People looking for work through Phoenix can turn to a charter to understand how they will be treated and what to expect from the company.

Phoenix appreciates that your priority is to find a new role to suit your background skill and your career aspirations.  While you are registered with us (we refer to you as our ‘candidate’) we will look after you in the following ways:

1. Legal.  Our relationship with you is governed by the Privacy Act 1993, the Human Rights Act 1993 and various other pieces of legislation such as the Discrimination Act.  Our undertaking to you is that we will adhere not only to the letter of these laws but to the spirit of them as well.
2. Privacy.  We need your permission to talk to third parties.  Further than the industry norm, which is to ask you for your blanket dispensation to do anything with your information, we undertake to contact you for your specific permission to talk to past employers, referees, future potential employers and any other third party pertinent to your job search.
3. Communication.  At our meeting we will give you all the information we have about the options that may be open to you.  If this is complex we will send you a written note (probably by email) explaining your options and our recommendations.  While we will give you regular reports on progress, you are welcome to call or email at any time.
4. Complaints.  If you are not happy with our service, please contact our Managing Director, Jenny Durno at the office.  If you prefer you can email her at jdurno@phoenixjobs.co.nz or call her on her mobile – 027 277 6803.  We are members of the RCSA (Recruitment and Consulting Services Association) and you are also welcome to contact them (see www.rcsa.co.nz)
5. Process.  Once we have a role to fill, this is what happens:
1. We visit the employer to learn as much as we can about the role and the client’s business.
2. We search our existing database for suitable applicants.
3. We prepare an advertisement which appears on our own site, on www.search4jobs.co.nz and on www.seek.co.nz.  (We have a limited subscription on the latter sites so not all of our jobs are listed there all the time.)  We also advertise in print from time to time.
4. If you are interested in a role and apply, we will respond to your enquiry within 48 hours of receipt.  If we turn down your application we will explain as clearly as possible why we are doing so.  We will have checked all of our other positions to make sure there is nothing we have that might be suitable.
5. If we believe we have a role that might be suitable for you we will contact you, possibly asking for more information but probably inviting you to come in for a meeting.
6. Two consultants will usually meet you; the more people in our organisation who know you, the better we can represent you to our clients.
7. We will ask you about what you want, and explain what the client is looking for.  Together we will formulate an action plan and agree the next step.
8. When we introduce you to a potential employer, we will prepare a summary page explaining to the client why we think you are suitable for their requirements, when you are available and what salary level you are looking for.  We use your own cv, as we believe that your cv is part of your personal presentation style.  (If we think your cv needs altering we will discuss this with you.)
9. If the employer says no, we will get as much feedback as possible about why, to help us adjust our recruitment plan with you.
10. If the employer wants to meet you, we will give you further information about the role and the person you are going to meet to help you prepare for that meeting. (We prefer to refer to a meeting of equals, rather than an ‘interview’ which implies subservience – inappropriate these days!)
11. We normally leave reference checking until later in the process for two reasons.  Firstly, the employer may have some specific questions s/he would like to ask and may prefer to call referees him/herself, and secondly, we find that referees get less enthusiastic with each call, which may not help your case.
12. If you say no to the employer we will ask you for as much feedback as possible so that we can help them, as well as re-visiting your own recruitment plan.
13. We will continue to communicate with you and the employer throughout the process. We are not employment lawyers and do not offer to comment on the legal aspects of an offer or contract, but we can refer you to someone if you need this service.
14. Once you have accepted a position we will stay in touch for a settling in period.  Since Phoenix does not ‘head-hunt’ we are sensitive about remaining in contact for an inappropriately long time but we invite you to keep in touch and to approach us for ad hoc advice (such as salary information) at any time in the future.

CV and Interviews

We have prepared a summary of the main points to remember when preparing a cv and when attending your meeting with the employer.  These can be found in our web site in full at cand_articles.asp

CV preparation

• Include a brief description of what you are looking for and what interests you. 
• Use bullet points – easier to scan and still get the important points across.
• Start with the most recent position. 
• Become briefer with your descriptions of your roles as you go back in time.
• It is okay to withhold details of referees until later.
• Be prepared to alter your cv according to the role you are applying for.
• Include a SHORT covering letter without duplicating your cv.  Email covers are acceptable these days as long as they are professionally presented.

Interview Technique

• Understand the three main things that the employer needs from you and be prepared to explain how you can meet these needs.
• Practice delivering the important points and even if your interviewer wants to talk about sport, make sure you get across those three important points.
• Have examples ready.  Do not just say ‘I am a team player,’ but show it – ‘Our department needed to do extra work to meet our financial targets in the last quarter, so I arranged to have pizzas brought in to motivate everyone to stick in and get it done.  It was great for morale and we met the targets.’
• Approach the appointment as a ‘meeting’ as opposed to an ‘interview.’  You and the employer are meeting as equals with something to offer each other.
• Ask your consultant for a practice session.   

The whole process of finding a new role can be stressful and your Phoenix consultant’s aim is to use their professional experience to help ensure that you enjoy an exciting career move.