Talking Heads: Joyce Needham

Company: nzjobs.co

Role: general manager

Age: 32


What makes your day?

There are several things that I like about my job, but overall I love the fact that we help people find jobs.

We regularly get feedback from candidates sending us e-mails saying, "You know what, I was laid off from my job last week, I didn't know what to do, somehow I found your site and now I'm making twice as much as I made in my last job."

And so when you read things like that you think: this is why we do what we do.

When did you become a manager?

I never applied for a management role but it started four years ago with another internet start-up company called ComputerJobs.com based in Atlanta, Georgia.

At the time I was responsible for sales by myself and as the company started to grow we decided we needed to add more resources. So I hired four sales people and four or five services people and I didn't have any experience managing people at all.

Then after we got funding, the board members gave me the directive to triple the staff by the next board meeting.

Within a three-month period I recruited 16 people and by the time I left the company I was managing 30 people.

What was the most important lesson you learned on your way up?

It's all about people and relationships. I think a lot of people lose sight of that. Everything is based around other people and I think you need to spend time building new relationships and moving forward. You realise you can't do it alone.

Invest in your staff, help them achieve their goals. In turn, they will help you and the company succeed.

What has been your best moment in business?

Growing a successful business from three people in an apartment to over 150 people in four years. My first day on the job I had to bring my own computer because the business couldn't afford one. My office then was in a two-bedroom apartment and I had to share that with two dogs.

It was hilarious because I was trying to make my first sale and at the time the dogs were there just waiting for me to give them a treat!

On my first anniversary, to reward me for my hard work, the two owners gave me equity in the company because I had treated the business as if it was my own. That was probably one of my first memorable moments.

How have you dealt with the pitfalls in your career?

A lot of the pitfalls were based around a lack of experience and not having anybody to work closely with to ask "How do you manage people?" I think it's important to analyse the situation and try to learn from it.

Also, once you have realised what mistakes you have made, you need to share it with other people, move on and avoid making them again. It's all about learning and growing. Pitfalls are all a part of life and you have to deal with them.

What sort of thing annoys you the most?

The biggest thing is lack of respect for others and this is something that I always say to my team: "Treat other people the way you want to be treated." What's so funny to me is that I think nearly everybody learns this growing up and yet there are still people out there who don't respect others.

If you were starting over again, what would you be?

I would definitely do something on my own again and what that would be I'm not quite sure but I really enjoy the outdoors, art and being creative. I would probably do something that was a little bit more creative.

This job is quite creative because it is new. But once I found out exactly what that more creative job was, I would be giving others the opportunities I've been given in the past.

What management wisdom is most overrated?

In my experience in hiring people it's the experience that people claim to have. What I learned is that you often look on a resume and you see that people say they are a seasoned professional, have had years of experience and had been there and done that. But what really happens is they come on board and you have to ask them if they are prepared to do it again.

Being in a start-up business requires time and energy to get things up and running and it doesn't matter what level you are, you have to get in there and roll up your sleeves and basically lead by example.

What will be the big business issue of the next decade?

What continues to be a big issue is finding and retaining talented people. It's a global problem and I've seen it in the United States. Too many companies focus on the vacant opportunities only and don't put enough back into their existing employees.

Your company is only as good as the people you hire and without them you will fail.

How do you relax?

By doing anything related to physical activity and sports. Exercise to me is a part of my life and it's definitely one of the major ways that I handle stress. I've done two triathlons this year and a 160km bike ride. It's a big stress relief for me to come home from a long, hard day and jump on my bike.

* Joyce Needham spoke to Jillian Talbot.