Sylvia Vorhauser-Smith from PageUp People will be speaking at RecruitTECH 2011, Australia’s Recruitment and Technology Conference at the National Press Club, Canberra on Thursday 8 September 2011. Tickets are selling fast – secure your seat now…
First up in our series of ‘Meet the Presenter’ blog articles is Sylvia Vorhauser-Smith from PageUp People ….
Great if you could give us a quick elevator pitch on you and your organisation.
PageUp People is a global talent management organisation, combining technology and the behavioural sciences to solve global talent challenges. Sylvia is head of global research.
What are you working on at the moment?
Currently developing the Centre for International Talent Management, a global portal of talent management research for use by business leaders to guide the talent challenges of international expansion.
What innovations in the recruitment and HR space do you think will ‘disrupt’ the market in the next few years?
Advanced technologies and neuroscience. Technology is unleashing the secrets of the brain, and science is entering the realm of business. The combined power and insights of science and technology is a future game-changer.
What’s the best book you’ve read that’s helped you in your career?
I love the books that challenge the status quo: Dan Pink’s “A Whole New Mind”, Charles Jacobs “Management Rewired” and Susan Cantrell’s “Workforce of One” are stimulating.
Can you remember how you got your first job? What was it?
My first job was as a receptionist in a real estate agency. It was in the gap before I started uni. I replied to a tiny add in a local newspaper, lied and told them I wanted a permanent job knowing that I would leave in 3 months to start uni. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I felt sick when I had to resign and disappoint the team that had fully adopted me by then.
What is the most important piece of advice you could give to someone just starting out their career?
Find a space you love, then build skill depth in it, not breadth. Too many career starters are jumping from one thing to the next without building deep expertise in anything. Experts stand out a few years down the track.
What keeps you busy when you’re not at work?
My dog Boris, my husband Charles, and our boat Bling. And my Masters of Neuroscience.
What are you going to talk about at RecruitTECH and why is it important?
I’m going to talk about how science and technology are coming together in exciting ways that will change how we work, not just play.
Tags: recruittech
