Matching talent with successful employers

Over the past 8 months or so I’ve shared 10 lessons I’ve learned in 10 years of owning Aptus. It’s been a great journey sharing these videos and I sincerely hope you have enjoyed watching as much as I’ve enjoyed sharing. This video is the last of 10, and it …

Over 10 years of owning Aptus I’ve learned many lessons however in this blog and video series I’m sharing 10 lessons in 10 years of business. Today I’m sharing lesson 9, which is one of the toughest lessons as a business owner, resilience. Resilience is how we bounce back, how …

A major lesson Ive learned in 10 years is the importance of our values as a group when trying to build solidarity and loyalty.

As owners of small businesses, we too easily try to be a jack of all trades, we do too much. I certainly made this mistake in the early days however over the years I’ve seen examples of both good and bad business practices.

What does ‘environment’ actually mean? Is it just furniture, decor and artwork? It’s actually more complicated.

To celebrate our 10th year in business Tom Murphy shares 10 things he’s learned over 10 years of being a business owner. This is video 1 of 10

Is the employment market at that point again where courtesy is no longer a priority for most people or am I expecting too much? What’s your thoughts?

In my first two blogs on this topic we raised the question does innate talent exist.

We then discussed how we can apply methods of high performance development regardless of our level of talent. Some people believe we are either born with talent or we aren’t, and unfortunately this commonly leads to the believe if we aren’t born with the talent, why bother pushing for anything more than average performance. This 3 part series is aimed to change this perception as I never want to accept I’m incapable of furthering myself and nor should you.

Does innate talent exist or are we a product of our environment? The debate about nature vs nurture continues however this time I’d like to debate this about how we perform in business. I believe most of us have been told and possibly agree with the theory we are either born with a certain talent or not however is this theory true? I recently read a book called ‘Talent is overrated’, by author Geoff Colvin which challenges this theory and clearly states there is no scientific evidence to prove innate talent exists. After reading this book I’m still unsure if don’t believe innate talent exists however I agree until it’s proven we should discuss the results of studies which prove certain methods do exist to develop an average performer into a high performer.

Being an average performer rather than a high performer is fine, after all we work to live rather than live to work. Why should we push ourselves to anything greater than doing a good job, as long as we pay the bills, right? This seems to be the view of most of the working population, however if we spend so much time at work why don’t we want to push ourselves harder to be the best we possibly can?

Are employees treated differently if they have tattoos exposed in the workplace? Are hiring decisions made based on tattoos being visible during interviews?

So it’s not often we get that feeling is it, that feeling of something special.

It’s exactly 7 years since I established Aptus. Although I was living in Exeter UK at the time, I had intended building a recruitment business in Melbourne, Australia, before exploring the UK market. I began working from the comfort of my ex-mother-in-law’s recliner at the time, working through the night in Exeter in order to be able to call clients and candidates in Melbourne.

It was an exciting time ahead; who knew where it would take me or what the future of Aptus would be. What I did know was that I would never be content being just another recruiter; I wanted to add value to my clients and genuinely provide great career options to everyone I would work with.

After a few months of working nights in Exeter, I arrived in Melbourne in March where we occupied a factory floor above my friend’s shop in a suburb called Heidelberg. It was shortly after this that a freak storm hit Melbourne and in one fell swoop the roof of the building took off! This story you may remember from my previous blog “MURPHY’S LAW: DEAD OR ALIVE, I WILL SUCCEED!”

Today I could write about political mistakes and what the future holds but I’ve decided to focus on the things which are within our control. We are all faced with massive decisions in life. I personally, since arriving in the UK last year, had to vote Brexit or Remain. That wasn’t easy but for many people making a decision to change jobs or career is just as big; life changing in many cases. As a recruiter I see this daily and as a recruitment business owner I enjoy seeing my staff help people make these important decisions on a regular basis. Too often however, people don’t make the right decision for themselves as a result of fear of the unknown. I guess this is human nature but I don’t live like that, I’d rather know that at least I tried.

In life we go through different times and depending on the type of person you are and how you react will determine your happiness. It’s taken me many years, most of my adult life to realise happiness comes from within rather than acquisitions or possessions. Someone said to me a …

Until recently I had the opinion the term ‘Work hard play hard’ is a term of the past. A term used in the noughties and most likely the decade preceding. A term used by employers in their heyday where partying or living it large as they say, was a way …

I’ve always been a strong believer in hard work pays dividends in many ways. In both personal and professional relationships you get back what you put in, whether it be directly or indirectly, I believe when I work hard at something the rewards eventually come. In recruitment and in any …

For the fifth year in a row Melbourne has been voted the World’s Most Liveable City.

When I was a trainee draftsperson working for a company called Irwin Johnston & Partners (now Irwinconsult) I was working late one evening printing some drawings for a tender submission. I had organised dinner with my folks and they met me at the office to head into town for dinner. …

It was November 2008 and just another day as a recruiter as I sat at my desk negotiating an improved offer of employment for an engineer I’d recruited for one of my key clients. It had been such a smooth process until now.

As someone who has grown to love Melbourne for it’s quirky laneways, architecture, ambience and its amazing photogenic features I enjoy discussing its evolution with clients and candidates within the Built Environment and I’m fascinated by the difference of opinions from Architects, Planners, Engineers, Urban Designers and Developers when discussing …

LinkedIn is undoubtedly a valuable tool in communicating in an evolving world of digital networking, however is the validity of information being diluted by those who use it? Facebook is fast becoming a social platform saturated with adverts, scams and pages which you apparently may like. Facebook should have a reason for deleting …

Summary   With the ever increasing use of social media and electronic communication in our day to day lives with an expanding list of platforms to choose from including Email, SMS, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, SnapChat, Instagram etc etc it was only a matter of time before it sneaked it’s way …

When I made the decision to found Aptus in 2009 I knew that I wanted a company which would provide everyone within it, including me, the opportunity to achieve what I want. I presumed most people, if not all, wanted to earn what I wanted to earn; they wanted profit shares, equity and management responsibilities, were striving to be the best recruiter in their field. I learned quickly this wasn’t the case at all.

Most people have goals or at least they have a fair idea of what they want to achieve as their end game of their career. Sunday 3rd of May 2015, two very successful boxers finally met in what was said to be the fight of the century. The fight lasted …