Our experiences and opinions, delivered as a collection of resources for you to read and take away. We are continually creating new and relevant pieces, some can be found here.
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Tips to Help Candidates Relax in Job Interviews
Putting IT candidates at ease during recruitment interviews is essential to finding the best fit for your role. These five key interview tips will help.
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6 Top Tech Podcasts You Should Be Listening To
It’s always important for tech professionals to keep building their industry knowledge – so we’ve created this list of podcasts to help you get started.
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Should You Include a Photo in Your CV?
Should you include a photo in your IT CV? Find out our best practice advice for your next IT job application.
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Three Ways to Build Your Personal Brand
Whether you’re looking to secure a new job or expand beyond your current role, ensuring your personal brand is in the best shape possible will be critical to your long-term success. Here are three ways to get you started and further your tech career.
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Handling Salary Negotiations: Knowing your Worth
So, you’ve been offered your dream role but the salary doesn’t quite match your expectations. Do you walk away or put your negotiating hat on? In our latest blog, we’ve put together some of our best tips on approaching this often-awkward subject with potential employers.
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LinkedIn vs CV: Three Key Differences
Do you know the main differences between your LinkedIn profile and CV? If not, you could be missing out on the advantages of an effective online presence for your IT career. Read more about the key traits that distinguish these two job search tools.
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Tips for People Who Dislike Networking
Does the very thought of networking give you sweaty palms and shaky knees? The good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way! Here are our tips to help you create valuable connections that will drive your IT career forward.
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Keep New Employees Engaged Early
How do you ensure you keep your new employee “warm” between signing the contract and officially starting at your company? Here is a checklist on keeping your new IT hire engaged and interested before day one.
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Should You Include References on Your CV?
Are references necessary in your CV? It’s the age-old question. Whilst there are many possible answers, it’s good to think over all the available options. Make sure you have all the facts by keeping these points in mind.
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Assessing Candidates for Cultural Fit
Much has been said about the importance of cultural fit, yet its importance is just as prevalent today. So, how does an IT organisation go about assessing candidates with this in mind? We discuss what to look for, and some example interview questions, here.
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How to Choose Between Two Great IT Candidates
Whilst having two equally promising candidates on the table is a fortunate position to be in, choosing the right person for the role can be challenging. Here are three methods to help you make the best decision for your business.
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Three Mistakes to Avoid at Your Next Interview
Although you may have landed the interview, it’s not too late for simple mistakes to derail your efforts. We see them time and time again but with a bit of preparation, you’ll be able to avoid falling into the same trap. Read more, here.
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The ‘F Word’: Understanding Flexibility at Work
Today’s candidates often talk about flexibility playing a critical part in their job search. With this idea featuring heavily in our latest Sourced Report, we take a look at what that really means, and why it’s so important.
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Do these before applying for your next IT job
Whilst it could be tempting to jump straight into the job market, there are a few key things you should do before making a move. We’ve prepared some top tips to set you up for success.
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Hiring Candidates with Potential
When looking for your next hire, it’s not always the obvious choice that’s the best fit. By hiring for future, you’re not only recognising people that have the potential to thrive in a new role, but also adding genuine value to the business in the long-term. Check out our advice to hiring for potential, here.
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Two Simple Tips To Finding A Job You Love
Are you longing for a job that you feel passionate about? At Sourced, we’re pretty good at matching people with their dream IT jobs. If you’re looking for a change, here are two simple tips to finding a job you love.
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6 Ways to Mitigate Recruitment Risks for Tech
With Techweek kicking off on Saturday, there are various events happening across Christchurch in support of New Zealand’s annual festival of innovation. Looking at the line-up, “With New Innovation Comes New Risks” was one that caught our attention. Here we discuss the impact of recruitment risk on tech companies, and how best to mitigate hiring risks.
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Skype Interviews – Dos and Don’ts
Nailing an interview is a daunting task at the best of times, but what happens when you’re not even going to be in the same room? We’ve got interviewees and interviewers covered with our dos and don’ts of a Skype interview.
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Women in Tech in New Zealand – The State of Play
With International Women’s Day last week, we thought we’d take a look at the data we’d collected in our Sourced Report survey, and examine the state of play when it comes to women in IT in New Zealand. While some great progress is being made, our results make it clear that there is still some way to go to achieve true parity. Read more here.
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Tips - Turning Your ‘Offshore’ Status to ‘Onshore’
Taking advantage of the New Zealand tech industry is an option many migrants would like to explore, especially given the sector here is thriving, but where do you start? If you’re an offshore candidate, head in the right direction with these steps.
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Unhappy in Your Job? Map Your Next Move in IT
Suffering from a serious case of “new year, same job”? If you know where you want to go, but don’t know how to get there, check out our tips for building the road map to get to your dream job in 2018.
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Top Tech Trends for 2018
As 2017 comes to a close, we’ve seen some exciting technologies come into their own this year! Here are a few of the key trends we think it’s important to keep an eye on as organisations look for talented people who can provide solutions to their problems.
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Investment in IT: Post-Election Wrap Up
With the election still fresh in the memories of many of us around New Zealand, Sourced founder Jason Bishop has his say on what this means for the IT sector.
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How to Handle a Request for a Pay Increase
One of the most inevitable (and at times, dreaded) aspects of a manager’s role is being able to respond effectively when a staff member eventually makes the overtures for a pay rise. Find out how to handle an unexpected request for a pay increase here.
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Traditional Leadership Approaches in IT?
As the IT landscape continues to rapidly change, do traditional leadership approaches such as the leader/follower archetypes still have a place in modern IT leadership? Read our latest blog to find out.
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Job-Hopping Vs Stability and Your IT Career
As IT companies become more receptive to professionals with varied job histories, does having a stable work-history still stack up? In this blog, we dive into the benefits of job-hopping and long tenure and how you can ensure you’re doing what’s best for your career.
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Invest in IT: What the Election Means - NZ's Tech
Technology is a major policy point for parties this election year. With these policies having a significant potential impact on IT employers and professionals, we've taken a look at the stances of major parties, and what their plan for the Tech sector is.
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How to Pick Out Interview Fraudsters
It’s hard to spend even a moment online without someone giving you advice on how to find the perfect candidate, but in reality, it's not that easy! Everyone in a hiring position has encountered applicants who try to trick their way into a new job. Here's how to avoid getting tricked by interview fraudsters.
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How to Write a CV for the Digital Era
Does your CV synergise with social media to create a unique experience that highlights why you’re the perfect candidate for the role? Don’t miss a trick, find out how you can bring your CV into the digital era below.
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Annual Performance Reviews are Dead.
Is there an HR process that is more despised than the annual performance review? With technology allowing managers to gather real-time feedback, granular appraisals look like a no-brainer. Here's why we think it's not that easy.
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Interviewing in the Information Age
Even for IT specialists that regularly receive job enquiries, it’s beneficial to do some research before meeting a hiring manager.
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Flexible Working: Is It Right for Your Business?
When it comes to flexibility, the big questions for employers, are: which roles are best suited and is it right for your business? Find out the answer here.
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6 Critical Traits - Breaking into IT Management
Setting your sights on breaking into IT management? Here are six crucial traits to possess before you can prove that you have potential to become a great Manager.
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A Simple Guide to Upskill for 2017's Tech Jobs
With technology constantly shifting, and new roles cropping up, now is a great time to acquire new tech skills. Upskilling yourself can make you stand out as a valuable employee. Find out how to upskill yourself for 2017's tech jobs here.
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How to Make a Good First Impression at Work
In the workplace, making a great first impression is important. Find out our top tips on how to do this successfully in your new IT job.
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Defragging Your Career
If you feel that your career is on halt, or if you’re unhappy in your role, it's good to reassess your goals to get you back on track. Find out how to successfully defrag your career.
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Get the most out of Local Tech Events
At Sourced we are passionate about the local Christchurch technology sector and our team loves to get involved with a variety of local events. We often get feedback from both candidates and clients that they don’t know where to find out what is on or crucially how to personally get the most out of these events.
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Managing a Multigenerational Workforce
As a new generation joins the workforce and a large portion of Kiwi’s aged 65+ work past retirement age, New Zealand’s workforce is becoming multigenerational. Here’s what you can do to ensure collaboration between different generations.
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Four Crucial Soft Skills for Success in IT
Due to IT industry’s challenging nature, relying on your technical skill alone is not enough to build a successful career. Here are four crucial soft skills every valuable IT employee should possess.
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How to Hire For Team Fit
Hiring someone who is a bad team fit can have a negative impact on your company and your team. If you need help finding the right employee, take a look at our top tips on how to hire for team fit.
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An Onboarding Guide for IT Employers
Onboarding is the key to getting employees off on the right foot, read our tips on how to onboard successfully.
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A Guide to Choosing a Winning Reference
The references you put down on your CV can help you secure the job of your dreams. So, here’s some tips to help you choose winning referees for your CV.
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Retaining Your High Performing People
In today’s job market, with the much talked about “talent shortage” plaguing employers, retaining top staff is more important than ever. So, with that in mind, what can employers do to keep their best talent with them for longer?
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8 Tips - Stay Productive When In-Between Jobs
By taking a proactive approach, you can turn your downtime into an opportunity and find the job that you always dreamed of.
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3 Steps to Closing the Deal on Technical Talent
The way in which people are engaged with and interviewed can sometimes prevent an IT company from securing a great hire. Check out these three steps that can bring you closer to closing the deal, and retain that top candidate.
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How to Resign Without Burning Bridges
With so much on the line, how do you avoid damaging that reputation you spent years building and the future of your career when jumping ship?
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Using Job Rejection to Empower Your IT Career
Job rejection shouldn’t leave you disheartened. In fact, it can be a chance to make yourself more appealing to employers and lead you to securing the role you want. Here is our guide on how to use rejection to further yourself.
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Five Tips - Pick the Right Recruitment Agency
Whether spoilt for choice or struggling to find an opportunity, many people find it difficult to handle their employment situation alone. This is where a specialist recruitment agency comes in. Here’s five tips on how to choose an agency that matches your needs.
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What Talent Shortage- Recruit Top Candidates
The main point of discussion in the recruitment industry at the moment, especially in the technology sector, is the talent shortage. There seems to be constant outcry, and a mass media hysteria, around how hard it is for companies just to find talent, let alone engage it. So how can you overcome this?
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IT Graduates: A Guide to Securing Your First Job
Graduating soon? Eager to the hit the IT job market but unsure what comes next? Click here for our guide on how to land that important first job at the company you want.
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Putting the Spotlight on Your Employer Brand
In today’s competitive market, employer brand can give companies the edge, especially when it comes to snaring top talent. So how do you showcase your company in order to attract great people who are a perfect fit?
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Beat the 10 Technology Interview Questions
Job interviews take a lot of time and practice to get to a point where you are comfortable with them, but most of us are lucky enough to not have to do job interviews with any degree of regularity, thus for a large proportion of us they remain a daunting prospect.
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Counter-Offers: What You Need to Know
You’re probably familiar with the often quoted, but un-verified statistic that 80% of the people who accept a counter-offer end up leaving their job within the six months. Though the above mentioned statistic holds true in most cases, on some occasions a counter-offer can be beneficial to both employer and employee.
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9 Things to Consider - Evaluating a Job Offer
Getting a job offer is always an exciting prospect. Getting that call can often feel like all your hard work searching for a job has paid off. However, taking a job offer without carefully thinking about it is almost always a bad idea. Before you accept an offer, here’s our top nine things that you should always consider.
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The Sourced Guide to Contracting
So maybe you’ve made the leap and have decided to ‘go contracting’, or perhaps you're currently in a permanent role and trying to find out more information. Who can blame you? Contracting is an excellent opportunity to capitalise on your experience and expertise in a particular field, and in most instances, be well rewarded for it. But is it all it’s cracked up to be?
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Boosting Your Career: Sourced’s 6 Top Tips
Here at Sourced we interview a large number of technology professionals every year. Many of these are in full control of their career and looking to make their next strategic move in line with their goals. We also meet a number of people who aren’t so satisfied, and worry that they aren’t achieving their potential, are stuck in a rut or in the wrong job altogether.
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6 Steps to Building Your Personal Brand
Whether you’re looking for a job or trying to establish yourself as a thought leader in your field, having a strong personal brand is now a vital part of professional life.
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An IT Pro's Guide to Christchurch
Christchurch has a lot to offer for IT professionals. With its amazing surroundings, booming technology sector and exciting lifestyle opportunities, there’s plenty of reasons to move to the Canterbury region if you’re an IT professional in New Zealand, or abroad.
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Best Use of LinkedIn for Professionals
A guide for young professionals on getting the most out of Linkedin
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How a Recruitment Agency Can Help You
Here's a few tips on how to choose the best recruitment consultant or agency for you.
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Don't hide your current location
Where exactly are you? Why this is important during the job application process
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Want to work in New Zealand?
Here is an outline of some of the things to consider if looking to move to New Zealand
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Do you need a new role, and fast?
We understand that finding a new job is crucial, but there is a 'right' way to go about it
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Job application and that initial phone call
What you need to know & How to prepare for a call about your job application
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What to do - Do You Have Any Questions?
The question that strikes terror into the heart of many interviewees: “Do you have any questions?” What should you do? Should you ask questions?
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5 traits needed for working in your business
I thought I’d twist the popular topic “5 traits you need to work from home” into “5 traits you need to work in your own business, at home”
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Personal Branding - Students and Graduates
User Guide | Personal branding for Students and Recent Graduates
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Contracting: Is it Time For You to Venture Out?
Get started - Contracting - Some things to know before you pluck up the courage to hand in your notice on your permanent job, make sure you can answer YES! to these 5 points:
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How to Make Your CV Count
Your CV should tell a story, and attempt to anticipate and answer any questions the reader has in their mind
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Internships: What are They and How do They Work?
Internship is often defined as an opportunity offered by an employer to potential employees to work at a firm for a fixed, limited period of time.
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LinkedIn guide for Recent Graduates
LinkedIn for Recent Graduates - how to navigate it and good practice | In today’s electronic age, LinkedIn is an essential tool for all graduate job seekers.
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Linkedin Profile: What it is, and Why You Need it.
Linkedin: What it is, and why you need it. LinkedIn is fast becoming the tool of choice for companies looking to head hunt talent...
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The Recruiter and Jobseeker relationship
The Recruiter / Jobseeker relationship | How do you make the most of the relationship between the recruiter and your next potential employer?
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Get results from Recruiter Client relationships
Recruiter and Client - some great ideas around getting the best results from this partnership
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Technical skills - how visible are yours
How do you show your skills to recruiters or CV viewers? How obvious are your skills to someone reviewing your work history?