ACTION IT ANYWAY! No tertiary qualification. Bit jumpy, bit of a job hopper. But the jobseeker interviews well, is so articulate with a bubbly persona and seems technically clued-up. This is often the case when assessing if a candidate is right for a role. Rarely do we get someone who ticks all the boxes of requirements the client seeks. So, through experience, interviews and gut feel, Recruiters make calculated risks. We action it anyway and send the CV off in the hopes the client will similarly “see what we see”. Recruiters sometimes pose doubts about a specific candidate and in team meetings discuss whether to send the CV to a client. A phrase is sometimes coined “when in doubt, send it out”. The Google translation explains it as “when you’re uncertain or have doubts about a situation, you should take action and proceed rather than delaying or avoiding it.” Finding a job can be a tedious process. You often feel you could do the job, but the endless list of requirements makes you doubt yourself and you exit the ad. By not sending your CV, you reduce your chances of a new job opportunity. If you just action it anyway,…
Datafin hits the airwavesDatafin Co-owner Lindy Sollinger speaks about the business of “selling people”. She also reveals how to market yourself to get the job on CapeTalk radio. Ahead of Worker’s Day, Sollinger joined CapeTalk’s lunchtime “On the couch” show host Bianca Reznik. They chat about Tech Recruitment and Sollinger provides some expert advice to those job-hunting. From Pj’s to having an actual office space to now running an entirely Remote team. Sollinger explains how she started Datafin and how the Recruitment Agency has evolved with the times. “I left university and decided to go into Recruitment, almost by chance… worked in Temp Recruitment and after 6 months my Manager left so I was able to head up the whole division, got a lot of experience. I went to the UK, worked there, came back and worked in Financial Services Recruitment and decided I should open my own business. “And then in 1999, from my flat in Sea Point in my pajama’s, I opened up Datafin and the rest is history. And Bev, my sister and partner, joined a year later.” She explained how the entire Datafin team consists of all women – mostly working Moms and all working from…
Datafin diversifies its Recruitment offering With a track record of 25 years of recruiting Tech professionals, we are viewed as one of the country’s top IT Recruitment Specialists. Our Recruitment offering, has expanded into a whole lot of new sectors (Finance, HR, Logistics, Medical and Legal) and we have gone global, working with clients in the UK, US, Netherlands and Australia. So, whether you’re an Artisan or Accountant, have a passion for Data or AI – we may just have the unique job you’ve been searching for. Datafin has become synonymous with IT Recruitment, but the initial Recruitment offering did include both IT and Finance. “We were initially doing IT and Finance, hence the FIN in Datafin, “explains Lindy Sollinger, Datafin co-owner. But the IT Recruitment quickly took on a more prominent focus. Sollinger recalls that, “We found IT to be so much fun and fast-paced that we stuck to IT for the first 15 years.” Once the Recruitment Agency had honed its IT Recruitment expertise and established a strong clientele and reputation in the business of Tech Recruitment, it was time to grow and take on new challenges. Datafin’s diversified Recruitment offering has since branched out to industries including…
Promote your resilience to potential employers IF there’s one thing the Covid-19 pandemic proved – it’s that we as humans are a resilient bunch. We played what I like to call “real-life Survivor” confined to our four walls for days on end. Through that difficult period, we found creative ways to busy ourselves, make money and connect with loved ones. Most importantly, we managed to stay positive and soldier on with the belief we would make it through to the other side. Bosses are giving preference to employing more resilient staff. Now post-pandemic – interviews provide key opportunities to promote your resilience. Today more than ever post-pandemic, that innate resilient nature is what many bosses want to see in you. Resilience is a character trait that appears on many job specs. Applicants are required to have the ability not to cave under pressure. To continue to thrive in your career despite any challenges and setbacks you may face in both your work and personal life. Most interviews often include that question posed to describe how you navigated a difficult or challenging situation. This is an opportune moment to promote your resilience to potential employers. It proves hugely beneficial to companies,…
The art of job matchmaking There’s a certain finesse required in any artistic process and matching people with jobs is no different. Speaking to some of our Datafin Recruiters, I uncovered what goes into the art of job matchmaking. To get that almost “perfect match” – when connecting a candidate and client in a successful career union. We may not be playing cupid and matchmaking dating profiles for a “love connection” but there’s definitely similarities in the process of how we go about it. Getting to know both parties and their expectations – In the dating realm, singletons often have a mental checklist of traits their potential love interest should meet, in order to deem them eligible enough. So too, our clients and candidates have their criteria of what they desire in the workspace. Like they say, some people marry for money and others for love. Often a person would prefer a more favourable remuneration package or higher commission. Others want a company they can feel is their “work home” where their passion for what they do can ignite and grow. Datafin Consultant Wendy Campbell says it requires delving deeper when getting to know a potential job seeker to get…
Invest in YOU by pursuing that dream job There’s just something about the new year that revitalises our being. Probably as good a time as any to use that renewed vigour to invest in YOU. Re-purpose your efforts and let’s help you in your pursuit of that dream job. The trendy term in motivational circles is “New Year, New You”. But to get to a “New You”, it will first require a positive mental shift. If you’re feeling that drive to kickstart the job-hunt then use that positive momentum in each task you undertake. Use your mind-fuel and start thinking of what your dream job looks like. Hone the belief that you can achieve it, once you really put your mind to it. Reflect on your WHY. What it would mean to you if this dream job became a reality. You need to connect with your existing career. Ask yourself how you came to be in your current position. Some might say they felt pressured into following suit in the path of their parents or siblings. Perhaps you were desperate to pay off study loans or had debt weighing heavy on you so you thought the job would bring you…
When you make your time matter you live more intentionally. You thereby enhance your actions. Ultimately, becoming aware of just how valuable your time is. You start doing more of what will make your time count. Life goals and gains like finding that dream job will no longer be a mere tedious task. What you do with the time you have becomes vital. A job hunt then becomes a tool to transform your existence. “The trouble is you think you have time.” We have reached the tail end of the year. A time when this Buddha quote rings so true for many of us. Suddenly you realise you never looked at job sites. You forgot to update your CV.Those mental notes unticked, and nothing actioned. And now it’s nearly Christmas. Businesses are winding down as festivity plans get underway. Time has flown by, and you have not utilized it as you promised yourself you would. The holiday season often sets off that nagging voice in your head of “woulda, shoulda, coulda”. It could be that voice bemoaning you over wishing you had a job that affords you more free time. To be able to go on that family vacay. Or…
SPREAD THE WINNING STREAK AT WORK ADOPTING key strategies to spread the winning streak at work will fuel an average team into a gear of high-performance. When each member works to not only see themselves succeed, but the entire group, teams not only meet but exceed company goals. Redirect any “narcissistic” traits into a desire to see long-term results for the team and the company as a whole. If you’re on the socials and we know you are. At least one of them. Very “busy” with that report, tending to that priority Support call or resolving that coding error. When really eyes are glued to a screen checking the “ticking and tocking” of the latest craze on TikTok. Specifically in the dating realm of social media, you’ve probably heard the buzzword “narcissist” flying around (could also have been a direct verbal slingshot from your significant other to your ears). There are countless videos of how to spot one or avoid being one. Often with individual work goals – like having your sights set on that promotion – “narcissistic” type behaviour may rear its ugly head. Not playing fair and disregarding your colleagues in your pursuit to the top. Instead of…
Skip the scarcity mindset and spring into action as your new job awaits Always thinking about what you don’t have. You focus on what’s missing and secretly believe you could never attain it. That you never have enough – the pay hike, the promotion, or the job of your dreams. Well, that’s the scarcity mindset. Skip the scarcity mindset today. It’s that recurring thought pattern that for example – you will never get that dream job. The one you’ve been hoping would miraculously find you. By applying the following techniques, you could skip the scarcity mindset and instead, spring into action as your new job awaits. By acting now, you could be setting off into the new year with a stunning new job. That job you can be passionate about. Or one that’s more lucrative to get your debt down. Or a job that allows you to finally purchase that SUV you’ve had your eye on. When you skip the scarcity mindset, it will give way to see you transition into a mindset of abundance. Take a deep breath and really take the time to evaluate the positives in your current position. If you really think about it, you have…
Grit and golden treatment service, has seen sisters and Datafin co-owners, build one of the country’s top Recruitment Agencies Hearing the latest social media term “Delulu” (aka delusional), a broken convection oven in need of repair and a newly acquired pet – a chameleon named “Stick”. These revelations emerge in a Monday morning MS Teams meeting. This, after a quick check-in with members of the all-women team managed by Datafin Recruitment bosses and sisters, Lindy Sollinger and Bev Sollinger. But amidst malfunctioning cooking devices and recounting having to Facetime the grandkid to show that “Stick” is indeed still alive and well – runs a well-oiled Recruitment Agency – a top contender in the SA landscape. Celebrating Women’s Month this August, I wanted to find out if the Sollinger duo always envisioned having a business, how it transformed into a staff compliment of women only and the secret ingredients to Datafin’s success. Initially starting out working for a Recruitment company herself, Lindy soon learnt the ropes and decided this was something she could pursue independently. “I always knew that I wanted to run my own business, but my heart became set on it when working for bosses in a recruitment company…