The Following is a copy of an interview of Caroline McAuliffe by Daryl Keeley of Three Hats Recruitment Software:

Today I am speaking with Caroline McAuliffe, the Managing Director of one of Sydney's leading specialist Recruitment agencies, Execonnect

D: Hi Caroline great to have you with us today...

C: Thank you Daryl it's an absolute pleasure to be speaking with you.

D: Caroline, could you please give our listeners a 1000 foot view of who you are and what you do?

C: First and foremost I am a happily married woman, the wrong side of 40 and a mum of two wonderful children who have made my life interesting and fulfilled.
Secondly, I am originally from the auld country (as you can probably tell from the accent) but emigrated to Oz 15 years ago and have most definitely found home. I still pinch myself that I am so fortunate to be be living and bringing up my family in this paradise we call Australia.
Finally, to earn a crust I have been working with executive teams both here and formerly in the UK for over 20 years in a variety of sectors and in functional roles ranging from Executive Assistant to HR Manager to Events Manager (that was at 20th
Century Fox at Fox Studios and will always be the most fun job I have ever done).
Early last year I decided to take a career break, primarily to spend time and focus on my young son Jonny who has been diagnosed with Autism and also to enjoy some time with my 20 month old daughter. We have moved to the beautiful South Coast of NSW and have been enjoying beach life. At the same time, I have gone back to University and studied gaining a Post Grad Cert in Career Education and Development as well as qualifying as a Psychological Type Development Practitioner based on Carl Jung's Theory of Personality Type and Development.
I have launched my own private practice, ExeConnect, which will focus in three key areas of Executive Recruitment, Career Planning and Career Development. I will be focusing predominantly on on the recruitment part of the business to begin with and build the other two streams with the help of highly qualified associate executive coaches who use evidence based, positive psychology, resilience and well-being programs to help people flourish and be the best they can be.

D: Wow, How do you stay motivated?

C: I set myself goals and I endeavour to achieve these goals.
In fact I think that's what's most important is having the stated goal in the first place, having an intention and working towards that intention.
As you travel along the path, your goals may change, if you are open to opportunities, and the path may shift, but at least you wake up in the morning with purpose and vision.
I recommend making short term goals and having milestones.
Treat yourself when you achieve these milestones and celebrate the wins along the way.
My children and husband keep me motivated I have their pictures all around my desk together with picture of things I want to treat myself with or experience once I have achieved my goals.
It's not all material things either, one of the most precious motivators for me is to have the ability to choose when I work.
I want to have time to study more, spend more time with my children and to travel more.

D: What adjustments have you had to make since going out on your own?

C: The biggest thing for me is the lack of team work which I do miss.
I am good at working autonomously but I do miss the team interaction and being part of a team or leading a team.
Hopefully, I will build this business into once that is successful enough to build a small team and work and play together.
The up side of course if I have full control over how and why I do things and that is very attractive to me.

D: How has owning a recruitment business impacted on your social life?

C: If anything my social life becomes more busy when I am in full business mode.
Networking is an essential part of the business and I am an extrovert and enjoy interacting with people.
Also being part of professional organizations require me to go along to industry conferences and continue my professional development at seminars.
I tend to make friends with people I work with so it's all good for my social life.

D: How has owning a recruitment business impacted on your family members?

C: My husband is a stay at home dad and he loves this role which means I have the flexibility of working as and when I need to.
My children see me working at all hours from home so I am not a traditional role model for them.
However, with technology the way it is, it means I can work from home, remotely if we are away on holiday and I can work a couple of hours in the morning and afternoon, or into the evening but spend quality time during the day with them when I choose to - it's a benefit to family life.

D: Besides income, what have you gained by being a recruitment business owner?

I am passionate about what I do and have found my dream job.
The old saying of if you find a job you love you never work a day again in your life is true of me and I want this for everyone I work for and every candidate that walks through my door.
I am driven by clear purpose to connect people to realize shared dreams and a vision to being an inspiration to the recruitment industry and the way I go about this business means I remain aut hentic and real - for me this is probably the most important thing, because if I cannot be real and live and work in an authentic way I would be a very unhappy, unfulfilled person so starting this business is a dream come true for me.

D: How do you find time for yourself?

I am very good at not answering the phone or looking at emails after a certain time at night.
I also do not work on weekends unless it is absolutely necessary.
Now that I am running my own business I can take a couple of hours now and again and go to the hairdresser or to a spa and relax if I need to.
I think it's important to be not be rigid about the hours you work.
The 9 to5 work day is long gone. It's about being flexible, using technology but knowing when to switch it off also.

D: How do you balance your life?

C: I don't so much have a business plan as a Life Plan and that has short, medium and long term goals which cover all facets of my life including my work life.
It would be easy for my work to take over because I live my work, the boundaries are blurred so I need to ensure that the other parts of my life are given the attention they deserve with the same weight of importance.
Having two young children help me to be realistic about balance as they have many needs and I don't want to miss out on this time with them.
Having a stay at home husband help as his primary job is to take care of the domestic issues and child care , this helps enormously.
But I always take time just for me whether it be a swim, reading a book or taking a workshop or study course - this is all part of the life plan.

D: Caroline, Thank you for sharing some of your invaluable experience with our readers today.

C: It's been a pleasure chatting to you Daryl, thank you for the opportunity.

D: Could you leave us an insight into where you see the recruitment business going in the future?

C: I believe to be sustainable a recruitment firm must become specialized and niche. I am not sure being a generalist recruiter is sustainable in the long term. I believe one needs to find what it is they are experts at and focus on that and become famous for it. I think we all have to be part of the social networking recruitment experience and learn to leverage off this technology but also never to forget that we are a human business built on relationships - people will always remember how they were treated and all they are asking for is some respect and integrity from us - nothing more than we would ask for ourselves really.

D: Thank you Caroline McAuliffe.
I wish yourself and your team at Execonnect all the best for the year ahead.

C: Thanks Daryl.

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This is what Caroline said about 3hats...

D: Why did you choose 3hats as your recruitment software of choice?

C : The main reason I chose 3hats was the instant rapport and relationship that emerged with you Daryl.
I am intuitive and work from my instincts and even after our first conversation I felt you were someone I could trust and be comfortable working with.
Secondly, 3hats fulfills a large part of my database requirements, following the online trial I was impressed with its features particularly the automated responses and the website integration features.
It was important for me as a start up and sole operator to find a system that was easy to understand, quick to get up and running, limits data entry and quite importantly was very affordable for me with a limited budget.