Meet the Press

Late yesterday evening, the NSW Premier Nathan Rees was voted out of office and Kristina Keneally voted in. I was listening to some vox pop on the radio this morning, people on the Sydney streets being asked what they think of having four NSW premiers in as many years, as well as commentary over other statistics: seven Education Ministers in six years and a colourful congo line of Police Ministers.

The media does a brilliant job of presenting hype as news itself. Are we NSW citizens all worried now about the infighting and crebility of this state's government? Since you ask...

Kevin Rudd has even told the NSW government to get its act together. Bit embarrassing.

What the media does do well however is ask a lot of questions. Stories are coming in this morning which give us a lot more information on who Kristina Keneally is, who the powerbrokers are and the flaws in the current state political system that are perpetuating this dancing in and out of office. So perhaps it's all a good thing, a learning experience for us and them.

Politics is not the same as running a company but some of the HR principles are the same. There is some uncertainty and tension around who our leaders are now. If you were going for a job interview and you found out that those in senior management were only celebrating one or two birthdays in office at the most, I think you would either get a dodgy feeling in your guts or start asking a lot of questions yourself.

Job interviews are a bit like press conferences. Don't research the company only to rehearse and repeat impressive information during your meeting, make sure that this is a solid team with a good performance record. A group that you want to be a part of. Google the company to see if they appear in the media or internet landscape at all, and ask your interviewers about what you find. If you don't feel good about their answers or something doesn't add up, give it a miss. It will save you weeks and months of being in the wrong job and living with that dodgy feeling in your guts each day.

All the best to Kristina Keneally. Most of us are already working for her (paying our taxes and doing our best for the economy) so we can only hope that things settle down and improve.