The question Steve Jobs often asked himself when hiring a new recruit was ‘would I enjoy going out for a beer with this person?’

Believe it or not, this is an important consideration in the hiring process of new staff members. Steve Jobs was often seen walking in the grounds of Apple with candidates to give the time and space to know them better and assess if they would be a good cultural fit within Apple at that time.

According to the Fin Review (June 2022) Australian businesses are crying out for more workers as the country copes with one of the largest labour shortages yet seen. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that there were 423,000 job vacancies in June and it seems to be no better at the time of writing in August.

With the unemployment rate at a 48-year low and sitting around the 4% mark, businesses are reporting some alarming statistics: 59% of job applicants do not have the right skills and 79% reported a lack of applicants entirely!

What was your least favourite subject at school: English? Physics? Music? Chances are that many of you will have said Maths which is a pity since not only is this a fascinating subject, it also lies at the heart of much of what we need to do in day-to-day living, e.g. paying bills, budgeting etc. Since many people naturally shy away from mathematics these things are often avoided but in business, it is essential to ‘know your numbers’ if you are going to make your business a success.

As someone who runs both a business advisory company as well as a recruitment business, I have found personality profiling to be an invaluable instrument for better understanding the people with whom I work.