Sean Walters

High basics & high blood pressure: A curious correlation

Pay rises are great aren't they? A flasher car, a bigger house, nicer wine, hotter partner, stress, redundancy, unemployment, the inability to change jobs. They really are fantastic. And the great thing about a pay rise is that you never go backwards. Each year, and every time you move job…

Sean WaltersApril 11, 2025

Employment Recruitment Technology Uncategorized Work

A prediction for 2025 (and the following 79 years)

This week saw me sticking to my policy of only eating breakfast if provided by a job board. It was TradeMe Jobs this time round, meaning an earlier (and wetter) start, but the promise of a Full English lured me from my bed at 6am. Unfortunately, this is 2025, so…

Sean WaltersApril 4, 2025

Employment Human Resources Recruitment Uncategorized

Ugly clients rear their ugly heads

It's only just occurred to me that this is my last blog of FY24/25. "Thank God" I hear you sigh. And don't worry, the feeling is mutual. This year has been the toughest in a long while for most of us, and it's no easy task writing 700 words each…

Sean WaltersMarch 28, 2025

Employment Human Resources Work

Weighing in on the “open to work” debate.

Yes yes. I know I am very late to the table on this one. Those who know me however will realise that it is within my contrarian nature to intentionally avoid any topic that any normal person may be interested in at any given point of time. Instead, Luxon’s desire…

Sean WaltersMarch 21, 2025

Employment Human Resources Job Boards Politics

Onwards and (soon to be) upwards

This week I attended a “breakfast” event kindly hosted by SEEK. Unfortunately, I have to use inverted commas as it was a croissant and coffee affair as opposed to the feast that TradeMe Jobs puts on. Personally, I don’t eat breakfast during the week unless a job board pays for…

Sean WaltersMarch 14, 2025

Politics Recruitment

The war for talent. And everything else.

Am I being paranoid, or does it feel like we're teetering on the precipice of a world war? Granted, conflicts and skirmishes across the globe are a constant, but does it seem to you that we may have a perfect storm of despotic leaders, unilateral increased military spending, escalating "tensions",…

Sean WaltersMarch 7, 2025

Employment Politics Recruitment

Good recruiters ask the hardest questions

This week, I've had Covid. Yes, Covid. Remember that? Apart from feeling quite rough, I've kinda enjoyed the retro nostalgia of it all. Not only have I been feeling uncharacteristically lethargic, I've also noticed a real brain-fog. Last week's blog came at you after 90 minutes of drunken sleep, so…

Sean WaltersFebruary 28, 2025

Employment Recruitment Sourcing Uncategorized Work

Evenings are for wine. Not texting.

I will keep today’s blog brief. Brief because I am lazy. Brief because myself and many of you had a late night last night. For those not in attendance, last night was the Rice PowWow – New Zealand’s premier recruitment networking event. If the turnout is in anyway a barometer…

Sean WaltersFebruary 21, 2025

Employment Human Resources Recruitment

Easy come, not-so-easy go

There’s something in the water currently. No, not fish. Or faeces. I mean something that is bringing out some very aggressive, spiteful, and vindictive behaviours. You may remember that a couple of months ago I wrote this blog about a particularly nasty, inconsequential Christchurch firm who were bullying a former…

Sean WaltersFebruary 14, 2025

Recruitment

The lost art of the “boozy lunch”

Booze and recruitment have historically gone together like gin & tonic. When I started in this industry, you could not meet a recruiter who was teetotal. Actually, there weren't even occasional or "social" drinkers. Recruiters, like sailors, soldiers, dockers, and the homeless, tended to be habitual binge drinkers, 'cept everyday…

Sean WaltersJanuary 31, 2025