YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

A COLLEAGUE AND I WANT TO JOB SHARE. HOW DO WE BROACH THIS IN OUR JOB SEARCH?

DARREN BUCHANAN MANAGING DIRECTOR, HAYS QUEENSLAND

On occasion, an employer will fill a vacant full-time role with two new employees in a job share arrangement. If you want to propose job sharing, you or your colleague should call the hiring manager and discuss the possibility before submitting your application. If you want to work with a recruiter, have an initial conversation with her or him too. Have a succinct list of unique selling points that demonstrate how you and your colleague would add value, emphasising your complementary skills. Ensure both your CVs are tailored to the role or type of work you are looking for.

SINEAD HOURIGAN BRISBANE DIRECTOR, ROBERT WALTERS

If you are looking at opportunities within your organisation for greater flexibility, it’s really important to check a few things. Firstly, you should check the policies around job sharing from a HR perspective. These policies will point you in the right direction. Secondly, you should check around the business to see if there are other people job sharing in similar roles to you and ask them about how it works for them. If you absolutely need a more flexible working environment and your current employer can’t support that requirement, start looking at your options elsewhere.

JULIE FORD SENIOR EXECUTIVE CONSULTANT, McARTHUR

It is important you make any approach early in the inquiry stage to avoid wasting not only your time but the time of the person in the hiring company or department. Do your own research first to establish whether the role and its responsibilities will support a job-share arrangement. Some roles are simply not suitable for this arrangement, so ensure it’s not something that suits you but doesn’t benefit the organisation. I would advise you to ensure you and your colleague have identified the benefits to the organisation and how it could work if they adopt this job-share arrangement.

DR NERIDA HILLBERG DIRECTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY, FERRIS MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS

I always believe it’s better to be open and honest from the start with your needs. I would therefore ask your question at the initial inquiry stage. Typically a job share arrangement would be advertised as such, or presented as a part-time or “flexible” vacancy. There are also different models of job sharing. You and your colleague need to have a clear view on the model you are seeking. This could be sharing a role 50:50, or where you have sole responsibility for some tasks, and no responsibility for executing the tasks assigned to your colleague.