26 Tips for 2026

Posted On 13 Jan 2026

26 Tips for 2026

13 Jan 2026

Candidate Resource, Employer Resource, Interview Tips, On The Job, Popular Culture

Hello 2026! Let’s hope you are spectacular in every way! Not to be superstitious, but I feel it might be. For a start, the animal for Lunar Year 2026 is the Horse (specifically the Fire Horse) one of my most favourite creatures on earth, you can’t get more majestic and special.

So here we go 2026! For this year’s tips, we have split them into job seeker and hiring manager advice!

13 tips for job seekers
  1. New year, new you, new job? Not so fast! Think twice before joining the other 75% of the workforce who think it’s time to change- yes, the statistic is that high!
  2. Make a career plan. Where do you want to be? Then map out the ‘how’ to get there.
  3. Choose one soft skill to work on this year, whether it’s patience, listening, or greater tolerance.
  4. Work on your technical skills- this cannot be one only btw!
  5. Ask for feedback from your manager; ‘What should I work on this year for my development?’
  6. If you’re using AI to help with your résumé, treat it as a draft, not a final product. We can tell. Proofread carefully for grammar, typos, and factual accuracy, especially dates.
  7. Make a list of your achievements and understand the benefit back to the business.
  8. Don’t wing the interviews. Practice answering competency-based interview questions. You can use the information from tip 7!
  9. Research well the business and the person who will be interviewing you.
  10. Have you updated your social media presence for privacy?
  11. Does your LI match up with your resume?
  12. Consider staying in your current job. Longevity in a role is fast becoming the #1 sought after attribute employers are seeking. Why? Because it signals resilience, maturity (not to be confused with age), depth of experience and loyalty.
  13. If this list resonates, my book Employable: 7 Attributes to Assure Your Working Future expands on these ideas. You can download the first chapter from our website.
13 tips for hiring managers
  1. Keep job descriptions focused and realistic, rather than generic or overly aspirational.
  2. Go to market with the right salary. An underpriced salary will cost you candidates and reputation.
  3. We strongly suggest the person leaving the role isn’t the main person hiring the new employee.
  4. Apart from the technical skills, what are the cultural must-have personal attributes and values? And please share these with your recruiter!
  5. Know what ‘good’ looks like, so when you meet them, you can move quickly; you don’t have to interview the world!
  6. Retention issues aren’t always a recruitment problem. Onboarding, management, or culture may be the real cause,  and all are worth reviewing.
  7. If you’re hiring for a permanent role, don’t rely solely on a temp-to-perm strategy. It signals uncertainty, significantly narrows your candidate pool, and offers security to neither you nor the hire. Temporary candidates remain on the market, and you may lose them. By all means, hire a temp in the interim, just don’t make it your only strategy.
  8. Consider providing coaching support for both new hires and their manager during probation. The first six months are critical for alignment and long-term retention. With managers and teams under pressure, structured onboarding and development often falls away, a factor many organisations now cite as a cause of premature turnover. Targeted coaching during this period can materially improve outcomes. To support this transition, learn more at www.roxannecalder.com.au.
  9. Before going to market, have a plan that includes times for interviews with the decision makers.
  10. Don’t let your hiring process drag on unnecessarily.
  11. Give timely feedback, and make it specific enough to be actionable, not just polite or vague.
  12. Be open-minded, strong candidates rarely match job descriptions perfectly anymore.
  13. For precision hiring done right the first time, work with specialists like EST10.
About the author
Roxanne Calder
Managing Director

As Founder and Managing Director at EST10, Roxanne has an all-encompassing role that includes building and growing the business, as well as actively recruiting and consulting.

After completing a Bachelor’s Degree at Monash University, Roxanne began her recruitment career with renowned recruiter Julia Ross. From there, Roxanne worked in HR and recruitment with a number of global players and boutique businesses throughout Australia, the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong for over 20 years. She has been responsible for managing large teams and projects, implementing RPO models, managing and assisting businesses to an IPO and assisting companies in setting up their recruitment teams and processes.

Following completion of her MBA at the Australian Graduate School of Management, Roxanne launched EST10 in July 2010. In doing so, she hoped to combine the flexibility and high touch service levels of boutique agencies with the structure and strategy afforded to larger firms. Roxanne believes in high-touch, high-care consulting and is always on the lookout for consultants that share this vision of recruitment.

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