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Uncategorised
October 28, 2021

Underwood Executive Celebrates 10 Years in Business

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Underwood Executive celebrating 10 years in business! In 2011 I left my corporate leadership role to take the plunge into self-employment and business ownership. I was full of energy with…
Underwood Executive
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CoachingRecruitmentTalent
March 14, 2021

8 tips for an Executive Resume in 2021

”Have you got any advice on my CV?” or “What do you think of my resume?” and “How can I improve my CV? are the questions we are asked every…
Underwood Executive
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LeadershipPerformanceRecruitmentResultsSuccess
July 9, 2020

Underwood Executive takes out 9 medals & named Australia’s Executive Recruiter of The Year 2020

At Underwood Executive we are delighted to announce that we have been named Executive Recruiter of the Year 2020 by HRD Magazine for the third year in a row. We have…
Underwood Executive
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Executive SearchLeadership
December 2, 2019

Underwood Executive becomes only South Australian member of exclusive global executive search body AESC

Underwood Executive has just been accepted into the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC) – a global industry profession that sets the highest quality standards in executive search…
Underwood Executive
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Executive SearchInnovation
December 13, 2018

Underwood Executive Named In ANZ’s Most Socially Engaged Search Firms in Australia/NZ 2018 by LinkedIn

Last week, our team travelled to Sydney to be part of LinkedIn’s Most Socially Engaged Staff Agencies awards to celebrate the best in social recruiting. The 2018 Most Socially Engaged…
Underwood Executive
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Uncategorised
June 26, 2018

Underwood Executive named Executive Recruiter of the Year 2018 by HRD Magazine.

At Underwood Executive we are thrilled to announce that we have been named Executive Recruiter of the Year 2018 by HRD Magazine. We have won  two gold medals in Australia’s Top…
Underwood Executive
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CareerCoachingPersonal Brand
June 13, 2018

5 ways to accelerate your career with your personal brand

On Thursday the 24th of May, I was invited to speak at the National Wine Centre in Adelaide for the wine industry’s “women in drinks” event on how to build…
Underwood Executive
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Executive Search
February 27, 2018

How to make a persuasive job offer

Sourcing and securing high performing talent, those A-class players who are almost always employed, are rarely actively applying for jobs via job boards. Identifying them is a skill that takes…
Underwood Executive
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RecruitmentRetention
March 22, 2017

Employees aren’t mind readers – 6 tips for early performance intervention

A prospective new client told me last week that they may need our services as the person they have recently hired is a “dud” and they may need to let…
Underwood Executive
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Executive SearchRecruitment
March 6, 2017

Recruiting an Executive? Don’t make this mistake

Are you about to recruit your next Executive? Don’t make this mistake when outsourcing to an external Consultant or Recruiter. There are a number of key factors to ensure the…
Underwood Executive
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LeadershipRetention
November 3, 2015

How to have leadership impact in under a minute

  I am in the process of coaching an emerging leader in a large service based organisation and this week he had a break through.  Leading a team of people,…
Underwood Executive
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SuccessWork Life Balance
October 20, 2015

7 lessons for work-life blend

Last month I spoke to an executive networking group about work/life balance. I initially felt some resistance towards the topic. My thoughts went … really? Are we still talking about…
Underwood Executive
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LeadershipRecruitmentRetention
August 27, 2015

How to reduce staff turnover and to ensure top talent stays

12 years ago, I was asked by my business coach to write down a list of all my frustrations in business and in life. I wrote a solid two pages…
Underwood Executive
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Recruitment
June 23, 2015

Caution! Why you shouldn’t hand over your referees before interview

A natural step in the recruitment process is for employers to verify your employment history and job performance in previous roles before making you a formal offer of employment. Nothing…
Underwood Executive
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Leadership
March 30, 2015

X Factor – A lesson in how NOT to deliver feedback

A few weeks ago I was horrified to watch the two judges on New Zealand’s X factor supposedly giving feedback to one of the contestants during a live show. Did…
Underwood Executive
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RecruitmentResults
March 2, 2015

Don’t keep your candidate waiting… the only 3 questions to ask before you hire

Top talent can be hard to find and enticing them to consider your role may be even harder. Even though our unemployment rate is at 6.3%, A-class super stars are…
Underwood Executive
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CareerRecruitment
February 24, 2015

The reason why you may not be getting a job interview

Would you go to a cocktail party in your cycling gear? Would you go to a business networking event in your wedding dress? Would you attend a job interview with…
Underwood Executive
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CareerRecruitment
January 27, 2015

Is your job draining your spirit? 4 ways to see the light

“I hate my job”, “My boss is a control freak”, “I don’t feel valued”, “The moment I see my perfect job advertised, I’m out of here”…… The start of a…
Underwood Executive
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Leadership
October 21, 2014

Starting a new leadership role? 4 ways to gain respect quickly

I was talking to a leader this week about starting in a new role and how they were winning over their new team. It all sounded like it was going…
Underwood Executive
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RecruitmentRetentionTalent
September 3, 2014

Rejected because of your email address …….. the harsh reality of selection criteria

It seems everything I read this month features Ruslan Kogan …... At age 31, a ‘rich lister’ worth more than $300 million. He sparked my interest in a recent Financial…
Underwood Executive
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CommunicationLeadership
July 22, 2014

Stop talking! 4 ways to reduce your communication intensity

We are all aware that openness and transparency is on the desirable list for a leader and that employees generally demand even greater communication and honesty in today’s leader. However………..Are…
Underwood Executive
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ChangeResultsWork Life Balance
May 18, 2014

Stress drowning you out? What I learnt in 7 days of silence ……

Stress is an epidemic in our 21st century – most of us have experienced it or watched those around us suffer with it. It has become part of our modern…
Underwood Executive
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CommunicationLeadership
April 4, 2014

Fear, Lies & Leadership….How to have honest conversations

Wouldn’t leadership be easy if you could just have a frank conversation? Just say what you think and not worry too much about the delivery or consequences? Here it is…
Underwood Executive
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Recruitment
March 5, 2014

5 ways to manage your on-line image…..BEFORE you hit the job market

In the recruitment industry, it is common knowledge that Consultants will Google you, look at your social media presence – including Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. This is not new and…
Underwood Executive
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CareerConfidenceRecruitment
January 29, 2014

How to deal with job-hunting rejection

Last week my article “3 ways to nail a job interview” was published by Women’s Agenda. 24 hours later I received an email from a frustrated job seeker who after…
Underwood Executive
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Recruitment
January 20, 2014

3 ways to nail a job interview

The holidays are over, the phone is ringing and the LinkedIn requests are coming in thick and fast as many individuals put the wheels in motion to achieve their New…
Underwood Executive
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CommunicationLeadershipPerformance
November 26, 2013

Are you ignoring staff issues? 4 ways to get your head out of the sand

This week a friend of mine told me he quit his job after being head hunted for a new opportunity (closer to home, more money, leading a bigger team and…
Underwood Executive
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RecruitmentResults
October 17, 2013

Offer rejected? 8 ways to increase your acceptance rate

Recruiting successfully is not easy.  It can be time consuming, expensive, emotional, distracting from core business activities and ultimately hard work.  So imagine after weeks and weeks of searching, screening,…
Underwood Executive
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BusinessLeadershipResults
September 22, 2013

2 years, 10 reflections….what I’ve learnt from striking out on my own

The Light Head. Silhouette of young woman on sky background with sun in her head. This month I reached the 2-year milestone of running my own business. The day came…
Underwood Executive
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RecruitmentResultsRetention
August 25, 2013

STOP! Why you shouldn’t make a counter offer

In the current economic climate – just about every candidate we make an offer of employment to is being counter-offered by their current employer.  This enticement to stay takes many…
Underwood Executive
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Recruitment
July 23, 2013

Have you been conned? 5 ways to avoid a bad hire!

How many times have you hired a dud? How many times have you kicked yourself for not following your gut and made a poor recruitment decision? Was it that they…
Underwood Executive
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ResultsSuccess
July 8, 2013

Can you give up worry, fill your glass & become an Optimist?

Last week I decided to complete a psychological personality profile.  It had been about 10 years and I had asked a leadership team to complete them for a workshop, so…
Underwood Executive
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RecruitmentResults
May 26, 2013

7 Tips to Write a Cracker Cover Letter

There is lots of competition for jobs right now. On average, we receive 150 applications per vacancy. There are fewer opportunities available and people are still looking to progress their…
Underwood Executive
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Website
May 13, 2013

Richard Branson inspires us in Adelaide

This week was an exciting week for me as I finally saw Richard Branson in the flesh (with over 1,700 others!).  After reading his autobiography “Losing My Virginity” in 2000,…
Underwood Executive
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PerformanceResults
April 8, 2013

Giddy up …. it’s appraisal time! 3 questions to avoid the annual whipping

Performance reviews….is it that time of year again…..already? Why is it that something that should be an effective tool to motivate your team often turns into that annoying form that…
Underwood Executive
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LeadershipResults
February 19, 2013

Winning respect – 10 ways to give up wanting to be liked

I recently read about the upcoming release of Sheryl Sandberg’s new book “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead”. As the COO of Facebook, she talks about Mark…
Underwood Executive
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Recruitment
January 17, 2013

Is the business suit dead?……what to wear to a job interview

Since when is it okay to wear blue jeans to a job interview? This was the question posed by a client this week as he shook his head in disbelief…
Underwood Executive
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ProductivityResults
December 13, 2012

Too busy to be the tooth fairy….a lesson in prioritisation

Today I got a reality check when my daughter came into the bedroom crying that the tooth fairy hadn’t visited her in the night. This was a BIG deal and…
Underwood Executive
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ResultsWork Life Balance
November 14, 2012

How is your work/life pie? 6 essential ingredients for your recipe

Over half of my coaching clients claim they need more time and struggle to find the ‘balance’ to do the things that are important to them.  When I ask the…
Underwood Executive
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Recruitment
October 22, 2012

5 ways to crack the job market when “you don’t have industry experience”

One of the biggest bugbears by job seekers is not winning an interview because they don’t have the industry experience for the role they have applied for.  It seems that…
Underwood Executive
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ResultsStrategy
October 3, 2012

Someone not playing by the rules? How consistency governs success

In my blog post “People leave leaders – the uncomfortable truth” I discussed how changing business culture and my leadership style were two contributing factors to increased business results and…
Underwood Executive
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CultureFlexibility
September 18, 2012

6 Lessons to Introduce Flexibility in Your Workforce

I have recently returned from speaking at the International Recruitment Conference in Fiji where the theme was “Recruitment at the Speed of Tomorrow”.  It was an inspiring couple of days learning about innovative ideas…
Underwood Executive
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ChangeEmpowermentLeadership
August 17, 2012

People leave leaders…..the uncomfortable truth

Last week I went to a Women in Leadership lunch hosted by CEDA.  One of the speakers (Jane Caro) said, “we only change when it is too uncomfortable to stay…
Underwood Executive
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AttractionRecruitment
July 30, 2012

Do your interviews stink? 10 ways to turn pro

This week I met with a promising new client. They have a handful of vacancies, one position that has been vacant for 3 months and another that they have interviewed…
Underwood Executive
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AttractionRecruitment
July 8, 2012

10 ways to get your CV noticed

Over the past few months I have been giving advice on executive CV’s and how to improve them. What I’ve learnt is that just because you earn a six-figure salary…
Underwood Executive
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AttractionRecruitment
June 26, 2012

Does your job spec answer the question “what’s in it for me?”

When was the last time you read a job description that was fresh, dynamic, exciting and evoked an emotional response? Even better – it really made you want the job?…
Underwood Executive
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LeadershipRetention
June 18, 2012

Reward & recognition – the secret to reducing staff turnover

When one of my Consultants resigned after 7 years I was excited for her. She was taking a leap of faith and pursuing her life long dream of becoming a…
Underwood Executive
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PerformanceProductivity
June 12, 2012

Swamped by your workload? 5 ways to get out of the mess!

This week I met up with a client who had over 150 emails in their inbox waiting for their attention. Just the thought made me squirm with discomfort!  How can…
Underwood Executive
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CommunicationConfidence
June 4, 2012

“Let’s connect” – the new way to network

Last week I spoke at the UNSW (The University of New South Wales) AGSM (Australian Graduate School of Management) MBA networking evening “Let’s Connect” on the importance of networking.  I…
Underwood Executive
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CultureResults
May 28, 2012

How to reduce staff turnover with a flexible culture

Staff turnover is an ongoing headache for most businesses.  Even booming industries like mining & resources are experiencing their fair share of hurt with 18% of workers leaving within the…
Underwood Executive
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CommunicationPerformance
May 21, 2012

5 tips to pitch to clients fearlessly

This is a guest post written by Dr Gemma Munro, an Adelaide-based life coach and facilitator and the Director of Inkling Coaching. Gemma has a PhD in performance psychology and extensive…
Underwood Executive
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ResultsSuccess
May 15, 2012

Beauty vs brains……does it have to be a competition?

The Adelaide Advertiser ran an article on Saturday titled “The Ugly Side of Being Beautiful”.  It revealed research stating that 47% of US Recruiters believe women can be penalised for…
Underwood Executive
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ChangeResultsSuccess
May 9, 2012

South Australia – the market, the future & the opportunity

I attended the AMCHAM luncheon last week featuring Raymond Spencer, the Chair of the Economic Development Board in South Australia. I was curious to hear his view and outlook as…
Underwood Executive
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ProductivityResults
May 2, 2012

Are you busy or just ineffective? 5 ways to create more hours in your week

I need more time with no extra hours,” a friend recently told me. She consistently feels anxious going to work, gets to the end of the day and feels like…
Underwood Executive
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ConfidenceSuccess
April 25, 2012

How to get the X factor of presence

At the end of last term, it was my daughter’s turn to be the VIP for the week in her reception class.  This is a confidence building strategy which involves…
Underwood Executive
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CommunicationLeadership
April 5, 2012

“We need to talk”……ensure you are heard as a leader

This week I got a bill from my Accountant – who I’ve had a long term relationship with (nearly 15 years) that got me rather annoyed and frustrated. I had…
Underwood Executive
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ChangeResultsSuccess
March 27, 2012

The Fortunetellers wheel of fortune…..what does success mean to you?

Last week I was flying to Brisbane to run a workshop with an up and coming HR Consultancy. To kick start the first session I opened with the topic of…
Underwood Executive
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LeadershipRecruitmentWomen in Leadership
March 6, 2012

“Part-time is a dirty word” & why it needs to change

Last week in Adelaide, there was controversy and speculation after the CEO of the SA Tourism Commission was sacked with 9 months left to go on his contract.  This was…
Underwood Executive
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CultureLeadershipResults
February 28, 2012

“It’s the vibe of the thing”……can you explain your culture?

  Last week I spoke at a boardroom breakfast to a group of leaders from infrastructure, mining, legal and local government.  The topic was on my blog “technical competence without…
Underwood Executive
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RecruitmentResults
February 6, 2012

Don’t sweat the cold call….how to get your Consultants on the phone & winning business

In my recent blog “head in the sand vs action junkie ….what’s your mantra?” I wrote about a Consultant who worked for me who didn’t enjoy prospecting new business as…
Underwood Executive
5
LeadershipTalent
January 25, 2012

Earth to CEO’s….are you missing the link between talent acquisition & HR process?

The balance between utilising internal HR and external recruiters to find the right person for a vacancy is a fine line.  There is a time and place for both in…
Underwood Executive
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LeadershipPerformanceRecruitment
January 9, 2012

Head in the sand or action junkie ….what’s your mantra?

I recently read the book “100 Things What’s on Your List” by Sebastian Terry.  I was attracted to the cover initially because I saw the Camp Quality symbol and I…
Underwood Executive
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LeadershipWomen in LeadershipWork Life Balance
December 8, 2011

Women in leadership – can we “have it all”?

I recently met an incredibly motivated and driven female leader.  She is dedicated, loves the company she works for, thrives on feedback to improve and wants to achieve top performance…
Underwood Executive
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LeadershipResults
November 23, 2011

Weekly meetings like groundhog day? 10 tips to spice them up

Running an effective one on one meeting with staff is no easy task.  It is a leadership essential that has managers of people second-guessing their importance, relevance and benefit.  I…
Underwood Executive
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RecruitmentResultsRetention
November 7, 2011

Employee retention: how to crack the code

What I’ve learnt over the years is that there is no one secret ingredient to retaining staff. In my early days of running a business, I had high staff turnover…
Underwood Executive
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LeadershipResults
October 26, 2011

Technical competence without people skills – what is it costing you?

A common problem I see in many organisations is that somewhere in their senior management team they have a person with strong technical competence, but who lacks the essential people…
Underwood Executive
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LeadershipRetention
October 10, 2011

Who will carry your vision? Tips to develop your successor

60% of companies don’t have succession plans in place and yet this article suggests “the most successful CEO’s come from within”.  It signals that many businesses take the approach that…
Underwood Executive
5
Recruitment
September 28, 2011

The search for talent is evolving ….are you considering the bigger picture?

Over the past few weeks I have met some amazing talent through my networks.  These people are not active job seekers trawling the papers and websites looking for their next…
Underwood Executive
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EmpowermentLeadership
September 14, 2011

Learning from mistakes….7 tips to making amends

A few months ago, one of my staff members rang me in a panic.  She had stuffed up. Big time.  She had accidentally hit reply to an email instead of…
Underwood Executive
5
Innovation
September 6, 2011

What use is an empty cup? Filling up on innovation

Part of emptying my cup over the past few weeks involved travelling to Port Douglas for a dual purpose – to enjoy a couple of R&R days for myself and…
Underwood Executive
4
ChangeStrategySuccess
August 18, 2011

Empty the cup…are there benefits of time-out?

Last week I left my job after 10 years (see quit while your ahead…10 tips for going out on top) and since I announced the decision I have had lots of…
Underwood Executive
5
ChangeLeadershipResults
August 11, 2011

Quit while you’re ahead…10 tips for going out on top

4 weeks ago, I made a BIG decision. I decided to leave my job. 10 years after founding Entrée Recruitment and leading the company to it’s most successful year on…
Underwood Executive
6
ChangeRetention
July 29, 2011

Are you green and growing or ripe and rotten?

Earlier this year I attended a 2-day conference with Dale Beaumont in  Melbourne. Apart from an inspiring couple of days that made me think of at least 100 new business ideas…
Underwood Executive
5
Retention
July 18, 2011

I’m all ears…..a retention strategy that works

Over the past few months, I've been speaking to clients about staff retention and specifically what strategies they implement to keep top talent. What I've learnt is that there is…
Underwood Executive
4
PerformanceResultsSales
July 8, 2011

Taking the ‘sales’ out of salesperson…10 ways to increase performance

“I’m not a sales person” “I don’t like cold calling” “I can’t sell” “sales is not a strength of mine”…are all typical to hear around the Entrée Recruitment office. My…
Underwood Executive
6
LeadershipResults
July 1, 2011

Relationship on the rocks? How to get what you expect….

This week, a senior HR Manager was telling me about her current job search and about a situation that caught her off guard, unprepared and quite frankly a little cranky. …
Underwood Executive
5
RecruitmentRetention
June 17, 2011

Re-igniting the employment spark….or is it time to break up?

This week I caught up with a friend and old colleague who is incredibility dedicated, loyal, hard working and keen to contribute to an organisation.  She is a real gem,…
Underwood Executive
4
EmpowermentResults
June 2, 2011

Staff mojo… how to plant the seeds of motivation

This week one of my top performers was having a downday….she’d lost her mojo, was feeling ‘flat’ and told me she was struggling with motivation. “How do you keep motivated…
Underwood Executive
4
LeadershipPerformanceRetention
May 23, 2011

You can’t steer a parked car …… should you manage your under-performer up or out?

Under-performers, bottom quartile performance, staff that cost you money, employees that risk your reputation – those people in your team who just aren’t making the grade.  They keep us awake…
Underwood Executive
6
Recruitment
May 17, 2011

Trust ‘ya’ gut! Do you overlook this recruitment tool?

You know that little “something” that niggles at you, the voice in your head or that “thing” you can’t quite put our finger on.  "It" often prevents us from making…
Underwood Executive
3
Recruitment
May 6, 2011

From little things big things grow…are you overlooking support staff?

There is nothing that gets me fired up more than a company that ignores the importance of support staff and the role they play in an organisation’s success. I see…
Underwood Executive
4
ProfitResults
April 20, 2011

“Show me the money”……9 tips to profitable growth

A few weeks ago in my blog Belief Critical to Business Success, I mentioned a business owner had asked for my advice on growing a business.  I met her on…
Underwood Executive
4
Recruitment
April 14, 2011

Who’s hot and who’s not…what the perfect resume won’t tell you

Interviewing, recruitment, hiring, finding the right candidate….it’s easy! It’s not rocket science. How hard can it be, get resumes, interview, have a chat, make an offer – done! If only…
Underwood Executive
4
LeadershipRetentionWork Life Balance
April 8, 2011

Can women successfully return to work after babies?

What a week it has been watching the debate around working women, their choices and when they should return to work after having babies – all thanks to a glamorous…
Underwood Executive
6
ResultsSuccess
April 1, 2011

Belief Critical to Business Success

This week I had a new business owner track me down on Linkedin and ask if they could buy me a coffee to pick my brain about how I’ve “grown…
Underwood Executive
5
LeadershipResults
March 28, 2011

How I let my inner “control freak”go

You could say I’m a control freak….ahhh I mean, was a control freak. Typical Type A personality, my way is best, do it like this, do it now, faster, better…
Underwood Executive
5
ConfidenceResultsRetention
March 22, 2011

Why is confidence still an issue for women at work?

Over the years I would have mentored and coached more than 100 women formally and informally in business. It still puzzles mehow many successful women still suffer from both a…
Underwood Executive
4
Retention
March 17, 2011

How to retain top talent

The recruitment industry is notorious for high staff turnover. Statistics range from 43% (Staff Turnover: A Recruitment Industry Crisis) to the average length of service of a new Recruitment Consultant…
Underwood Executive
4
ResultsWork Life Balance
March 11, 2011

Health 1st, Family 2nd & Work 3rd ….What’s Your Order?

Last week a candidate of mine become ill only 2 weeks into her new permanent job.  She felt terribly guilty about taking any time off believing that she would not…
Underwood Executive
5
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