After school, I secured a racing administration cadetship with the Australian Jockey Club. This combined learning a range of skills with the start of my career in human resources. I completed studies in HR, industrial relations, finance and accounting.

How did you get into the recruitment sector?

In my early 30s I launched a recruitment consulting business in Australia for then one of the world's largest HR consultancies. I spent nearly a decade there (and discovered a passion for effective talent management and recruitment) before returning to HR/operations management. I reflected upon how I wanted to spend the last 15 years of my career and my inherent love for best-practice recruitment prompted me to return.

What radical changes have occurred in the industry in recent decades?

Alas, I must acknowledge that in the decades since our last recession (and the period of innovation and advancement in recruitment practice which followed) several of the key elements of best-practice recruitment have fallen by the wayside. Some examples being: executive ownership of recruitment strategy, employment branding, diversity and inclusion (social equity), candidate care and workforce planning.

What motivated you to write your paper Best Practice Recruitment in a Post-Recession market?

The aforementioned decline in recruitment standards in Australia; my sense that since we have not had a recession since 1991 there will not be a collective knowledge of the period of 'innovation and advancement in recruitment practice which followed'; but most importantly that, because diversity and inclusion is not an inherent element of recruitment practice in the Hunter, unless we initiate an intervention, those most affected by our current recession (minority groups) will be left behind in our socio-economic recovery.

The paper notes key recruitment trends from the 1991-92 recession. What were they?

The primary areas include

How is today's recession similar to the last?

The fact that we need to start planning for our recovery prior to the technical end of the recession is often lost within the perception of a current crisis. The tendency is to seek a return to 'normal' but the opportunity is to establish a much-improved normal. Nearly 30 years of continuous economic growth in Australia since 1991 has resulted in inefficiency and deficiency. A post-recession recovery provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to develop, reform and improve. How do we ensure social equity and prosperity for all?

Key challenges for recruiters now?

Periods of high unemployment have a greater impact on specific demographic groups. Minority groups not only find it more difficult to find work, they also are those most affected by downturn. Recessions also result in significant increases in job application numbers. This can often result in recruiters practising an unconscious bias to look for reasons to rule applicants out - as opposed to looking for reasons to rule people in - and again this will have a greater impact upon minority groups. Recruiters need to be mindful of this and ensure they practise diversity, inclusion and social equity.

What groups are most at risk of unemployment?

Young people without tertiary qualifications; those in the workforce who are over 49; those planning a return to the workforce (e.g. post paternity leave); Indigenous Australians; recent immigrants to Australia; people with disabilities or health issues; working parents seeking part-time work/job share; those who have recently moved to the Hunter; people with rich and diverse career backgrounds. It is evidenced that white, middle-class privilege is currently alive and well in our local job market, although that might even preclude people who fall into the above categories.

At 60 you've had a long career. Is ageism a real problem in recruitment?

Yes. Locally, recruitment is seen as a transaction and not a strategy, so most people working in talent acquisition teams are generally junior and inexperienced. If you are over 49 you will definitely find the local job market tough to crack. Whilst it is well established that diversity and inclusion has positive impact upon the performance and productivity of companies, I fear that with Australians now needing to work longer (with the removal of the concept of a retirement age) this form of ageist discrimination will in the long term have an adverse effect on our social well-being.