentum turns into outcomes.

By Andrew McGregor, D&B Managing Director

FY 25/26 Market Outlook: What to Expect in Construction & Engineering

pedro@designandbuild.com.au (Joao Pedro Marins) — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 06:22:39 GMT

While the Australian national Construction activity rose by 3.5% in 2025, this growth has been uneven, driven by smaller, specialised builds rather than a consistent pipeline of major projects. Traditional commercial and residential construction has slowed under the weight of high interest rates and cautious investment, while sectors like health, education, data infrastructure and renewables continue to receive targeted funding.

Geographically, Queensland and Western Australia are showing resilience and opportunity, while other states like New South Wales and Victoria are contending with softer demand and tighter budgets. But what truly defines this moment in the market isn’t just the work; it’s the workforce. The competition for skilled professionals has intensified, and their expectations are more complex than ever. Salary alone won’t guarantee commitment. Employers must now balance flexibility, culture, progression and communication or risk losing their best people to those who do.

Backed by one of the country’s most comprehensive workforce datasets, drawn from over 1,600 professionals across Civil, Commercial, Residential Construction and Engineering, our latest Salary Guides reveal a clear message: talent expectations are evolving faster than most employers are prepared for. While project pipelines are still there, the professionals needed to deliver them are increasingly mobile, discerning, and driven by more than just salary.

Progression Pathways Are Failing And That’s Fueling Attrition

Let’s be blunt: the current rate of internal promotion is undermining workforce stability.

Only 13% of professionals in Commercial Construction and 15% in Residential were promoted in the past year. In Civil, even with its experienced workforce, only 29% have progressed internally at all.

This stagnation is fuelling turnover with 8 in 10 professionals across Construction & Engineering open to a move. When talent feels that growth is tied to changing employers, loyalty erodes, and your investment in onboarding, development, and culture walks out the door.

What you should be doing now:

Formalise internal career frameworks with visible pathways.
Communicate these pathways early — especially during onboarding.
Recognise lateral progression too: title clarity and scope expansion matter.

Structured development doesn’t just retain talent, but also motivates them. And in a market where everyone is hiring, motivation is currency.

Pay Matters, But Clarity Matters More

Pay rises occurred across the board — 47% of Commercial and Civil professionals received one last year. But here's the issue: most people still feel underpaid. In fact, more than half of all surveyed professionals either think they’re below market or aren’t sure at all.

This perception gap is dangerous. It creates mistrust, fuels passive job searches, and positions your competitors to swoop in with seemingly small salary bumps that feel significantly more appreciated.

Recommendations:

Benchmark salaries regularly, and share ranges internally.
Clarify how pay decisions are made — don’t let the process feel opaque.
Don’t rely solely on your base salary. Bonuses, even small ones, signal performance recognition.

Our data shows that between 29% and 43% of professionals across these sectors expect a raise in FY25/26, but nearly half are unsure . That uncertainty is your opportunity to lead with transparency and honest communication.

Flexibility is Slowly Gaining Ground

Across every sector surveyed, the message was the same: professionals are craving flexibility, even in environments where on-site work is a core requirement.

While most construction roles still require a strong physical presence, nearly a third of professionals now expect at least some hybrid option — and that includes engineers, supervisors, estimators and planners.

Yet only:

26% of Civil professionals report having hybrid work access
32% of Residential and Engineering respondents have hybrid roles.
23% of Commercial Construction professionals are hybrid

Interestingly, the Energy & Infrastructure sector appears to be leading the way, with 51% of its workforce reporting access to hybrid arrangements. This reflects an industry that has embraced the operational and wellbeing benefits of flexibility, especially for design, planning, and project management functions. It’s a clear example of how even traditionally site-heavy industries can find a workable balance that supports both performance and lifestyle.

What you should be doing now:

Introduce partial flexibility for admin or coordination roles.
Offer adjusted rosters or start times — even small tweaks matter.
Promote flexibility as part of your EVP. If you’re offering it but not advertising it, you're missing candidates.

This is no longer about location. It’s about trust, lifestyle, and how you show you care.

Retention Starts With Listening

In Civil, Commercial, and Engineering sectors, salary still leads, but around 20% of professionals say flexibility is their next priority when considering a career move. For these sectors, the ability to work hybrid or adjust schedules is becoming just as important as compensation.

Most professionals want practical benefits like health insurance, flexibility, and mental health support — but many are still only offered outdated perks. Aligning your benefits with what people truly value can be the difference between keeping talent and losing it.

Recruitment Strategy Can’t Be Transactional Anymore

With only 19% of Commercial professionals moving via internal promotion, the majority of career moves are happening externally.

This is where recruitment partners make the difference. The best recruiters are tapping into passive talent, professionals who aren’t actively looking but will move for the right opportunity.

They know who’s quietly open to change, what motivates them, and how to engage them before your competitors do. If you’re relying solely on job ads and inbound applications, you’re missing the majority of the market.

Final Thoughts

The good news? There’s no shortage of work. Investment is still flowing. Projects are still moving. But the industry is at an inflection point.

The difference between businesses that thrive and those that stall won’t be about contracts won; it’ll be about talent kept.

At Design & Build, we’ve supported this industry for 20 years, and what’s clear is that those who invest in their people, adapt to the market, and treat talent as a long-term asset always come out ahead.

If you’d like to unpack what these findings mean for your workforce strategy, reach out. We’re ready to help. Click here to check all our Salary Guides for 2025-26.

Andrew McGregor
Managing Director, Design & Build Recruitment

The Great Stay: Why decisive hiring is more critical than ever

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 01:23:42 GMT

The anticipated 'Great Resignation' has not materialised in recent years. Instead, we are witnessing what can be termed the 'Great Stay,' characterised by historically low unemployment rates and a scarcity of available candidates. This trend underscores the critical importance of decisiveness in your hiring processes.

Current Labour Market Landscape

According to the latest report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics , the unemployment rate stands at 4.1% , with a participation rate of 67.3% , which shows that most of the eligible workforce is already employed or actively engaged in the job market.

Employment has increased by approximately 444,400 people over the past year, with two-thirds of these gains in full-time positions. Despite a 10.3% decline in job vacancies over the year, they remain 51% above pre-pandemic levels, indicating sustained demand for talent.

Also, as shown in our latest Talent Trends Whitepaper , 88% of companies plan to continue hiring despite economic uncertainty, which means that competition for top candidates is fierce.

Consequences of a Prolonged Hiring Process

In this competitive environment, a slow hiring process can have several detrimental effects:

Losing top talent – Skilled candidates often receive multiple offers and won’t wait long to make a decision.
Higher operational costs – A vacant role costs up to six months’ worth of salary in lost productivity and hiring expenses.
Weakened employer brand – A slow, disorganised hiring process can frustrate candidates and impact future recruitment efforts.

Recommendations for Employers

To attract and retain top talent in the current market, consider the following strategies:

Streamline Recruitment Processes : Simplify application procedures and reduce unnecessary steps to expedite decision-making.
Improve Candidate Engagement : Maintain regular contact with candidates to keep them engaged and informed throughout the hiring process.
Competitive Salaries & Work-Life Blend – 44% of candidates say a better salary is their top motivator to change jobs, while 34% cite improved work-life balance as a key factor. Learn more about it in our Talent Retention Whitepaper .
Career Growth & Development – Candidates are increasingly prioritising clear career pathways, mentorship, and upskilling opportunities when choosing an employer.
Leverage Technology : Utilise recruitment software and platforms to efficiently manage applications and communications.
Empower Hiring Managers : Provide training to ensure they can make swift, informed decisions without unnecessary delays.

By implementing these strategies, your organisation can stay ahead in the race for talent and build a workforce that supports long-term success. Would you like a tailored consultation on optimising your hiring strategy? By partnering with us , we guarantee to follow all the best practices mentioned above through streamlined processes, cutting-edge technology and enhanced communications.

8 principles we can take from the Olympics to our workplaces

pedro@designandbuild.com.au (Joao Pedro Marins) — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 01:11:49 GMT

The Olympic Games have long been a symbol of excellence, determination, and unity, bringing together athletes from across the globe to achieve greatness. But the values that drive Olympians to succeed don’t just belong in the arena; they can also inspire us to strive for excellence in our professional lives. Let’s explore how these principles can be applied to build trust, foster collaboration, and achieve extraordinary outcomes in the workplace.

Teamwork and Collaboration

Just as Olympic teams rely on collective effort to achieve victory, success in the workplace depends on effective teamwork. When we collaborate, we combine diverse skills and perspectives to drive innovation, solve problems, and create a supportive work environment. Remember, as the saying goes, "Great things are never done by one person alone — they’re done by a team."

Achievements and Goal-Setting

Olympians set ambitious goals and work tirelessly to achieve them. In our careers, setting clear and attainable objectives helps us stay focused and motivated. Define your professional goals, set milestones, and celebrate each achievement along the way to maintain momentum.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Olympics celebrate diversity, bringing together athletes from different cultures and backgrounds. Similarly, fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace enriches creativity, innovation, and decision-making. Strive to create an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to contribute their best.

Skills and Training

Olympians dedicate countless hours to training and refining their skills. In the workplace, continuous learning and professional development are equally important. Seek out opportunities to upskill, embrace challenges, and commit to growing your expertise to stay competitive and confident in your role.

Performance Reviews and Feedback

Athletes constantly review their performance to identify areas for improvement. Likewise, seeking regular feedback from colleagues and mentors can help you refine your skills and enhance your performance. Constructive feedback is a valuable tool for growth and development.

Resilience and Preparation

Olympic athletes often face setbacks but show incredible resilience by bouncing back stronger. In our professional lives, resilience is essential for overcoming challenges and turning failures into learning opportunities. Embrace adversity as a stepping stone to success and maintain a determined mindset.

Inspiration and Mentorship

Behind every successful Olympian is a mentor offering guidance and support. Finding mentors in your field can provide valuable insights, encouragement, and career advice. Equally, you can inspire others by sharing your knowledge and experiences, becoming a mentor for colleagues or peers.

Celebrating Small Wins

Every step towards an Olympic medal is a reason to celebrate. Recognising and celebrating small achievements in the workplace boosts morale, motivation, and team spirit. Acknowledge your progress and the progress of your colleagues to foster a positive and supportive culture.

Striving for Gold Together

By embracing the principles that drive Olympic athletes, we can elevate our professional journeys. Teamwork, goal-setting, diversity, resilience, and continuous improvement are cornerstones of success in any field. Let’s take inspiration from the Olympic spirit and strive for gold in our workplaces!

Does every job application look the same nowadays?

pedro@designandbuild.com.au (Joao Pedro Marins) — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 22:26:38 GMT

With the rapid technological advancement we are experiencing each year, we can notice a growth in AI and chatbot usage when discussing job applications. Many candidates rely on such tools to build resumes, cover letters, or contact hiring managers.

Although the technology we possess nowadays is excellent and can help us in multiple ways, job seekers must be careful as it can also negatively impact their job applications due to a lack of authenticity and personality.

Recurring Terms

One common issue with AI-driven application processes is the reliance on recurring terms and keywords, making all resumes look the same. Job seekers may be tempted to rely too much on chatbots, risking a lack of authenticity and individuality.

This approach can lead to applications that appear generic and fail to showcase a candidate's unique skills and experiences. The automated responses and overuse of keywords may not capture the nuances of individual personalities, leading to a missed chance to make a memorable first impression.

Chatbots often repeat terms or expressions, such as “seamlessly”, “unwavering”, “showcasing”, “as a result”, or “in conclusion”, for example. They tend to follow the same pattern when structuring a copy for a cover letter, with an introduction leading to a conclusion that not always is well connected.

To stand out from the crowd, applicants should strive to infuse their language with vivid examples and specific accomplishments. Instead of using generic terms, provide concrete instances where you collaborated effectively within a team, solved a particular challenge, or delivered measurable results. The more specific you can get, the better.

Common Cover Letters

AI may inadvertently encourage a one-size-fits-all approach to job applications. Some candidates might use generic templates for their cover letters, neglecting to tailor their applications to the specific requirements of each job.

This lack of personalisation can harm a candidate's chances of standing out in a competitive job market, as Hiring Managers may overlook applications that appear to be using a generic approach.

Recommendations: To have a more personalised cover letter, you can work the other way around. Instead of going to chatbots to start them, try writing them in your own words, highlighting your expertise and why you would be a great fit for the position.

Then, you can recur to AI tools, pasting your initial cover letter there and asking them to make it better, whether by using a more professional vocabulary or improving the copy structure for example.

Remember that you don’t have to accept all their changes or their first version. You can keep tailoring it by asking things such as “make it shorter” or “emphasise my background”, for example, to arrive at the objective you want without losing the essence of your first message.

Download our Cover Letter and Resume guides

Online Assessments

Some companies use online assessments during the application process, and candidates utilising AI tools may find themselves adapting their responses to match expected patterns rather than providing genuine answers.

This can dilute the authenticity of their responses and create an impression of insincerity. Predefined responses and suppressing your natural conversational style can result in a lack of spontaneous exchanges that would occur in an authentic interaction.

Striking the Right Balance

Despite these challenges, job seekers can explore AI tools with a strategic approach. This technology can be beneficial in providing templates or tips, but it is essential to tailor the message to demonstrate your essence, unique skills and aspirations.

Craft resumes and cover letters that authentically reflect your talents and experiences. Use keywords naturally, focusing on relevance rather than overloading your application with them.

You can customise each application to match the specific job requirements. Highlight how your achievements align with the company's needs, values and the role you are applying for.

Remember that, at the end of the day, behind the AI algorithms are human recruiters. Incorporate a personal touch in your application to connect with the human aspect of the hiring process and how you'd represent the company values.

Conclusion

As AI and chatbots become more used each day, job seekers must adapt and utilise them as a supportive tool instead of the main creative process in their applications.

While these technologies offer efficiency, a well-balanced approach prioritising authenticity, personalisation, and staying informed will enable candidates to stand out in a competitive job market.

Keep yourself updated with industry trends and AI advancements to adapt your job-seeking strategies accordingly. Understanding how AI is used in recruitment can help refine your approach and improve your chances of securing your desired job.

If you want to use the recommendations above for your next job application, you can easily find all current positions available on our website by clicking here . If you need support from our specialised team, you can also upload your resume to hear from us in case we have any opportunity that matches your skills and experience.

10 Tips to start the year with a Career Strategy

pedro@designandbuild.com.au (Joao Pedro Marins) — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 22:35:55 GMT

Are you feeling that you need a change for your career this year? Do you want to explore new opportunities? If so, you're not alone. Many people look to make a career transition when entering a new year.

The concept of a career move has become more diverse than ever. Beyond the traditional notions of climbing the corporate ladder, professionals now consider various possibilities – from seeking promotions to changing industries or transitioning to new companies.

It requires a flexible mindset and a strategic approach tailored to your unique aspirations. But where do you start? In this article, we'll provide you with 10 tips that can help you make a successful career move in 2024. From identifying your reasons for a career change to staying positive and motivated throughout the process, we've got you covered. Let's dive in!

1 - Defining Your Career Objectives

Start by defining what a career move means to you. Are you seeking a promotion within your current company, aiming to switch industries, or exploring opportunities in different organisations? Clearly understanding your objectives will guide your strategy and help you make informed decisions.

Before diving into the job market, take the time for introspection. Evaluate your skills, values, and interests. Set clear, realistic goals for your career change within the public sector to align your aspirations with potential opportunities.

2 - Ask Internally

If you already enjoy working with your current company, consider exploring internal opportunities first. Moving within the same organisation offers advantages such as familiarity with the company culture, established trust, and a quicker onboarding process.

Whether you are considering climbing up the ladder with a promotion, or a side step to a different sector, it’s always best to assess your internal opportunities first before looking elsewhere.

3 - The Promotion Pathway

Climbing the corporate ladder requires a strategic approach. Identify the skills and competencies necessary for the desired role and proactively work on developing them. Seek mentorship within your organisation, express your career goals to your superiors, and actively contribute to projects that showcase your leadership potential.

4 - Approaching new offers

When contemplating a move to a different organisation, approach the transition meticulously. You can partner with recruitment agencies or research potential employers, focusing on their mission, values, and work culture. Tailor your resume and cover letter to highlight how your skills and experiences align with the specific needs of the new company and why you would be a great fit.

5 - Researching Opportunities Across Sectors

If you're considering a shift to a different industry, conduct in-depth research on the sectors you find intriguing. Understand the skills and qualifications required, and assess how your existing expertise can be translated into value in the new industry. Networking with professionals in the target industry can provide valuable insights.

It’s also interesting to stay informed about the latest trends and evolving roles. Identify areas of growth and determine how your skills can contribute to emerging demands, ensuring you are well-positioned for success in your new career.

6 - Understanding Transferable Skills

Recognise the transferable skills from your current role that are applicable to the new position you are looking for. Highlighting these skills will strengthen your candidacy and demonstrate your ability to adapt to specific demands.

7 - Financial Planning

Understand the potential financial implications of a career change. Evaluate your current financial situation, considering any adjustments needed during the transition period. This foresight will provide a realistic perspective on the feasibility of your career change.

8 - Skill Enhancement and Training Opportunities

Identify any skill gaps and invest in relevant training programs. Many roles require specific certifications or qualifications, so ensure you are equipped with the necessary expertise to excel in your new career.

9 - Networking & Social Media Presence

Networking remains a critical aspect of any career move. Whether seeking a promotion, changing industries, or joining a new organisation, connect with professionals in your target field. Attend industry-specific events, join relevant online forums, and cultivate relationships that can provide guidance and open doors to opportunities.

You can also leverage social media platforms and online job portals to expand your professional presence. Actively engage with communities and showcase your expertise. Many organisations use these platforms to identify and connect with potential candidates.

Update your resume, LinkedIn profile, and any other professional platforms to reflect your current skills and accomplishments. Highlight specific achievements that demonstrate your impact in previous roles. A polished online presence is crucial in catching the attention of potential employers and recruiters.

10 - Utilising a Recruitment Agency

Partnering with an experienced recruitment agency can significantly streamline your job search. Agencies have insider knowledge, a vast network and can provide personalised guidance throughout the process, increasing your chances of securing the right position in a career move.

Conclusion

A career move can take various forms, from securing a promotion within your current organisation to venturing into a new offer or deciding on a complete change of scenario/industry.

By defining your objectives, aligning your skills, and adopting a versatile mindset, you can confidently explore the complexities of the modern job market. Tailor your strategy to achieve the unique goals that define your professional journey in the years to come.

If unsure about what transition to take with your career or to have support in finding a new role, don’t hesitate to contact our specialised team for advice. You can also upload your resume on our website to hear from us about suitable positions.

Click here to explore current positions available.

Associate consultant program - building blocks for success

wow@shazamme.com (Default Author) — Sun, 05 Feb 2023 07:09:39 GMT

A common mistake people make is thinking that you have to be an experienced professional to have the best outcome in the recruitment industry. Although no success comes easy, it's not as hard to join this new industry as it may seem.

With the training necessary and the right path to building your career, you can achieve incredible outcomes that you may not have even expected. To welcome those new to recruiting and provide the best induction and training possible along the way, we are proud to have our Associate Consultant Program - Building Blocks for Success.

This is a 13-week program that will provide will with all the knowledge and skills you need, with total support while doing so. At the end of this path, you will feel the confidence you need to become an expert in the desk you recruit for.

Foundation

Our Foundation program has been designed to give all new colleagues to Design & Build the opportunity to acquire new knowledge and learn everything there is to know about recruitment & the D&B way.

The program focuses on a blended learning approach in which we use a range of different learning activities, from shadowing and role-playing to online modules and collaborative workshops, to ensure that no matter if you're a kinaesthetic, audio or visual learner or anything in-between, you can absorb the necessary information.

Elevate

The Elevate level has been designed for consultants wanting to improve their skills and career progression. The idea of our program is that no matter what level we are all at, there's always room for improvement. This program stage includes more collaboration within our teams and learning activities from our internal leaders. For example, we have launched our own 'Trust – Ex' sessions where leaders throughout our company share their learnings and expertise with their peers.

A blended learning approach, in which we use a range of different learning activities from shadowing and role-playing to online modules and collaborative workshops, to ensure that no matter if you're a kinaesthetic, audio or visual learner or anything in-between, you can absorb the necessary information.

High-Rise

A pathway to leadership, the 'High Rise' level focuses on transitioning more experienced consultants into leadership-based positions and acquiring the skills needed to make this transition relatively seamless. This is achieved through a variety of both internal and external leadership workshops.

Timeline

Week 1: Develop an understanding of who Design & Build are, our EVP and how we deliver this message to market. You will also have the opportunity to start building knowledge in your area of specialisation. The key outcomes for this week will be to have a good understanding of what it takes to be successful in the role of a Recruitment Consultant, an understanding of our service offerings and the importance of using our CRM system- Jobadder.

Week 2-6: Focus on Candidate and Industry & Desk Knowledge

Phone Based Activities
The importance of information gathering and sourcing to your vertical market
Building Talent pools
Explore various candidate sourcing channels
Interviewing candidates
Lead generation

Week 7-13: Focus on Job Cycle and Client Development

Phone Based Activities
Continue candidate calls
Job cycle – Placing adverts, Taking job briefs
Client Development – BD Calls, Client Visits
Candidate Management

If this exciting opportunity of getting support while jumping into a new industry sounds interesting, don't waste time and apply to join our team right now by clicking here .

If you have doubts and want to know more about the program and our daily routine, feel free to reach out to our Talent Acquisition Specialist, Julianna Carey:

julianna@designandbuild.com.au

0478 824 570

D&B and Webuild together to deliver Sydney Metro's largest awarded contract

wow@shazamme.com (Default Author) — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 07:15:11 GMT

Sydney is about to undertake one of its largest-ever infrastructure projects, and Design & Build is proudly part of it. The final and major contract for the Sydney Metro - Western Sydney Airport has been awarded to the Parklife Metro Consortium, which is now ramping up to begin delivering the contract.

The consortium comprises Webuild – an international construction group and long-time partner with D&B. Working together once again, Design and Build will be responsible for recruiting and delivering the high-qualified professionals needed for the Design & Construction element of the Stations, Systems, Trains, Operations and Maintenance (SSTOM) package.

The project

With the primary goal of better connecting Greater Western Sydney, this is the largest scope of any Sydney Metro contract awarded so far and is the most significant Public-Private Partnership in New South Wales.

Webuild will be involved within the Parklife Metro Consortium in delivering the SSTOM contract for the joint Australian and NSW government project, including:

12 new metro trains
6 new stations
Core rail systems, infrastructure, and line-wide works
Stabling and Maintenance facility at Orchard hills
Operation & Maintenance of the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport line for 15 years

Beyond being the largest scope for Sydney Metro, this major contract also marks the first rail infrastructure project in Australian history to commit to being certified carbon-neutral from start to finish of construction operations. All carbon emissions generated during construction and operation will be reduced and offset.

The timeline strategy of the Australian and NSW governments is to have the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport line operational when Western Sydney International is open for passenger services.

This mega project will help shape the future of the growing Greater Western Sydney region and connect commuters and travellers with the new Western Sydney International Airport, providing significant economic stimulus and supporting more than 14,000 jobs during construction.

About Webuild

Webuild is a global player with strong roots in Italy , specialising in the construction of complex infrastructure for the sustainable mobility, hydroelectric energy, water and green buildings sectors. They commit to innovative and sustainable works that improve the lives of today's and tomorrow's people.

In Australia, Webuild has already been responsible for delivering Perth's Forrestfield-Airport Link . This new metro line allows residents in the eastern suburbs to travel 20 minutes to WA's capital city centre – a reduction of over 50% in travel time. The line generates 20,000 passenger trips every day and is estimated to be taking 15,000 off the roads, reducing up to 2,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year.

Key Contact

In front of the recruitment process of this massive operation, we have our Sector Lead, Sam Carew . Sam is an expert in the civil infrastructure industry, been recruiting for engineering positions across NSW, ACT and QLD.

If you want to know more about the project or apply to be part of it, feel free to contact him through the following channels:

sam@designandbuild.com.au

0411 982 347

Welcome Tim natusch, our new queensland state manager

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 07:19:32 GMT

Late last year, we welcomed our new Queensland State Manager, Tim Natusch!

Tim is a fantastic addition to our team and is responsible for growing our brand and relations with both clients & candidates across #QLD.

To learn more about him and the expectations for our Queensland #team for 2023, check out his answers below!

Welcome, Tim! What was it that attracted you to join Design & Build?

Within the market, Design and Build have a quality brand and reputation. Personally, I also resonate with two of the sayings within the company; building trust and doing the right thing. As simple as they may seem, they conjure up old-school values for me. The way I conduct business is to deliver on all my promises.

Can you tell us a little bit more about your new role as Queensland State Manager?

I guess, in a nutshell, my job as QLD State Manager is to strengthen the D&B brand within the QLD market. This consists of learning about already established relationships and forging new relations. In doing so, we must ensure we are doing the right thing by our clients, candidates, colleagues and community. Further to this, a huge and immediate goal is to grow the internal headcount of the Qld D&B team. This is a necessity to stay ahead of the needs of our clients, candidates, and community, plus the huge levels of investment within Qld across multiple industries.

We are currently working within a candidate-driven job market.

From a manager's perspective, what opportunities and challenges does this present to recruitment companies moving forward?

This is a challenge but also a blessing, and it brings us back to old-school, relationship-driven and trust-building recruitment. Our teams need to network within their specific industries and really build strong relationships with their candidates. We must avoid treating candidates like numbers. They are humans with goals and aspirations outside of work, families or loved ones to think of. As recruiters, we must think of all of these things and aim to find our candidates' roles that can effectively change a candidate's life. From my first week within the D&B business, I truly feel that this is something the entire business does exceptionally well.

What does building trust mean to you?

For me, the concept of building trust is simple – you do what you say you are going to do. If this is not possible, you let the person that you are dealing with that we have to think about other options.

How do you think a recruitment organisation can effectively demonstrate trust – especially with their clients, candidates, colleagues, and community?

Treat others how you would like to be treated. In an extremely volatile and dynamic market, our clients, candidates, colleagues, and community will remember this. If we stick to the basic D&B principles of doing the right thing, I don't think we can go wrong.

Do you have any key goals for the D&B Queensland team over this year?

Internally, building the team of consultants
Clients; meeting every one of our valued clients
Growth; begin working with several new clients and exploring future growth markets

What's one food item you can't live without?

I should be able to live without it. However, it is my guilty pleasure; Chocolate.

When you're not at work, where can we expect to find you?

At a sporting event (beer in hand), fishing, or for a coffee and park with my three beautiful girls and wife.

You can contact Tim at:

Email – tnatusch@designandbuild.com.au

Mobile number – 0424 150 235

Melbourne to be australia's largest city by 2030

wow@shazamme.com (Default Author) — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 07:09:39 GMT

2022 has been a year of significant investments for Australia, which is no different for Victoria. In addition, the incentives to people migration and welcoming skilled workers from overseas have been creating a population growth that implies a lot of opportunities becoming available.

In this article, we will talk about the growth experienced in Victoria over the last few months and what the expectations are for the following years.

Commercial Construction

Did you know that Victoria's construction industry employs almost 240,000 people and contributes $21.6 billion to the Victorian Economy ?

These three key areas are transforming the construction sector scenario in the state at the moment:

Off-site construction technologies
Digital technologies used in construction processes
New construction materials and products

The industry is booming right now within the state, led by build-to-rent (BTR), data centres, Infrastructure development (Melbourne metro) & new commercial office space, which in turn drives large-scale, high-value refurbishment of premium CBD assets.

Our suburbs are also seeing a high level of retail refurbishment, in line with the higher volume of weekday foot traffic driven by working from home. Shared workspace in the suburbs is also on the rise and utilised by those who work from near their home as opposed to travelling into the city.

Suburbs within proximity to new and redeveloped stations are also under construction. An example of this would be St Kilda Road, which for several years had been on the decline, is once again in demand due to the new Shrine station. Refurbishment, apartments, and retail are all benefactors of this revitalisation.

To search for jobs within the Commercial Construction industry, click here .

Residential Construction

Major infrastructure projects are driving new pockets of residential growth, opening many opportunities for professionals within the field and architects as well.

High-end residential is also booming. The majority of these projects take shape in areas such as Kew, Camberwell, Hawthorn, Toorak, Armadale, Malvern & the Mornington Peninsula.

If you are looking for Residential Construction opportunities, click here .

For Architecture & Interiors, go here .

Engineering

The Victorian Government projects Melbourne to be Australia's largest city by 2030 , which will demand significant infrastructure investments. These projects – for residential, non-residential, and engineering construction – include urban renewal and large investments across health services.

Civil contracting is, of course, driven by all that growth plan, with massive shortages across site engineering and supervision, primarily due to three mega projects:

To see engineering jobs available right now, click here .

Rail

To complement that growth by 2030, Victoria's Government needs a complete public transport network to meet the needs for years to come, creating long-term opportunities for workers, businesses and investors.

The Victorian Government has also committed to several major rail projects, including a new, nine-kilometre, underground, high-capacity rail tunnel servicing Melbourne's south. Rail Project Victoria (RPV), a project group of the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority, is delivering more than $30 billion invested in metropolitan and regional rail projects .

To see jobs available within the rail industry, check here .

Manufacturing and Pharmaceutical

Victoria concentrates on one of the largest Manufacturing and Pharmaceutical markets across Australia, and the industries are only expected to grow over the following years.

Manufacturing's desk is currently growing with needs for materials for construction as the pharmaceuticals are basing off new facilities for vaccine production and further development.

To check jobs available right now within both industries, click here .

Why western australia might be a great choice for your career

Sun, 20 Nov 2022 09:54:55 GMT

7 months ago By Joao Pedro Marins

The sun sets in the west!

After two rough years due to the pandemic, Western Australia is now experiencing solid growth and an exciting perspective for the following years. With many opportunities opened at the moment and many more becoming available each day, the state is focusing on migration incentives and welcoming new workers to fill the skills shortage.

Now is a great time to consider moving to WA for those looking for new opportunities, as the state has one of the highest weekly earnings averages across the country, led by industries like Mining, Construction and Professional Services within the top five largest employing in the state.

Mining and Exports

Did you know that Western Australia was the world's largest iron ore and lithium producer in 2021-22? WA's economy is export-oriented, with around half of Australia's exports of goods originating from the state each year, including minerals, petroleum, agri-food and specialised manufactured goods.

This last year, WA has produced 844.4 million tons of iron ore and $6.8 billion worth of lithium, as well as $241.3 billion in goods exported — a 45.2% share of national exports in 2021-22. This on-growing industry is responsible for a massive part of WA's economy wheel and one of the most generating jobs.

Construction

All this growth from Western Australia and the incentive to migrate will definitely impact the construction industry. With more people coming, new houses being built and new projects due to infrastructure demand, WA expects an increase in investment in an already solid field.

Construction is responsible for $18.2 billion of WA's gross state product (GSP), which is in second place — behind only Mining. The industry is also one of the top five responsible for employing in the state and experienced a massive increase in WA's gross fixed capital formation over the last year (40.5%).

Infrastructure and Civil Engineering

To match all this expected population growth and business investments, Western Australia has in the pipeline huge infrastructure projects. Billions of dollars have been invested in the field, and the state now holds more than 80 major rail, road, coastal and cycling projects in planning or under construction.

Together the transport projects sum up to $4,5 billion and the WA's government has also other big infrastructure projects on the line. The Government's Asset Investment Program, a listing of current and future infrastructure projects, will represent $28,9 billion through 2024.

Manufacturing

Western Australia's leading manufacturers are petroleum, coal, chemicals, and related products, followed by machinery, equipment, and metal products. Over the last year, the industry was the number one contributor to change in WA's gross state product (GSP).

With a contribution of $15.3 billion, the industry is one of the fastest growing within the state at the moment. WA's manufacturing industry increased the production of minerals, chemical products, machinery, and transport equipment, which led to many opportunities becoming available.

State of growth

In the last financial year, Western Australia experienced $41.4 billion in business investment, and it is only expected to grow further. The economy ($361.8 GSP) shares 17.5% of the nation's one, and the population compose 10.7% of the country, having grown 1.1% last year.

The employment rate is among the best at the moment, being the second lowest unemployment rate (3.4%) across all states. That's one of the reasons it is a wonderful time and opportunity to find your new career move within WA.

If you want to check opportunities available within Western Australia and apply for jobs right now, click here .

https://www.designandbuild.com.au/jobs/perth?source=linkedin.com

State of growth: the rising opportunity for engineering and construction jobs in queensland

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 10:08:06 GMT

8 months ago By Nathan Eshman

If ever there was a time to consider taking an engineering or construction job in Queensland, it’s now.

The Sunny state is growing.

Hosting the 2032 Olympic Games is obviously a contributor. But on top of that, we must consider:

The great resignation – thousands of people who have left their jobs looking for a different way of life
More people working from home – workplaces are increasing flexibility so you can keep your dream job and seek out the lifestyle you want
Tourism opening back up – post-COVID, more visitors will continue to flood into the country.

But with growth comes a significant gap for Queensland.

All of this growth has caused a shortage of workers for infrastructure projects.

And this pressure will only increase with the Olympic Games creating 91,600 full-time equivalent jobs in Queensland and 122,900 nationally.

In this blog, we’ll look at the current state of architecture, construction and engineering jobs in Queensland.

We’ll also break down where the biggest opportunities will be over the next five to ten years.

First, a look at the construction sector.

COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION JOBS IN QUEENSLAND

Construction is the third-largest employer in Australia and accounts for one in ten jobs. Nationwide, this stat is likely to grow by 3.4% in the next three years alone.

Zooming in on Queensland, since 2017, the number of workers in construction has dropped by 20,000.

But construction will not slow down — thanks to the upcoming Olympics and the rise of tourism post-COVID.

In fact, in Queensland, the construction sector is determined to lift productivity by 20% — compared to before the pandemic.

With $13 billion worth of projects in the pipeline, a smaller workforce means employers will be desperately searching for qualified people in this sector.

POTENTIAL FOR RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION

Whether it’s a result of the great resignation or work-from-home flexibility, around 200,000 people could be moving to Queensland over the next five years.

That will directly impact residential construction jobs in Queensland.

Master Builders forecasts that between now and 2026, in Queensland, it will build 201,000 homes.

FEMALES IN CONSTRUCTION NEED APPLY

In both residential and private, industry bodies are keen to attract more female construction workers. They’re wanting to broaden the talent pool and help bridge the skills gaps.

So now is a particularly opportunistic time for any females looking to enter the construction space.

ENGINEERING JOBS IN QUEENSLAND

Of all the sectors discussed so far, engineering is the most exciting. Thanks to engineering jobs hitting a 10-year high.

The biggest growth was in Queensland, which grew by 67%, followed by New South Wales and Victoria.

“This will only continue to grow”, says Engineers Australia’s Chief Engineer , Jane MacMaster.

Jaen also said, “If we don’t do something to address this significant skills challenge, I think the impacts will be felt really hard across many sectors.”

THE STATE OF GROWTH

The great resignation, work-from-home, migration, tourism and, of course, the 2032 Olympics.

These are all factors contributing to the growth we’ll see in Queensland over the next 10 years.

For those looking for a change in lifestyle or simply a change of scenery, Queensland is a strong option with long-term benefits. Especially for those looking for roles in construction, engineering or architecture.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING JOBS IN QUEENSLAND?

Are you skilled in construction, architecture or engineering and want to start exploring the opportunities developing in Queensland?

Design & Build’s job search feature is up to date with current and emerging openings in multiple sectors – from construction, engineering to energy, architecture and property.

The job search feature is simple to use, allowing you to filter jobs based on location, job roles and business sectors.

What are the most important qualities of a good candidate?

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 10:26:54 GMT

9 months ago By Nathan Eshman

Finding a job can be rough. So you need to make the most of every advantage.

So it makes sense to explore the question: what are the most important qualities of a good candidate?

The reasons are compelling.

First, when you know what someone wants, you can give it to them. You’re not going in blind. You can focus on what is more prone to land you the job.

Second, you can customise your resume to a potential employer's values. Zone in on the key points from the job description and cut out the fluff — more

on this below.

Lastly, when you know what truly matters to potential employees, you can more effectively target jobs that fit you.

So what are the most important qualities of a good employee?

That’s the very question we took to our network of recruiters and clients.

The following are the results of our Linkedin research and some advice on making the most of each insight.

57% OF EMPLOYERS SAY A GOOD ATTITUDE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY

A candidate could bring any number of qualities to a job. From previous experience to a patented technology they have created.

So why do most companies claim attitude to be the most important quality of a good employee?

Here are three reasonable reasons why:

A good attitude gives you power, as it causes others to desire your company, i.e. they will want your attitude within their organisation
Attitude gives an impression of how you will work with, respond to and lead others
Attitude shows how serious you are about the job

Whether or not you’ll be working with a team or leading one, your attitude communicates much more than any resume or cover letter.

How do you present the right attitude?

Here are six powerful ways to exhibit your upbeat attitude:

The way you dress. Always dress appropriately for the job interview.
Posture. Stand and sit up straight. Give a firm, confident handshake looking the other person in the eyes.
Smile. Never miscalculate the power of a smile . It communicates your enthusiasm and excitement for the job.
Eye contact. Look people in the eyes. It keeps you focused on what they are saying. This brings us to…
Active listening. Showing you’re a good listener signals your ability to follow through on tasks or projects. Demonstrate you’ve been listening by repeating parts of what is said to you. e.g. “As you mentioned, you’re looking for someone with experience with Procor software…”
Focus on the positive. Instead of talking negatively about previous employers, failures or weaknesses, focus on what you’ve learned or how you’ve grown from your experiences.

19% OF INTERVIEWERS BELIEVE THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY OF A GOOD EMPLOYEE IS THEIR SKILLS OR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

A huge chunk of any resume is for your skills and experience.

But with 19% of potential employees judging you on the skills and experience you list, how do you know which ones to mention?

Well, commit to customising your resume for each job by researching the company and role.

Reflect on any expectations or values you discover in your resume. Ensure you’re being honest.

Ok, what if you discover that you don’t have every skill required for the job?

It’s not a failure by any means.

Try this:

Enrol in online courses like the ones you find on Udemy .
Enrol in University . You can attend part-time or online. Businesses may see this effort and employ you. They may even offer to pay some of your tuition fees.
Internships .
Yes, there are paid internships, but even unpaid internships can be a great entry point into some businesses.
Volunteer or work for free . Offering your time for free means you’ll have opportunities to grow your network and acquire more skills. Overall, similar to internships, it’s an investment towards future possibilities.
Take time to reflect . Ask yourself if you’re applying for the right jobs.

18% OF EMPLOYERS SAY THE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY IS GROWTH POTENTIAL

Growth potential is whether or not an employee has the necessary skills and qualities for a future leadership or management position.

That is… are you management or leadership material?

Three ways to communicate your growth potential in a job interview:

Know how to tell your story . Be prepared to articulate where you’ve come from and where you’re going.
Ask quality questions . Think outside the box; which questions display your understanding of the company and role?
Be confident. If you’re applying for a job, you obviously believe you have something to offer. So, act like it. But don’t be too confident, as this can put people off.

ONLY 5% CARE MOST ABOUT THE SALARY

While only a small portion of hirers prefer cheap labour over potentially paying for someone with more experience or qualifications, the good news is that most understand the phrase you get what you pay for.

The caveat here is to prepare, prepare, prepare.

Know the salary range in your sector/preferred job. This way, you’ll know when you’re getting a decent offer or if the opportunity outweighs the pay.

You’ll also discern how serious the employer is and whether they truly see your value.

To learn the average salary range in your sector, go here: Salary Guides .

SO NOW YOU KNOW WHAT MATTERS…

Now you know what the most important qualities of a good employee are (in the eyes of a potential employer), the question is, what will you do with this information?

Will you adapt your interview style or be more selective when applying for jobs?

Or has a light gone on as to why you haven’t had any decent job offers?

Whatever realisation this article has evoked…

Design & Build is here to help you navigate your job search journey; To help you find a job that’s right for you.

There are three ways we can help you see progress in your job search:

Browse our job search portal. On our website, you’ll find hundreds of jobs waiting for the right candidate.
Some of the sectors you can search include…

Click here to start searching the complete job database.
Read . Knowledge is most definitely power. So please, check out more helpful articles for job seekers on our blog .
Reach out . Contact us if you’ve tried the job search, read the blog, and still aren't seeing progress. We’ll be more than happy to help you out.

Hiring on cultural fit - how to do it and ensure you are still encouraging diversity

Thu, 20 Oct 2022 10:40:03 GMT

9 months ago By Emily Harris

Studies into workplace culture have indicated the importance that recruitment plays in maintaining a positive workplace environment. One study revealed that employees whose values aligned well with their organisation, co-workers and supervisor, experienced increased job satisfaction, were more likely to remain with their organisation and showed superior job performance (Johnson, E., Kristof-Brown, A. & Zimmerman. 2005) [1] . Even Virgin Group’s founder, Sir Richard Branson has emphasised the important role culture fit should play in hiring – claiming that securing the right team is the most important thing you can do for your business.

However, hiring the ‘right’ team of people is easier said than done. While ensuring candidates can reflect and/or adapt to the core beliefs, attitudes and behaviours that make up your organisation, it can also perpetuate homogeneity. We examine the fine line between culture fit and discrimination and how organisations can attract candidates that align with their company values while still encouraging diversity and inclusivity in the hiring process.

IS CULTURE FIT DISCRIMINATION?

Culture fit is defined as the screening of potential candidates based on the alignment between their values, beliefs and behaviours and that of the organisation.

While there are many advocates for making culture fit a key criterion in an organisation’s recruitment strategy, there are others that believe in doing so, you’re inviting discrimination. Hiring someone based on cultural fit essentially means hiring candidates that you think will be comfortable and can easily adapt to the particular role, the team and your greater organisation. However, when people assess someone’s overall ability to integrate well within an office environment, they generally look to those who are similar to themselves – in terms of race, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, age, nationality etc. This is often done on a subconscious level, in fact, there’s an official term for it within recruitment – affinity bias. Affinity bias is defined as favouring a candidate because they share a trait or characteristic with you– like attending the same university or knowing the same people (Zivkovic, 2020) [2] . Affinity bias is often mistaken for hiring on ‘cultural fit’ as HR staff and managers want a team of like-minded people (in the sense of having the same drive, vision, and passion for the organisation) and the easiest way to determine this is through tangible characteristics like their education, their age etc. But, hiring based on affinity bias often results in a team of people who look, think and act the same. This actually limits an organisation overall, as studies have proven that a more diverse team, leads to greater creativity and innovation. The values and beliefs that make up an organisational culture should be reflected in a richly diverse workforce - which begs the question, how do you maintain or encourage diversity, while ensuring you're hiring the right candidates?

HOW TO INCORPORATE COMPANY CULTURE WITHIN YOUR HIRING STRATEGY

A key thing to remember when recruiting candidates is that an assessment of culture fit should focus on how well the person’s values align with the overall organisation, rather than how well their characteristics align with the organisation’s current workforce. For example, if your organisation values collaboration and this plays a big part in the company’s overall productivity, you are going to want to attract candidates who enjoy working collaboratively rather than those who have a preference for working as individual contributors. However, an appreciation and belief in collaboration won’t be found solely from one demographic or have a similar background to your current workforce. Collaboration can be found in candidates within a corporate background, the not-for-profit sector or even from a military background.

Furthermore, ensuring your employees share and appreciate the same values and beliefs can help to foster a positive work environment and increase productivity. For example, if the majority of employees within an organisation value innovation and learning, and these values align with the company itself and its practices – they are more likely to be engaged in their work and more invested in the organisation long-term. This in turn reduces staff turnover and creates a loyal work base; a huge asset for any organisation to have.

The challenge for organisations - especially during the recruitment stage - becomes determining a candidate’s cultural beliefs without applying affinity bias. The difficulty is that culture is so subjective, so determining values and beliefs isn’t something that can be instantly observed. Consequently, The Harvard Business Review has provided some key questions that can be asked at the interview stage, to help determine cultural alignment (Bouton, 2018) [3] :

What type of culture do you thrive in? (does the response reflect your organisational culture?)
What values are you drawn to and what’s your ideal workplace?
Why do you want to work here?
What best practices would you bring with you from another organisation? Do you see yourself being able to implement these practices in our environment?

It is also important to determine through your questioning what a candidate’s work ethic and style are: ask if they enjoy working within a virtual environment or if they like working within an office; if they’re comfortable with a hierarchical structure. If they thrive in a more collaborative environment or prefer to work autonomously.

Organisational culture is important; it informs a company’s decisions and unites its employees under one common vision. Consequently, it’s important to hire candidates that align with your company’s values, for the organisation to continue growing and developing. However, determining how well a candidate aligns with a company’s values is different to hiring based on their characteristics and how similar they are to the current workplace – candidates from all backgrounds and experiences can still share the same vision and beliefs.

Design and Build understand the benefits a diverse workforce can provide an organisation and consequently are mindful that our focus throughout the entire recruitment process for our clients - while focusing on their organisational needs and culture- remains open and transparent. Our mission is to ensure we are facilitating the growth and development of our clients by providing them with a diverse and skilled range of candidates. To achieve this, we make sure that encouraging and fostering diversity is at the forefront of mind at all stages of the recruitment process- job postings, candidate pipelines, reference checks and interviews.

For more information on our recruitment processes, our consultants are on hand to offer support and advice. Reach out to us today for more information - info@designandbuild.com.au .

The hidden opportunities within an organisational restructure

Wed, 19 Oct 2022 10:46:13 GMT

10 months ago By Emily Harris

Within a business context, an ‘organisational restructure’ can have negative connotations, with many associating it with mass redundancies and change- not usually for the better. Sadly, restructures are inevitable for any organisation going through periods of growth and development- a regular occurrence within the private sector overall and the Built Environment Industry. They can also be a necessary measure for survival during economic hardship. The pandemic was a perfect example of this, with many organisations using a restructure as a way to save costs. However, while a restructure can pose a legitimate ‘threat’ to an individual’s career prospects, it can also provide great opportunities.

For those worried about a potential restructure in their workplace or are going through one currently, Design & Build have collated some advice from HR and management experts, to help you navigate through the process.

What is an ‘organisational restructure’?

When employees hear the word ‘restructure’ minds can automatically go to ‘redundancies’ and panic can set in. However, restructures and redundancies although related, aren’t dependent on one another. An organisational restructure or reorganisation refers to changing the operational set-up (structure) of an organisation to improve the way the business runs and delivers products or services . It often involves configuring roles in a way to ensure maximum effectiveness both financially and in terms of output and consequently involves adding new roles, merging two or more existing roles, disestablishing roles that are a surplus to requirements, or a combination of any of the above. There needs to be a genuine reason for a restructure, for example, a change in market demands or financial constraints (two issues which many organisations experienced due to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021) merging with another company or wanting to outsource certain business functions.

A redundancy is a direct outcome of a restructure; where a role or position, rather than a person is surplus to the business’s needs. A role can be made redundant for a number of reasons; perhaps technology and automation processes were able to replace the responsibilities of an employee, or an organisation merged with another company and then found itself having two employees performing the same role. The crucial factor with redundancies is, that if a person’s role is made redundant, they can’t then be replaced with someone else in a substantially similar position, with a different job title. And most importantly for organisations, redundancy should always be treated as a last option. It should only be considered after all reasonable alternatives are explored.

Which is an important point for employees to remember when they hear the word ‘restructure’ make its way through the office rumour mill. There are other outcomes organizations can explore when looking at a restructure that are often considered first.

Possible alternatives to a restructure

A common alternative for many organisations is redeployment and retraining- this is a common occurrence in organisations where many departments regularly work with each other and employees develop strong transferable skills. For example, someone from the sales team could be redeployed to the marketing team or someone from the administration/office support team could be redeployed to the finance team.

Redundancies can become quite costly for a business when all of the severance payments and outplacement costs are considered, not to mention the lost investment from hiring, onboarding and training those now redundant employees. Redeployment, however, gives an organisation the opportunity to retain this knowledge capital in-house , by providing an alternate career path to employees who’ve made it known that they’re interested in staying with the organization and have the necessary skills or potential. Of course, for this to be a viable option, there must be available roles in another area of the business or perhaps an increased level of demand that requires more resources. The employee in question must also be able to perform the new role due to their skills and previous experience or with a reasonable period of retraining. All of this aside, redeployment and retraining are great ways for an organisation to retain its talent, boost overall morale within the business and provide employees with a new career challenge.

Another option organizations could consider is to alter the work hours and responsibilities of employees. One way to do this is through job sharing; splitting a full-time position into two part-time roles. The work is often divided in two ways; the ‘islands model’ in which each individual will take responsibility for separate tasks depending on their individual strengths and capabilities, or the ‘twins model’ where they share the same workload but simply divide up the days. Alternately you can alter roles from full-time to part-time, even just temporarily. The added benefit of this is that everyone retains their own position meaning there is less potential for confusion and it is easier to transition people back to full-time once a company is able to. Reduced hours and job-sharing won’t be an ideal option for all employees, but have become increasingly common for those looking for more flexibility in their workplace; perhaps they need to take care of a family member, are trying to put more time into a side-hustle they have or are going back to school and need to dedicate more time to their studies. If an organization is facing a restructure, it’s worth exploring these options and seeing if it would work within an organisation as opposed to making certain roles redundant.

What to do if you know your organisation is facing a restructure

While they can be stressful, if you’ve received a formal confirmation from your manager or leadership team on an upcoming restructure, it doesn’t necessarily mean a death sentence for your career. Experts in management and HR consulting suggest the following step to help you navigate through the process in one piece.

Gather Information

Before jumping to conclusions, it’s important to gather all the information you can , so you can adequately consider all your options. This can sometimes be difficult as organisations might not be forthcoming about details, but generally, the larger the organisation is, they’ll usually release some sort of press release or go through a formal presentation with staff about an upcoming restructure. Try and see if you can get the answer to the following questions:

Will there be redundancies?
Who will be looking after the restructure?
How will they be making their decisions?

For smaller organisations, take advantage of the greater transparency, and exposure to leadershi p that often comes with a less hierarchical structure and see if your manager or leadership team can provide more details.

Take Stock of Your Achievements

During a restructure, employees are often asked to go through their key responsibilities and contributions they make to the greater team so that employers can make more informed decisions when restructuring an organisation. As an employee, you should think about your own impact on the organisation. Look back on past achievements, gather old performance appraisals, and write down quantitative and numerical examples of all the ways you’ve contributed to the organisation’s overall success. You should also think about the transferable skills you possess that could easily be applied to other areas of the business. Having this information prepared will make it that much easier in the event of having to ‘pitch’ yourself to the management team, or if applying for an internal promotion . It can help beef up your resume if you decide to look outside your organisation for a new role.

Weigh Up Your Options

Once you’ve gathered as much information on the restructure as you can, and you’ve taken stock of your achievements you should then have a serious think about your options and the possibilities a restructure can present. It’s worth talking to your manager or business leader about whether they would be open to redeploying certain employees; maybe there’s another area of the business you’ve always wanted to be more involved in and volunteering to move internally will not only demonstrate your loyalty to the organisation but provide yourself with a new work challenge. Alternately, you might decide this restructure gives you the perfect opportunity to take a step back; work on more freelancing or spend more time with the family. If this is the case, you can discuss the potential for adjusting your hours to part-time or investing in job-sharing.

Finally, a restructure can also generate new roles or internal promotions as resources and responsibilities within the organisation get reallocated. If you’ve been wanting more responsibility or looking to take your career to the next step, utilising the changes made during a restructure could be the way to achieve this. Furthermore, if you’ve already done the self-evaluation of your skills and achievements, it makes it that much easier to apply for a new position.

Reach Out To Your Network

It’s always best to keep your options open, so if you receive confirmation about a restructure, you should start reaching out to your professional network. Get in touch with recruiters that work within your industry, update both your Linkedin profile and resume and start looking around to see what job opportunities are available. Trying to remain positive and calm during a restructure can be difficult, but seeing that other opportunities exist for you outside the company and knowing that you have options can bring a lot of comfort during the restructure process and potentially even leverage for a new career. transferable and gave him a unique advantage in his new career.

While it can be difficult to stay positive, try and remember that there is always a future and there is always the opportunity to transfer your skills and experience elsewhere in an equally positive vein.

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If you’re looking for new career opportunities - especially within the Built Environment Industry - and are interested in finding out what else is available, or simply looking for some career advice, don’t hesitate in reaching out to our specialized consultants.

Why am I not getting the job? Identify your blindspots and win the interview

Tue, 18 Oct 2022 12:30:06 GMT

10 months ago By Nathan Eshman

Finding a job can be rough. And if you’re a job seeker who’s responded to a number of job listings — or can’t seem to make it through the interview stage — you may have asked yourself, Why am I not getting the job? Now, while some declare it’s a matter of the stars aligning, reality is that stars don’t pay the bills. Jobs pay the bills. What’s more likely… you have a blind spot keeping you from landing a job. In this article, we’ll look at the most common interview blind spots — starting with our findings from surveying our LinkedIn network. Then, we’ll share practical tips for moving forward, so you can win the interview and win the job of your dreams. BEFORE YOU READ ON: Don’t be nervous about dealing with your blind spots. And don’t get down if you find that a number of blind spots apply to you. Take note of the blind spots, learn the strategies, put them into practice, and you’ll be that much closer to getting a great job offer. You got this! Now let’s read on.

SO, WHY AM I NOT GETTING THE JOB? RESULTS FROM OUR LINKEDIN POLL

To kick off the discussion, we asked our 60k+ LinkedIn followers this question:
What do you think is the biggest deal breaker in a job interview?

Here’s what they said:

Arriving late – 45%
Poorly prepared answers – 35%
Dressing inappropriately – 16%
Other – 3%

Now, this list of blind spots makes a great conversation starter, but there’s plenty more where they come from. Let’s circle in for a more detailed look at the most likely blind spots holding you back.

ARRIVING LATE FOR A JOB INTERVIEW

As decided by a vast majority (46%) of participants in the poll, arriving late to a job interview is the biggest no-no for job seekers. But hey, life happens. So, be proactive. The moment you realise you’re running late , contact the interviewer and let them know:

How late you’re running
The reason why you’re running late
You are open to rescheduling if your lateness has caused problems.

Preference a phone call over sending an email or text. Don’t over-explain or lie. Be honest, take ownership. If the interviewer is understanding and the interview proceeds, take a moment to calm yourself upon arrival. It might seem counterintuitive — as every second counts — but taking the time for a few deep breaths to calm yourself is infinitely better than botching an interview due to being flustered with sweaty armpits.

Online interviews

Since COVID, most of the job search process and interview process has become an online affair. That means technical difficulties can be a threat i.e. a lousy internet connection, missing links or links not working. So it’s essential to test your internet and check your settings, times and links before you try logging on to the interview. If anything isn’t right, reach out to the person who set up the interview.

ILL-PREPARED ANSWERS

Answering questions is one of the most vital interview skills you can have. It shows hiring managers — or whoever is interviewing you — you can think on your feet while showcasing your knowledge and experience. Cliché answers that sound like the same fluff an interviewer has heard from every other job applicant make you instantly forgettable. But, unique and well-thought-through answers help keep you at the front of the interviewer's mind.

When preparing your answers prior to an interview, think about the background research you've conducted on the company, your skills, your previous experience and how this makes you a great candidate for the advertised role. You should also look over the role's key selection criteria - the qualities, knowledge and skills required for a candidate to perform the particular role. Doing this will help you construct a relevant and well thought-out answer that speaks to your specific and unique attributes.

INAPPROPRIATE ATTIRE

We’ve all heard the phrase “dress for the job you want”. But that doesn’t mean you should show up to an interview for a Construction Labourer position in a T-shirt and shorts — just like you wouldn’t show up in a tux or a gown. How you dress can not only make a positive impression, but it shows the interviewer:

How familiar you are with the job
Whether you’ll fit in with the culture
How serious you are about the job.

So it’s worth thinking about what others in this role typically wear and what message you want to send — Google is a useful resource if you need some inspiration. e.g. try searching: what to wear to a property manager job interview. If you can’t decide what to wear, try visiting the workplace to see what others are wearing. Or stick with smart casual or business attire .

BORING RESUME AND COVER LETTER

Making a potential employer feel like you really want the job is crucial. One way to do this is by personalising your cover letter and resume. Not taking the time to customise your application tells the interviewer or hiring manager:

You’re lazy; you don’t put in the extra effort when needed
You don’t know if you truly want the job
You’re likely pushing the same resume under every door in the city.

Sure, job searching can feel tedious and hopeless at times. Yet, customising helps your application stand out among the ocean of others who didn't put in the same effort. On top of this, make sure your resume and cover letter are clear of grammar and spelling mistakes and look professional. It's not uncommon for job seekers to use professional resume writers to give their applications a more tailored look.

THE JOBS YOU’RE APPLYING FOR ARE OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE

Some might say confidence is most important when going for a job. But don’t be fooled into thinking that’s all you need to get your name on the employee list. Before you apply for a job, read the job description and weigh up your experience, study and skills against it. There’s nothing wrong with aiming high. But there is such a thing as unrealistic expectations.

YOU’RE NOT APPLYING FOR ENOUGH JOBS

Yes, we may have established a no cliché rule in previous chapters — but you can't beat don’t put all your eggs in one basket to illustrate this point. For some, getting the right job is a numbers game. So even if you feel confident, keep applying for jobs until you have an offer in hand.

A healthy way forward is to:

Follow a schedule
Take an hour lunch break from 12-1 pm
Set achievable goals

If there aren’t enough jobs in your field, then you might need to get a little creative:

Do you know someone who works in an organisation who can refer you?
Are there networking events you can attend?
What could you say on your cover letter that will get attention?

YOU’RE NOT ASKING QUALITY QUESTIONS

The interviewer is not only judging you by the answers you give. They are weighing up the quality of the questions you ask. Your questions reveal just as much (maybe even more) than any answer you might provide. So when the interviewer asks if you have any questions, make sure you have thought-through and meaningful questions ready to go.

Here are a few questions you might want to ask:

How can I impress you in the first three months?
What catches most new employees by surprise?
How have others failed or succeeded in this role before me?

And… there’s nothing wrong with having a written list of questions.

THE THRILL IS GONE (NO PASSION)

One of the worst things you can do in a job interview is give the impression that you lack passion. So, to see if this is one of your blind spots, film or audio record yourself doing a mock interview. Ask yourself (or someone else) if you seem excited enough. At the end of the day, no one wants to work with Debbie Downer. So make sure you respond like a human being who is alive, energetic and desires this job. Alternatively, try not to come on too strong.

There’s such a thing as too much passion. An example might be confessing how you love going above and beyond, working weekends etc. when in reality, you’re pretty protective of your personal time. Go in too hot, and you’ll likely leave the interviewer or hiring manager questioning how authentic you are.

WEAK REFERENCES

Imagine customising your cover letter, doing all your preparation, and impressing multiple interviewers only to have your references let you down. Any organisation considering offering you a position wants to know how you performed at previous workplaces and the terms on which you left.

Before you include references, make sure:

They’re reachable — i.e. will they answer their phone?
They speak well of you
They add variety to your references.

Above all, never include someone as a reference if you haven’t asked for their blessing first. And where possible, give them a heads up that they’ll be getting a call to provide a reference.

BLINDSPOTS SORTED, LET’S APPLY FOR SOME JOBS!

Now that you’re aware of the most common blind spots and strategies to move past them, it’s only natural that you’re itching to start applying for more jobs. Click here to browse our job listings in construction, real estate, architecture, engineering, and business operations. Or to learn more about applying for jobs, click here .

Introducing the latest addition to the D&B queensland team, danny siedentopf

Mon, 19 Sep 2022 12:49:12 GMT

10 months ago By Emily Harris

We're excited to formally introduce Danny Siedentopf who has joined our Brisbane Design & Build team as a Senior Consultant. An experienced consultant, Danny will be focusing on recruiting within the Civil Construction and Infrastructure space and will support our clients looking to grow their team in what has been a very busy market in Queensland. With so many infrastructure projects in the Sunshine State's pipeline, especially with preparation for the Brisbane Olympics already underway, it's a very exciting time for those working within civil construction and we're excited to have Danny on board. To learn more about Danny and his new role, read his answers below:

Welcome Danny! What was it about the company and the role that made you want to work for Design & Build?

Design & Build has a strong reputation within the Property/Construction/Engineering sector which was very desirable to someone wanting to recruit within this space. The opportunity to join the Brisbane office also presented an exciting new challenge, as the office is currently going through a growth stage. Furthermore, when meeting with Andy (D&B's Managing Director) and Tim (QLD State Manager) and seeing how genuine and passionate they were not only about the company but also their clients and candidates, it reassured me that I was making the right decision.

How did you first get into Recruitment?

I first got into Recruitment 2 years ago after chatting to an ex-colleague of mine who started their own agency - I haven't looked back since!

Queensland has experienced significant growth over the last year or two and has had a number of people migrate from other areas of Australia. What opportunities does this provide for recruiters?

Yeah, it's an exciting time to be a part of the QLD Team for a number of reasons. The migration of candidates from interstate has allowed Queensland recruiters to access more talent. Meanwhile, the Construction boom Queensland is anticipating in the lead-up to the 2032 Olympic Games means that there will be plenty of career opportunities for those working within the construction space, especially civil construction.

How do you think consultants can effectively demonstrate trust – especially with their clients and candidates?

To demonstrate trust you need to always be transparent and honest. I'm a firm believer in what goes around comes around - do the right thing now and it will pay dividends later!

Moving forward, what areas will you be focusing on in your new role at D&B?

As a Senior Consultant, I will be leading the Civil Construction desk for Queensland and the Northern Territory. This will include all Civil Construction, Resources & Renewables and Infrastructure works. The particular roles I'll focus on include Project Managers, Project Engineers, Civil Supervisors and Foreman roles.

What’s your favourite thing about living and working in Brisbane?

My favourite thing about working in Brisbane is the weather and the easy access to great beaches ( Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast etc.) - definitely the best city in Australia!

What’s one song to put you in a good mood?

Peaches - Justin Bieber

When you’re not at work, where can we find you?

On the golf course sinking bogeys or spending time with the family!

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Want to reach out to Danny to learn more about the exciting opportunities he's currently working on? You can contact him at:

Email: danny @designandbuild.com.au

Phone: 0423 611 276

Welcome Clara, our new head of marketing

Fri, 19 Aug 2022 12:53:25 GMT

10 months ago By Emily Harris

This week we welcomed Clara Braunger De Vasconcelos to both Public Sector People and Design & Build, who has joined the business as our new Head of Marketing. Clara has extensive experience in strategic marketing across a range of industries and has a unique understanding of the role e-commerce plays in growing an organisation's market share. Clara's knowledge and experience are a great asset to PSP and D&B's overall marketing efforts and will help cement our position as the most trusted agency in Australia. To find out more about Clara’s new role and her goals for the marketing team moving forward, read her answers below:

Welcome, Clara! What was it that attracted you to join Design & Build?

I love the company values and culture- especially the emphasis they put on doing the right thing by everyone they interact with (colleagues, candidates, clients)! Although I’ve never worked in recruitment before, I am a big fan of the industry. My friends always ask for my help with job hunting, interview and CV preparation and I always love to help them.

Can you tell us a little bit more about your new role as Head of Marketing?

As Head of Marketing, my main objectives will be to develop the Marketing Strategy and the future growth of the Marketing team. There are many opportunities in terms of Marketing automation, database segmentation, new marketing channels and content and I am super excited to start my journey here.

We are currently working within a candidate-driven job market. From a marketing perspective, what opportunities and challenges does this present to recruitment companies moving forward?

I believe one of the key Marketing strategies will be around mapping our potential candidates’ journey and their professional needs. Once this picture is clear we can deliver highly relevant content to them and provide accurate and honest communication to them, which contributes to building a relationship based on trust.

What does building trust mean to you?

For me, building trust means showing people that you are genuine, especially when helping clients and candidates. For example, showing genuine care towards candidates means not only investing time into helping them find a job but also support them during the whole recruitment journey. That includes checking in once they’ve started a new role and seeing how they’re doing.

How do you think a recruitment organisation can effectively demonstrate trust – especially with their clients and candidates?

I think recruitment organisations can demonstrate trust on a daily basis through every piece of communication they produce and every interaction they have. Our communication needs to be consistent, frequent and focused on the needs of our stakeholders in order to effectively demonstrate trust.

Do you have any key goals for the D&B marketing team over the next year?

Develop and implement a winning Marketing strategy for both Design & Build and Public Sector People. This includes hopefully growing our own marketing team, as we develop our content and client and candidate database further and expand the business overall.

What’s one food item you can’t live without?

Brazilian cheese bread (Pão de queijo)- if you’ve never tried it, you’re missing out. It’s just amazing!

When you’re not at work, where can we expect to find you?

Usually at home cooking with my friends or at the park with my dog.

You can contact Clara at:

clara@designandbuild.com.au

02 9376 8200

Career progression: tips on moving up the corporate ladder

Wed, 17 Aug 2022 13:00:07 GMT

11 months ago By Emily Harris

Within our professional lives, it’s a given that the majority of people want to advance their career. Advancement can mean different things to different people; gaining a promotion, developing new skills, receiving more responsibility and within the Built Environment Industry, exposure to significant projects. However, while we might have set goals in mind for where we want our careers to end up, the route to achieving these goals isn’t always clear-cut. While we might have our sights set on becoming a project manager for example, what are the definitive steps we need to take to reach this goal? And once you’ve started your dream job, where do you go from there? How can you get the most out of your role throughout your working life and how can you maximise your potential?

Sometimes career progression is easy, with the route logical and the steps distinct and attainable. Other times, career advancement seems difficult, and you can feel like you’ve plateaued and no longer have a clear path to follow. Wherever you are in your journey, Design & Build has collated the following steps to help you map out a plan, if you’re feeling lost within your current job and are unsure what your next move should be.

Plan & Identify Goals

In order to develop and grow your career, you firstly need to have a strong sense of direction; what do you want to achieve and how can you utilise your skills and interests? Being able to effectively develop your career involves a lot of initial planning to increase your chances of securing your career goals.

Setting and planning career goals can be a different process depending on the individual, however, the first step is establishing what you want, which can sometimes be easier said than done. If you don’t have a clear idea of your ideal job or role, career advisors recommend to firstly list the skills or activities you enjoy or are good at in your current role and then determine if you can group these skills as a legitimate career prospect. For example, perhaps you have experience and studied in Marketing and Office Management but have also developed an interest in working web design/programming. Once you’ve outlined the skills you possess and the aspects of your role you enjoy, you can then set yourself goals on how to integrate these skills and interests into your work life. Goal setting is important as it instils a sense of purpose and can provide clear targets you can work towards. However, when setting goals it’s important to ensure they are feasible; if you’re a Graphic Designer setting a goal to become a world-famous actor isn't very realistic. When setting yourself goals, you need to ensure they are SMART; that they are specific, measurable (or quantifiable), attainable, realistic, and time-based to give yourself the best chance of achieving them. For example, a better goal for a graphic designer who’s interested in web programming, might be to work on their company’s website re-design and a SMART goal they set themselves is to be included or nominated to join the company website re-design team for the duration of the project, maybe 6 to 12 months.

Once you’ve established your key goals you can then determine the steps you’ll need to take to achieve them. You should ask yourself the following questions: are there opportunities in your current role in which you can achieve these goals? Could you work towards a promotion where you could achieve these goals? Or would achieving these goals require moving to a different company? Furthermore, it’s important to consider if there are any current skill or knowledge gaps that could prohibit you from achieving your role, like management experience for example. Or experience in particular software. Are there courses or programmes you can undertake to bridge these skill gaps?

Advancing Your Skill Set

Once setting yourself SMART career goals, you can start taking steps to achieve them. The first relates to learning and development. Within a professional context, your skill set is a collection of abilities (both technical and behavioural) that help you to perform particular tasks and each job you take will require particular skill sets, depending on the job itself. Someone who works in Structural Engineering will need to be proficient in conducting site inspections and construction methodology, for example. There are also particular skills that are transferrable; they are considered necessary for every job, no matter the industry. Skills like good communication, critical or analytical thinking and creativity are considered beneficial to any job and consequently being in possession of such skills puts an employee at a great advantage, as they can utilise these skills if they ever choose to move departments, change industries or apply for a new role.

When reassessing your options, or looking for a change, taking stock of your skill set is an important step. If you’ve set yourself a particular career goal that requires certain skills that you need to develop further (for example, if you’re wanting to step into a more client-facing role or become more involved in project management you might need to develop your stakeholder management skills) than working to develop these skills will play a big part in achieving your goal.

Even if you don’t have a specific career goal in mind, top performers are always learning and building on their skills and knowledge. Expanding your skill set, can only make you a better worker and provide opportunities for you to expand your career in the future. So, if you’re feeling stagnant or bored within your current job, looking at ways to advance your skillset can be a great option. Ask your manager or HR department if there are any formal training programs that are offered within the company that you could take part in, or if they’d be willing to sponsor you in external training or workshops.

Depending on their budget, companies can be quite willing to support an employee’s learning goals, especially if there’s a strong business case for that employee to acquire new skills and knowledge. Otherwise, if your organisation is unable to support your learning & development with formal training, there are also numerous online courses that you can enrol in.

Ask For Feedback

While developing your skillset, it’s also beneficial to seek feedback from those who work directly with you, on your performance. If vying for an internal promotion or pay rise, it will often be the people you work for directly- perhaps a manager or supervisor- that will be involved in the decision or vouching for you, so it’s important to know what they think of your work, if you have what it takes and if there is room for improvement. Getting an outside perspective on your skill gaps - any gaps in the skills that you possess, and the skills required to do a certain job- is also crucial, as these can be a blind spot when having to determine them ourselves, while an outsider can provide a much more objective viewpoint.

By taking the feedback of your subordinates, colleagues and managers on board not only are you demonstrating that you value their feedback and can actively listen and take direction well, but you’re also able to develop and adjust your skill set further, strengthening your case when you next apply for a new role or promotion or even asking for more work responsibility.

In some companies, feedback is routinely given once or twice a year when an employee has their six-month or annual performance review. However, if you’re seeking advice or guidance, there’s nothing stopping you from starting the conversation. After a presentation or after you finish a big project, ask your manager or boss how they thought it went and if there’s anything that could be improved. Try to keep an open mind and take what they’re saying on board. Ask them to provide examples of how things can be done differently in future, so you know what can be done for next time and what can help enhance your abilities even further.

When To Move On

Knowing when both yourself and a company have come to the end of your journey isn’t always the easiest thing to identify. But rather than staying comfortable and stagnant in the same place for years, the best solution to develop your career is to move on and seek new prospects outside of the company. If you’re experiencing the following, HR professionals recommend starting to look for new opportunities:

Being too comfortable – If you find yourself mindlessly going through the motions at work rather than being engaged in what you’re doing, it’s a sign that you need a change. If you’re not being challenged at work you will eventually get bored and won’t be inspired, which then negatively impacts on you producing your best work.

Lack of opportunity- You’re committing the majority of hours Monday through Friday to a job, so it’s not worth investing the time into a company that doesn’t have the ability to invest in you. If you feel you’ve exhausted all of your opportunities to progress within your company or you’ve consistently gone for promotions, after seeking and following the advice and feedback from your managers and haven’t been successful, it might be time to move on.

Furthermore, if you’ve made it known to both your managers and HR team that you’d like to develop your skills or looking to progress within the organisation, and haven’t received any advice or offers for professional development, it suggests that this isn’t something the company really values. Thus, if you’re wanting to develop your career further, it’s best to do so outside the organisation.

Negative Experiences - If you find yourself no longer enjoying your work for whatever reason; you’re not being challenged, you’re not receiving the recognition you feel you deserve, or the organisational culture doesn’t value learning or support the needs of its employees. Whatever the reason, if you suddenly find you’re dreading Monday morning every Sunday evening, it’s a clear sign that the particular job is no longer working for you. No job is worth your ultimate unhappiness.

If any of the above resonates with you, it could be time to seriously consider looking for new opportunities. Before making a formal announcement and giving your notice, it’s worth exploring the job market and reaching out to recruiters, to properly evaluate what else is out there and if there are options that will be a better fit for you. By reaching out to a recruiter, especially one that works within your industry, you can gain up-to-date market advice on the types of roles that are available, what would be suited to you and perhaps receive some ideas of roles you previously hadn’t considered. Establishing external opportunities before you make any ‘official’ moves at your current place of employment will help you feel more prepared in your future job search and expose you to more fulfilling and satisfying careers.

If you’re looking to develop your career or new opportunities within the Built Environment Industry (Construction, Engineering, Property, Interior Design) and are interested in getting some real-world advice don’t hesitate in reaching out to our specialised consultants.

Explaining your contract experience to prospective employers

Mon, 01 Aug 2022 13:03:24 GMT

11 months ago By Emily Harris

Contract and temp work are all incredibly popular employment options within the Built Environment Industry and often a great way for an employee to 'trial' or get their foot in the door of a new company. However, if you’ve built up your resume doing different short-term contracts, what’s the best way to present these experiences on your resume or in your next job interview – especially if your previous contract stints were only a few weeks to a month? A common fear for candidates when applying for new roles is that their short-term experience or ‘jumping from job to job’ won’t look enticing to prospective employers. And indeed, a key thing most hiring managers and recruiters are looking for is reliability. They want an employee who will enjoy their work and the company they’re working for and become a loyal employee and advocate. It’s presumed that a recruiter or hiring manager will prefer to see steady work experience from a candidate because hiring anyone new is essentially an employer making the following bet: will this person I’m hiring remain with my company long enough to make up the money I’m going to spend on training them? For this reason, some employers can consider too many seasonal or contract-based work experiences on your resume as a red flag. They worry that the candidate in question might be easily bored or not dedicated and thus less likely someone they would consider to take on for a longer-term project or permanent role.

Some candidates might think it's better to leave their contract experience off their resume, but leaving contract roles off your resume – especially if they’re relevant – will leave employee gaps which could also be a cause for concern. Furthermore, the perception of contract work has changed over the last few years. Contract work has become an increasingly popular and viable mode of work not just within the Built Environment Industry but across all industries as more organisations embrace flexible working options and new business models emerge that dismiss the conventional ‘employee’.

As at August 2021, there were 2.4 million Australians casually employed in Australia (23% of employees, 19% of all employed) [1] (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021). Furthermore (before COVID-19) The Construction Industry had one of the highest proportion of contractors within the Built Environment Industry, while 23% of Australian employers within the Engineering space were employing temporary and contract staff regularly [2] (Embedded Expertise, 2019). And while contract work dropped in 2020 and early 2021 during the peak of the pandemic, its popularity has continued to grow - especially as each state works through the busy infrastructure pipeline set by the Australian government as part of the country's post COVID-19 'economic recovery'.

Ultimately, considering how popular contract and non-standard forms of employment have become, the time you spend in a role is inconsequential when compared with what you have achieved during your time in that role, and if you have fulfilled what you expected to achieve when you joined. To help highlight this in both your resume and your interview; Design & Build has collated the following tips:

Tell a story

One of the biggest things when listing or discussing your contract work experience is being able to do so in a linear narrative. Work experience over time at a single company tends to do this by default – e.g. you started a role at an organisation as a graduate and were promoted after three years. If you’re stringing together work you’ve undertaken on a variety of projects, then the job of crafting the narrative of your work experience falls on you. An easy thing to help create a ‘narrative’ is trying to group your work experience together – for example, this can be based on the role type or what type of organisation you were working for (transport infrastructure or commercial buildings). Grouping related work projects together help demonstrate your learning and the skills you’ve acquired over time. It also makes it easier for recruiters and hiring managers to scan through your resume and understand which work experiences of yours were done in which context.

Be results-focused:

Furthermore, when explaining each project or contract you’ve done, be sure to highlight the achievements or the direct result of your actions (this is relevant for both resumes and job interviews). This will not only help showcase your skills and knowledge but also further prove you achieved the goals set out in any particular project. This can be supported by including figures to quantify your actions. For example, “On a website overhaul project I was working on, one of my key responsibilities was re-creating the brand’s guidelines. These guidelines were able to provide brand consistency across all external communication, which in turn positively contributed to our brand recognition and awareness- we saw an increase of 6.5% in direct traffic to our website in the months after finalising these brand guidelines.”

Have answers ready for any very short-term contracts or experience:

When heading into any job interview, you’ll be asked about your recent experience. So, if you think certain points of your work experience will grab the attention of recruiters or hiring managers like notable gaps or ‘job hopping’, you should stock on a few answers to use within the interview. There are many ways to present your contract or short-term experience in an interview that positively reflects on you. As we’ve previously mentioned, contract work means that yes- you’ve moved around a lot but also that you’re adaptable and can learn new processes quickly. If you’ve had a few short-term temporary roles while you’ve looked for permanent work, it shows your work ethic and dedication to remaining in your chosen industry while searching for longer-term work. Try to focus on the positives within your answers. If you’ve chosen to leave a contract early for negative reasons (perhaps you didn’t like the workplace culture or the role wasn’t what had been previously advertised) it’s also important to remain positive and not be directly negative about the company. Networks - especially within industries like Construction, Engineering, Property etc are very tightknit and criticising a fellow company doesn’t create an impression of being a ‘team player’. Alternately answers like the following (if they apply) could help:

“I’m looking for a position that is a better fit with my experience. The type of culture I thrive in is...”

“I was only required in the role for a short-time, but during my time in the role, I learnt this…and this”

“After I was made redundant last year due to a merger, I wanted to continue with some contract work to keep my skills sharp, while looking for my next permanent role”.

Prep for your interview

Like with any interview, preparation is key – especially when you think you might be faced with tricky questions on your previous experience. Once you’ve developed some hypothetical answers that explain any gaps or short-term roles, be sure to practice these beforehand. This will help your confidence going into the interview and decrease the chance of you halting or struggling to answer any particular question.

Finally, it’s important to remember that your diverse employment history has made you who you are; the skills you’ve developed and the knowledge you’ve learnt. This is an asset for companies and more importantly, these organisations understand that the time spent in a role doesn’t necessarily reflect your skills, loyalty or commitment.

If you’re looking for advice in preparing for a new contract position or looking for new opportunities (contract or permanent) within the Built Environment industry, you can reach out to Design & Build. We specialise in helping candidates with all areas of the recruitment process- from resumes and answering selection criteria to the final job interview. You can reach out to us at info@designandbuild.com.au for more information.

Ready to find your next role? Start the search today!

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1. Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). Characteristics of Employment, Australia. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved from: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/earnings-and-working-conditions/characteristics-employment-australia/latest-release#:~:text=Media%20releases-,Key%20statistics,from%2032%25%20in%20August%202019.

2. Embedded Expertise. (2022). An employer's Guide To Contract Engineering. SAGE Group. Retrieved from: https://www.embeddedexpertise.com/newsroom/an-employers-guide-to-contract-engineering

Congratulations Billy marotta, this year's consultant's consultant winner

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 13:08:19 GMT

11 months ago By Karis McKenna

Today, we wanted to highlight the amazing work of Billy Marotta, who last Friday won the Consultant's Consultant award in Design & Build's annual End of Financial Year Awards. The Consultant's Consultant award is voted on by the entire D&B team based on who they believe has 'been best on ground' over the last year. Billy has certainly demonstrated this through his consistently strong performance, the record figures he's achieved and the moral support he's provided to his fellow colleagues. Not to mention his recent promotion to Senior Consultant! These achievements are even more impressive when you consider that he only started his recruitment career 12 months ago!

We spoke to Billy this week to find out more about what winning this award means to him and his advice for others thinking about a career in recruitment:

Congratulations on winning both the D&B Consultant’s Consultant Award and the Best Newcomer Award for 2022! In particular, the Consultant's Consultant award is decided on based on votes from the whole D&B team. What does winning this award mean to you?

The majority of success & rewards in recruitment are based off your figures, so to be voted in by your team and to know you're respected and looked up to by your colleagues is quite humbling.

A big factor of the consultant’s consultant award is the recipient’s ability to positively influence and support their team members. What do you think is the key to good teamwork and being able to motivate your colleagues?

I believe the key to good teamwork is always being accessible. Coming into the business as an associate, you have a lot of questions and these can be quite time-consuming to answer when you're trying to figure things out for yourself. However, if a more senior consultant is there to help out, you can learn things so much more efficiently. It can be as simple as colleagues sending a quick message on teams, so when you first start off, you know there is help if needed. I had several more senior team members do this for me when I first started and was extremely grateful.

This last Financial Year (F2021 – 2022) has posed some challenges – what were your goals coming into this financial year and how did you keep on track with these goals despite the challenges?

My main goal over the last year was to focus on continuous improvement; whether that was being more confident on the phone when talking to clients or always trying to raise the bar with call volume with candidate contacts. I believe it's important to set yourself goals that are within your control and let the rest play out. If things don’t go your way, they don’t go your way but the more you focus on the factors you can control, the more chance you have of things working out for the better.

What made you decide to pursue a career in recruitment?

Coming from Tourism I wanted to move into an industry that revolved around building relationships and was people focused. I had previously spoken to a few people in the Recruitment industry and they spoke passionately about the industry, so I thought why not give it a go!

What’s been the biggest highlight for you over the last financial year?

The biggest highlight for me has been building our Melbourne team. It’s such a good group of people and I have them to thank for my success to date. It’s incredible to realise how much of a difference people can make in a team even if they have only been here for a couple of months. For me It has been so much easier to achieve my goals when I generally love coming in to work each day.

For anyone considering a career in recruitment, what do you think are some valuable skills to learn and develop?

You just need the drive to succeed. If you want to have a successful recruitment career and are prepared to put the effort in, the rewards will be there however it does require resilience when things don’t go your way.

The Australian job market is busier than ever right now! What opportunities does this pose for recruiters and how do you aim to utilise these moving forward?

It’s a great opportunity for recruiters to show their true value because, in a busy job market, strong candidates can be harder to find. Clients will remember the consultants that can build rapport and work with them to find the most suitable candidates. It’s also important to still put your clients' needs first as when the market does change, the recruiters that have effectively demonstrated this, are the ones clients will continue to use.

What does career success look like to you?

Building a successful team around you. It's great to have achieved my goals over this first year, however having a team to share group success is so much more meaningful.

What do you like to do outside of work to switch off?

I’ve set myself a goal of completing an Ironman at the end of the year, (nowhere near fit enough yet) but training is a time I can switch my focus to achieving those goals.

Looking forward, what are your goals heading into the new financial year?

Personally, it's to complete an Ironman at the end of the year but professionally it's to build our Commercial Construction team and put ourselves in the best position to be the go-to team in the market.

To find out more about the current opportunities Billy is working on within the Commercial Construction space, you can contact him at:

cmarotta@designandbuild.com.au

0420 941 667

Congratulations to Ian bond, the winner of D&B's building trust award for 2022

Sat, 16 Jul 2022 13:17:17 GMT

11 months ago By Emily Harris

Following on from last Friday’s End of Financial Year festivities, we wanted to put a big hand together for Lead Consultant Ian Bond, who was awarded Design & Build’s much heralded Building Trust award. This award is decided on by the D&B leadership team including Managing Director Andrew McGregor and is awarded based on the individual’s ability to live out Design & Build’s mission and values; building trust and doing the right thing by our candidates, clients and colleagues. Ian was certainly faced with some challenges this year when he started a new desk in a brand-new market for Design & Build, but through the care he has shown and by prioritising honest communication in all his interactions, he has done an incredible job to date in establishing D&B in the WA market. Paired with his willingness to help and mentor his fellow teammates in the Perth office, Ian’s a very deserving winner for this year’s Building Trust award.

We caught up with Ian to learn what his goals are for next year and what his highlights have been over his time building and growing the construction desk:

Congratulations on being the D&B Building Trust Award winner for 2022! What does winning this award mean to you?

Being recognised for any award is always a great feeling, however, the building trust award is chosen by the directors of the business, and is not based on financials, so to be recognised for all of the other components we do day-to-day is very humbling.

This last Financial Year (F2021 – 2022) posed some challenges – particularly for the WA team who were managing a new office and market. What were your goals when starting out in the WA space and how did you keep on track with these goals despite the challenges?

Building a desk in any market is tough, but when both Andy (the WA State Manager) and I sat down, the goal was very simple; it was to establish the Design & Build brand in WA, as we have successfully done in other states. Some days were tougher than others, but I always went back to trusting the process and ensuring that I was always doing the right thing by those I was interacting with.

The key mission for D&B is to ensure we’re doing the right thing by our clients, candidates and colleagues -it’s also a key criterion for the Building Trust award. What do you think is the most important thing you can do as a recruiter to live out this mission?

It sounds quite simple (it can be harder in practice) but in recruitment, I think it’s important to focus on being honest, transparent, consultative, and most importantly, doing what you say you’re going to do. When I first started in WA, the majority of the relationships I was building were brand new so this gave me an amazing opportunity to really deliver the company mission of doing the right thing by each new client and candidate I was coming into contact with. Effectively demonstrating this proved that they could trust me and ensured the relationship was built on a strong foundation.

What’s your favourite part about working in recruitment?

I don’t think you can beat the feeling of ringing a candidate to let them know they’ve been successful and secured the job they wanted. A lot of time the processes we run can take a couple of weeks if not longer, so there are a number of touch points you have with candidates along the way, where you really get to know them and what the job means to them. So, when you make that call knowing it’s going to make a huge difference to their life, after 9 years it never gets old!

“Bondy (one of the many nicknames he has depending who you speak to) has been the rock of the WA office for the past year. Always leads by example and is happy to help with guiding less experienced consultants through their recruitment journey. It is great to see a man that bleeds blue and white get the recognition he truly deserves. Congratulations!”
Andy Williamson - WA State Manager

On the flipside, recruitment is a very changeable industry; while there are many highs there can be moments of frustration when variables change last minute. Do you have any coping mechanisms that help you when you feel discouraged?

I think just speaking to people and hearing another perspective helps. It’s also important to remind yourself not to take it too personally if things don’t work out.

The Australian job market is busier than ever right now! What opportunities does this pose for recruiters and how do you aim to utilise these moving forward?

If I look at WA in particular, over the last year we’ve seen huge economic growth, particularly within the residential market, with thousands of people relocating from across the country. So, for our WA team, there’s a great opportunity to utilise this momentum and foster strong relationships with a number of new clients and candidates. Part of achieving this will be investing time into learning what is happening in the market; what projects are happening, which areas are under-resourced etc. Knowing this puts you in a better position to provide a service that is relevant to your client's needs and helps you build genuine relationships.

What does career success look like to you?

Design & Build is seen as the go-to recruitment agency in the Residential/Commercial construction space in WA.

What motivates you to work hard – and what do you think helps to motivate your colleagues?

Ultimately, if you love what you do and work with a team that you care about, you’ll want to perform your best – you don’t want to let yourself down or your teammates.

It also helps that at Design & Build we offer a lot of incentives (not just financial) for those that have achieved or surpassed particular milestones, so that’s always a good motivator and creates some healthy competition between colleagues and other offices.

What do you like to do outside of work to switch off?

Smoking meat on my smokers at home or jumping on my Peloton bike and working up a sweat!

Looking forward, what are your goals heading into the new financial year?

To continue the success we’ve had in the Residential sector, solidify the relationships I’ve built in this sector and mirror this in the Commercial Construction space as well.

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To find out more about the current opportunities Ian is working on within the WA Construction space, you can contact him at:

ian@designandbuild.com.au

0424 150 536

Building culture within a hybrid work model

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 13:28:21 GMT

11 months ago By Emily Harris

The Hybrid Work Model emerged after the pandemic first hit, where many employees were forced to work remotely for an extended period of time in order to adhere to COVID-19 restrictions. It’s important to note that in 2019, before COVID-19 was detected in Australia, about a third of the country’s working population was regularly working from home (Siebert,2020). By August 2021 as the impact of the Delta variant of the virus was in full effect across Australia, more than 40% of employed people were regularly working from home (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021). However, as restrictions begun to ease and employees were once again allowed to return to the office, many found that there were many aspects of working from home they enjoyed and consequently wanted to continue. A recent global survey conducted by PwC found that only 10% of respondents wanted to return to a traditional work environment (100% of time spent in the office). PwC also found that in relation to Australia specifically, 74% of respondents wanted a mix of face-to-face and remote working of differing degrees (Goldstone & Narayanan, 2021). Enter the hybrid work model; a concept designed to provide the best of both worlds. A hybrid work model aims to blend virtual and in-person work arrangements. What this hybrid work model looks like, will depend on the individual organisation as they try to determine where employees want to be to do what tasks and consequently what physical and non-physical elements will be required to cater for this. For example, better technology or devices might be required for solo virtual work while more collaboration hubs might be required for the physical office.

Whatever balancing act/strategy the individual organisation decides to take, it’s imperative that it has been based on both qualitative and quantitative data; the feedback you get back from your employees through both surveys and general conversations as well as behavioural data that reveal how the physical office is being used. This data could be how many employees are swiping into the office and how frequently they are (every day, twice a week) or at what capacity an office’s meeting rooms are at – are they often full or remain empty for significant periods? Using this information will help companies determine what combination of practices (both remote and in-person) will work best for them.

How To Maintain Culture Within Hybrid Work Models

While there are some things that no one misses about working in an office (sitting in traffic on your commute to work would have to be top of the list) there have been many workers who have said remote work has meant a lack of spontaneous interaction and connection with colleagues, which they miss. Indeed, one of the biggest challenges – both when offices were working 100% remotely and now when a significant portion of employees will be working remotely at least one or two days a week – has been how organisations can maintain their workplace culture and cultivate a sense of belonging for their employees. Psychological research has consistently shown that when employees feel they belong to a team or organisation – in the sense that it aligns with their values and allows them to feel comfortable being themselves – they will not only tend to perform better, but also experience higher levels of engagement and well-being (Berg & Chamorro – Premuzic, 2021). Consequently, it’s in a company’s best interest to cultivate and maintain a workplace culture where each employee feels valued and included, however this is much more of a challenge in an environment where organisations are relying on video calls and screen activities to stay connected with their remote colleagues.

Considering remote work is here to stay, many organisations are now exploring the strategies they can employ to overcome the issues around fostering and maintaining workplace culture within a hybrid work model. According to a recent article by Human Resources Director (HRD) there are five key pillars companies should focus on to foster culture: Trust, Expectations, Accountability, Accessibility and Community.

Pillar 1: Trust

Trust – a value very close to Design & Build’s heart. According to Scott Stein, author of Leadership Hacks, it’s easy to trust a colleague when you can see them working right next to you in the office. However, when everyone is working remotely the trust between colleagues or within teams can start to break down. Trust is instrumental to productivity within a working environment, as without it, people stop working collaboratively and communication falters (White, 2022). Making ‘trust’ a priority within your company will enable staff to feel comfortable to speak openly and share honest feedback with each other – and when people are proactive at sharing information like this consistently, it builds trusting relationships. Indeed, in Design & Build’s own workplace, our biggest priority is to build trust with our key stakeholders (our clients, our candidates and of course, our colleagues). We know that if we’ve fostered an environment where our colleagues trust each other and have trust in the company overall – to not only do the right thing by them, but other D&B stakeholders – they’ll be more engaged at work.

How can you foster trust? For our organisation trust is built when we provide honest feedback and communication, show care to those around us and focus on the interests of our stakeholders. From a remote perspective, honest feedback and communication can still be cultivated through a number of online IM and video tools like Microsoft Teams, Slack and Zoom. It might also be worthwhile to schedule regular check-ins, and if you’re in a senior role ensure these check-ins are maintained even if there aren’t too many things to update the team on. Having the routine in place-even if it’s just for five minutes – ensures people feel a connection to one another. Another suggestion to help foster trust within teams is to ensure feedback is being regularly provided to all team members. It’s important not to assume that everyone in the team will know about an update or the great work an individual is doing purely because they are in the same team or the same office. Especially because people will be working remotely at different times, the key way colleagues can find out is through virtual communication. Shining a spotlight on particular achievements or milestones made, means everybody can feel good about everybody else’s work, identify resources and support each other. Individual members of the team will have faith in the competence and hard work of their fellow team members, which fosters a trusting environment (Cooks-Campbell, 2022).

Pillar 2: Expectations

Expectations also play a big factor in remote working. The challenge with expectations is that they can differ slightly depending on the individual, and determining what a team member’s expectations are can be even more challenging when communication is done virtually. Unfortunately, teleconferencing doesn’t always pick up on the nuances of an individual.

Consequently, it becomes increasingly important for managers and those in leadership positions to clearly state and clarify expectations and targets, as otherwise staff won’t know what is expected of them. To ensure that everyone knows what is expected of them – in regards to working hours, start times, attending meetings, when people are working from home and communicating/updating team members – managers and those in leadership positions will have to think carefully about how they can effectively communicate these expectations. Otherwise, these same managers can risk falling into the pattern of constantly asking people for updates and coming across as micromanaging. To avoid this, a common strategy is to have your team work together to create a working agreement – where everyone contributes to a list of expectations (for example team members will check in at 9:00am daily, or all team members are required onsite for their monthly team building session) that is then written up and sent to everyone, so all team members clearly know where they stand, even when working remotely.

An emerging trend in hybrid work models, and one that helps to manage expectations is asynchronous communication – where teams communicate with one another without the expectation of needing to respond immediately. Asynchronous communication negates the need to ‘always be on’ which can be a risk for those working at home. Rather, team members will be given all the information they need to complete a task by a certain deadline. Managers can encourage teams to send daily or weekly updates on these tasks, so everyone can be transparent in what they’re working on day-to-day, but ensure that the pressure is off for people to respond to or provide status updates 24/7 (Kim, 2022). Having asynchronous communication in place also demonstrates that managers are instilling trust in their team to get their work done when outside of the office.

Pillar 3: Accountability

This pillar is fairly straightforward – ensuring everyone within a team/the office has a designated role and that every task has been allocated and accounted for. It is when there is a crossover with responsibilities or a brief is unclear that confusion occurs and overall productivity is halted. A hybrid and remote workplace can make accountability more challenging as it can become difficult to see who is completing which tasks and who to go to for other accountable tasks.

Accountability actually becomes important for overall workplace culture as when people are held accountable they deliver results because they don’t want to let others in their team down. They also hold others responsible for their actions in a supportive way and often work together to develop solutions for problems, regardless of their title or position (White, 2022). Creating accountability can be as easy as having regular catch- up sessions with the team regarding particular projects and even regular performance catch-ups with individual employees so they are clear on their responsibilities, KPIs and how these relate to the wider team and company.

Pillar 4: Accessibility

How much access employees have to other employees – especially when working remotely – becomes a balancing act. Working remotely takes away the ability to have casual conversations with individuals on an ad hoc basis like you would if your colleagues are in the same physical office as you.

On the flipside, some employers might think that they have greater access to their employees when working remotely and will start calling/emailing you at any time of the day or night. This isn’t an ideal scenario either.

The advantage when working in an office is that you can easily see when a fellow colleague is accessible or not – if they’re not at their desk or you see them having lunch or in a meeting room you know they’re not available and ultimately will wait for a better time to ask them something. This, is of course harder to determine when working within a hybrid work model and trying to contact a colleague who is working remotely. Consequently, accessibility needs to be clarified. Many teams have guidelines in place about contact hours – some email signatures even have their contact hours included – which say something like “although I am sending this email outside of office hours I do not expect a response outside of the hours 9:00am to 5:00pm”. These guidelines can differ from team to team, as long as everyone agrees on them and clearly understands them.

In regards to accessibility, it’s also imperative that those in leadership roles lead by example – that they don’t send emails or ask for things outside of work hours and make a big show of ‘logging off’ on time. This ensures team members don’t feel pressured to stay online 24/7 or get back to requests straight away no matter what and promotes a culture that values wellbeing and balance.

Pillar 5: Community

The final pillar for fostering a positive workplace culture in hybrid working models (and potentially the most important) is creating a community. When you take out the daily interactions employees have with each other over five days a week in the office, you basically have strangers interacting.

To make sure that colleagues still feel connected with one another and part of a ‘team’ even when working remotely, a company needs to work hard to schedule regular interactions between their employees no matter if these interactions are physical or virtual. This can be achieved in a number of ways – over the last two years many organisations have started to schedule virtual social events as well as in-person events (online trivia or virtual workshops which include break out rooms where colleagues get the chance to chat to each other). Many organisations have also created employee resource groups – spaces for employees from underrepresented backgrounds to connect with one another. Encouraging these spaces give employees a place to talk and share their experiences openly. They also reinforce a company’s commitment to diversity and are invaluable in creating a culture of belonging (Cooks-Campbell, 2022).

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Ultimately, these pillars can be built into the culture of any organisation, through increasing employee’s awareness of each pillar and ensuring that the organisation’s leaders are communicating and clarifying how important they are overall. Sometimes focusing on these individual pillars rather than workplace culture overall, can make improving workplace culture more achievable, especially for organisations embarking on a hybrid work model.

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[1] Siebert, B. (2020). Coronavirus Has Forced Australians To Work From Home, But What Are The Impacts On CBDs?. ABC News. Retrieved from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-18/coronavirus-working-from-home-impact-on-australian-cities/12435248
[2 ] Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2021). More Than 40 Per Cent Of Australians Worked From Home. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved from: https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/more-40-cent-australians-worked-home
[3] Goldstone & Narayanan. (2021). Rewriting The Future Of Work With Hybrid Workplaces. PwC Australia. Retrieved from: https://www.pwc.com.au/digitalpulse/report-future-of-work-hybrid-working.html
[4] Berg & Chamorro-Premuzic. (2021). Fostering A Culture Of Belonging In The Hybrid Workplace. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2021/08/fostering-a-culture-of-belonging-in-the-hybrid-workplace
[5] White, L. (2022). How To Build Cultural Pillars For A Successful Hybrid Workforce. Human Resources Director (HRD). Retrieved from: https://www.hcamag.com/au/specialisation/employment-law/how-to-build-cultural-pillars-for-a-successful-hybrid-workforce/41158 1
[6] Cooks-Campbell, A. (2022). The New Hybrid Culture You Need And How To Build It. BetterUp. Retrieved from: https://www.betterup.com/blog/hybrid-culture
[7] Kim, P. (2022). Why Great Culture Is Essential For A Hybrid Workplace. Wrike. Retrieved from: https://www.wrike.com/blog/great-culture-essential-for-hybrid-workplace/

Boosting confidence when returning to work after a career break

Wed, 29 Jun 2022 13:44:26 GMT

12 months ago By Emily Harris

There can be many reasons a person takes an extended leave of absence from their job; they go on parental leave, secondment or sabbatical or they might have to take extended sick leave or require worker's compensation. Whatever the reason for their absence, the process of coming back to work is often complicated, as while an individual might feel confident in their decision to re-enter the workforce, it doesn’t mean they have confidence. In the time they’ve been away the workplace has changed, colleagues will have moved on and their skillset feels a little outdated, as it’s been a while since they’ve been required to perform a job-related task. It’s understandable, therefore, that many people can feel overwhelmed and daunted by the prospect of jumping back into a previous role or starting a new job. Especially if they've been on extended leave over the last year - they'll find the workplace to have changed dramatically! The pandemic has forced many organisations to embrace remote working - which for industries like the built environment industry that revolved very heavily around being on-site and travelling to physical offices for work - has become a significant change. For those trying to transition back into the industry, this new mentality and emphasis on workplace flexibility would be hard to get your head around.

Luckily, Design & Build have provided some key tips to help bolster the confidence of those re-entering the workforce and help reduce anxiety for those about to experience their first day back in the office (either physical or remote). See below:

1. Sharpen & Develop Your Skill Set

Just like an athlete losing muscle after an extended break from training, our professional skills can become a little rusty if we haven’t applied them in a while. Furthermore, the rate of technological advancement means that most industries are introducing new developments, processes, and systems regularly [1] (Munro, 2020). If you’ve been on extended leave anywhere between a few months to a few years, chances are there will be new ways to perform the tasks you used to, different systems you’ll be required to use or perhaps innovations or models that will impact the way the Built Environment industry works. Consequently, to help prepare for your re-entry into the workforce and ease any anxiety around ‘being out of the game’, it’s recommended that you try and keep on top of any industry-related trends. This can be as easy as joining professional association groups, reviewing industry publications online or checking in with your professional network every few months. Doing this will give you a great idea of what’s changing within the industry and what skills you may need to brush up on. For example, if you worked within business administration or processing, you may have discovered in your time away that many manual tasks were transferred to an online platform like google docs, or are now performed and managed by a particular online system like Xero. Ensuring you’re aware of these systems and know how to apply them within your new or pre-existing role, will help boost your confidence levels when having to use them.

Your time away from work could also be an opportunity to grow and develop new skills that you think will help enhance your professional development. Perhaps it’s learning more about artificial intelligence, which has grown significantly within the engineering and manufacturing space over the last few years or embarking on a management course to help enhance your leadership skills. There are multiple online courses offered through both Linkedin or training organisations that are a great jumping-off point for those wanting to learn or brush up on their skillset. Online courses/training can also provide added flexibility for those juggling learning with a full-time job and or family commitments.

The more you understand a certain skill, tool or software the more comfortable you’ll feel using it within the workforce, which in turn will positively impact your confidence levels. Furthermore, the more skills and experiences you can add to your resume, the more of an asset you’ll appear to your current or future employer which ultimately helps to futureproof your employability.

On this topic, it's also important that all employees - no longer how long they spend out of the workforce - should maintain their digital literacy skills. Especially over the last 12 months, where so many organisations have embraced new technology to better enable remote working - from cloud-based software to video conferencing platforms - keeping up to date with this technology and ensuring you feel comfortable using it will make your transition back to work easier, and if you're starting to conduct remote job interviews etc help you to put your best foot forward.

2. Build and Reach Out To Your Professional Network

A big contributor to anxiety in any circumstance is the likelihood of the unknown. For those rejoining the workforce after an extended leave of absence, there are many elements of uncertainty you have to contend with. Whether re-joining an old team or starting a new job you’re questioning how the role has changed, what your team will be like, whether you can manage the workload, how you’ll go with new processes etc. Reaching out to your professional network can help ease your nerves around this uncertainty, as they are still ‘in the trenches’. They can give you a realistic account of what the industry is like, any shifting priorities or focus happening within the industry and job market - and if they are a colleague- can keep you updated on any significant changes within the company. All of this information can help you prepare for your new role prior to your start date and give you a realistic idea of what to expect. Creating an open dialogue with other professionals within your field or your workplace means that you have people to provide support if you come across any challenges, people that can be there to bounce ideas off and people to learn from. It also helps you to feel like you have others in your corner so you feel less isolated (a common feeling for those re-joining the workforce) which helps to build confidence levels [2] (Collings, Freeny & Van Der Werff, 2018).

In terms of building and strengthening your professional network, an easy place to start is using social networking platforms like Linkedin, or even just touching base with a previous colleague or business partner via email. There are also numerous networking events for different industries and associations in person or online, so attending one of these before restarting work can be a great way to connect with new people within your industry or reacquaint yourself with older connections and the industry itself. Linkedin is a great place to start searching for any upcoming events in your area.

3. Celebrate your achievements and strengths

Knowing what you do well within the workplace is integral to boosting confidence as it reminds you of why you’re a good and worthy employee. An easy way to do this is to cast your mind back to a previous success story you’ve been a part of within the workforce or a particular challenge you were able to overcome and resolve. Perhaps it was handling a difficult client or ensuring a project with lots of moving parts was finished by the deadline. Having examples of your previous achievements clearly in your mind helps to reassure you that you are capable of succeeding again when any self-doubt starts to creep in.

If you’re struggling to remember a success story or conjure up a recent example of when you were able to display your skillset within the workforce, think outside the box and consider when you’ve exhibited your soft skills in your day-to-day life. Perhaps you helped to coordinate a fundraiser at your child's school, which is a great example of organisational skills at play. Or maybe you were a treasurer for a local charity or association, which demonstrates your bookkeeping and financial skills. These personal examples can be utilised within your professional life and can even enhance and diversify your skillset.

4. Ask Questions

This step is fairly straightforward, but one of the quickest ways to learn is to ask questions. When reentering the workforce, there’ll be systems or processes in place that are unfamiliar to you and that is completely normal. However, if you do come across a task that you’re unsure how to proceed on, the best thing to do is to ask someone for clarification- a colleague, your manager or team leader or a HR officer. While you might feel self-conscious about asking questions initially, as you’re worried about appearing clueless or unsure, being able to find out exactly how someone wants you to perform a task, or have someone demonstrate what they want you to do, reduces the risk of mistakes or tasks having to be redone due to misinterpretation. Asking questions also increases the likelihood of you getting the task right the next time you have to perform it and ultimately, feeling knowledgeable about what you are doing, helps you to feel more confident in future.

Contact Us

If you’re looking to re-enter the workforce after an extended break and don’t know where to start with your job search, you can always reach out to Design & Build. Our consultants specialise in finding roles that best suit the capabilities, interests and values of their clients, and have some great advice for those wanting to brush up on their interview skills or fine-tune their resume.

The Built Environment sector - especially construction - also offers numerous shorter-term contracts, which can be a perfect option for someone looking to dip their toes back into the workforce. Accepting a short-term contract provides you with new and recent work experience to add to your resume, an opportunity to network with people at the company and most importantly, flex your skills again. Proving to yourself that you can perform in the role, is a great confidence boost and prepares you for future longer-term opportunities. To find out more about Design & Build's contract opportunities, or to have a confidential chat with one of our consultants, click see below:

Looking for a job?

Click here

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[1] Munro, Jay. (2020). Tips For Returning To Work After Extended Leave. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from:https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/tips-for-returning-to-work-after-extended-leave-20200310-p548ry.html

[2] Collings, Freeny & Van Der Werff. (2018). How Companies Can Ensure Maternity Leave Doesn’t Hurt Women’s Careers. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2018/09/how-companies-can-ensure-maternity-leave-doesnt-hurt-womens-careers

Engineering, construction and remediation

Sun, 19 Jun 2022 13:46:25 GMT

12 months ago By Emily Harris

Australia’s Defence industry represents a key priority for the Australian Government as it’s been recognised as a significant economic contributor and has the potential to provide relatively high employment across each segment of the value chain. As such, the Australian Government has committed $270 billion in new and adjusted Defence capability by 2030 and renewed its focus on ensuring that the Australian industry can take advantage of the significant opportunities throughout the supply chain.

Considering the high level of activity happening across the Australian Defence sector currently, organisations like Duratec which support and service the industry, have become increasingly busy. First established in 2010, Duratec set out to provide whole-of-life engineering, construction and remediation services for key infrastructure however, as additional funding was invested into the Defence sector, it created a growing industry need for the construction remediation and design of Defence infrastructure. Consequently, Duratec formed a dedicated Defence division, which has rapidly become a national specialist contracting business.

During this time, Duratec has worked on a number of diverse and exciting projects which often have both a strong cultural and historical connection to Australia. This diversity in delivery ranges from, delivering maintenance upgrade works on the Victoria Barracks Melbourne to constructing an extension to the existing HMAS Stirling Armament Wharf and associated infrastructure.

To explore a little more about what’s involved in these projects and the significance they play in Australia’s overall Defence sector, we spoke to Duratec’s Defence Manager Tristan Rees:

Defence is one of the key industries Duratec provides services for, why does the industry have such a key significance in Australia?

Defence is one of the biggest federally funded sectors in Australia and the government has made a significant commitment into future funding, as Australia continues to strengthen and protect its strategic interests. Because the industry is so closely tied to the country's overall economy, sovereignty and self-reliance it is an important priority for the Australian Government.

What is unique about working on projects within the Defence space, compared to the other areas Duratec specialise in? (e.g. energy, marine, transport etc.)

Working in the Defence sector provides the opportunity to work on complex and challenging projects; we have a significant variety of works across Defence’s Airforce, Navy and Army assets. The beauty of working in this sector is that every project is different and presents its own unique challenges that you have to work through. Some might involve the restoration and maintenance of heritage-listed buildings, while others involve upgrading and refurbishing key infrastructure for institutions like the Royal Australian Navy. No matter the project, however, all play a significant role in maintaining the country’s overall prosperity.

Duratec is currently growing its operations and team within the Northern Territory, particularly within the Defence space. Why is the Northern Territory a great opportunity for Duratec?

Duratec has been located in the Northern Territory for over 6 years. The NT is of strategic significance to the Defence Force due to its proximity to neighbouring countries and trade routes, making it a frequent hub of activity. Consequently, being based in the Northern Territory allows Duratec to be close to where the action is, leveraging the Defence, Energy, Oil and Gas and Renewables markets in the region which in turn provides significant growth opportunities for Duratec.

The construction, upgrade and maintenance of Defence infrastructure can lend itself to technically challenging and sensitive projects. How does Duratec manage the delivery of these?

Because the Defence sector is a federally funded agency, it has federal targets for local industry engagement and community support. Duratec obviously takes these targets very seriously and we take great pride in ensuring our business processes support our nation's interests and the local communities that Duratec work in.

Another key goal for Duratec is being sustainable in its business activities. What do you think are the key sustainability challenges/issues facing the Defence industry currently and how does Duratec try to tackle these?

As a construction and remediation business, Duratec's key purpose is to extend the service life of Australia’s key infrastructure, often through refurbishing existing assets. In doing this, Duratec is helping to create sustainable infrastructure and help lower the industry’s carbon footprint. Duratec’s technical division is also at the forefront of durability and sustainable technologies in building materials and overall processes.

Moving forward, what are Duratec’s goals for the NT branch over the next year?

Duratec has been established in the NT for over 6 years and in this time has established itself as a leading local contractor in the market. Our projects are directly to the end-users as a head contractor. With the number of opportunities occurring across the NT at the moment, Duratec is focusing on continuing to grow and develop the NT team. Working from our NT base, is a great opportunity for skill exposure and development, as you’ll be exposed to all of the industry sectors we work with and be a part of the ongoing growth of the business.

One particular project Duratec are very excited about that will be based in the Northern Territory, is Defence’s RAAF Base Tindal Redevelopment. Duratec has received formal notice of award for a $110 million new Aviation Refuelling Facility construction sub-contract, which will be an integral part of the USFPI RAAF Base Tindal Airfield Works and Associated Infrastructure Project. This major project award along with the accumulation of minor contract awards has boosted the current Defence-focused order book to $230 million and the company’s total order book to $425 million and $1.8 billion in tangible opportunities. Site access documentation works have already commenced, and the project is due for completion in August 2024.

To learn more about this project and Duratec’s involvement you can click here

Alternately, you can view the full scope of projects Duratec have worked on here

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Alternately, to learn more about Duratec, their NT operations and the current positions they have available within their NT office you can contact our consultants Tim Chapman and Alex Christou.

Tim Chapman

tim@designandbuild.com.au

0424 150 235

Alex Christou

achristou@designandbuild.com.au

0423 611 276

Design & Build welcomes Jennifer our new lead consultant, to the qld team

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 13:52:42 GMT

about 1 year ago By Emily Harris

Design & Build would like to formally introduce the latest member to join our Brisbane office, Jennifer McNamara ! Jennifer comes to Design & Build with a wealth of recruitment experience as well as experience working within the construction industry, which will come in handy as our Queensland team continue to capitalise on the great opportunities happening across the state within commercial construction. To learn more about Jennifer, her new role as lead consultant and her goals for the year ahead, read her answers below:

Welcome to Design & Build Jennifer! You’ve come on board as a Lead Consultant, working within the Commercial Construction space. Can you tell us a little bit more about your new role and the key things you’ll be working on?

My new role as Lead Consultant with Design and Build Recruitment will see me working alongside Commercial builders within the private sector for all white-collar construction and site management positions. My functional expertise includes; Construction Managers, Site Managers, Foreman, WHS Advisors (all levels), Supervisors and Leading Hands.

What was it about the company and the role that made you want to work for Design & Build?

Design and Build have a great reputation in the market and are known for their professionalism and ethical approach to recruitment. A close friend and ex-colleague made the move to Design and Build and confirmed what a great company they are to work for. When I became available for a new position and Design and Build were hiring, it was an easy decision to make!

You’ve also had experience working within the construction industry yourself. Can you tell us a little more about this time and how these experiences help when recruiting within the construction industry?

My experience working in Commercial Construction has taught me how to ‘ride the wave’ in an ever-changing industry. The market demands fluctuate however the key principles of recruitment remain the same. My focus has always been to ensure I have an in-depth understanding of the client’s business and expectations from both a technical and cultural perspective. Knowing my clients, I am then able to match suitable candidates confidently believing it is a mutually beneficial result. It’s all about cultivating a strong partnership with both my clients and candidates.

What do you enjoy most about working in recruitment?

Recruitment sees you working with people from all different walks of life and no two days are ever the same. When candidates and clients are matched effectively, the result contributes to the overall success of a project or business objective and is an extremely rewarding feeling. Changing jobs can be one of life’s most stressful experiences. I take pride in ensuring the transition is smooth and that both parties move forward confidently in their decision.

What does building trust mean to you?

Building trust is the absolute foundation of what we do. It is imperative that we are ethically working for not just the client, but equally for our candidates. I partner with my clients and candidates, it’s not transactional recruitment, we are an extension of our client’s business and a trusted industry expert for our candidates.

Why do you think it’s such an exciting time for job opportunities in Queensland at the moment – especially in terms of commercial construction?

In Queensland we are in a construction boom across all facets of commercial, residential and infrastructure projects. We have seen a surge in interstate residents moving to the state which brings confidence to the market. In addition to this, last year's announcement of the 2032 Olympic Games being held in Brisbane has brought and will continue to bring a number of economic benefits to the city and Queensland overall.

What are your key goals moving forward in your new role?

I have a genuine interest and passion for the construction industry. I look forward to partnering with pre-existing and new businesses and helping to provide the best candidates in the market to our clients, in order to meet their staff requirements.

When you’re not at work where are we most likely to find you?

At the gym or the beach!