Reading Time: 9 minutes ASX’s 2023 investor survey shows a 13% increase in beginner investors since 2020. Despite 13 consecutive interest rate rises, more than one million Australians plan to start investing via stock exchanges in the coming year. For first-time stock market investors, confusing financial language (e.g., what are mutual funds?) can reduce your confidence in making good decisions. It pays to understand the stock market basics before you start your investment journey. Let’s begin! How Does The Stock Market Work? When a company ‘goes public’, it gives the general public a chance ..read more

Reading Time: 6 minutes If you’re one of many Australians affected by higher interest rates and high inflation — with income growth that’s well-short of the rising cost of living — you might feel that we’re definitely in the midst of a widespread downturn in the economy. But do economists agree that Australia is in a recession? While there’s no official determination of when Australia’s economy is in recession, there are guiding indicators. Let’s explore what a recession means and how Australia’s economy is performing in 2024. (Related: Interest Rate Forecast: When Will RBA Cut Rates? What Do ..read more

Reading Time: 7 minutes The cash rate set by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) rose five times in 2023, and peaked in November at 4.35%. This followed eight hikes in 2022. The main culprit behind the rapid run of rate rises is burgeoning inflation that has impacted Australia’s economy — and economies globally — as we continue to recover from the economic shock of the COVID-19 pandemic. Inflation surged to a 30-year high of 7.8% in December 2022. If you’re a mortgage holder or stock market investor, you’ll no doubt have been relieved that rates have been on hold throughout early 2024. But how ..read more

Reading Time: 10 minutes You want to impress the hiring manager with your resume introduction, but the window of opportunity is shorter than you think. Some HR professionals argue that a hiring manager takes six seconds to determine if a resume belongs in the “Call” or “No Call” pile. From the very first word, the clock is ticking. But it’s not just humans you need to impress. One in three Australian companies are utilising AI tools to fill vacancies, so your resume summary must contain keywords that will help it get past robots’ filters. In this guide, I’ll show you how to craft an authentic ..read more

Reading Time: 5 minutes At some point in the job application process, you’ll need to discuss your availability and the schedule you can commit to with a new employer. Your availability for a job can be more complex than a start date — because the standard 9-to-5, Monday-Friday job is becoming less standard as flexible, gig-based and virtual work expands.  In some cases, it makes sense to pre-emptively answer the question of ‘when are you available?’ by including information about your availability in your resume. I will explain when, where and how to discuss your availability on your resu ..read more

Reading Time: 6 minutes Some would argue that a job advertisement or job description that refers to working well under pressure is a giant red flag. Nobody can work effectively under too much pressure due to unreasonably tight deadlines, excessive demands, or a cutthroat culture.  But most employers looking to recruit someone who works well under pressure are really asking: “Can you think clearly, perform at a high level, and remain respectful to colleagues and customers, even when things don’t go perfectly to plan?” It’s not enough to simply say you work well under pressure on your resum ..read more

Reading Time: 6 minutes Here’s the great conundrum when it comes to helping teenagers write their first resume. They have little experience and often limited relevant skills, yet they must prove their suitability for work to gain a paid job. But writing a top-notch resume that differentiates a teen looking for their first job is relatively easy. The formatting of teen resumes is relatively simple — and you’ll see the same basic advice everywhere — but the devil is in the details. Effective teenager resumes must be without grammatical errors and include the right sections while showcasing your ..read more

Reading Time: 5 minutes Making a decent income is critical to staying afloat in the current environment of rising prices and interest rates — as well as striving towards long-term financial goals. Australia was ranked the second-richest country in the world in 2022. It accounts for 3% of the world’s total millionaires. But we all know wealth isn’t evenly distributed. The Melbourne Institute reported in October that the number of households living on below-average incomes was increasing, and “poverty is a real and desperate issue.” How does the average Aussie fare when it comes to earning a liv ..read more

Reading Time: 10 minutes There are fewer things in our working lives that are more difficult than issuing an employee with a termination letter – unless you’re Gary Vaynerchuk or Elon Musk. American entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk is a proponent of “hire fast, fire fast”, and Elon Musk showed little remorse when firing 80% of Twitter staff when he took over. As much as I appreciate their qualities, when it comes to how to treat people, I’m in a different camp – and given you’ve arrived here, I suspect you’re a little more conscientious too. Here’s how to terminate an employee the right way – taki ..read more

Reading Time: 15 minutes Maybe you’re sitting down right now looking at a newly opened document and you’ve drawn a blank. You’re trying to find the right words to thank you, but every time you type something, you delete it a few seconds later. Where should you start? You might be inclined to use ChatGPT to autogenerate a response. That’s what Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford did when bidding farewell to a former teammate on X (formerly Twitter). It was so obvious, owing to the painfully robotic language, the lack of authenticity, and the fact that he accidentally left in the words “Ca ..read more