Recruitment expert issues a warning to Australia on why unemployment could be about to surge: Here are her tips for finding a job
A recruitment expert is urging Australians to actively network with their former colleagues as unemployment is expected to rise in the coming year.
Louise McCallum, the managing partner of digital recruitment agency SCC Talent, has revealed that some of her clients are struggling to find work with unemployment now at a two-year high.
The situation threatens to worsen: the number of unemployed will increase by 11 percent by mid-2025.
“We’ve been talking to a few candidates lately who are sadly struggling to find that next role. It’s heartbreaking to hear,” she said in a LinkedIn post.
A recruitment expert is urging Australians to actively network with their former colleagues as unemployment is expected to rise in the coming year (pictured is a queue at Centrelink in Sydney in March 2020)
Ms McCallum said people out of work should actively network.
“Reach out: you should of course network with former colleagues and industry connections,” she said.
“But tell everyone in your community, including friends and family, you never know who they might know.
‘And it’s good to keep having conversations and that human contact too.’
People without work are also advised to take time out to apply for jobs, rather than spending the entire day applying for jobs.
“Compartmentalize your day: don’t sit at your computer all day scrolling through job openings, but set aside a specific time each day to apply for positions and work on your resume,” Ms. McCallum said.
‘Then go for a walk/exercise. Then do the home administration. Divide your day into different zones.’
Unemployment in Australia reached a two-year high of 4.1 percent in January.
More than 600,000 people are now unemployed, but Treasury Department economists expect the unemployment rate to reach 4.5 percent by June 2025.
This would result in 65,486 people joining the ranks of the unemployed, out of a labor force of 14.8 million people.
The number of unemployed would be 10.9 percent higher than now.
Although unemployment is still lower than before the Covid pandemic, uncertainty about the labor market and the rise of artificial intelligence are causing fear.
Louise McCallum, the managing partner of digital recruitment group SCC Talent, has revealed that some of her clients were struggling to find work as unemployment is now at a two-year high
The Reserve Bank’s thirteen rate hikes in eighteen months have also pushed cash rates to a twelve-year high of 4.35 percent.
This could cause an economic slowdown without causing a recession.
Ms McCallum said there is no shame in encountering a period of uncertainty in life.
“Mindset: As a recruiter who has interviewed hundreds of people, I can honestly tell you that the majority of the population has not worked at some point in their career, due to budget cuts, layoffs or other life circumstances,” she said.
‘Don’t be embarrassed. “Keep going, you’ll get through this.”