A pregnant pause – to tell or not to tell when job seeking?

Is it unethical not to disclose a pregnancy at a job interview? What about letting your boss know of your plans to start a family soon? And what time is the right time to let your employer know that you are expecting?

These are just a few of the questions women are struggling to find answers for in the quest to have it all – career, relationship, kids, and the white picket fence to go along with it.

A recent poll conducted by recruitment marketing specialists Employment Office has revealed that 68% of respondents would not tell their boss of a wish to start a family in the near future, but would instead wait until they were actually pregnant to disclose their plans. This comes despite mounting pressure from some employers and recruiters to disclose all up front.

Smoke breaks making colleagues hot under the collar

It’s one of the age old battles in the workplace – smokers taking cigarette breaks while their non-smoking colleagues continue to work.

With World No Tobacco Day approaching on May 31, a recent Employment Office poll has revealed that unsurprisingly, three-quarters of workers think it’s unfair that smokers take cigarette breaks throughout the day. A further 42% believe that smokers should have to disclose their status as a smoker in a job interview, because it is likely to affect their performance at work.

Don’t let tattoos permanently mark your employment record

Tattoos are becoming increasingly popular among younger workers, but are workplace attitudes to body art relaxing to match the trend?

A recent poll conducted by recruitment marketing specialists Employment Office revealed that almost 60% of employees think it’s unacceptable for tattoos by be visible while at work. The study also revealed that 64% of people believe that tattoos should be covered up for a job interview.

Video interviews

If you're not an early riser, you're a loser.

In today’s global workplace, more and more employers are looking for candidates interstate and outside the country, using tools such as Skype, Live Messenger and video interviewing to reach the right person, rather than the person who is "right there". Mastering this technique, though, can be quite intimidating. In this month’s newsletter from Employment Office, we are going to share our experiences with you how to improve your chances in these kinds of situations.

Employment Office clients have used Skype interviews for first round meetings to reduce their up-front investment costs in candidates that ‘look good on paper’ but aren’t the right fit.

Shortlisting Team Leader, Rachel Palmer says "Video interviewing still allows for natural conversation – you can see the candidate’s body language and facial expressions and assess their professional presentation."

7 career advice myths

If you're not an early riser, you're a loser.

From your parents telling you the early bird gets the worm to that personal branding blog you read just last week, everyone and his brother has advice on how to advance your career..

There are only two problems with that.

1. First, to say things have changed over the past few decades is a bit of an understatement. What was once conventional wisdom is now laughably outdated. Second, the Internet is full of blogs and tweets designed to rack up clicks by quoting clueless people and bad research.
2. To help clear up all the nonsense, here's the truth about seven career advice myths that have somehow managed to become conventional wisdom. Don't drink the Kool-Aid.

Before the Interview

How to prepare for an interview.

No matter your age or industry, the fact is that job interviews can be absolutely nerve-racking. In as little as 30 minutes, you need to prove to the interviewer that you are the type of person that they want – no, they need – to fill the available vacancy.

The fact is that you can be ahead of the curve by simply spending a bit of time preparing beforehand. We’re going to break down the preparation into a simple acronym: PREP.

5 avoidable phone interview mistakes

It's essential that you act professional

Well done! You've been informed that a company will be calling you for a phone interview in the near future. Even though it isn't an in-person interview, it's essential that you act professional as this is an important hurdle in the process of acquiring your dream job!