Please read my article on putting a CV / Resume together and comment if you agree or disagree with my advice.

In regards to cover letters, I will put my list of Do’s and Don’t’s below and add some links to examples of what I think are going to give you a better chance.

Do’s

• Always attach a cover letter to your CV or Resume
• Make sure you address it to the relevant person in the business
• Use key words from the advertisement in your letter
• Address both the Skills and Experience Requirements identified in the Ad
• Put the most convenient and accessible ways to contact you ie Mobile and Email
• Space it out and make it easy to read
• Differentiate between sending it to a recruiter or the company itself
• Make it one page
• Make it unique to you and what you can offer
• Include call to action – Request an Interview, Tell them you will call to follow up in 2-3 days
• Be confident

Don’t’s

• Make spelling mistakes
• Address it to a different role or company or person by mistake
• Send a generic cover letter
• Make it more than one page
• Include unnecessary filler such as “Please find my resume enclosed”
• Explain why the role will be good for you
• Waste the first paragraph with filler, make an impact so they keep reading

So here are some example templates I have put together;

Cover Letter No 1

Cover Letter No 2

Please tell me if there are any mistakes and email me any improved versions.

Thanks

Tim

Contracting can best be described as the ultimate try before you buy!

Rather than jumping into a long-term commitment it provides an opportunity for an employee and an employer to work together to see if the fit is right for both parties. It can however be a double-edged sword. As there is no commitment either can pull out of the arrangement if things don’t go to plan.

In recent times we have seen a shift in how employers and employees feel about contract work. The demand for contract roles has increased as the workforce continues to change under new pressures. As companies respond to financial pressures, shrinking resources and ever expanding workloads often their demands do not reduce and they need to find a solution. Staffing is kept lean and mean with no slack for over-and-above projects. Sometimes the only cost effective way around this is to hire contractors to ensure timeframes are met on those non-negotiable projects.

Previously there was a preconception that contractors were “second best”, not of a high enough standard or looking for a way into permanent roles. Thankfully this has changed. Many professionals with a solid background and transferable skills have made a lifestyle choice to become “career contractors”. They are motivated by goals other than security – they want to work from home, have had enough of workplace politics, want time with their family, want to take that trip, or return to study. Contracting can offer that flexibility and balance, giving people more choice. Market conditions also play a role influencing the supply/demand curve. With the candidate market remaining tight and employers facing increasing pressure with managing their costs, both sides need to be flexible in considering their options. Over the last 6 months we (market partners) have seen an increase in candidates who previously would only have considered permanent roles and are now prepared to look at contracting as another option. This has been across both the Services and FMCG sectors. On the employer side they are 6 months in, know their positions and what they can and can’t resource and fund for the remainder of the year so need to consider their options.

So what are the advantages and disadvantages of contracting?

For employers there are numerous advantages:

• Cost effectiveness – no annual leave, sick leave, long-service accruals
• Increased productivity from contractors versus permanents as they don’t have to deal with competing demands and can focus on the task at hand
• Ability to dedicate resources to key projects without affecting the day to day running of the business
• Help to manage resource allocation
• No long-term commitment
• Inject new skills into the organisation with minimal risk

And the disadvantages:

• Some companies are concerned about confidentiality of information but all contractors especially career contractors are aware that their reputation is critical if they are to get
  another role
• Lack of commitment – if a project runs over or a decision hasn’t been made as to the finish date a contractor may have already secured another role or wish to move on

There are also many advantages for the contractor:

• Higher productivity as you don’t have to deal with competing demands or office politics and can focus on the project
• Variety of work places/industries/roles/challenges keeps it interesting and tests the
  individual’s skills to adapt and work in different environments
• Employers often open to giving contractors an opportunity to move across industries or roles as there is little risk for them
• Clarity of job responsibilities and expectations
  – hired for a specific purpose with a timeframe provided
• Paid for every hour you work
• Able to pursue other ambitions and still have an income

And the disadvantages:

• Inconsistency of income or role; depending on the individual and how they adapt and can manage their financials; particularly in-between roles
• No security; my contract ends in 3 weeks, what next?
• No annual leave, sick leave and other employee benefits
• Don’t always feel part of the team
• Minimal training and development; can be a steep learning curve
• Roles won’t always live up to the PD; can sometimes be “below” where you were previously
• Constantly have to adjust to new work environments

Contracting positions in sales and marketing are still in their infancy if you compare them to other
industries like IT, healthcare or industrial that have been using the benefits of contracting for years. There are still companies that find it a relatively new concept however they are embracing contracting to succeed in achieving their targets and objectives.

If you are thinking about a career change, don’t discount contracting as an option. It’s an ideal way to change industries, gain experience in a variety of roles and achieve more choice and balance. Security, even for permanent staff, is a thing of the past so for those willing to sacrifice this illusion there are many exciting benefits.

If you have good skills and an adaptable style then contracting may be worth considering…..and if you have to meet that deadline and don’t have the capacity in your team then perhaps think about what a contractor can do to keep you on track.

Tim

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please give me any advise or feedback.

Thanks

Tim

So is January just going back to normal, just a slow start as people return to work and put out the fires and will start thinking about HR and recruitment in Feb/March?

I don’t have the answer, but I haven’t seen anything that points towards a great year for the job market. It will be much slower than last year and good candidates will still get good jobs and average candidates will have to work harder and wait longer to secure their next role.

We have seen more companies trying to recruit themselves through SEEK and print advertising in the past 3 months. This may continue but you need resources to do this and the success is more hit and miss than you would think. Remember to do those reference check guys.

Any feedback is most welcome.

Tim

Warren Hogan, ANZ head of Australian economics, made this astute observation;

“The latest job advertisements data suggests the global financial crisis has had a substantial impact on the Australian economy in the December quarter”

The redundancies continue to roll in with ANZ playing its part yesterday, giving 2 weeks notice to middle managers, analysts and researchers not required on the merger of Institutional and Corporate Depts.

FMCG announcements have been few and far between at this stage, with the agency/advertising area taking the brunt of it at the moment.

All the best.

Tim

Consolidation of sales and marketing teams across FMCG will be a challenge for us all over the next 2-3 years.

Tim

1. L’Oreal has flown the coop from the Flemington Birdcage
2. VALUES of Gold Coast listed companies have plummeted almost 60 per cent since last year
3. Selfridge’s on Sunday launched a new up-scale chocolate treat — the “Credit Crunch“
4. The home brewing beer industry is undergoing a resurgence
5. Job ads growth at five year low: survey
6. Restaurants Push ‘Value’ Meals
7. Wall Street banker swapped finance to become a monk in a remote Bulgarian village

Any More?

Tim

But how reliable is the number of individual jobs posted on SEEK and how closely does this number equate to actual individual positions within individual companies?

There are thousands of ads on SEEK that fall into the duplicate or phantom categories;

• Multiple listings of the same role by the same company or recruiter
• One role being listed by the company and a recruiter
• One role being listed by more than one recruiter
• CV collecting general listings ie “Calling all Brand Managers” etc.

Now SEEK loves this because it increases their revenues. As the competition for Talent intensifies and the lack of a strong alternative the candidates will continue to go to SEEK as the first option. Unfortunately they will have to sift through this maze of duplicate roles and opportunities.

Paul Newman from Exodus (1960)

Newman’s Own is the food company founded (on a lark) by the late great Paul Newman and his buddy A. E. Hotchnerin in 1982. Starting from a range of salad dressings the brand now encompasses over 150 products across food and beverages. Since it started, the company has donated over $250m from its after tax profits, to a range of causes, with the most notable being The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.

Grocery Marketing in 1987 reported that the success of Newman’s Own appeared to be due to the combination of the popular Paul Newman image on the product labels, a strong public relations effort, and quality products that inspired repeat sales. This is a good message to any marketeer and business.

By all reports, Newman remained actively involved in the business until recently; choosing and approving charitable and educational donations, tasting new products, acting as a spokesperson and even writing ad copy.  As he once told a New York Times reporter, ‘If we stop having fun, we’re closing up shop.’

Vale Paul Newman an FMCG Legend, whose face we will continue to see on our shelves for many years to come.

Tim

Companies that aren’t even in the FMCG industry want FMCG experience in their new hires. And because job seekers are constantly faced with this barrier they all want to work with FMCG to give themselves the best chance of securing those coveted roles.

What’s the fuss over FMCG and why does everyone want it?

First of all, what does FMCG really mean? It stands for fast moving consumer goods. We all agree on that but then the definition gets grey. Everyone has a slightly different interpretation, often depending on what industry they work in! Here’s how we’ll define it…when you walk down the aisle of your local supermarket and can pick the product off the shelf it’s classified as an FMCG.

But it’s still not that easy. Stationary manufactures could argue that they’re in grocery therefore they’re FMCG. Let’s compare the difference between a carton of milk and a pen. Milk is a high volume product that is restocked several times a day (hence the name fast moving); it has a short shelf life and is considered an essential…unless you’re lactose intolerant! Pens, on the other hand, are purchased occasionally, have a long-term expiry date and could be considered a luxury items. So milk is FMCG and a pen is a consumer good. For the purposes of this article, we’ll say that FMCG are any household essentials that are sold through the grocery channel.

There are good reasons why employers want people with household product manufacturing and marketing experience. Marketers within FMCG are total business managers for their categories. They manage the entire process from research and development, manufacturing, product launches and ongoing marketing management. They are marketing generalists with involvement in all aspects of their products. In many other industries marketing has become highly specialised. There are product managers responsible for a specific part of the products life, then there are marketing communications specialists who manage another area of the same product or insight managers who are accountable only for research and the list goes on. That’s why FMCG marketers are different and more like business managers. They manage all of these specialised areas themselves.

FMCG is a tough market that’s all about incremental advances rather than huge year on year growth. They have to focus on other things, not just the marketing, to sell product. The grocery distribution channel is extremely challenging because shelf space and position is at a premium. It’s essential to get forecasts right because out of stock situations mean disaster in this high volume business.

As a total business manager strong financial analysis is essential. FMCG marketers know how to crunch data and make that information relevant to the business. Sometimes relatively “simple” decisions, like changing a package design, could have dramatic financial repercussions. As the margin for error is slim it needs to be analysed; will the sales generated by the new packaging outweigh the costs? To make this decision it’s important to have an understanding of the total business and how a product or category contributes to the bottom line.

FMCG is a misnomer – the product might move fast once in grocery but everything else leading up to that product launch is slow. It takes years of research and development for products to be developed and this is just one of the reasons why large FMCG companies spend huge amounts of money on research and systems. The benefit of working in the FMCG industry is a process-driven approach. It’s also why cutting edge marketing strategies and disciplines come from this industry.

In commodities it’s hard to create an emotional bond. It’s easy to form a relationship with a new luxury car but how to do that with a tin of baked beans? And what’s the difference between one brand of baked beans and another? These products are low involvement, price sensitive and have to appeal to a mass market. Food marketers must work harder and smarter to capitalise on every advantage. That’s why every new packaging idea on a well-worn product is heralded as a marketing feat. I can’t imagine how excited the marketers where when someone came up with the idea to have a squeezable tomato sauce bottle. Even a new sticky label to close a pack of chocolate pieces is a selling feature these days. The development of new innovations in this market are so long in the research realms, poked and prodded by focus groups and are under constant scrutiny due to the enormous resources tied up in their success. A food marketer may be working for months, even years, on just a single packaging advancement so it takes a certain level of commitment and diligence.

But before we jump on the FMCG bandwagon there are some limitations. The downside of sophisticated processes, technical data and research is that FMCG marketers are not necessarily trained to make interpretations based on “gut feel”. If your industry or company doesn’t have a high degree of procedures, and is more instinctive, a person from FMCG might not be the right cultural fit. The FMCG industry is also used to dealing with long lead times. If your company turns on a dime and needs to change directions quickly to react to market place forces then someone with FMCG experience might not be as adaptable.

And finally because these people are in demand as employees they cost a lot of money. The salary range can be double that of marketing professional from other industries. Given this fact alone it’s important to determine whether they will make return on your investment or if another candidate, qualified but with non-FMCG experience, could also contribute to your business just as well without the overhead.

For those people trying to get a foot into FMCG there’s a couple of traditional ways. Start at the bottom, usually as a sales executive after graduating with a Bachelor of Business in Marketing, and work your way up. Or gain experience in another industry and salary sacrifice to get into FMCG. But before making this decision consider if FMCG is right for you. The long lead times, statistical analysis and processes demanded in this industry may not suit people who work better in a more dynamic environment. Ask yourself if this is the kind of marketing for you or if you just want to do it because everyone else seems to want it!

It’s clear why many companies and job seekers are keen to have FMCG experience. But some companies will never need the experience of an FMCG marketer and some people may never want to practice this kind of marketing. It’s important to see that while FMCG know-how is valuable it isn’t the be all and end all of marketing. Now you know what all the FMCG fuss is about.