The PP pups Ruby and Murphy are in charge today, we’re closing from midday for our staff Christmas Party. Back on board tomorrow. Happy hump day everyone. Ho Ho Ho!

Nick’s Walk is for blokes and is all about supporting men’s mental health. Do you have any men in your life who would benefit from walking and talking? This is such an inclusive, safe, and supportive group where strangers can turn up and feel included and heard. Nick was an extremely good friend to Peninsula Personnel in particular Leigh & Lisa and supported us over the years taking part in the Pub2Pub fun run with the PP team.

This event was started by Nicks brothers in 2021 after we lost Nick to suicide, he was fifty-one and in the prime of his life. Last year’s inaugural event was an impressive day starting at Spit Bridge and finishing on the top deck of the Watsons Bay Hotel with a BBQ and a few well-earned beverages.

This year is bigger and better with the team partnering with another men’s mental health team @my_mens_team led by @camerondaddo

For more details and to get your tickets visit https://www.spoketoabloke.org/nicks-walk-sydney-2023-register

Registrations for Nick’s Walk Sydney will close this month – December 30^th 2022.

Congratulations Bert our PP temp of the month for November, our client has wonderful things to say about you.

Bert has been with us for over a year now and has become one of my best guys here in logistics and has been a real asset to the company. Not only has he remained one of our most trustworthy team members but is very dependable in every situation and is ready to do whatever it takes to get the work done. Bert is also very much liked by all our site guys and despite the challenges he faced this year, he still showed true dedication day in day out. A well-deserved award!

#5kmADayForBreastCancerResearch day 29 ✅ one more day to go, Lisa & Leigh took part in this fundraising initiative and are proud to announce they raised $1000. “We have really enjoyed hitting the street this November in our PINK”

During Covid-19 many things were forgotten. While there was a brief pause of the BreastScreen Australia program in April 2020, states and territories have resumed services so it’s important for women of all ages to put breast screening back at the top of their to-do-list.

Peninsula Personnel is starting to prepare for Christmas and a fun filled New Year. Please note that like most of you we too will shut down over Christmas, however that doesn’t mean the work stops, we have plenty of people available to work over the Christmas period!

Do you need a temp for holiday cover or in the leadup to your shutdown in the OFFICE or WAREHOUSE? Not only do we have our usual amazing team of temps available but at this time we also have quite a few juniors that are becoming available over their Uni break looking for casual work.

PP’s closing dates are from Friday 23rd December until 10^th January, we are happy to negotiate all your staffing needs now in preparation.

Stop

Take your time before giving money or personal information to anyone.

Scammers will offer to help you or ask you to verify who you are.  They will pretend to be from organisations you know and trust like a business you deal with, police, government, or fraud service.

Think

Ask yourself could the message or call be fake? Never click a link in a message and ask a trusted friend or family member what they would do. Only contact businesses or government using contact information from their official website or through their secure apps. If you’re not sure say no, hang up or delete.

Protect

Act quickly if something feels wrong.

Contact your bank immediately if you lose money or personal information or if you notice some unusual activity on you cards or accounts. Seek help from organisations like IDCARE and report online crime to ReportCyber. Help others by reporting scams to Scamwatch.

How to protect yourself today:

Make your accounts as safe as your home. Set up extra steps on your accounts to stop people getting in. Add more steps to show who you are when you log into your online services and apps. This is called Multi Factor Authentication.   

This could be a code sent to your phone, a token or secret question. Your face or fingerprint or voice can also be the key to let you into your accounts. Ask your banks and service providers how to add more checks so no one can pretend to be you.  And don’t forget to tell them if you have been in a data breach. Visit the ACCC for more information. https://www.accc.gov.au/

Congratulations to Katie and Fiona who have been working on the same campaign and loved working with the extended team, telling us the whole thing has been a blast and we have a wonderful leader in our Manager Laura.

Laura our client had fantastic feedback for the ladies! Well done and Congratulations!

‘’Fi has been a rock-solid team leader to the Customer Service team! Fi is so proactive with all her work and always has time to help others and has been so adaptable and flexible in an ever-changing environment”

‘’Katie has been a wonderful support not only to the Customer Service team but also to the corporate team. Katie has had to navigate her way through complicated and detailed tasks, and she has done this always with a high level of pride in her work’’

When it comes to jobs, we’re in a time of opportunity that’s unlike anything seen in recent years. Job ads hit record highs in 2022-with far more jobs being advertised now compared to before COVID-while unemployment fell to record lows.

More businesses are searching for employees across virtually all industries and professions. In Oz, 3 in 5 peeps agree there are more opportunities to advance their career in this job market, research from SEEK shows. And change is working out well for many- 7 in 10 people who switched jobs in the past 6 months are happy with their move.

Plus, with the demand for workers so strong, you might have more negotiating power when you do go for a new role. What this all means is that even if you’re in a job you like, it’s a great time to explore your options and see what else is out there. You might even think of it as “flirting “with other jobs.

Why its worth exploring other job options now
Exploring your career options is about seeing what other jobs are out there, and what’s appealing about them to you. You might be interested in finding a different style of working, better work-life balance or more pay. Exploring other jobs doesn’t necessarily mean you have to apply for any right of way or quit your current job. It’s a matter of seeing what’s out there. Doing this can open your eyes to new opportunities that you may not have considered. It could also help you make changes to your existing role. Sometimes its not about starting from scratch but about adapting and making tweaks to your current situation.

I think it is always a good idea to explore what your other options are-especially if you’re feeling restless in your job or think something might be lacking in it. Exploring other options could help you revitalise your working life. Seeing what opportunities are available really can be beneficial to job happiness-especially if your current role doesn’t align with your values and drivers, particularly when it comes to salary, work-life balance, and career progression. After all, we spend so many hours at work, so its important not to settle for second best.

Staying in touch with what’s happening in the job market also helps you to explore whether your skills are adaptable to other industries or roles. While you may not actually move roles or companies, flirting with other jobs does give you a fresh perspective on your current role and how you might improve things or make a move in the future.

5 Steps to explore your opportunities

1: Start by updating your resume- its good practice to stay abreast of your skills and strengths and think about how you might articulate those strengths to prospective employers.

2: Set up or refresh your SEEK and LinkedIn profile- you create your profile listing your skills and experience, and you can choose to let potential employers contact you about opportunities.

3: Set up job alerts- another way to explore is to set up job alerts with various employers and recruitment agencies. That way, the types of roles you might be interested in automatically appear via email for you, without you having to commit to anything.

4: Do some skills and strengths assessments- strength testing is a valuable way to explore your values and aspirations, recognise your natural talents and then identify opportunities and pathways so that you make things happen.

5: Schedule a coffee date- Reaching out to people who can shed light on different roles or career pathways is also a great way to explore your options. You could reach out to a prospective employer, or someone working in a company or industry you’re interested in. Come prepared with questions you can ask them.

Why I’m uncertain about changing jobs?
It’s normal to feel uncertainty and hesitation around changing jobs. Research through SEEK shows almost 3 in 5 people say they’re worried if they change jobs, the new company might not be right for them. A good way to explore other jobs is to try volunteer opportunities, you can dip your toe in without having to leave your current workplace.

Focusing on your goals and doing your research are other ways to help overcome fear around changing roles.

Why now is the time to explore other jobs
With The Great Job Boom underway, we’re seeing more jobs, and less competition for them- so there’s never been a time like this to look at other job opportunities. Consider whether now is the right time for you personally. But even if it doesn’t seem like the ideal time, there’s still no harm in putting the feelers out, just to see what opportunities might pop up. You could find an opportunity better than you imagined- or the motivation you need to revitalise things in your current role.

It’s natural to feel cautious about changing jobs. But with more jobs on offer than ever, there’s never been a time like this for exploring new opportunities.  The number of advertised roles has steadily grown. The increased demand for employees means it could be a good time to consider changing jobs.

However, one in three Australians say it’s become much harder to assess new job opportunities compared to before the pandemic. Over half (56%) say they’ve been reluctant to change jobs because they feel secure in their current role.

Finding out about job security is hard, though, without inside information into the business or organisation. Asking the right questions during an interview can tell you a lot about the security of the role and the company, and how your potential new employer has adapted to change during the pandemic. I have suggested some specific, practical questions to ask during a job interview to find out about the security of a role and what it’s like to work for that business now.

Questions about the role
Part of assessing security includes working out whether the role is right for you, so that you don’t have to leave it just a few months in and find yourself back in the market for a job. Asking questions to better the role and the organisation will help you work out whether it’s the right fit.

1: What type of person usually succeeds in this role? Or what are the key skills and attributes someone needs to be successful in this role?

It’s nice to think we’re the right fit for a role we’re being interviewed for. Rather than assume this though, asking a question like this helps you discover whether you are a good fit for the role on offer. Is it what you expected it to be from the job description? Do you have the right personality, strengths, skills, and experience to be successful?

2: How do you measure success in this role?

This question will help you assess whether the expectations of the hiring manager or business are realistic, particularly given the challenges faced by many businesses now. This question will help you understand where the bar is set in terms of performance expectations, whether you think its realistic, and if it’s something you want to strive for.

3: What would be a typical career path for someone starting in this role?

4: What skills would someone usually develop working in this position, and what could this lead to?

5: What learning, and development opportunities are available in this role?

These questions will help you understand what the career path might look like and help to ensure you have a good sense of what the role may lead to on a longer-term basis. Organisations and managers who are clearly thinking about development and career progression can be a good indicator of job security.

Questions about the business or organisation
Plenty of industries and organisations have either directly or indirectly been affected by the pandemic. So asking some questions to get a better idea of those effects and what they’re doing to overcome those challenges may be useful.

6: What impact did the pandemic have on your revenue or profit (or business)?

This will help you understand how sustainable the company is, and whether they were able to adjust their business model quickly to the changing environment. This will also indicate how nimble the business is, and how resilient they are in difficult conditions.

7: What have you done to reduce risk and reposition you’re offering to customers?

This will show how the business is setting itself up to future-proof against future downturns and how forward-thinking and agile the business is. Have they learnt new and better ways to operate to protect themselves?

8: What is your medium-term strategy?

This will indicate whether the business is evolving and adapting to the new environment, or are they simply operating in the same way as before the pandemic and hoping for the best or not learning from the experience?

9: What headcount changes have you made in the last two years?

This will show how they have prioritised their staff and if they supported their key employees. Did they do what they could to retain people, or did they simply let them go as soon as the market was challenging, only to rehire again once the worst of the pandemic passed?

10: How have you adapted to flexible and remote working, including adopting new technologies?

This will help you understand if the organisation is looking to the future and learning how to evolve in the new world. Asking about technology will also reveal the options you have to continue working from flexible locations. If the business isn’t evolving, then its stagnating and in time could fail. Asking this question also provides you an opportunity to assess whether the organisation’s offering meets your expectations in terms of flexibility.

11: How do you feel you have performed compared to your competitors over the last two years?

Is the company taking market share or delivering on its objectives, creating opportunities for their employees? Or is it struggling to deliver and going backwards? This will give an indication of the future stability of the business.

It’s important to listen to responses to questions like these in the context of the past couple of years of the pandemic. Many businesses have struggled but kept their heads above water by being adaptable, innovative, and supporting their staff. Job security matters, of course, but it is important to note that being overly cautious can mean that a great opportunity might pass you by.

These key questions will reveal information about the business or organisation and potential level of job security. But asking them will also show that you have done your research and have put thought into the new role.

Thank you and congratulations to our wonderful temps of the month, we have received amazing feedback on your work performance and appreciate the work you have been putting in.

“Bernard is a reliable and dedicated worker who thinks outside the box to ensure our supporters are receiving exceptional customer service every single time. Bernard is also an amazing support to not only myself as his manager but also the rest of the customer service team”

“Tahlea’s attention to detail and kind nature is everything you would ever look for in a customer care/support role. Tahl has gone over and above in supporting the campaign and has taken all obstacles in her stride”