The Hidden Job Market in Defence: How to Get Hired Without Applying
The Australian defence industry job market continues to grow, fuelled by major programs such as AUKUS, the Hunter-class frigates, LAND 400, and emerging autonomous systems like Ghost Shark. These ...
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The Most Common Fears About Contracting, and How to Kick Them to the Curb
Updated for 2025: Defence workforce insights and trendsContracting plays a critical role in Australian defence industry, supporting major Defence projects, AUKUS initiatives, and national security...
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It's Not You, It's Me: 10 Hidden Reasons Why Hiring Managers Say No
Rejection stings. Especially when you've invested time and effort into an application or interview, only to receive a vague "thanks but no thanks." It's easy to wonder if you weren't good enough. ...
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Top Resources for a Successful Transition from the ADF: Our Tried-and-Tested Picks
This blog has been updated in 2025 to reflect more recent trendsLeaving the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is a significant life event, and while the journey out of uniform can be challenging, the...
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Jobseekers, When Is It OK to Use AI?
AI use is increasing at a rate of knots in Australia. 49% of Australians say they’ve used AI in the last year, and 65% of job applicants use AI to craft resumes and/or cover letters. AI can be hug...
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Why You Should Think Twice About Accepting a Counter Offer
This blog has been updated in 2025 to reflect more recent trends.Counteroffers. As recruitment professionals, we rarely see these work out in the long term. While they might seem like a win initia...
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Interested In Top-Secret Work? Here’s How It Works
There’s heaps of interesting work going on in defence industry right now. None more so than at Australian Signals Directorate (ASD). ASD is the federal agency responsible for intelligence gathering...
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Turning Job Rejection into Resilience: How to Stay Motivated and Secure the Right Position
Job interviews can be tough, especially if you're a seasoned professional facing a competitive market. But by building resilience and learning to handle rejection, you can stay motivated and secur...
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Mastering the Interview: How to Uncover Company Culture and Find Your Perfect Fit
When looking for a new role it is important to not only ensure that the job is right for you but the company as well. Determining the culture of a company during the interview is essential to ensu...
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Perfecting Your Elevator Pitch: A Personal Touch for Lasting Impressions
Crafting a personalised elevator pitch isn't just a knack; it's the secret weapon for leaving a lasting mark, be it in a job interview, a networking event, or a meet-up with a potential client. De...
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5 Things Not to Do in Your Last Week at a Job
When you’re finishing up with one employer and getting ready to start your next adventure it’s easy to loose productivity and mentally switch off. But it's really important to maintain a positive r...
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How To Answer The Interview Question 'Why Do You Want To Work Here?'
On the surface this little question, ‘why do you want to work here?’ might seem like a throwaway question, something an interviewer asks to fill time or to hear lots of compliments about their bus...
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Considering A Career Change In The Next Six Months? Take These Steps Now
Deciding if it’s time to move on from your current role is a really big decision. Perhaps you’ve noticed that recently you’ve been lacking in energy or getting bored easily. Maybe you feel a littl...
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Two Top Tips For Finding a Contract Job in Defence Industry
So you’ve decided you want to give contracting a go. You’ve considered the facts, and decided that the added flexibility, access to interesting technology and projects, and increased earning poten...
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Get Noticed On LinkedIn: Top Tips On How To Supercharge Your LinkedIn Profile
The chances are that if you’ve looked for work at any point in the last five years, you’ll have used LinkedIn in some way or another. With 810 million users worldwide, 57 million companies listed a...
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How To Maintain Your Mental Health While Looking For Work
Looking for a new job can be a stressful experience. Many people face feelings of isolation, uncertainty and self-doubt. Whilst looking for a new job might feel like a lonely process, you are not a...
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How Do You Get Sponsored For A Security Clearance in Defence Industry?
This blog has been updated in 2026 to reflect recent trends. Working in Australia’s defence industry often means coming into contact with sensitive and secret information pertaining to national so...
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How To Professionally Manage Multiple Job Offers
BLUFTake time to consider your optionsKeep prospective employers informed When declining, do so promptly and tactfully The beginning of the new financial year can be a busy period in the job market...
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Defence industry interview questions: what to expect and how to prepare
Being really well prepared for an interview is essential if you want to give yourself the best possible chance of landing that dream role. As recruiters our candidates often ask us, “What kind of q...
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How To Get the Most Out of Working With a Recruiter
Unlocking career opportunities is an art, and working with a recruiter can be your masterstroke. If you haven’t already, it’s likely that soon enough you’ll come across a recruiter while you searc...
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Can I Lie in a Job Interview to Make Myself Look Better?
This blog has been updated in 2025 to reflect current trends. With job markets more competitive than ever and candidate pools growing, it’s tempting to tweak the truth in a job interview to stand...
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How to Get Noticed by Recruiters on LinkedIn
Dolly Parton said it best – it's hard being a diamond in a rhinestone world. But with our insider secrets on how recruiters use LinkedIn, we can make it easy for you to stand out from the crowd a...
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Interviewing in Isolation: Tips and Tricks to Ace That Video Interview
As you’re adapting to these changing times, it might be helpful to get a few tips under your belt of how best to sit an interview from the comfort of your own home. Read through our top tips for...
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Is A Contract or Permanent Role Going to Be the Best Fit for You?
Roles within the defence industry come in all shapes and sizes, and sometimes it can be hard to know what will be right for you. The way an organisation engages employees has gone from employed or ...
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Swiping Right on Your Career: How Job Hoppers Are the Tinder Generation of the Workforce
Disclaimer: This article is not about being “single and ready to mingle” but about workforce trends and changes in the Australian Defence Industry. If that’s not what you were expecting, we’re sorr...
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What is Better For You: An SME or Large-Scale Company?
Kinexus' consultants are truly experts in their fields. This week, our own Tom Butters shares his thoughts on choosing between working for small-medium or large-scale employer. As a Naval Consul...
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How to Successfully Negotiate a Pay Rise
In the defence forces, remuneration is standardised with a 6% increase over a 3-year period. Which is about 2% each year and in line with increases to the national Average Weekly Earnings. In th...
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Moving into Defence from an Adjacent Industry
The Defence Industry has traditionally been notoriously difficult to break into. Some of the red tape involved is justified, the rest is up for discussion another day. Companies are facing th...
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3 Things I Wish I Knew Before Transitioning into The Civilian Workforce
After 20 years of US Navy service in the Submarine Force as an Electrician, including four different submarines, two tours as a recruiter and 12 deployments; in January of 2018, I retired. There...
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10 Tips for Interviewing for a Role in Defence Industry
Job interviews are one of the most important stages of any job application process. Interviews help a prospective employer build their knowledge of you and get a sense of whether you are a good ...
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Why You Should Consider a Career in Defence Industry
There has never been a better time to develop a career in the Defence Industry.The industry is growing and changing rapidly, with large and exciting projects coming online all the time. With a focu...
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The Best Way to Connect with Someone You Professionally Admire
Networking is the cornerstone to success in any career. It opens new avenues and perspectives and creates access to the latest industry news. Although it’s easy enough to turn a coworker or a...
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How to Translate Your ADF Experience into Civvy Street
More has been written on the transition of ex-service men and women out of uniform and into Defence Industry (or civvy street) than you can poke a stick at. Recruiters, hiring managers and individ...
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How to Work Out if a Fixed Term Contract is for You
Fixed-term contracts continue to play a vital role in the employment landscape. They offer significant benefits for both individuals and organisations, providing a flexible yet secure employment ar...
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What to Consider Before Applying for a Role Interstate
Before applying for that great interstate role you saw advertised or expressing your interest in a project located on the other side of Australia, there are a few things you should consider first. ...
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4 Vital Interview Tips for Defence Industry
There is a lot of information out there on how to do well in interviews, from preparation tips, to how to answer common interview questions; but defence industry is a complex beast with its own req...
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How to Maximise LinkedIn to Find Work in Defence Industry: Dos and Don'ts
Updated November 2024LinkedIn is the go-to platform for networking professionals. With over one billion members, 61 million people use LinkedIn to search for jobs every week. The Australian defence...
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How to choose your next employer in today's thriving defence market
This blog has been updated to reflect the latest 2025 trends.When looking for a new employer, it’s good to give yourself a few options to choose from. It’s good sense to apply for multiple jobs ...
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The Importance of Not Burning Bridges in the Defence Industry
Navigating Professional Relationships and Career Growth in DefenceThe Australian Defence Industry is evolving significantly, driven by changes such as the 2024/2025 budget and the AUKUS agreement...
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Soft Skills That Make You Successful in Defence Industry Roles
Since leaving the Army 15 years ago, there are a few things I’ve learnt about the soft skills needed and desired in the commercial defence space. A life in defence and a life in industry can be two...
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Which to Choose - Pty, PAYG or Management Company?
You may have entered the world of contracting as it offers more flexible working arrangements, the opportunity to work on differing roles or a chance to travel and work in various locations, but ar...
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You've Been Fired. Now What?
The worst has happened: you’ve been fired. You may be feeling lost and hopeless, you may feel like it’s the end of the world; but really, it’s just a setback that many people have been through and ...
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What You Need To Consider Before Resigning
The decision to resign has both an emotional and commercial element to it. Loyalty, emotional ties to colleagues, fear of change, and self-confidence all come into play. As do commercial questions ...
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Why You Didn't Get the Job
Telling people they’ve been successful in their dream role, hearing the excitement, the relief, and the overall sense of achievement in their voices is the NICE part of our job. One of the not so n...
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What To Do if You Get a Headhunting Call
Receiving an unexpected call from a headhunter about a position is flattering, awkward, unsolicited and opportunistic all at the same time. The ability to manage a headhunting call can help support...
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When is it Time to Look for a New Role?
If you’re thinking about looking for a new job, you need to make sure that you are doing it for the right reasons. Looking for a new job can be a stressful and complicated experience when you ar...
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The 5 Things People who Successfully Change Careers Give Up
Despite widespread reports that the average Australian will have multiple career changes in their life, changing careers can be a challenging, uphill journey where it feels like no-one is willing t...
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The Star Method
Your mum thinks you are extraordinary, your friends think you wonderful, and (hopefully) you think your magnificent too. But that doesn’t mean a potential employer automatically will. Heck, they pr...
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The First 4 Steps to Take When You've Been Made Redundant
If you haven’t heard these 5 words before chances are you will one day – “Your role’s been made redundant”. Before you start to panic, plan an around the world trip or click apply for your next ...
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Surviving Your Probation Period
I’ve noticed a trend of late that companies seem to be moving towards a six month probation period rather than the traditional three. What does that tell us? Clearly, despite a thorough intervie...
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How Much Should you be Getting Paid?
Whether you’re at that crunch point with a new employer or sitting pretty with a current employer, we often need to ask ourselves the question – How much should I be getting paid? What am I actuall...
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How to Master a Phone Interview
Popular theory has it that the modern day workforce is more mobile/dislocated/time poor. This may explain why more first round interviews are being conducted over the phone. Before addressing th...
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A Quick Guide to Salary Negotiations
So you’ve made it through the gruelling interview process, completed assessments and met the senior executives within the company. The great news is the company would like to offer you the role, c...
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How Do You Look for a New Job? (Without Using Seek)
You have just made the decision to start looking for a new job. I’m not going to ask you why, just congratulate you on making the decision and give you some guidance on where you can look for your ...
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How to Maximise Your LinkedIn Profile for Job Hunting
With an average of two new sign ups per second and over 300m+ users and counting, its no wonder LinkedIn has quickly become the social media platform people are paying real attention to. A great...
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9 Pieces of Not So Great Career Advice
We all love advice; from family, friends, colleagues and even online (like right now). I’m a big believer in seeking wisdom, especially from those who have gone before me. However, when it comes to...
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4 Job Hunting Mistakes You're Probably Making
Searching for a new role can be an exciting, daunting and complicated easy-task. Your first instinct may be to take action. To start getting yourself out there, but as with most things, prior prepa...
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Step by Step Guide to Writing a Cover Letter
So you’ve found the job you want to apply for and you don’t want to submit just any old application. You care about putting your best foot forward and getting in front of the hiring manager.You hav...
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4 Deadly Reference Mistakes that are Costing You Job Offers
You’ve made it through the initial screen, the interview with HR, the interview with the line manager and aced the psych testing – on to the next hurdle, references.Surely, this is the easiest step...
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5 Small But Vital Job Seeking Tips
Often the job application process focuses on nailing your CV and cover letter. In addition to this, we have five small but vital job seeker tips that will help to put you ahead of the competition....
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6 Things to Check Before Accepting a New Employment Contract
Finally, after weeks or maybe even months, you’ve got your new employment contract in your hot little hands. Before you sign on the dotted line and pop the Champagne, make sure you know and underst...
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Why You're Not Getting a Call After You've Applied for a Job
It is a common question and frustration shared by anyone who’s applied for a job. I’ve seen numerous comments online and have spoken to many frustrated candidates about it; you send your CV – but y...
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5 Things to Do Before Looking for a New Job
In today's world, finding a new job is easier than ever. With just a few clicks, you can send your resume to potential employers from your computer, phone, and probably even your watch. But before ...
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