Economy

Infrawork (that’s Extrastaff to you) sells for…$56 million

Yes, that’s right folks. In case you didn’t know, last week saw New Zealand’s biggest ever recruitment acquisition when ASX-listed PeopleIN completed the purchase of Infrawork for an eyewatering $56m. Infrawork, who you’ll most likely know as the skilled trades and labour recruitment firm Extrastaff, also include an immigration firm,…

Sean WaltersFebruary 27, 2026

Politics Recruitment Technology

Proofreaders, Prodigies, and the AI Panic

As if I wasn’t predictable enough, a blog criticising the RCSA is followed by a blog about AI. One about All of Government and another taking the p*ss out of Consult will make it a full-house. However, short of a seriously lame post comparing “your next hire” with an Olympic…

Sean WaltersFebruary 20, 2026

Employment Recruitment Sourcing

Backstreet’s Back (and so is saying “No” in 2026)

"Oh my God, we're back again!" sing the Backstreet Boys in their 1997 classic. And unless you're incredibly lucky, unlucky, or rich, so should you be. The rest of the song has no relevance to the first post of the year sadly. Before you ask, my break was lovely thank…

Sean WaltersJanuary 16, 2026

Human Resources Recruitment Work

Christmas is a confidence game (and I’m all in)

Regular readers may assume that I hate this time of year. The commercialism. The inability to get a seat or pie at Vultures unless you queue. The d*ckheads in Santa hats and Hawaiian shirts. The obligation to talk to (and even spend time with) distant relatives, neighbours you hate, and…

Sean WaltersDecember 19, 2025

Employment Human Resources Recruitment Technology

What SHOULD get you banned from LinkedIn

Getting banned from LinkedIn is easy enough. Trust me. All you have to do is write a few sharp blogs, tag a few people, and “enjoy” the cut’n’thrust of a comments section. Mostly, you’ll get banned for (as far as I’m concerned) no biggie. Such is life. In my strange…

Sean WaltersDecember 12, 2025

Employment Politics Recruitment Work

NZ and Me: The Story of a Droopy Pecker

"Keep ya pecker up" 'tis what they say. And having gone through a run of personal bad luck recently, I couldn't agree more. Without dwelling on it, I've had a motorbike stolen, a bathroom and bedroom destroyed by flood, shingles, two weird growths cut out of my body, and a…

Sean WaltersNovember 7, 2025

Employment Job Boards Recruitment Work

Submission Accomplished

This week I’ve been thinking about submissions. No, not arm bars, rear-naked chokes, or paying a leather-clad escort to urinate on me (although that has crossed my mind). I mean the increasingly common necessity for us recruiters to write stuff telling people how great we are at something in order…

Sean WaltersOctober 17, 2025

Employment Recruitment Work

I came to rant… but the market wouldn’t shut up

I don’t know what's going on currently. Each Friday, I sit here thinking I can go on some random tirade, and each Friday I seem to be presented with some actual recruitment news. In what should be a stagnant market, there seems to be plenty of winners, losers, launchers, sellers,…

Sean WaltersOctober 3, 2025

Employment Recruitment Work

Emergent SOLD! Guess who bought it…

I have many strange hobbies. I collect knives. I train and teach Aikido. I collect gold and silver bullion. And I stay up until the wee hours watching documentaries on serial killers, fraudsters, forgotten weapons, and unsolved mysteries. Perhaps strangest of all is my addiction to the Companies Office website.…

Sean WaltersSeptember 12, 2025

Employment Human Resources Politics Recruitment

Life after Recruitment, when recruitment is life

I read a semi-interesting Herald article about anti-abortionist Chris Luxon this week. Being semi-interesting, it was of course behind a paywall, so apologies if you can't read it. For those who refuse to pay for news, it highlights how Luxon's approval rating is at a two year low, having dropped…

Sean WaltersSeptember 5, 2025