Monthly Archives: May 2012
Recruiters and Career Fairs – Getting Results
by Bill Golden
CEO, IntelligenceCareers.com
USADefenseIndustryJobs.com
USAJobZoo.com
Ever go to a career fair and come away believing that it was a total waste of time?
So you say to yourself: I went looking for opportunities and the recruiting looked me in the face for about 15 seconds and said, “Thank you. We will review your resume. Please go to our website in the meanwhile, search on jobs and apply for those of interest to you.”
Yes, it happens.
Yes, it happens often enough because the blank look that you got from the recruiter was probably equal almost to your own.
… take a moment … take a breath … it’s true, isn’t it?
A great many people get in front of a recruiter at a career fair and just freeze up. They smile, push their resume forward and say something like ‘Hi, my name is ____’ and then the conversation stops … about 5 seconds before you hear: ”Thank you. We will review your resume. Please go to our website in the meanwhile, search on jobs and apply for those of interest to you.”
Getting results
I am absolutely no fan of cover letters. Most are worthless, say nothing, and do nothing for you. Some people even go so far as to put their contact info only on the cover letter, believing that it will somehow magically stay attached to their resume.
However, one of the best ways to get a recruiter’s attention is to have a VERY SIMPLE cover letter that says I am interested in the following positions offered by your company.
Simple means: list the positions + provide your contact info. Your resume should do the rest of the talking.
When meeting a recruiter: ‘Hi, my name is _____. I have a _____ security clearance (or a certification in X, Y and Z) and I am interested in the following kinds of positions: ___, ___, and ___.
Keep it simple, focused and of interest to the recruiter.
Almost every career event publishes in advance the organizations that will be recruiting, and a list of many of the jobs being offered. Do your homework. Even if jobs aren’t listed in advance you can always google the organization and go to their career webpage and get a list of jobs currently being offered.
Best regards,
Bill Golden
CEO, IntelligenceCareers.com
USADefenseIndustryJobs.com
USAJobZoo.com
Summer 2012 – Employers in Manufacturing, Hospitality and Retail Forecast Increase in Summer Hiring
CHICAGO, IL ~ The pace of job creation may pick up over the summer months, fueled by an expected increase in seasonal hiring. Three in ten (29 percent) U.S. employers plan to hire workers for the summer, up from 21 percent in 2011 and an average of 22 percent over the past four years. This is according to CareerBuilder’s annual Summer Job Forecast, conducted by Harris Interactive© from February 9 to March 2, 2012, among more than 2,000 hiring managers and human resource professionals.
Stronger than expected growth in the manufacturing sector, as well as increased consumer confidence heading into vacation season, are likely behind the busier summer hiring season. Employers in the following industries are expected to lead seasonal hiring:
~ Manufacturing: 45 percent (plan to add summer workers)
~ Hospitality: 44 percent
~ Retail: 34 percent
~ Finance: 31 percent
“Confidence is up among the employers we most closely associate with summer hiring. This is good news for job seekers, as seasonal work can often lead to full-time opportunities. A majority of employers told us they consider a summer position an extended job interview,” said Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America. “The forecast is also a strong indicator that the job market will continue to strengthen as we come closer to the second half of 2012.”
From seasonal to full-time
The possibility of full-time employment makes summer work a good opportunity for recent college grads, unemployed job seekers, and people who’ve left the workforce altogether. Seventy-one percent of employers hiring this summer said they’ll be considering some hires for permanent positions. In fact, 39 percent of employers said they’re less likely to hire someone who isn’t interested in working beyond summer.
What will summer jobs pay?
A majority (64 percent) of employers will pay their summer hires $10 or more per hour – up from 58 percent last year. Twenty percent will pay more than $16 per hour; 29 percent will pay $8 to $10.
Employers still filling summer jobs
While 42 percent of employers report that they typically complete their summer hiring by April, 38 percent complete it in May and 19 percent will hire in June and beyond.
Other In-Demand Summer Jobs
It’s not just retail, hospitality and manufacturing jobs available this summer. Employers also plan to hire seasonal help in the following areas: customer service, office support, information technology, research, engineering and sales.
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive© on behalf of CareerBuilder among 2,303 hiring managers and human resource professionals (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government) between February 9 and March 2, 2012 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 2,303, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 2.04 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.
About CareerBuilder®
CareerBuilder is the global leader in human capital solutions, helping companies target and attract their most important asset – their people. Its online career site, CareerBuilder.com®, is the largest in the United States with more than 24 million unique visitors, 1 million jobs and 40 million resumes. CareerBuilder works with the world’s top employers, providing resources for everything from employment branding and data analysis to recruitment support. More than 9,000 websites, including 140 newspapers and broadband portals such as MSN and AOL, feature CareerBuilder’s proprietary job search technology on their career sites. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company and The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, South America, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.
SOURCE CareerBuilder
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Visit http://www.USAJobZoo.com or http://USADefenseIndustryJobs.com for all of your job search needs. Both are IntelligenceCareers.com websites.
Seven Steps to a Successful Job Interview – Verizon’s Former CEO Has Some Tips
PRINCETON, NJ ~ May marks the time of the year when college graduates enter the workforce. The first step in this process is the interview. How should you prepare to meet with a hiring manager? What can you do to help yourself get an offer?
When Denny Strigl, former Verizon Wireless CEO and author of “Managers, Can You Hear Me Now?” speaks with college students about leadership and management, these are among the most frequently asked questions. In a recent blog post, Strigl shared the following seven steps to a successful job interview.
1. Be prepared: Do some research on the company. This should be obvious, but all too often job candidates under prepare. There is a lot to be learned from a simple search of the company’s website. Check their last quarterly earnings report. Look for new product releases or any other news about the company – good or bad. In less than an hour you can learn a lot about a company, which will enable you to answer questions you will undoubtedly be asked. One of my favorite opening statements for a job candidate was “Tell me a little about what you know about us.”
2. Be on time: Plan to arrive at least 15 minutes early. I can’t recall ever hiring anyone who wasn’t on time for a job interview. There is no good excuse for being late.
3. Show you want the job: I have interviewed many people who didn’t appear to really want the job for which they were interviewing. If it appears that you came to the interview to see if the job might be of interest to you, or you come across to your interviewer as though you’re not really sure you want the job, I can almost guarantee you will not be offered the job.
4. Dress like you want the job: For men, this means wear a suit and a tie; for women, a business suit. Shine your shoes! To get the job you have to look like you really want it. By the way, in many companies these days “business casual” is acceptable dress. When you are hired, you can dress like other employees of the company dress. Until you are hired look extra sharp!
5. Listen carefully: Answer the questions you are asked! Don’t wander off by talking about things that don’t address the question your interviewer asked. Never try to bluff your interviewer; always tell the truth.
6. Be inquisitive: Ask questions. When your interviewer asks if you have any questions, be ready to ask a “good” question. Your research about the company will prove useful here. Don’t hesitate to ask for more detail about specific job duties or something you read about the company like a new product. Show interest!
7. Ask for the job: At the end of the interview look your interviewer in the eye, give him or her a firm handshake, and let him or her know you are very interested in the job. All too often candidates fail because they don’t ask for the job. “A constant theme in my book is the importance of focusing on the fundamentals,” Strigl said. “I’ve interviewed thousands of candidates in my 40 years in business and these are my fundamentals on how to interview for a job in the business world. The best candidates I’ve seen are those who are prepared, ask questions, appear confident and ask for the job.”
For more insights and tips for business success, visit Strigl’s blog at www.DennyStrigl.com and follow him on twitter www.twitter.com/dfstrigl
ABOUT DENNIS F. STRIGL
Dennis F. Strigl, author of “Managers, Can You Hear Me Know?” is a national leadership expert and keynote speaker. Strigl is the former president and CEO of Verizon Wireless and was president and COO of Verizon Communications until his retirement on December 31, 2009. He is widely recognized as one of the most prominent architects of the wireless communications industry. He was responsible for bringing together the domestic wireless operations of Bell Atlantic, Vodafone AirTouch and GTE to form Verizon Wireless, now one of the top-performing companies in the industry. Strigl is a frequent guest on the FOX News Channel, FOX Business, CNBC and MSNBC.
SOURCE MetTel
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Visit http://www.USAJobZoo.com or http://USADefenseIndustryJobs.com for all of your job search needs. Both are IntelligenceCareers.com websites.
U.S. Workers Feel Secure in Jobs, Optimistic Towards Future Prospects
ATLANTA, GA ~ A new study released today from Randstad, the second largest HR services and staffing company in the world, revealed that U.S. workers are feeling more secure in their jobs and less likely to make sacrifices to keep their jobs as they see a more promising future on the horizon. Three out of four (75 percent) U.S. workers feel secure in their jobs and more than half (54 percent) expect the job market to pick up this year.
The Randstad Engagement Index, previously named the Attachment Index, measures the attitudes and perceptions impacting employee engagement within companies today. The findings represent employees’ priorities, concerns, outlook and intent around both their current employer and future career plans. The study targets employees to help employers further understand and better engage their workforces.
While respondents report feeling more secure in their current jobs, they are also cautiously optimistic around changing jobs. Fifty-eight percent think they would not be able to find a job they would want to accept right now, but almost half (45 percent) plan to explore new job options when the job market picks up. The Index also found that employees are less willing to make sacrifices to keep their current jobs, with only 20 percent willing to take a reduction in benefits and 10 percent willing to take a demotion or lesser job.
“Employees are indicating greater job security which is a good sign for companies. As employees regain their job confidence, there is a real opportunity for employers to re-engage their workforces to maximize and improve performance, productivity and output,” said Joanie Ruge, senior vice president & chief employment analyst for Randstad Holding US. “As the economy and job market continue to recover, employees will likely be more motivated to assess their careers and look towards future prospects. Companies need to be on the lookout for both at-risk employees and top performers and tailor their engagement plans to meet their differing needs. By developing and delivering effective engagement and retention strategies, companies and their employees will reap the benefits both today and in the future.”
Measuring the Six Components of Engagement
The Randstad Engagement Index is built around six components that measure drivers of engagement, helping employers gauge the success of their efforts and identify current and future needs.
~ 78 percent of employees feel inspired to do their best each day
~ Almost three-fourths (74 percent) of employees are proud to work for their company
~ 68 percent of employees enjoy going to work every day, up 3 percent from March 2011
~ 63 percent of employees feel their efforts at work are recognized and valued
~ 62 percent indicate they trust their company leadership to make good decisions for the workforce
~ 65 percent of employees believe their company shares their values, up 5 percent from March 2011
Industry Pulse
The Randstad Engagement Index also gauges insights by industry to identify workforce trends across the general employee base and within key industry sectors, including healthcare, finance and accounting, engineering, pharma and IT. Industry result highlights include:
Healthcare
~ Only 6 percent of healthcare employees surveyed blame their job performance overall for potential job loss
~ Of each key industry surveyed, healthcare workers are the least likely at 37 percent to believe the economy negatively altered their career plans
Finance and Accounting
~ Almost half (43 percent) of finance and accounting employees surveyed feel left behind in their career because of the poor economy and job market
~ Only 16 percent of finance and accounting employees surveyed are concerned about losing their jobs
Engineering
~ Engineers are the most likely at 69 percent to believe that the job market will pick up in 2012
~ Engineers are more optimistic than any other sector around getting a raise (68 percent) and a promotion (37 percent)
~ Engineers are the most willing of all sectors surveyed to consider making sacrifices to keep their job, including nearly half (45 percent) who are willing to take a reduction in vacation time
Pharma/Life Sciences
~ Pharma employees are the least likely of all sectors at 34 percent to accept an enticing job offer from another company
~ Pharma employees are also the least likely of any sector to take precautionary measures due to fear of job loss, with less than a third reporting that they are cutting back on expenses (28 percent) and only 21 percent trying to put more money towards savings
~ If they were to lose their job in the near future, 31 percent (the most of any sector) expect it to take more than six months to find a new job
Information Technology
~ Eight in ten IT employees feel secure in their employment
~ At 53 percent, IT employees are the most likely compared to other sectors to be planning to explore other job options when the job market improves
~ More than half (52 percent) of IT employees expect their company to expand its workforce
Methodology
The Randstad Engagement Index is comprised of findings from quarterly waves of research targeting employees and annual surveys of employers. The fourth wave of findings was conducted February 10-20, 2012. A national sample of 3,063 adults aged 18 and older who are currently employed full time from Ipsos’ U.S. online panel were interviewed online.
Weighting was used to balance demographics and ensure samples reflect the U.S. population of working adults.
Employees and employers were surveyed to compare notable differences in perceptions and attitudes. Multiple waves of research allow for trending and to track changes in perceptions and attitudes over time. Research into employee attitudes and perceptions will be conducted quarterly. Research into employer attitudes and perceptions will be conducted on an annual basis.
About Ipsos Public Affairs
Ipsos Public Affairs is a non-partisan, objective, survey-based research practice which conducts strategic research initiatives for a diverse number of American and international organizations, based on public opinion research. They are the international polling agency of record for Thomson Reuters, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. To learn more, visit: www.ipsos-pa.com.
About Randstad US
Randstad is a $22.5 billion global provider of HR services and the second largest staffing organization in the world. From temporary staffing to permanent placement to inhouse, professionals, search & selection, and HR Solutions, Randstad holds top positions around the world and has approximately 28,700 corporate employees working from its nearly 4,700 branches and inhouse locations in 40 countries. Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Diemen, the Netherlands, Randstad Holding nv is listed on the NYSE Euronext Amsterdam.
Learn more at http://www.randstad.com.
SOURCE Randstad US
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Visit http://www.USAJobZoo.com or http://USADefenseIndustryJobs.com for all of your job search needs. Both are IntelligenceCareers.com websites.
Q&A – A Recruiter asks about ‘best practices’ of recruiting at a career fair but telling defense industry candidates to go to their website to post their resumes
Question
A recruiter with a defense firm recently asked for our input on best practices as regards collecting resumes at career fairs.
The company is considering a new initiative: they want to eliminate the need to accept and to store hundreds of hard copies of resumes collected at career fairs.
In order to collect resumes, they would like to tell candidates that they meet to go apply online after the event. The company would like to do this to remain compliant with government standards (I assume they are talking about OFCCP) and to create candidate pipelines.
Question: Could/would we share with them some best practices that other companies use at career fairs along these same lines.
Answer
Below is my complete answer. I offered it as best as I could in a constructive manner:
My advice is offered from someone that lives 24/7 with both candidates and corporate recruiters. Both are our customers.
There really are no best practices when it comes to going to career fairs and getting candidates to post their resumes online, rather than collecting them. They WON’T.
Our own experience is this: after an event we contact each candidate and ask them to post their resume online or to send us their resume and we will do it for them. ONLY about 25% actually do either. Few actually need a job and most want some TLC when they talk to a recruiter.
Offending candidates — unemployment remains a rarity in the world of defense and security clearances. There is perhaps no better way to discourage a candidate from considering your company than to make someone that is currently employed earning $60-110,000/year stand in line and then tell them to please go to your website and to post their resume. What a waste of their time and energy. There are companies that not only will take their resume but discuss the many opportunities available to these folks.
The Wall Street Journal recently (last week) ran an article called ‘The High Cost of Treating Job-Seekers Like Cattle‘, http://ow.ly/b0N3g — we often get complaints from many qualified candidates that they have no desire to go to a career fair again after meeting companies that should be interested in them and being told to please just go to the website and to post their resume.
Recruiters – what say you? Are there any best practices that you know of for getting people to take a day off of work, pay for gas and often for parking, stand in line to talk to a recruiter, and then cheerfully accept ‘Please go to our website and upload your resume’ as the way their day should end up?
Bill Golden
WGolden@IntelligenceCareers.com
CEO, IntelligenceCareers.com
Book + Advice ~ Three Million College Grads Looking for Jobs, One Million Jobs Available, Be the One~in~the~Million!
PEMBROKE PINES, FL ~ Job seekers are facing a tough and competitive job market today as companies lay off employees and outsource jobs. According to a 2011 study by Rutgers University WORKTRENDS, just 53 percent of recent college graduates are employed full-time. How can you be the one-in-the-million to find work? The job search process must include a motivational mindset that is a critical element to this endeavor. A motivational mindset will help you present yourself as a viable candidate, setting yourself apart from others, and being the candidate that hiring managers want to see.
Any savvy college graduate realizes that he or she has to determine the needs and preferences of the company that they are interested in. Understanding self-motivation can help to identify key selling points that make them unique, thus setting them apart from their competitors. This holds true for almost any worker at any job, no matter what point they are at in their career. Dr. Provitera’s Mastering Self-Motivation Book Trailer provides insight into how you can create a motivational mindset: .
Here are five ways you can ensure that you have the motivational mindset to land the job:
1) Know the industry
Identify current events and how they relate to the position being offered.
2) Be your own image consultant
Present yourself positively as someone who is on top of your game. Develop a 30-second commercial of your excellent qualifications as they apply to the job.
3) Track your progress
Relate your academic success and previous experience to the needs of potential employers. Focus on your GPA and your coursework in your major. Emphasize your interests in college and how they relate to the workplace.
4) Be a story teller
Have ready a short story that highlights how you motivated others to accomplish a task or led a group of people to accomplish their goals.
5) Do your homework
Match your skills to the job. Let the interviewer know that you did your research to identify how your skills are perfect for the job.
Dr. Michael Provitera is a Management Professor who is an expert in both motivation and organizational behavior. He has a Doctorate in Management and an MBA in Finance with over twenty years experience as a professor, corporate consultant, mentor, and writer helping people achieve their highest potential. He began his career as a Wall Street executive, so he inherently knows what employers are looking for in new candidates. Reading his book, Mastering Self-Motivation, will help you to create a successful life ~ one that is professionally and financially rewarding. The book is full of practical advice that provides college graduates with the tools needed to successfully navigate today’s job market and gain an edge over the competition.
Website: http://docprov.com
SOURCE Dr. Michael Provitera
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Visit http://www.USAJobZoo.com or http://USADefenseIndustryJobs.com for all of your job search needs. Both are IntelligenceCareers.com websites.
Wage Growth in the U.S. Will Feel Effects of Great Recession for Years to Come
NEW YORK, NY ~ The Great Recession has confronted U.S. workers with an extended buyer’s market in jobs, according to a new Executive Action Report from The Conference Board, leading to overall wage growth between 2008 and 2010 that was the weakest since the 1960s. Feeling the Pain: Wage Growth in the United States examines prevailing trends in recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, and finds workers and wages still reeling from the downtown, with significant disparities across states and demographic groups in how strongly wage pressures have been felt.
Said Gad Levanon, Director of Macroeconomic Research at The Conference Board and a co-author of the report: “While there were signs of modest overall wage improvements in 2011, the severe depression of wage growth during the Great Recession ~ turning negative in the hardest hit regions ~ is likely to impact consumer spending, inflation, corporate profits, income inequality, and employee engagement for many years to come. Moreover, the uneven distribution of this pain among different groups may carry deep social and political implications for the future development of the economy.”
Pain Unevenly Distributed
Women’s wages are still, on average, close to 20 percent lower than men’s, but male workers have been hit especially hard by stagnating wages in recent years; even in 2011, men’s wage growth had only rebounded to half the average rate of the previous decade, while women’s wage growth was nearly fully recovered. In previous recessions, like that of the early 2000s, no significant such disparities were found. The Great Recession, however, concentrated its direst effects on industries like housing and construction, leading to an unemployment rate that was nearly 2.7 points higher for men than women by October 2009. With this wide a gender gap in unemployment, a corresponding gap in wage growth is expected, as employers in traditionally male industries face a large supply of excess workers.
Likewise, the report found that the wage-growth gap between less-educated workers and those with bachelor’s degrees or above ballooned from less than half a percentage point before the recession to roughly 1.5 percent in 2008-2010. In 2011, it appeared this gap was once again closing. Similarly, workers in hardest-hit states like Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, and Nevada ~ which relied on industries like construction and manufacturing, and experienced the greatest output declines during the recession ~ also saw wage declines of about 0.1 percent in 2008-2010, compared to very slow, but still positive, wage growth of about 0.8 percent in the rest of the country. (Nationwide, annual wage growth was just under 3 percent in the decade 1998-2008.)
Slow Recovery for Young and Underemployed
Serious disparities were also found within industries and companies between those who managed to hold on to their jobs through the recession and the more recently hired. In general, the phenomenon of “downward wage rigidity” keeps employers from significantly cutting the wages of existing workers even in severe downturns. For this reason, wage pressure has disproportionately fallen on the previously unemployed or underemployed, who find returning to the workforce means new jobs at lower pay. This effect was found strongest among highly educated workers, where new hires can expect to earn roughly 30% less than existing employees ~ suggesting that low-skill labor is more easily transferable between positions, and less prone to mismatch than roles filled by the more highly educated. Along these lines, new college graduates have been among the very hardest hit, with a total wage decline of more than 5 percent in 2008-2010, compared to those who graduated before 2008. Young workers in general have faced difficult starts to their careers, with wages for those aged 15-20 declining 0.5 percent over 2008-2010, and for those aged 21-23 declining over 1.5 percent.
New college graduates are particularly apt to settle for lower-paying jobs than they expected, often in areas outside their fields of study or expertise. But all workers, according to Feeling the Pain, are adjusting their expectations as continued high unemployment has allowed employers to hire more educated and experienced employees at wages equal to or lower than they were paying before the recession. Thus far in the recovery, stagnant wages alongside constant or growing revenue has meant a rapid rise in corporate profits, shifting income to the wealthier households that tend to be top stockholders. This effect, combined with the higher wage-growth rates of skilled positions, is likely to extend recent increases in income inequality. At the same time, continued slow wage growth will make hiring U.S. workers relatively less expensive than hiring workers abroad or investing in labor-saving machinery ~ which may ultimately increase overall employment.
For complete details: http://www.conference-board.org/publications/publicationlistall.cfm
Report: Feeling the Pain: Wage Growth in the United States during and after the Great Recession (Executive Action Series) By Gad Levanon, Vivian Chen, and Ben Cheng
About the Conference Board
The Conference Board is a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: To provide the world’s leading organizationswith the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society. The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States.
SOURCE The Conference Board
Web Site: http://www.conference-board.org
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Visit http://www.USAJobZoo.com or http://USADefenseIndustryJobs.com for all of your job search needs. Both are IntelligenceCareers.com websites.
