How to beat the back to work blues – 5 Steps For a Successful Re-entry

Ah the back to work blues… The festive season is upon us, and with it comes a little glimpse of another life; a life where we can socialise, eat, drink, and be merry and then it’s time to return to work. This joyous feeling, satisfying as it is, tends to be short-lived. As the holiday period ends, we suddenly feel increasingly more anxious at the prospect of re-entering our work lives – a life with a little more structure and (let’s be honest) a lot less fun.

This can lead to the ever-tempting fantasy of resigning. It is hard not to entertain a quitting fantasy when you’re one day enjoying the summer sun and the next faced with the reality of spending 5 of your 7 weekly days indoors.

For some, the dread of going back to work can become all-consuming. As a result, it is not uncommon that some people take the plunge and quit a little too impulsively, later wishing they hadn’t.

Should I Stay or Should I Go

It’s important to acknowledge that these feelings aren’t always just a FOMO situation. The holidays give you a break from your day to day and can often give you the distance to see how you really feel with where you’re at.

Before making any suggestions on how to happily re-enter your work-life, we first suggest that you take some time over the holiday period to reflect on your situation; where you are, where you want to be and if your current employer aligns with these.

Pros and Cons

The simplest yet most effective way to assess this is to write a pro’s and con’s list. If you have space to grow, you like your colleagues, you’re in an industry you enjoy, and you feel valued, then it’s recommended you don’t take any hasty decisions to throw it away. If your cons are mostly about not being able to sleep in or go to the beach every day, you’ll realise pretty quickly that your hesitation to go to work really has nothing to do with your current employer.

If, on the other hand, you discover that you aren’t being fulfilled or appreciated, get in touch with the team here at Launch to discuss how we can help you kick off 2019 in the position of your dreams.

5 Steps to Help You Beat the Back to Work Blues

Once your pros have calmed the impulse to quit, follow these five tips to ensure a smooth transition back to work life.

1. Get enough sleep
   So obvious, but so important. Surviving the change of pace is going to require energy. Make sure to get between 7 and 9 hours sleep to guarantee you wake up fresh.
   
2. Keep your pros on hand
   You’re human. Just because you know you have it good doesn’t mean you won’t falter. Keep your pro’s written down and with you at all times to review whenever you’re feeling shaky.
3. Go in early
   On the first day back, be sure to get in a little early so that you can sort your emails and ease into the day before you start to greet your colleagues and chat about your holidays.
   
4. Plan your week in advance
   Visualising your week really helps to give you clarity on how you’re going to make it to the end of the week. Look at what you have on and take the time to figure out how it will all be structured and stick to the plan.
5. Make goals
   If anything came up in your pro’s and con’s around wanting to progress or grow, make goals to work toward these. Going back with a focus on what you want to achieve in your career makes it a heck of a lot easier to face the new year.

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Cyber Security Warnings – What to Prepare For in 2019

It’s no secret that the internet has transformed our world. In just 50 years, we have gone from clunky computers (whose creators never imagined would be adopted for in-home use) right the way through to fully connected devices that can fit into our pockets, or wrap stylishly around our wrists. Generations who vehemently objected to internet use, were forced to comply as most banks and other traditional organisations ditched paper correspondents in favour of email.

Not a single person in 2018 can avoid some brush with technology, lest you live in a remote village and are still not aware that a bigger world exists around you.

As technology has matured and deepened, so too have the systems and skills of individuals that seek to exploit it. In a relatively short amount of time, cyber attacks have evolved from annoying viruses or inconvenient hacks, and transformed into something so large scale that bank accounts have been wiped, millions of people have had their personal information stolen, and elections have been manipulated.

Security Divides

Greater connectivity — more platforms and systems used — has created greater potential attack vectors; leaving businesses and individuals more vulnerable than ever before. As businesses scramble to get an edge over their competitors, the breadth of systems utilised tends to grow. You need to be on social, you need an internet connected internal communication system, you need a CRM, you have a customer database, and you have all your financial and legal information stored somewhere “securely” online.

While greater connectivity opens up more doors to enter, it is also the most obvious and therefore the easiest to plan against. The real challenges are staff, suppliers, IoT, and legacy systems.

1.  Staff
   It is unlikely that your staff are out to steal your IP or weaken your security but it is likely that some of your users will not have the skills or resources to protect their data, and this can leave the business open to risk.
2. Suppliers
   As with your staff, your suppliers aren’t likely to be selling your data, but there is a chance that their cybersecurity strategy may not be as robust as yours, which can create significant vulnerabilities.
3.  Internet of Things
   As businesses or your staff, bring smart technology — be it a toaster, fridge or even coffee mug — into the office, you’re also bringing in more pathways from which hackers can enter your network. Also opening up new ways that they can impact your physical environment – scary stuff.
4. Complex Architecture
   The continuing decentralisation of IT management creates increasingly complex architecture and will continue to be a challenge into the future.

Enter 2019 Risk-Free

While you should, of course, work with IT security professionals to create a concrete cybersecurity plan, there are steps you can take now to ensure your business, your staff and your systems are best prepared for the New Year.

Educate and upskill – Cyber risks evolve rapidly. Don’t assume that your staff are up to speed on best practice. Establish an ongoing education for staff about cybersecurity and ensure your IT staff are being upskilled on this topic regularly.

Review systems – Get your IT team or an external security professional to go through all of your systems to check for any weak spots that are vulnerable to breach. Close up any gaps before someone else finds them.

Implement security from the beginning – Make it a policy that every new system is designed to be secure. Every new employee and supplier should be educated on security and plans should be in place to ensure it is ongoing.

Invest in security – Whether you use external security support or not, your business needs the skills in-house to keep your organisation safe. If you’re seeking the best skilled IT security experts in the country, get in touch with us to connect you.

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Testers vs Developers – Whose perspective is best

Behind the creation of applications, websites and pretty much every other technical online platform, what many never see is the team of technologists working together (not always) in harmony to deliver users a smooth, well-functioning product.

Delivering successful software products requires a variety of input, with many staff looking at the product from different angles to ensure the result meets the needs of the business and its users, with no glitches and full functionality.

Within these strong technical teams, we find two similar, yet often opposing, team members who together are essential in creating bulletproof products, although it may simply look like a heck of a lot of tension and in-fighting.

I am of course talking about the developer and the tester. The technical duo who are responsible for putting forward the worlds best code through the humbling process of criticising each other’s work.

While the goal of both testers and developers is to produce a quality product, the approach from each side is significantly different, thus leading to the ever common playful debate about who reigns superior in the dynamic. With testers, of course, on the side of testers, and developers on the side of developers.

What unites these two IT career professionals are their common enemies; Time and Vague Requirements. And then what divides them is their inability to speak the same language, making all communication an uphill battle, while fighting against the clock.

Developers make, and testers break. Let’s take a look at the difference in perspective on both sides.

The Developer Perspective

In the red corner, we have the developer, whose role it is to creatively design and bring to life a technical product that meets the needs of the business or user. Taking a slew of requirements from the business, the developer often sets out to create something out of nothing. The developer spends their days agonising endlessly over the best possible features and functions to pull off near-impossible feats and bring the world a high-quality product with all the bells and whistles to satiate our ever growing appetite for more more more.

The Tester Perspective

In the blue corner, the tester, who is often seen as the villain whose role is primarily to take the results of a developers blood sweat and tears and intentionally set out to break and pick it apart, with the noble intention of ensuring a customer proof product that is unbreakable. Even if the pride of the developer is crushed in the process.

Where the Head’s Butt

Starting first with the developer who is typically recognised as the sufferer in this dynamic, with their hard efforts poked, prodded, and ripped to shreds at every turn. Despite all the best of efforts, working as a developer means constant critical analysis of your work. Thought you submitted a perfect piece of code? “Think again!” the tester snaps back. Leaving the developer with a pile of work, having to go back, pull apart all their previous efforts and find the faults that they worked so hard to keep out of the code.

While it’s easy to see why the tester makes life hard for the developer, what about the hardship of the tester? These brave souls enter a team with the sole purpose of trying to break and report issues on other peoples work. Struggle to make friends in the workplace? Imagine being this person. While the tester may be the one dishing most of the digs to the pride of the developer, they must contest with playing the role of the villain. Having shade thrown and eyes rolled in their direction as they highlight all the tiny mistakes of the team around them.

So who then plays the more critical role within this dynamic? Who suffers the most and who deserves the sympathy of the surrounding team? We would love to hear your thoughts. And if you’re brave enough to be in one of these roles and looking for a new challenge, get in touch with Launch to help find your best new internal enemy.

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Rewarding Our Candidates

At Launch, we continually engage with our candidates and recently to reward our candidate community we held a competition for updating their information with us, offering them the chance to win a $1,000 Apple Voucher. Furthermore, to ensure that our candidates are represented correctly in our database, allowing us to offer them relevant career opportunities and to strive to make a positive impact on their career.

Launch received an overwhelming response and we thank all those candidates who participated.

Congratulations to Vinay Sharma who was the winner of the $1,000 Apple Voucher draw held on 20/11/2018.

Due to the level of engagement, we will be continuing to reach out to our candidates and will hold a 2nd draw in March 2019.

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2018 SEEK SARA Winners – Medium Recruitment Agency of the Year

Launch Recruitment are the winners of the 2018 SEEK SARA Award for Medium Recruitment Agency of the Year.

The SEEK Annual Recruitment Awards (SARAs) are held in very high esteem throughout the Australian recruitment community as they recognise the innovative people and agencies pushing for excellence in the industry. The 2018 Seek Sara Awards were held in Melbourne at The Forum Theatre, and the night was certainly one to remember. Launch Recruitment was honoured to be announced as the winner of the Medium Recruitment Agency of the Year Award!

Launch CEO Rebecca Wallace said, “An award like this is all about team effort, I feel so fortunate to work with great people every day and also a big thanks to Seek for their support of our business over many years”.

A record number of submissions were received by Seek this year, so Launch are grateful to have won from a large number of high calibre applicants. After a rigorous judging process, an expert panel of judges selected Launch Recruitment as winners of Medium Recruitment Agency of the Year based Launch’s commitment to workplace culture, innovation, candidate engagement, commercial growth and contribution to the success of the recruitment industry as a whole. In line with this achievement, Launch will continue the commitment to delivering exceptional service to our clients and candidates and look forward to continuing our strong relationship with the industry.

Congratulations to all finalists and winners and a huge thank you to all of our customers, suppliers and staff for without whom, this commendation would not be possible.

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Why Counter Offers Don’t Work

Counter offers are a common tactic used by companies to prevent their top employees from leaving. If you’ve ever been through a resignation process, chances are you’ve experienced a counter offer.

It goes like this: Employee submits their resignation, and a skilled recruiter or HR person will speak with them to look for a hook that could get the employee to consider staying. This may come in the form of more money, a better job title or even promises of a changed work environment.

Receiving a counter offer is flattering, and the temptation to stay is normal. However, counter offers are typically just a tactic for companies to prolong the inevitable and avoid re-hiring. Offering more money, or a promotion is rarely addressing the actual factors behind your resignation; thus the chances of retaining you long-term are pretty slim. ‌

Emotional power play

Very few people wake up one day wishing to resign from their job without any reason. These decisions are usually carefully considered, and the motivations for leaving may be different for every person and are always unique to your situation. Yet, despite having logical and well thought out reasons for resigning, the whole process can be mentally and emotionally challenging.  

At the resignation stage, it is typical that you may feel frustrated or even sad that your current company has not seen your worth or given you the promotion you felt you deserved. This is what makes the counter offer so powerful; it is as though they finally see you and human instincts make us want to cling to what is comfortable and familiar. But in most cases, it is a band-aid and it doesn’t stay stuck for long.

Avoiding the counter offers trap

The number one reason that counter offers don’t work is that they don’t solve the underlying issue. When you receive a counter-offer, the first step is to put flattery aside and think about why you resigned in the first place.

But they offered me a promotion…

‌Even if a promotion is promised, it doesn’t change the dynamics of the team, or your boss, or the myriad of other things that had driven you to resign in the first place. At best, accepting a counteroffer is a short-term solution delaying the inevitable.

I could use the extra money…

Offering a salary increase to counter a resignation is a “too little, too late” attempt. Sure it may seem like it solves some problems and perhaps your frustration was predominantly monetary, but ask yourself why you hadn’t been offered a salary increase following your last performance review. It shouldn’t take a resignation for your company to acknowledge your worth. Do you want to work for an organisation which under-values their staff unless they’re threatened you will leave? I don’t think so.

Nothing glues back the same

What very few people consider is that accepting a counter-offer brings with it a brand new set of problems. You can’t take back your attempt to resign, and even if they wanted you to stay, your employer can never again see you the same. They may be throwing money and promotions your way, but your boss and your colleagues will not be able to shake the feeling that you are disloyal or uncommitted to the company.

‌Counteroffers are gratifying. But the risks outweigh the rewards. When you’re in the resignation process, keep a list of your reasons close by, recite them often, and follow through on your plans to leave and start a new chapter. Just be sure to leave on good terms.

If you’re ready to move on from your role and start a new chapter elsewhere, get in touch with our team here at Launch Recruitment.

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5G Technology and What it Means for Australians

All across the world, the telco and tech industries are aflutter with the anticipated arrival of 5G technology. Touted as being a game changer for its lightning-fast speeds, and the ability to process an extremely high volume of data messages with minimal delay, it’s no wonder excitement is mounting for the tech to finally reach Aussie soil.

So far we know it’s fast, and it’s due to drop in Australia sometime in 2019, but to really understand what 5G technology means for Australians, we should take a look back before we look forward.

A quick history of the G’s

All of us with smartphones (which is all of us, I guess), will have seen the 3G, 4G or 4G LTE text somewhere on your smartphone next to the carrier name. The 4G was an improvement on the 3G, the 4G LTE was an improvement on the 4G, and now we have the much awaited 5G promising to put the 4G to shame and thrust us into the future.

Quite simply, the “G” stands for Generation, as in the next generation of wireless technologies, and each generation is supposedly faster, more secure and more reliable. The third generation (3G) of wireless mobile telecommunications technology set the standards for most of the wireless technology we have come to know and love; internet access, video calling, email, picture sharing and other Smartphone technology was introduced in the third generation. 4G succeeded 3G providing the speed of at least 100 Megabits per second and up to 1 Gigabit per second, allowing for gaming services, high-definition mobile TV, video conferencing, and 3D television.

Consider how attached you are to Uber and making online purchases from your mobile phone. The capabilities that we think of as basics today were unimaginable in the pre-4G world. Imagine what can come from the 5G world. The transition from 4G to 5G will serve both consumers and multiple industries.

When 5G meets Australia

With capable download speeds of up to 20Gbps, and the ability to process an extremely high volume of data messages at speeds as low as one millisecond, 5G technology in Australia promises to enable the creation of the most responsive programs, platforms, and products in history.

Understanding how dramatic the shift was from 3G to 4G, and what speeds are required for some of the most talked about innovations of today, 5G is being lauded as the technology that will catapult us into the real technology age. It is predicted that self-driving cars, doctors performing remote surgery, and smart cities where emergency vehicles, traffic lights, and public transport can communicate with no lag time, are all near on the horizon. All of which require this lightning-fast technology, as every extra millisecond is essential to preventing accidents or saving lives.

On the less life-threatening side, we can also expect to see 5G dramatically change the possibilities for virtual and augmented reality with zero glitches or delays, creating a truly immersive experience. This, of course, will not just be limited to our smartphones. Thanks to the rise in IoT, we can expect to see these technologies go mainstream, being fitted into our eyeglasses and likely even our home appliances.

For Australia, where we have notoriously poor networks in rural areas, 5G presents an opportunity for these communities to finally be reliably connected; while opening up jobs, driving growth and improving their access to emergency service. 5G can help our industries overcome some of their biggest pain points. Particularly in Agriculture where 5G can improve the; accuracy of precision farming and crop yields, connectivity between different pieces of equipment and supply chain tracking (for example, livestock, warehouses, vehicles and crops). Furthermore, 5G will enable Autonomous vehicles performing tasks in the field (such as harvesting), Predictive maintenance for farming equipment based on analysis of data from sensors, In-field AR support for e-learning and expert advice in remote areas, and Optimising agriculture logistics chains with sensors, tracking, and analytics.

What now

If you’re wondering how to best prepare for the introduction of 5G, whether as a candidate looking to secure the best opportunity, or a business looking to get the right candidates to help your telecommunications transition, give me a call today.

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What is AWS Serverless, and Why is Everyone Moving in that Direction?

Amazon Web Services has been making big waves down under since landing in Sydney, late 2012. Cloud storage and data services had already been popularised, understood, and well adopted in Australia when the tech giant hit home-shore, so it was no surprise AWS took off with great success. In fact, the launch was anticipated that niche consultancies began sprouting up, dedicated to helping businesses migrate and make the most of their AWS services.

Since that fateful day in 2012, AWS has continued to dominate the Aussie business landscape as a cloud service of choice, with an ever-increasing range of services and capabilities, including the much loved AWS serverless.

While serverless has become the hottest tech topic of late, serverless services have actually been around since the mid-2000s. It is just Amazon that had taken the term mainstream with their launch of AWS Lambda in 2014.

What is AWS serverless?

Firstly, let’s look at Amazon Web Services. AWS is a secure cloud services platform. They offer various services including computing power, database storage, content delivery and a host of other functionalities for businesses to scale and grow.

Amongst the AWS solutions, is AWS serverless, which permits businesses to build and run applications and services without the need for servers — no provision or maintenance and no software or runtime. AWS serverless also handles everything you need to run and scale your applications by adjusting capacity through toggling units of consumption, rather than units of individual servers. Then finally, AWS serverless doesn’t make you pay for idle capacity, so if your code is not running, you are not being charged.

What this means for businesses is that the staff you would have typically had monitoring and managing the servers can now focus on building and running new applications and services for your business. Serverless applications also have a built-in availability and fault tolerance, which saves your developers time architecting for these capabilities.  

In a nutshell, AWS serverless benefits include:

• Freeing up resources for other projects
• Saves you money (on servers and not having to pay when your code is not running)
• Preempts your needs with inbuilt capabilities like fault tolerance
• Enhanced scalability functions
• Increases overall productivity due to all of the above benefits

What is AWS Lambda?

When talking about or researching AWS serverless, AWS Lambda is going to come up – a lot. AWS Lambda is a feature within the AWS serverless “Compute” offering, and this is the feature which popularised serverless across platforms. AWS Lambda is the feature that lets businesses run code with just about any kind of application or backend service, with no administration. Developers can upload their code, and Lambda looks after all you need to run and scale the code with high availability. This code can be set up to trigger from other AWS services automatically, or it can be called directly from any web or mobile app.

It’s not surprising to us that Australian businesses are jumping on board with AWS serverless at a rate of knots. In a time when developers and architects are highly sought after and hard to come by, services like AWS serverless can help to relieve some of the burden to allow your human resources to get more done with less.

If you need a hand finding some of these highly sought after tech professionals, we have a team of dedicated recruiters here at Launch, ready to introduce you to the best professionals.

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Preparing for your job interview: What to remember that you’re likely to forget

Job interviews can be intimidating. Most of us know how to conduct ourselves, there is plenty of information out there and your recruiter most certainly will have given you some pointers. It’s normal, however, that amongst all the nerves the voice of your recruiter is like white noise and you’ve suddenly forgotten all the basics.

Every company conducts job interviews differently, and you can’t be prepared for absolutely everything. However, you can be prepared enough to do the basics well, and with a confident baseline, you can handle anything else that comes your way.

Follow these six tips to ace your next job interview.

1. Research the company values

Many people will spend all of their time researching a company and trying to memorize every service, and product while forgetting to look at the company values. Products and services are important, of course, but a prospective employer is going to want to see that you align with their values. Being well researched on these will allow you to more confidently frame your answers to highlight your culture fit for the organisation.

2. Mirror your environment

This applies to both dress code and body language. In your research, you should learn how employees in this organisation typically dress. If no one ever wears a suit, don’t wear a suit. Always dress professionally but dress to fit into your environment. Then, be mindful of your body language and mirror your interviewer. If they are a little rigid, be mindful to sit up straight and keep hand movements to a minimum. If they are more casual and expressive, you can respond in kind.

3. Enjoy the dance

The easiest way to feel comfortable in an interview is to turn it into a conversation. This may not always be possible but asking questions and having a natural back and forth with the interview will help to make you feel equal to your interviewer, thus less under pressure and on the spot. Just remember to keep your responses concise.

4. Know your pitch

These days companies care as much about who you are as they do about what professional skills you have. Be sure to know your professional selling points inside out. As well as having a strong story about who you are, where you came from and how you came to be the person you are today. Weave your professional experience into the story but also focus on the personal experiences you’ve had which lead you to your position now.

5. Know your weaknesses

Weaknesses are always going to come up. This could mean an area that you are not experienced in that the role requires, or something that you need, or want, to develop to be better in your position. Being unprepared for this question can make it look like you think you have no weaknesses or you don’t want to be honest. Anticipate what they may consider to be your weakness or skill gap, and highlight this while also demonstrating how you will counter it.

6. A.B.C.

If you aren’t in sales you probably haven’t seen Glengarry Glen Ross, but you don’t need to watch the movie to take the advice of its most famous line: Always. Be. Closing. Don’t be afraid to ask the interviewer what they think of you, if they think your skills fit, or if they have any concerns or feedback about you. These questions open up a door for you to address any hesitations, or win a little insight into their initial impression of you.

What are the biggest challenges you face in interviews? If you’re looking for your next role, or need some tips and tricks to get yourself across the line, visit our Job Seekers page, or give me a call today on 1300 452 986.

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Australia’s Telecommunications Labour Shortage – How to Regain Control and Get the Candidates You Need

Currently, in Australia, we are experiencing a shortage of Telecommunications professionals for labour hire. As often happens in these cases, businesses go into panic mode and tend to take a reactive approach, rather than continuing to focus on long-term strategy and processes for hiring.

According to the Department of Jobs and Small Businesses, employers are generally attracting low numbers of suitable applicants, which is resulting in unfilled vacancies of around 50 per cent in 2017; a record low.

It seems this current market situation started with the NBN project and more recently has come from the mobile operators looking to build and upgrade their networks and spending billions of dollars acquiring new sites and installing Telecommunication infrastructure. The demand keeps growing but the candidate pool is not.

So far, we are seeing these shortages in skilled Telecommunications Project Managers and Project Directors, as well as Civil and Project Engineers, Telco Field Engineers and Riggers, and now Town Planners and SAED specialists (Site Acquisition, Environmental and Design professionals), who are currently in serious demand.

With no end to this labour shortage in sight, it is important for companies to start looking at their long-term resourcing plans and put an end to the reactive approach.

Consequences of a reactive process

With high demand comes demanding candidates. In some cases, rates for these professionals has increased 50 per cent above what it was just two years ago. Of course, it is through no fault of their own; when you’re in high demand, someone will be willing to pay you high rates. It happens in every candidate short market, and we can’t blame these candidates for enjoying the benefits of being highly sort after. Instead, it is the responsibility of businesses to try to retain a little control, rather than giving it all to the candidate.

As we’ve also seen with the shortage in IT Project Services, rushing the hiring process, and paying the exorbitant rates right off the bat is going to result in disloyal hires who will simply jump at the next, higher paying, opportunity.

Regaining control in a candidate short market

Regaining control is all about looking long-term so that you can have a new confidence in your process. This is going to make you less likely to compromise or throw your budget away.

Look at your value proposition beyond remuneration

This is the time to take a step back and think about what your company offers candidates, aside from remuneration. Play to your strengths and really highlight (and follow through on) the other benefits to candidates joining your organisation. Whether it’s extra leave, working from home, or professional development allowances; focus on positioning these perks more heavily. If you do not have any company perks to make you competitive, it may be worth looking into establishing some.

Consider upskilling

If the candidate market isn’t growing at the rate you need it to, and your needs aren’t going away any time soon, perhaps it’s time to look at education initiatives internally to help bring more skilled professionals into the market. Development opportunities are a great employment perk and garner loyalty from those in the program.

Work with those in the know

We all need help from time to time, and having a relationship with a recruiter specialising in this area is beneficial to help you not only hire the best people but also to learn about what’s happening in the market and how you can survive it. That’s where we come in. With over 10 years specialising in Telecommunications recruitment, we can help you to remain in control in a candidate short market.

Give us a call today to discuss the current telecommunications recruitment landscape and who we have available for your next project.

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Rising Demand for DevOps Professionals – 2009 to Now and Beyond

Demand for DevOps candidates is rising. In the past year, we have seen more and more organisations pushing to introduce DevOps into their business, or expanding the team currently in place. Observing this growth, we began to think about the space and just how much it has evolved. After all, it was not even a decade ago that the term DevOps was first coined, when Patrick Debois hosted the “devopsdays” conference in Belgium.

Since the creation of the term in 2009, the DevOps space has blossomed, and tech businesses have quickly adopted teams of these professionals, recognising their function as a necessary piece in the development puzzle.

A quick history

DevOps came from the need to de-silo development and operations to more efficiently move through development, with minimal bottlenecks on the operations side. Originally DevOps began utilising existing software development methodologies, like Waterfall or Agile. Today, the function of DevOps is to design processes specific to the needs of the business. Some may leverage existing software development methodologies but without relying on them entirely.

As this role has matured, so too have the practices, processes and technologies that support it. DevOps has gone from playing a role in optimising for cost, to now also optimising for speed; a combination that is critical for most modern businesses to stay competitive. In addition to improved processes and turn around, these individuals ensure better communication and collaboration between the teams.

Why so popular?

The way that we deliver software has changed. What could once take years of development is now expected to be delivered in a fraction of the time. Having a DevOps culture means businesses can release products and features a lot quicker, speed to market is increased and collaboration between the operations team and development team is improved; thus increasing communication and an effective workforce.

DevOps includes continuous development and continuous integration, allowing for better integration with other systems through Open Source coding.

It’s more prevalent in this day and age that companies produce goods more rapidly and more effectively, which is why DevOps has been formed, and exactly why the need for these individuals is growing exponentially. As demands from customers increase, both in terms of range and fast turn around, DevOps professionals are working to remain two steps ahead and keeping projects advancing in rapid time.

Looking ahead

DevOps professionals are scarce and will only become more scarce as the space grows faster than the professionals entering the market. Businesses should be wary of people who call themselves DevOps professionals but are actually not in practice. We already see this happening today and it may become more of an issue moving forward as businesses are tempted to look at under-skilled people to meet their needs.

To avoid getting caught out, you need to know what you’re looking for. If you don’t know how to find DevOps professionals, you’ll need a good agency on your side. Of course we would say that, but the reality is that we work all day every day in this space and have deep networks with some of the most successful DevOps professionals. 

Get in touch with us today.

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What is workplace flexibility? And why it’s critical you offer it

These days it seems that at least 85 percent of my candidates are asking about flexibility. A fair question when moving through a recruitment process, especially if they are weighing up a number of opportunities. What I have come to realise is that “flexibility” means different things to different people, and merely stating that you offer flexibility may get someone interested, but it doesn’t mean that you are speaking the same language. It is also now a question that comes to the top of a full range of candidates lists of priorities and is no longer just the parent’s that ask.

In candidate short markets, attracting top talent requires being open to offering flexibility. This will put your business on a level playing field with highly sort-after employers, like the Google’s of the world, who have long offered these perks to secure and retain the best people.

The Fair Work Ombudsman describes flexibility in the workplace as employers and employees making arrangements about working conditions that suit them. They suggest this can be formal; a standard flexibility offering that all employees are entitled to. Or individual; specific flexibility negotiated between the employer and a particular individual, with the arrangement tailored to their needs.

What is flexibility?

Keeping in mind that we all have vastly different needs, it is easy to understand how we can accidentally end up misunderstanding one another when we hear the sweet word “flexibility”.

For students, they may want flexibility for study. Parents may want the flexibility to pick up their kids each day, or to take care of them if they are sick. Others want to work from home once per week; simply because this helps to boost their productivity.

Australian’s have long been known for valuing their work-life balance. In fact, according to Business Insider “work/life balance is so important to Australians that they would willingly trade it over money, holidays and development opportunities offered by any prospective or current employer.”

To remain competitive as an employer, it is vital that you understand workplace flexibility, and how to successfully implement it. Not just to keep employees happy but also to boost productivity and overall employee satisfaction across the business.

Company-wide flexibility options

The benefits of a flexible work environment are many, including a significant boost in productivity and job satisfaction. If you’re a company new to flexibility in the workplace, here are a few examples of some flexible arrangement you could consider implementing (that are becoming widely expected):

Hot desking

This option is excellent for companies as it allows you to save on office space that is going unused. Hot desks around the office let staff come to work and choose which desk suits them; it also gives them the flexibility to move throughout the day as they may need a change of environment for different tasks. However, anecdotal reports from people working in companies that do offer hot desking, note that in practice people are creatures of habit and sit at the same desk every day and within their teams, so the benefits of hot desking are still being evaluated.

Remote work

Today it is extremely common for employers to offer one day per week where employees can work from home or remotely from wherever they like. This helps employees to break up their week and get away from inter-office distractions, which in turn boosts productivity. This escape from the office is also proven to significantly increase love for one’s job.

Individual flexibility options

Flexibility is a valuable perk to offer staff, and it is all the more appreciated when it is tailored specifically to an individual’s needs and a mutually beneficial arrangement is negotiated. Here are some ideas of what may be negotiated on an individual basis:

• Alternate working hours – Parents may wish to start earlier and finish earlier so that they can make school pick ups.
• Remote work commute – Some staff have a long commute to get to work. Thankfully those train journeys can now come with wifi, so some employers may be willing to allow staff to get to the office later, knowing they are working during their commute.
• Work from home perks – Whether it is for parents needing the flexibility to stay home with kids, or for staff who have proven they can work effectively from home (cafe, beach, whatever), giving this option to motivated employees increases loyalty and can allow you to retain staff who may otherwise have had to leave due to changes in their circumstances.

What are you doing in your business to promote flexibility?  We would love to learn what is working for you and what challenges you are facing. Get in touch with the team at Launch Recruitment today.

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Securing Loyal Candidates in IT Project Services

Recently I had an in-depth conversation with one of my clients about the challenges they faced when securing Project Managers. In the last 12 months, their churn rate had significantly increased and was impacting their delivery.

After our long discussion, here is how we agree the IT Project Services market looks at present:   

If you’re a Project Manager in Australia right now, you would have a general sense that things are going great. You’re in high demand, you’re earning a high contract rate, and you can take your pick at whatever exciting project comes along.

Conversely, if you’re an Aussie business in need of a good Project Manager, your perspective is likely to be entirely different. It’s hard to secure the best people, you’re paying high rates, and loyalty is harder and harder to come by as higher rates and more interesting projects pop up left right and centre to steal your star PM.

What not to do in a candidate market

What tends to happen in a candidate market (where the candidates have the power), is that companies rush the hiring process; afraid they will miss out if they don’t act fast. In doing so, they can often compromise on the thorough recruitment process that is necessary to ensure you’re getting the right fit. As a result, high demand candidates go wherever the money is best, and the project is most enticing. With such a flippant decision-making process on both parts, is it any wonder that they will just as quickly jump to the next high paying, interesting project as soon as it presents itself?

Batten down the hatches

While it may seem counterintuitive, tightening recruitment processes is essential when you’re in a candidates market. Of course, it’s important to respect that these candidates are in a position of power; review your rates and think of how your company will compete for the best people, but that doesn’t mean jumping the gun and accepting a revolving door of disloyal PM’s. Staying proactive and firm in these times is essential – no matter how much pressure you’re feeling.

The best method for securing the right people, who are not only technically great but will also be loyal and committed, is to qualify, qualify, qualify.

Qualify that they have the right skills for the task

Step one is the most obvious and usually as far as many companies get when looking for a PM. Skills are, of course, critical to the person being able to deliver but this is the first qualification, not the final. Consider if this PM works the way you require. There is a shift in the demands and pace now expected from PM’s; they’re expected to be able to make multiple iterations on projects, be agile, yet work within traditional Project methodologies such as waterfall and PMBOK. Assess if your candidates meet all of your requirements.

Qualify that their career ambitions match what your company can offer

Assessing how your project or company aligns to a candidates’ career ambitions is critical in discovering the likelihood of a candidate staying with you, even if someone else offers them more money. If their career ambitions don’t align and it is merely a project to them, then you can’t expect them to stay when something better comes along.

Qualify that they want to see the project through

As above, if the person is not bought into the project, they are likely to jump ship as soon as something higher paying or more interesting proceeds. Throughout the interview process, qualify how the candidate has conducted themselves in previous projects. Look for people who have pride when they speak about the projects they deliver, beware of those who have not stuck around to see how it ends.

The resounding message is that communication is essential. Don’t get caught up with the pressure to find someone without taking the time to get to know them and discover if they truly want to get to know you.

If you’re struggling to secure qualified and loyal PM’s, get in touch with the Launch Recruitment Project Services recruitment team today on 1300 452 986 or visit our contact page.

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Jobs Growth in AI, IoT, and VR – How These Fields are Changing the Way You Work

It’s fair to assume that everyone is at least partially familiar with the acronyms AI, IoT and VR. Just in case you aren’t, here’s a quick rundown:

Artificial intelligence is offering us computer systems able to perform tasks that would usually require human intelligence; thus making us more efficient and able to identify patterns and process information at a rapid pace.

IoT is connecting all of our everyday objects to the internet to enable them to send and receive data. This is happening in everything from our fridges to our cars to our doorbells.

Virtual reality is giving us access to computer-generated simulations of images or environments designed to feel real, causing immersion where we can interact with the virtual environment. This technology is being developed for a range of applications, from video games, through to therapy.

The demand for emerging tech candidates has just begun

As these areas grow along with the applications for the technology, so too does the need for candidates in these fields. While there is an increasing number of Australian companies pioneering these fields, we are just at the start of what is bound to become a skill-shortage across these areas.

As technology moves so fast, the education systems have not kept pace to ensure that the skills required are also acquired as quickly. This is causing a skill gap, which will increase exponentially in the coming years.

How to defend against the emerging tech skills-shortage?  

If emerging technology is at the core of your business, you need to take the initiative to upskill internally and take on people who may not have the specific skills but have the foundations to pick it up quickly.  

If emerging technology is a smaller part of your business, and you don’t have the resources to upskill internally, you will need to make big efforts to network and promote your business within the emerging tech space.

Attracting these candidates can be challenging. Everyone wants to work for a Google. If you aren’t a funky tech business, you will need to look at your attraction strategy and design your business to appeal to your future workers.

Already our team is working with clients that are delivering AI, IoT and VR solutions; smart buildings, Agtech, telco, and smart warehousing.

Emerging technology; changing the way we work

From a recruitment perspective, the development of these fields is transforming companies (even their internal culture), to make sure they’re set up to attract the staff of the future. This is before the technology is even applied.

With emerging technology, comes a range of benefits for business. Even here at Launch, we have invested in an AI platform which helps us to better source candidates. This platform changes what information we know about candidates before we even approach them. It helps us to look at working patterns and likeness to move, as well as cultural fit assessments based on which companies they have previously worked for. Solutions like this are huge in increasing the productivity of a business.

Other platforms act as a personal assistant, gathering the news you need to know and giving you a summary of what’s happening to give you an edge against your competitors. Technology is allowing us to augment ourselves, making us smarter, faster and more accurate and efficient in our work.

When hiring for candidates in the emerging tech space, it’s critical to think not only of the skills you need today but the skills your business is likely to need for the future. Launch Recruitment can help you to find the right people and also to give you insight on how to proactively open your business up to appeal to these scarce candidates.

Get in touch with us today.

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How To Ace Behavioural Interview Questions

Oh, behavioural interview questions. This recruitment torture tactic has risen to power in the past decade, made even more popular by hip new tech companies; much to the dismay of any person who has ever had to answer them. As a recruitment agency, we, of course, love them. Behavioural interview questions allow us (and our clients) to gain valuable insight into who you are, how you think and how you will approach situations in the real world.

For anyone who has not had the pleasure of answering behavioural questions in a job interview, they are essentially this:

Questions which focus on how you have previously handled various work situations. Within your answer, the interviewer is looking for some insight into your skills, capabilities and your personality. We’re looking to learn how you have handled situations in the past to glean some predictions as to how you will handle these cases in the future.

Contrary to what you may believe, behavioural questions aren’t designed to make you choke; they’re designed to help us get closer to meeting the real you. Not the you who has practised all of your best answers for the past week. We want to know how you will fit into teams, they are as much for you as they are for us; so we can both ensure you’re getting the right role.

How to ace behavioural interview questions

Many approaches have come up over the years to help you keep your cool to answer behavioural questions well. The first step that we would encourage the most is to relax. The calmer you are, the more easily you will be able to answer these questions clearly and honestly.

There is no right or wrong character, so there is no reason to worry about describing your experiences and how you have behaved. Once you’re calm, approach behavioural questions like so:

Apply the STAR method to your responses

The recruiter or interviewer is looking to learn how you have approached a situation in the past. When you are answering behavioural questions don’t worry so much about what you’re revealing about your personality, worry about answering the question concisely. Your interviewer wants to know the Situation you were in, the Task you were trusted to complete, the Action you took, and the end Result. When answering questions, mentally check that you are following this formula to give them comprehensive information about your experiences and how you handled yourself.

Be mindful of what we really want to hear

While we say there are no wrong answers, there are, of course, some answers that are better than others. The STAR method is the best way to ensure you don’t go off on a tangent and lose track of what you’re answering. Beyond this, there are a few key character traits that every interviewer wants to understand (trust us – every interviewer):

• Demonstrating that you are self-aware
• Describing how you have grown from your experiences
• Showing your ability to think for yourself
• Explaining how you operate in a team

Best behavioural interview questions to practice answers to

• Have you ever made a mistake at work? How did you handle it?
• What is the most challenging situation you have had to handle in the workplace?
• Tell me about a time you had to be very strategic in order to meet all your top priorities.
• Give me an example of when you worked well with a team.

When answering behavioural interview questions be mindful of having a healthy dose of humility. It’s tempting to try and paint yourself in the best possible light, but be cautious about how you come across. Remember that we are all human, we have all made mistakes. The goal is not to fool us into thinking you’re free of fault, but instead to demonstrate how you learn from your experiences.

If you’re looking to land your next role, get in touch with us. We can help you make sure you’re well equipped to nail the interview.

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Top Trends for Digital Professionals in 2018

The digital landscape changes at a rapid pace. Since the field has formed, no two years are the same. Leaving digital professionals on an endless quest for continual development in order to stay ahead of the pack, adopt emerging technology and keep their companies forward thinking, innovative and successful.

Earlier this year we published a Digital Jobs Outlook, which already begins to give hints as to what is coming in the digital space. Amongst these high demand skills were SEO skilled content managers and producers, UX designers, services designers and visual designers. It will not spread shockwaves to learn that content is still critical — as it was in 2017 — but the demand for SEO savvy content creators has increased. What’s interesting within the UX and UI space is the impact of emerging tech, which is forcing developers to become more human-centric; right down to coding personality.

5 Digital Trends of 2018

Artificial Intelligence

We could write an entire series on the possible implications of AI on marketing, business and society. However, we will stick to what is hot and relevant right now. This technology excels when applied for completing tasks or acting as an advisor (gatherer and presenter of information). Chatbots are one solution that gathers information from customers while improving their experience and making life easier for businesses by directing customers to the right place. Be careful not to give too much trust to this technology just yet; its success today is still largely dependent on the human holding its hand.  

Live Videos

In case you haven’t noticed, live videos have taken over the internet, namely Facebook. Live videos present an opportunity for brands to get closer to their customers and customers are responding; tuning in, liking, and commenting. This channel can be cleverly used to link into launches, product demos, etc. You can expect it to continue to rise; particularly now Instagram has put some skin in this game.

Voice Search

As technology evolves, we become lazier; who wants to type when you could just speak to your phone or smart device? There is a race to adopt voice technology as the tech hardware market begins to do away with keyboards. If you aren’t adopting voice search, your consumers will soon not be able to find you.

Content Marketing Merged with SEO

We touched on this one before. No longer is content marketing sufficient on its own, the battle to be the best SEO’d site on the internet means that content marketing needs an extra technical boost to get it to the audience it’s intended for. Content creators will need to look at professional development in SEO to keep ahead of the game.

Personalisation

This one has been kept until lucky last as we believe that personalisation is the overarching trend for 2018. Sure, you can adopt AI, but if you deliver customers something that is not personalised to them, they will bounce quick smart. You can adopt all the major digital and tech trends, but it is what you do with them to enhance the customer experience that will be pivotal to your success.

Customers give companies a lot of data. With this they expect personalised services; advertise something relevant based on customer data and your customer will love you, suggest to them something they would never purchase twice — like Amazon re-marketing a toilet seat — and you’ll get blasted on Twitter.

Are you a digital professional looking for a career change? Why not get in touch with us here at Launch Recruitment; for Digital and IT recruitment in Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane?

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Top 10 Best Tech Podcasts

Podcasts are the perfect on-the-go professional development tool. Whether you’re looking to learn about the latest tech news or you want deep technical bites of information to help you improve as a tech professional, there is literally something for everyone!

Which of the best tech podcasts should you choose?

With so many podcasts now on the market, how to know which are the best? Let us take the guesswork away and recommend to you the best tech podcasts to add to your download list:  

Developer Tea

Developer Tea is a bite-sized podcast for the time poor developer just looking to get quick bites of information in their tea break. The podcast offers developers insight into what’s happening in their space as well as advice on careers and work/life balance.

This Developers Life

This Developers Life, as the name suggests, is a podcast about developers and their lives. Made by developers for developers, this podcast offers listeners advice on everything from general software engineering to being a more productive professional.

Open the Pod Bay Doors

Open the Pod Bay Doors talks about the Aussie startup ecosystem. Once a week they release in-depth interviews with those making the biggest waves in the Aussie startup scene. Whether you’re into the startup scene or not, there are plenty of takeaways on what’s new in tech, what works and what doesn’t.

Masters of Scale

Masters of Scale is a podcast hosted by the Co-founder of LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman. This podcast won the 2018 People’s Voice Webby for Best Business Podcast, and with good reason. Each episode is a deep dive discussion into how companies grow with some of techs heavyweights.

Software Engineering Daily

Software Engineering Daily is for the serious tech listener. They release a podcast daily (yes, daily!) with interviews about technical software topics. Their goal is to serve the under-served software developers who miss the tech detail in many tech podcasts.

TEDTalks Technology

I think we’re all pretty familiar with the TEDTalks brand and its link to quality content. The TEDTalks Technology podcast delivers audio content from some of the world’s leading inventors and researchers who have shared demos, breakthroughs and visions onstage at the TED conferences.

a16z

a16z is a podcast all about tech and culture trends, news, and the future. Their podcast features industry experts, business leaders, and other interesting thinkers and voices from around the world. They are an excellent regular go-to with a handful of podcasts released each week.

Herding Code

Herding Code is a technology podcast hosted by Scott Allen, Kevin Dente, Scott Koon and Jon Galloway. It is one of the longest running tech podcasts, passing the 10-year milestone and still delivering good quality conversations for serious tech enthusiasts. With a ten year archive, you can bet there is something for every tech curiosity from .Net, Visual Studio, Microsoft or stack overflow engineering.

This Week in Tech (TWiT)

TWiT is a must listen for anyone wanting to keep abreast of what’s happening in tech news. They cover everything from scandals in the tech industry to latest product releases, what’s coming, who’s in hot water and who is rising to fame. The forum is a roundtable with key figures in the tech industry.

CodeNewbie

CodeNewbie fills the need for those starting at the beginning of their coding career or hobby. The podcast covers a range of topics from interviews with tech business leaders to tutorials to get you started in coding.

If you want to do more than just listen to tech conversations, why not check out the top Sydney Meetups for tech professionals?

Launch recruitment has a team of specialists in digital, software development and emerging tech recruitment. If you’re looking for an IT recruitment agency in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, why not get in touch with our team today?

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How To Resign Without Burning Bridges

Resigning can be an emotional process. You’ve given your all to a company, and maybe you haven’t felt valued, or perhaps you were, but you’re just so over it that you can barely stand to walk in the door anymore. We get it. Whatever the case, being so close to the finish line is not the time to slack off or let any potential resentment come through; “adios suckers, I’m outta here” is maybe not a good way to leave things.

Professional relationships are powerful. This fact is true at any age, any industry and any field of work. Whether you like working with someone or for xyz company is not important. Reputations stick with us and while there will always be someone willing to give you a chance despite what your previous employer had to say, flipping someone off or burning bridges is not worth it. You never know when you may need those relationships and it’s just much nicer (for you both) to leave on good terms. Here’s how to resign without burning bridges:

Examine your motives for leaving

About one in four people who quit their job wish they hadn’t. Before you take any action, think about why you’re resigning in the first place. Were you tempted by a salary increase? An office with a slide or fully stocked bar fridge? Consider if your motives are impulsive or truly good for what you seek in your career. If you leave based on superficial things, not only will you likely lose some respect from the company you’re leaving but the chances are high that you will leave the next one pretty quickly, thus burning bridges with them, too. If your motives are pure, this always shines through. No one can condemn you for leaving to follow a path that truly resonates with you; whether that’s about more work responsibility, more financial recognition or more flexibility to regain some “you” time.

Approach the resignation with poise and respect

Once you have thoroughly self-analysed and decided that leaving is the best thing for you, it’s time to let your company know. Best practice for this is to request a meeting and do it in person. In preparation, you should craft a letter which details that you will be resigning effective of xyz day. Whatever your feelings about them today, remember that you would have had good times and learnt something. Thank them for this in the letter and in the meeting. If they ask for feedback — this one is important, guys — it’s OK to express grievances constructively. However, if you do not have the control to do this constructively and yelling is the only impulse coming up, bite hard and keep it in!

Keep tempo up until the finish line

We understand it is tough to keep motivated and engaged when you’re working out your notice. However, slacking off is not going to bode well for your reputation and maintaining good relationships. Take pride in your reputation and your work, keep on delivering as though it was your first day; the end will come quickly, and the appreciation that you kept doing good work will fill you with pride on your last day.

The world is small and gossip is rife within industry and recruitment circles. Leaving things on a bad note is a sure fire way to get flagged as someone that raises uncertainty. In a competitive market, even minor negative comments can be the difference between you getting the role or someone else nudging ahead.

Need help finding your next role? Launch recruitment can help you find the best role for the path you seek, as well as offer some solid insight and guidance on how to make change without ruffling feathers. Get in touch with us today.

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Crash Course in: Offering sabbaticals

It’s a common occurrence; a valued employee resigns because they wanted to take a short period to pursue something else. In many instances, employees would never even think to request a sabbatical from their employer, thus never knowing if the opportunity was there. However, for the many that do, the answer is too often: no.

Fast forward a few weeks, and this valued employee is off pursuing their dreams or taking a much-needed break, and you are going through the gruelling process of re-hiring. Once you begin to add up the expenses of re-advertising, in addition to the time taken to interview, and re-interview; offering the sabbatical no longer seems like such a bad idea.

What is a sabbatical?

Founder of TheCareerBreakSite.com, Rachel Morgan-Trimmer, says “A sabbatical is basically a career break – usually unpaid – where you keep the employee’s job open for them.”

The concept is most common in academia, government and defence, where after a certain period of employment, staff will have earned the right to take some time to pursue other opportunities or take a career break while having the peace of mind that their role is waiting for them when they’re ready to return.

Today, as ‘culture’ is increasingly being touted as the most important foundation of a company’s internal operation, it is not surprising that sabbaticals are seeing an increase in popularity.  

What to consider when offering sabbaticals

It makes sense 

The primary reason any company offers sabbaticals is to retain valued staff. In a competitive market, it makes sense that you let your valued employee travel the world, and come back to you with all of their worldly experiences. Rather than letting them go to a competitor. It is often also cheaper to retain this valued staff member and arrange a placeholder for them than to find someone new.

Be flexible

Historically, the concept of a sabbatical was that employees could take every seventh year off. But today you can do whatever you like; whatever makes business sense and whatever suits you and your employee. You may want to have a minimum employment period before a sabbatical becomes an option. However, if you have a superstar employee in dire need of a break and they aren’t yet at the qualifying employment period, maybe it’s worth applying some flexibility.

Create a policy 

Setting up a policy on sabbaticals is the easiest way to ensure that your flexibility is not taken advantage of. A policy on sabbaticals will give employees something to look forward to. Knowing that they have a break coming up can incentivise staff to stay in their roles for longer. Setting a policy on sabbaticals also reflects your commitment to this perk. Openness to sabbaticals is an excellent employee benefit to mention when onboarding new staff.  

Plan ahead 

Offering sabbaticals will, of course, mean that there are going to be staff gaps at various times. Make a plan ahead of time to ensure you are covered. In your plan, ensure that there are terms around the notice a staff member must give you before taking their break. Give yourself plenty of time to arrange a place filler. Ask that employee if they have ideas on how their role could be covered. Sabbaticals are often an excellent opportunity for other staff to step up and gain experience or step into new area’s in the interim; thus keeping both the career breaker and the existing team satisfied.

Understand sabbatical motives 

Show genuine interest to learn what the plans are for your employees sabbatical. This is an opportunity for you to listen and hear if they need a break because the work is getting to them, or they are just simply wanting to nourish themselves in a different way for a while. Whatever their plans, be sure to show support and encouragement; as well as excitement to welcome them back when they’re done.

Re-onboard 

When someone comes back from a sabbatical it is crucial to have a re-onboarding process. Bring them in for an interview to discuss their experience, and what they want from their work now that they’re back. Then make sure there is a process to bring them up to speed on what’s been happening in the business, so their re-entry is not a dive into the deep end. Also, schedule check-in’s to see how they are settling back in.

In summation, sabbaticals should be seriously considered by businesses across the board. Employees give so much of their time to their work; the simple gesture of offering them a break after a term of service is not only great for employee morale, it’s also better for businesses bottom line.

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Top 10 Sydney Meetups for Tech Professionals

There is no shortage of Sydney Meetups available to help an ambitious tech expert with their professional development. However, with so many now in operation, we understand it can be tough to filter through to the good stuff. Allow us to save you time and pain going through the arduous process.

Here are our picks for the 10 best Sydney Meetups to educate, inspire and challenge tech professionals.

Pivotal Labs Sydney

Only have a lunch break to spare? Well then, the Pivotal Labs Sydney meetup is for you. The group hosts speedy lunchtime learning that is information rich and fluff-free.    

Disruptors in Tech

For those who love all things tech and want to keep an eye on emerging and disruptive technology, Disruptors in Tech is just the forum. This group is tech agnostic and designed to be interactive, bringing together the best minds in Sydney to discuss some of the most fascinating new technologies.

Sydney Tech Meetup

These days every company (or at least the tech department) is taking a “startup approach” to the operation of their business. Whether you’re part of a startup or not, the Sydney Tech Meetup is an excellent source of insight into what’s happening in the tech startup community and what innovations are hitting the market.  

Virtual & Augmented Reality Sydney

Perhaps you’re developing awesome new products in VR or AR, or you want to learn more about this seriously cool tech. Whatever the motivation, Virtual & Augmented Reality Sydney have a regular meetup deep diving into what’s happening in this space, as well as dedicating time for you to test drive it.

Sydney Design Thinking Meetup

Design Thinking is increasingly popular as a human-centred approach to innovation and solving complex problems. Sydney Design Thinking Meetup attracts attendees from a diverse range of design practices. The meetups are informative with guest speakers, while also giving attendees an opportunity to ask questions and create conversation around the topics.

Data Science Sydney

Are you interested in extracting value from data, using advanced statistical, computational and analytical tools? Data Science Sydney meets once a month to do just this. They discuss advanced machine learning, feature extraction, outlier detection and deep belief learning methods. They are not limited to one method; the group talks explore all.

Sydney UI/UX Meetup

If you’re in the UI and/or UX space, Sydney UI/UX is the place to go to meet your people, share insights and discuss the latest tips, tricks and trends. The group meets once a month and often hosts guest speakers from businesses across Sydney to explain what they’re doing in UI/UX.

DevOps Sydney

DevOps Sydney meetup gets together each and every month to host an extremely well-organised event all about learning and sharing information on the DevOps movement. This meetup is for anyone from a development and operations background, including professionals, hackers, managers, and engineers. Alternatively, anyone interested in learning more or transitioning into this space.

Node Sydney

To all the Node, V8, or JavaScript peeps, get along to Node Sydney. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced, Node Sydney works hard to make their meetups inclusive, accessible and informative to every level. You will hear about patterns, practices, interesting npm packages, and demos. Sure to leave you with the urge to build something new.

React Sydney

Another group that makes a significant effort to be inclusive and accessible to all is the React Sydney meetup. Junior to Senior, you can be sure to take away valuable insight from this group of React enthusiasts. They run in-depth talks and leave plenty of time to questions and networking.

 

If you’re looking for more than a Meetup to develop your career, Launch Recruitment can help you to take the next step. We are an IT recruitment agency in Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane specialising in:

• Emerging technologies
• Business intelligence and analytics
• Software/application development
• Infrastructure and cloud
• Digital
• Security

Call us today on 1300 452 986 or connect with us via our contact page.

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