Recruiter Lessons from Valentine's Day and Plato
"Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it's not going to get the business."—Warren Buffett "We are all special cases."—Albert Camus, Nobel Laureate "The only way to be special in this culture is to think you aren't."—M.Moffa "A man always remembers his first love with special tenderness, but after that he begins to bunch them."—H. L....
Read More
The Curious Case of the Cookie: Social Media and Popularity
"Avoid popularity; it has many snares, and no real benefit," warned William Penn, the noted colonist of Pennsylvania. Should modern markets heed Penn's advice? Recruiters have been among the quickest to tap into the potential of social media to transform the way business is conducted. Using social media, they have managed to transform hiring practices. Companies have been trying to...
Read More
Delta CEO Distributes its Profits among 80,000 Employees
Although chocolate is delicious, recognition is also pretty sweet. On Valentine's Day, 80,000 employees of Delta Air Lines received a rosy memo. It came from the CEO of the company, Richard Anderson. "Sharing our success every step of the way" was the subject of the memo. The message announced that Delta is going to pay out $313 million in profit sharing and is will continue to provide...
Read More
100 New Recruiting Jobs in California
Although based in Switzerland, the company Adecco Staffing US is now hiring in San Jose, California. Suffering from an unemployment rate above the national average, the creation of any new jobs is worth taking a moment to appreciate. Adecco Staffing US focuses on recruitment and workforce solutions. It continues to see numerous job opportunities for qualified human resources professionals...
Read More
Free Job Boards
The current economic situation has impacted not only the public but the business sector too. Finding cheaper methods to accomplish recruitment goals has become a necessity of doing business. Finding qualified candidates does not have to be an expensive process. Recruiters can now post open positions to free job boards like Craigslist and other major consumer sites and find the quality...
Read More
Interviewing with a Recruiter? Here's Some Advice
The current economic situation has caused loyal workers venture into the modern job pool. These workers have found that previous skills and qualifications no longer make them a lead in the recruiting field but just entry level possibilities. After months of search and only a few grueling interviews, now may be the time to consider giving staffing services a try. They employ recruiters which find...
Read More
U.S. Department of Labor Requests its 2012 Budget
How much money should the U.S. Department of Labor be allotted during such difficult economic times? On the one hand, budgets are tight. On the other hand, people need to be trained to contribute in new ways to the economy. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Labor requested what its budget look like in 2012. Recruitment firms may be interested to determine where their interests align with the...
Read More
Lessons from 23-Year-Olds
"Be cool-- stay in school!" is the familiar saying; however, one might co-opt the expression to something a little more tangible: "Be Employed-- Stay in School." The image of the employed may not be as alluring as the image of all things cool, but it does drive home the message that people who finish higher degrees are more likely to be successful in the job market. The Bureau of Labor...
Read More
Week of Global Action Demands Respect for Mexican Workers
As recruiters know, improving one's work can mean many things. It might mean hiring the best people to work with. It might mean arriving to work well-rested. It might mean taking a class on the newest software program that everyone seems to be talking about. Improving one's work might also mean trading in job safety for the potential to gain better working conditions. This Monday has...
Read More
Working with Recruiters
Working with recruiters is the next best thing to working with hiring managers. Recruitment professionals know their clients and they pride themselves on knowing their recruits in the hopes of making the right connections. In order to make this happen there are a few things you need to know: TELL THEM EVERYTHING: When building a relationship with a recruiter this is no time to be shy....
Read More
The Opportunity Cost of Being a Recruiter
"13-1071: Employment, Recruitment, and Placement Specialists...198,190...$54,530"—U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics data: sector code/job category/number of workers/average annual income, May 2009. If you are what the U.S. Department of Labor and Bureau of Labor Statistics categorizes in its 2009 occupational survey as a "recruitment specialist", an "employment...
Read More
Linkedin Updates: The New Recruiter Magazine?
We all know that Linkedin is a great sourcing tool for recruiters. However, with the new Linkedin Updates feature, you can now think of Linkedin as customized recruiter magazine. Custom Business News It is imperative for recruiters to know everything that is going on in their area of recruitment. For example, if you recruit around the NYC metro for accountants, you had better know...
Read More
The "Human Resources" Misconception
"People are like fractions—the more you multiply them, the smaller they get."—M. Moffa, freshman-year college journal "We'd love to have you for lunch."—cannibal credo To anyone hearing the phrase "human resources" for the first time, it must sound like the ambiguous cannibal credo, "We'd love to have you for lunch." The latter ambiguity was rivetingly...
Read More
Unflinching Figures for Labor Turnover
"Nothing endures but change," wrote Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher. When perusing the statistics for job openings and labor turnover the past month, it's easy to think that there is no change. It is up to a creative analyst to try to understand where flux is occurring within this seemingly predictable stagnancy of the U.S. economy. Recruiters may wish to approach the figures from the Bureau...
Read More
Burdened but Generous: Younger Members of the Workforce
"Age is foolish and forgetful when it underestimates youth," said Professor Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. But one need not be the world's wisest wizard to value the importance of young people's convictions and efforts. To know what young people about the economy is easy enough. If you ask any of them looking for a job, he or she is sure to give you an earful about the...
Read More
Kentucky Receives Federal Grant
Daniel Boone called Kentucky "a second paradise." But even in paradise, sometimes you need a job. Nearly a thousand workers have recently been laid off in Kentucky when 21 companies closed shop. The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that it will try to assist these workers with a large federal grant of $4,883,709. "Layoffs are traumatic events, but the Department of Labor can help ...
Read More
Career Degrees – Why to Get Them
Career degrees can sometimes make the difference between getting that job promotion or career advancement opportunity, or losing out to someone else who does have a specific career degree. Especially during tough economic times and rising unemployment, the job market becomes highly competitive and those with career degrees often receive preferential consideration over those who have not chosen to...
Read More
Choosing a Career Path
When it comes to choosing a career, everyone wants to be sure they have chosen the right path. So how can you be sure that you have chosen the right career path for yourself? While the answer to that may not be that you can be one hundred percent certain you will be happy with your chosen career for your entire working life, there are ways to ensure that you start out on a path that is right for...
Read More
How To Not Lose Your Job Because Of Facebook
Facebook is a great social networking platform for connecting with friends and family. However, as a professional, you have to be careful what you post to Facebook. Many employers are using social media outlets like Facebook to check on employees. Facebook can be one of your biggest assets, but also one of your biggest downfalls in the professional realm. Many believe that the only time to be...
Read More
Work Stoppages in 2010
Where do recruiters' loyalties lie? When there are strikes and lockouts, do they feel compassion for the workers, the bosses, neither, or both? You can decide for yourself as you react to the newest statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They have announced that in 2010, there were 11 major strikes and lockouts involving 1,000 or more workers and lasting at least one shift, the...
Read More
The Resume Graphics You Think You Don't Like
"Sugar and spice, and everything lice"—miscopied ditty Spice, or lice?—Graphics added to resumes seem to be, according to a kind of Net (net) consensus among recruiter and resume sites I've reviewed, more like lice than spice. Although more visibly obvious than lice, the typical graphics add-ons make many a recruiter's skin crawl as they crawl across the monitor screen. In...
Read More
House Subcommittee Hears Testimony to Mandate E-Verify
What is the role of the American worker in 2011? The expectation for workers and their employers has changed a lot since Emma Lazarus's words were inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty: Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Nowadays, the role of immigrant and migrant workers is constantly in...
Read More
BranchOut Announces New Connections Feature
Sometimes, it's the little features that mean a lot for the future direction of a company. BranchOut, a site for creating a professional presence on Facebook, recently soft launched what could be a highly disruptive new service. BranchOut users can now connect with other users that they are not Facebook friends with. Native BranchOut connections are a minor change with major implications for...
Read More
A Paperhanger's Employment Prospects
"Cashiers 171,990"—the top job in the U.S., by average number of annual openings, OSDS data "Paperhangers 10"—the bottom job in the U.S., by average number of annual openings, OSDS data "The Occupational Supply Demand System (OSDS) was developed by National Supply Demand Consortium with funding support from the U.S. Department of Labor. The consortium, led by the Georgia...
Read More
AOL Buys Huffington Post
When demonstrations began in Egypt, maybe you were among the many who checked out The Huffington Post to see what was happening. When you are looking for a good book to read, maybe you check out the reviews available on The Huffington Post. Or maybe you visit it to see the blog entry of George Clooney. The online source has become a well-trod place for people trying to get the news from...
Read More
But are you able to scale it?
What would your dream classroom look like? What needs to be considered when designing a classroom? A classroom needs to be as unique as its students. The United States Army is no exception. Soldiers in the United States Army have plenty of unique skills that they need to learn while they're training for their work. In a press release, Vangent, Inc. has announced that it was awarded a $95...
Read More
27 Weeks Is a Long Time
The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that in January the unemployment rate declined for the second month in a row-- resulting in 6000,000 people stopped identifying as unemployed during the month of January. The chart below from the Bureau of Labor Statistics depicts both the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed. Out of the large number of unemployed people in the United States,...
Read More
Is Distracted Driving a Workplace Requirement?
Every year in the US, thousands of people die from car accidents involving distracted driving. Additionally, over half a million people are injured. The primary culprits of distracted driving are smartphones that can text, conference call, surf the web, tweet, and update Facebook. The push to end distracted driving is causing a lot of new legislation, much like drunk driving did. Unfortunately,...
Read More
The 7-Resume Road to (Keeping) Jobs
"The perfect company for me—a start-up—is like a freshly-fallen perfect snowflake: unique, small and new"—something to say in an interview at one of them For most of my working life and the diverse jobs and positions I've had and held I've not had to submit, on average, more than about seven resumes before getting not only the job I applied for and jobs that I looked forward...
Read More
Even Actuaries Must Fight for What is Rightfully Theirs
Should the largest single health insurance carrier in the United States be exempt from compensating its workers in the city of Hartford, known as the insurance capital of the world? In a press release today, the U.S. Department of Labor revealed that the multi-billion dollar company, UnitedHealthcare, had designated itself exempt from properly compensating its workers. Apparently,...
Read More
Wintry Mix of Job Gains and Losses
Although Americans await good economic news with baited breath, sometimes it feels like no news is good news. Accustomed to staggering figures of unemployment, the subtle changes in total nonfarm payroll employment seem benign. From December to January, 36,000 more jobs came into existence. Although many people lost work over the month in the fields of construction, transportation, and...
Read More
Juvenile Offenders Get a Break
"You just need a little more experience..." These words may seem benevolent enough, but for plenty of people they are plain cruel. In order to get more experience, you need... experience. Recruiters are familiar with this dilemma that people face when trying to break into a new profession. The U.S. Department of Labor is trying to take action to change this familiar situation. The U.S. ...
Read More
Three Mistakes Project Managers Make on Interviews
Project Management is a very hot profession to be in right now. The influx of financial and regulatory projects coupled with the need for management of outsourced development projects has skyrocketed demand for project management. Concurrent with the demand development, the profession of project management itself has blossomed into a very distinct craft and career path. Project management is...
Read More
What Talent Acquisition Can Learn From Executive Recruiters
Let's face it, corporate recruiters and agency recruiters aren't exactly in love. Agency recruiters call them paper pushers, job posters, interview clerks, and agency recruiters who couldn't hack the real world. Conversely, the names for agency recruiters: fly-by-nights, coldcallers, arrogant ignorant jerks, you know, nice stuff like that. The relationship between the two sides is at the stage...
Read More
Playboy's Hef: Recruiter Role Model?
"Most of today's magazines for men spend all their time out-of-doors - thrashing through thorny thickets or splashing about in fast flowing streams. We'll be out there too, occasionally, but we don't mind telling you in advance—we plan on spending more of our time inside."—Hugh Hefner, inaugural issue of Playboy, December 1953 "I really like the outdoors; when I'm not indoors,...
Read More
New Guidelines Promise Transparency in Executive Pay
The last couple of years has brought about a lot of anger about Wall St. bonuses and executive pay. The tension between "Wall St. vs. Main St." reached a fever pitch during the height of the economic collapse. Investors also feel the frustration of executive compensation, and very few investors feel like they understand the business reasons for and exact structure of executive compensation....
Read More
Facebook Firing Case Reaches Settlement
It looks like there will be no clear cut precedent set on the ways employers can regulate social media. The case of the Connecticut woman who was allegedly fired because of comments she made on Facebook has been settled out of court. The court case alleged that American Medical Response fired the employee because she criticized her supervisor on the popular social network. If the case had...
Read More
When You Don't Look Your Age
"Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm sixty-four?"—the Beatles, "When I'm 64" You are 65, but look 40. The other applicant waiting in the reception area is 40, but looks 65. Which of you is likely to get the job, given that you suspect the interviewer is a closet "ageist", that he/she knows your and the other applicant's age, and given that the playing...
Read More
Temporary Work Blossoms in Wake of Economic Doldrums
As statistics about the economy mount, how are temporary workers accounted for? The company Manpower Inc. recruits workers to complete special tasks or to temporarily relieve other employees. In a press release, Manpower reflects on what its success at continuing to hire temporary workers in this economy means. Temporary employment was little changed in January, with a fall of 11,000 in the...
Read More
Dip in Unit Labor Costs Signals Compromised Workers
Look around you. What do you see on your desk? Chances are, you have some item that was made here in the United States. The work that went into getting that product to you is, of course, intense, and the site of great compromise for workers and employers alike. As a recruiter, you know how much negotiation goes into calculating the benefits and salary for each worker. When it comes to...
Read More
Telephone Wires Trump Broadband Networks
How do you communicate with your clients? In your work with the public, what do you see as growing needs for communication? What systems are already in place and functioning, and what needs development? As a tax payer, you support the Universal Service Fund, but what this fund accomplishes must constantly be revisited as citizens' needs change. Discussions on the USF center on the following...
Read More
Career Advice from Job Experts
I've always thought that recruiting is just about the most dynamic profession there is. A great recruiter can offer candidates, internal hiring managers, and clients a wealth of business expertise, industry knowledge, and real world experience in sourcing talent. Recruiters are in the trenches- they understand the human side of the business and what it takes to get hiring done. They watch...
Read More
Every Employer and Business Owner's Fantasy ...
Imagine ... one day as you're writing out paychecks to your employees, including those that in your workforce that don't seem engaged in what they are doing for your company, and are perhaps even disinterested in the company's mission ... out of the blue you receive a call or email from someone that you don't know and has not been networked into meeting you. Their message is clear –...
Read More
I Just Lost My Job: How Do I Tell My Kids?
One of the responsibilities of a human resources professional is to let employees know that their jobs have been eliminated. It is hard to give the news and even harder to receive it. Just recently, I was involved in communicating a large layoff to employees at a Fortune 500 company. I met with one woman tell her about the career transition services she could take advantage of. The woman was...
Read More
Move Your Career Ahead by Focusing on One Thing at a Time
If you are like most people we know, you lead a busy life. When do you have time to think about moving your career forward? What we have learned, both as career coaches, and in our professional lives, is that the key to making any change is to slow down and focus on just one thing at a time. It is the same when you want to move your career forward. There are techniques you can learn about...
Read More
New Directory of Staffing Professionals
Net-Temps, a leading job board for locating both full time and temporary jobs through staffing companies, has released a new directory for staffing companies. Recruitment and staffing companies can add themselves for free to the directory. The staffing directory appears to be primarily a resource for finding recruiters in a particular locale. Job seekers looking to find staffing companies in...
Read More
Canadian Labour Congress Strategizes to End Unemployment
The United States isn't the only 0ne with unemployment problems. One might look in many directions to see the effects of the economy on workers, but one might do well to focus northward for a moment. In January, 1,449,600 Canadians were unemployed. These numbers are much higher than as recently as October. The 6.1% unemployment in October grew to 7.8% this January - an unacceptable jump...
Read More
My Next Move an Educational Site for Recruiters
Recruiters may notice that sometimes a job candidate's self-assessment does not jibe with the industry's expectations for qualified applicants. It may be helpful to refer a job seeker like this to a new online tool, created by the U.S. Department of Labor. My Next Move is a tool to educate jobseekers about the ins and outs of 900 occupations. On this website, job seekers can explore...
Read More
