Yes people of the light, the festive season is upon us. A time of sun, fun, frenzy and for most, a time of reflection.

It is actually quite an exhausting period on the calendar.
On the one hand there’s the extra bounce in one’s step in anticipation of a glorious Cape Town summer, shopping and party planning, and on the other there is the intense scrutiny of the past year, reveling in both personal and professional successes and lamenting missed opportunities.

I hate focusing on negatives though, so after briefly surmising where I might have gone wrong, I inevitably get caught up in the festive frenzy and leave plotting next year’s road map to success for New Year’s Day. Maybe.

If you insist on getting a head start though, I do believe that setting a maximum of 3 attainable goals based on your current financial/professional/personal etc. circumstances yields the best results.

Being realistic with your goals is absolutely vital. You can dream of landing on the moon, but you’re not going to get there without following the logical NASA dictated steps to get there. Yes, sometimes you get lucky, win the national lottery and can afford to buy a seat on their next space mission, but even winning the lottery takes some effort on your part.

Anyway I guess what I’m trying to say is, draw your lessons from the year that’s been but focus on your achievements and set out a step by step plan on how you can build on those wins even further in the year to come.

Meanwhile ‘tis the season to be jolly and I have a Boney M CD to hunt for!

Happy festive season all!
Candace

From Crocodile Farmers to Diesel Mechanics, Mining Engineers to Financial Accountants, JobCrystal prides itself on catering to a diverse and largely unique candidate base.

That said however we are not immune to the lack of skills within specific industry sectors.

We currently have a corporate user looking for a qualified Emergency Response Handler (especially qualified paramedics) based in Gauteng and yet another in need of a Goldsmith to work within the Bloemfontein area.

Should you know any suitable candidates or are one yourself, please contact me via e-mail: candace@jobcrystal.co.za

We cannot stress enough how important it is for you to keep flying the JobCrystal flag and we are working on a few ingenious strategies that will take your online networking into the social media stratosphere!

Have a great weekend!
Candace

August has been another cracker of a month with loads of new JobCrystal candidates finding their dream jobs and will soon be spending their gift vouchers to the value of R1000.00 simply for being such spectacular candidates.

With all of the recent online activity by both corporate and candidate users, the JC team expects an explosive end the month and year.

To ensure that you increase your chances of being matched, ensure that your profile is regularly updated and reflects the most accurate information around your contact details, skills set and employment history.

Also, the "About Me" section on your profile is a major opportunity for you to really sell your professional skills. Remember your JC profile is a hiring manager's first impression of you so you really want choose your words wisely.

Keep your eyes peeled for our fantastic new "Ranking Game" which will essentially enable you to rank your peers according to their profile whilst simultaneously gaining an insight into how well your own candidate profile ranks within your industry nationally.

Our Development Guru's assure me this ranking tool will boost our revolutionary arsenal so check your e-mail inbox for updates!

You've taken the time to register as a JobCrystal candidate, spent the *few minutes completing your profile and then BOOM, you get matched!

As JobCrystal Gurus we often get calls from shortlisted candidates going "EEEKKK! I've been selected for an interview! Please help!"

The truth is that there is no definite step-by-step interview guide that will guarantee you a job offer. Whilst job specs might be pretty standard, human interactions certainly are not!

This article http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/may2011/ca20110526_722311.htm covers some new-age interview tools that may help you land that dream job!

Let me know if you've tried any of these and what the outcome was!

Have a great long weekend Candace

• The more enthusiastic you are, the quicker you go through the profile completion process :-)

Our Corporate clients are hiring and you could be their next star employee!

Senior C# / .NET Developers – up to R45k pm
Intermediate SQL Developers – R15 – R25k pm
Senior CRM Developers – up to R45k pm
Senior SharePoint Developers – up to R45k pm
BizTalk Resource Developer – market related salary negotiable
Web Designers – R20K pm
Senior .NET Developer (Financial Sector) up to R45k pm
BI Developers – R42k pm
Mobile Sales Consultant – market related salary negotiable
Emergency Services Dispatcher – up to R10k per month
Marketing Manager (Advisory services) – market related salary
Caseware Assistant – up to R15k pm
Online Media Sales Consultants – R5k basic + commission
Enterprise Architecht – R35k pm
Hyperion Developer – R45k pm
Accountant/Bookkeeper – market related salary

Development Manager – up to R55k pm
Commercial Sales Representative (Security Sector) – R15k basic + comm + benefits
Sharepoint Developers – market related salary
Assistant Financial Accountant – R15k pm
Diesel Mechanic (Transmissions / Trucks) – up to R20k pm
Snr .Net Developer – market related salary
Systems Engineer – market related salary
Analyst Programmer – market related salary
Legal Compliance Officer – up to R55k pm
Snr Financial Anaylst – up to R75k pm
IT Manager (Infrastructure) – up to R40k pm
IT Manager (End-user computing) – up to R40k pm
IT Manager (Applications Development) – up to R40k pm
Tax Consultant – up to R50k pm
Business Analyst (IT) – R30k pm
Brand Coordinator – R25k pm
Jnr Product/Brand Manager – market related salary

Business Analyst – R50k pm
Office Administrator – R10-15k pm

Graphic Designer – R10k pm negotiable

Candidates currently holding one of these job titles are invited to enquire and apply via e-mail: candace@jobcrystal.co.za