The continuing saga of obtaining Passenger Name Records (or PNR) regarding passengers on flights from Europe to the US by US authorities contains potentially valuable lessons on international privacy and recruiting.

As a result of the events of September 11, 2001, US authorities started negotiating with the European Union (EU) to obtain the record of passengers on flights from Europe. The Court of Justice of the European Community in May of 2006 struck down an agreement on data transfer, reached in 2004, due to concerns over compliance with European privacy rules. A new agreement had not been reached by September 30, 2006; the date the European Community indicated the old agreement would expire, leaving European airlines having to choose between violating either EU privacy law or US laws.

A new agreement was finally reached on October 5, 2006 along with a letter from the Department of Homeland Security setting forth certain assurances (called undertakings) on how the US would protect the privacy of the passenger data. That agreement expired lasts July 31, 2007, and a controversial new agreement was then signed. There are still ongoing criticisms and discussions and the issue appears not yet to be resolved.

The negotiations revolve around some of the differences in the positions between the US and Europe on privacy of the passenger records, such as how long data can be retained, the nature and the extent of data being transferred, whether the US can pull the data or if the data must be pushed after US requests it, how the data will be shared between Homeland Security and other agencies in the US, and the protection given to the data by the US.

Why is this minutia concerning passenger record numbers of importance to recruiters?

The reason is that it illustrates an extremely critical issue relating to international recruiting and HR--global privacy and data protection laws.

First, the dispute over passenger records is a reminder that the European Union views the United States as a country that generally does not provide adequate safeguards for personal data.

Secondly, the dispute illustrates just how seriously EU data protection authorities take the issue of international transfers of personal data. If EU data protection authorities are insisting upon privacy protections even in the context of the war on terrorism and protecting the very safety of passengers on airplanes, then EU officials can be expected to also take seriously violations of EU data protection laws in the "normal course of business."

For these reasons, every recruiter or HR department, which relies upon transfers of personnel information from the EU to the US, even for the most routine forms of human resources administration, should address the data protection compliance issues raised by those transfers.

This means that a multi-national company cannot lawfully transfer employees' "personal data" (which includes not only employee health and compensation information, but even an employee's work location and e-mail address) from the EU to the US without taking steps which demonstrate to EU data protection authorities that the information will be adequately protected once it arrives in the US.

The principal options currently available include certification to the US-EU Safe Harbor agreement, data transfer contracts, and binding corporate rules. The Safe Harbor program is maintained by the Department of Commerce and provides a framework for US firms to certify that it provides adequate privacy protection of personal data of individuals from EU countries. Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages, which should be carefully scrutinized.

Because the EU has among the most stringent data protection laws in the world, compliance with those laws will have the added advantage of likely satisfying the data protection requirements of other countries with similar, or somewhat less stringent, data protection laws, such as Australia, Canada, and Japan.

Article by Lester Rosen and courtesy of Kenndy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 22, 2009 at 10:20 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

You're a stay at home mom -- or dad. You have one or more children, and you've decided that you want a work-life balance that allows you to attend to your parenting and other responsibilities.

But you'd also like an income, a chance to interact with adults during the day and the opportunity to keep your options open. After all, your children will grow up, and you may want to return to office-based work someday.

Welcome to "Give A Mom A Job!," a new site that seeks to unite stay at home moms and dads seeking a flexible, part-time source of income with companies that have an immediate need they can fill.

Perhaps best of all, it's free to employers and job seekers alike.

Continue reading about jobs for stay-at-home parents ...

Article by, Dawn Wolfe and courtesy of George Lenard, the originator of George's Employment Blawg, has over twenty years of experience in all aspects of labor and employment law, including preventive law as well as litigation. His special interests include employment discrimination, sexual harassment, and noncompetition agreements. He is currently a managing partner with Harris, Dowell, Fisher & Harris, L.C., in St. Louis, Missouri, and lives in the suburb of University City with his wife and family.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 22, 2009 at 9:55 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

You're a stay at home mom -- or dad. You have one or more children, and you've decided that you want a work-life balance that allows you to attend to your parenting and other responsibilities.

But you'd also like an income, a chance to interact with adults during the day and the opportunity to keep your options open. After all, your children will grow up, and you may want to return to office-based work someday.

Welcome to "Give A Mom A Job!," a new site that seeks to unite stay at home moms and dads seeking a flexible, part-time source of income with companies that have an immediate need they can fill.

Perhaps best of all, it's free to employers and job seekers alike.

Continue reading about jobs for stay-at-home parents ...

Article by, Dawn Wolfe and courtesy of George Lenard, the originator of George's Employment Blawg, has over twenty years of experience in all aspects of labor and employment law, including preventive law as well as litigation. His special interests include employment discrimination, sexual harassment, and noncompetition agreements. He is currently a managing partner with Harris, Dowell, Fisher & Harris, L.C., in St. Louis, Missouri, and lives in the suburb of University City with his wife and family.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 22, 2009 at 9:55 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

You're a stay at home mom -- or dad. You have one or more children, and you've decided that you want a work-life balance that allows you to attend to your parenting and other responsibilities.

But you'd also like an income, a chance to interact with adults during the day and the opportunity to keep your options open. After all, your children will grow up, and you may want to return to office-based work someday.

Welcome to "Give A Mom A Job!," a new site that seeks to unite stay at home moms and dads seeking a flexible, part-time source of income with companies that have an immediate need they can fill.

Perhaps best of all, it's free to employers and job seekers alike.

Continue reading about jobs for stay-at-home parents ...

Article by, Dawn Wolfe and courtesy of George Lenard, the originator of George's Employment Blawg, has over twenty years of experience in all aspects of labor and employment law, including preventive law as well as litigation. His special interests include employment discrimination, sexual harassment, and noncompetition agreements. He is currently a managing partner with Harris, Dowell, Fisher & Harris, L.C., in St. Louis, Missouri, and lives in the suburb of University City with his wife and family.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 22, 2009 at 9:55 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Dissatisfaction With Management Top Reason Good Employees Quit

When top performers decide to jump ship, managers may want to consider a little self-reflection, a recent survey suggests. More than one-third (35 percent) of executives interviewed said good employees are most likely to quit their jobs because of unhappiness with management. This is up from 23 percent when the question was asked five years ago. Limited opportunities for advancement was the second most common answer, cited by 33 percent of respondents.

The survey was developed by Robert Half International and conducted by an independent research firm and is based on interviews with 150 senior executives from the nation's 1,000 largest companies.

Executives were asked, "Which of the following is most likely to cause good employees to quit their jobs?"

Their responses:

"Professionals seek strong leadership, particularly during times of uncertainty, and they also want managers they can learn from and who take an interest in their careers," said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International and author of Human Resources Kit For Dummies®, 2nd Edition (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). "In today's business environment, where many companies have reduced staff levels, managers need to be extra attentive to the needs of their teams, or they risk losing their most valuable employees."

Messmer added, "Employees want to see their efforts rewarded and acknowledged. If offering a promotion isn't an option right now, managers should consider providing employees with professional development opportunities and the flexibility to pursue projects that will help them expand their skill sets."

Most employees who are looking for a new job will send out warning signals. Robert Half identifies the following five red flags for supervisors to be aware of:

A noticeable change in attitude. A formerly enthusiastic staff member may seem withdrawn and indifferent. In addition to examining the individual's performance, look for changes in behavior in team settings.
Longer lunch breaks and frequent absences. This may be a sign that someone is using the time for job interviews. It also could indicate the person is bored with the work.
Missed deadlines and increased errors. Everyone misses a deadline from time to time, but apathetic workers make it a habit - one that can throw off the efficiency of an entire department or company. Numerous errors from a previously conscientious employee are a sign of disengagement and may signal lost interest and an impending departure.
More professional attire. An employee who shows up for work wearing suits even though your company has a business casual dress policy may be going on job interviews with other firms.

A drop in productivity. A decline in performance or work quality and increased forgetfulness about deadlines, meetings and appointments could indicate a worker who is gradually disconnecting from the job.

Robert Half International has more than 360 staffing locations worldwide and offers online job search services at ">www.rhi.com.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 22, 2009 at 8:39 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Employees continue to hunker down and weather the financial storm as they see no visible end to the global economic crisis. Findings released by global professional services firm, Towers Perrin, reveal that 82% of U.S. workers have been personally affected by the economical downturn and an even greater number (91%) claim their companies have also been affected. Indeed, 54% of respondents note that their companies are not hiring, while 45% report staffing cuts. In light of these actions, and the steady rise in unemployment, most employees appear to be shifting their focus from maximizing career advancement and incentive opportunities to securing basic pay and benefit packages. "In an economic downturn, employees want to lock down the things they need to provide stability and security for themselves and their families. A steady paycheck and set of core benefits, including health care coverage, typically top that list," says Emmett Seaborn, a Towers Perrin principal and head of intellectual capital development for the firm's Human Capital Group. "What's also notable, though, is employees' sense of what we might call 'shared destiny' with their employer. They understand their stability rests on the organization's performance and success, and they're willing to commit to helping drive that success as much as they can," Seaborn adds. In fact, according to this study, job security and long-term earning potential are the key concerns for respondents. Of those polled, 45% believe they face greater risk that their job will change or be eliminated and 55% believe the risk that their future earnings will plateau or decline has increased as well. As for changing priorities when polled on the factors most important to their work experience, respondents put a "secure position they can count on for the long term" at the top of the list. In fact, 59% rank this among their top five, up from 46% in August 2008. Having adequate benefit protection for themselves and their families rose sharply in importance as well, moving into the number 2 slot from the number 4 previously, with 56% putting this in the top five in December, as compared to 37% in August. Interestingly, working for a successful organization with a strong future broke onto the list of top five factors for the first time, underscoring that sense of shared destiny, while maximizing earnings actually fell from the top-five list.

Article courtesy of Kennedy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 21, 2009 at 11:46 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Talent assessment solutions specialists, SHL, suggest that there are striking differences in what motivates employees. In fact, only 25% of employees find their manager motivational all or some of the time, according to SHL's research findings. Furthermore, 38% of men are far more likely to be de-motivated by poor senior management and 29% by poor line management. Women, conversely, are more affected by criticism (17%) and poor relationships with colleagues (19%) than their male counterparts. Age is also deemed an impacting motivation, with 37% of young employees (aged 18 to 34) more likely being de-motivated by uninteresting work than those over age 35 (26%). Young workers are also more motivated by company culture and their work environment than older colleagues. Surprisingly, 31% of those surveyed say they rarely or never find their manager motivational. Managers in the legal, financial and banking industries fare the worst at 39%, with those in media, marketing and advertising faring the best at 19%. "Low motivation can have destructive effects in the workplace," says Dr. Hennie Kriek, president, Americas, SHL. "The majority of respondents (46%) said that low motivation leads to stress while a large number find it causes procrastination (43%) and almost one-third (30%) agree that it would result in them looking for a new job." The current economic situation does not appear to have the expected negative effect with 15% of respondents claiming that they are actually more motivated as a result of the economic downturn. In fact, 53% claim to have a fear of redundancy and 41% an increased workload. Almost two-thirds (63%) state that the economic situation has not had any effect on their motivation, while another 15% admit they are less motivated as a result. "A motivated workforce is crucial to ensure employees are happy, engaged, productive and good advocates for the company," says James Bywater, Global Consulting Manager, SHL. "Some people are motivated by money, competition and high pressure, while others prefer encouragement, team working and being appreciated by colleagues. Getting it wrong can lead to unenthusiastic and unproductive employees, which can have a devastating effect on the bottom line."

Article courtesy of Kennedy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 21, 2009 at 11:43 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

A new WorldatWork survey, "Bonus Program Practices 2008," finds that referral bonuses are the most prevalent type of bonus used by employers in the U.S. In fact, 66% of organizations offer a referral bonus, 58% offer a sign-on bonus, 49% offer an on-the-spot bonus and 30% a retention bonus, according to the survey. "The growth and prevalence of referral bonuses may come as a surprise given the rising number of job cuts," says Alison Avalos, research manager for WorldatWork. "Keep in mind that referral bonus programs were put in place during a tight labor market when employers were willing to reward employees for helping to attract the right talent. And in spite of employee retrenchment, referral bonus programs will continue because tight salary budgets mean employers have to focus on quality not quantity," says Avalos.

Article courtesy of Kennedy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 21, 2009 at 11:39 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

The last thing any job seeker wants or needs at a time like this is someone taking advantage of their situation for personal gain. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are currently 11.1 million U.S. citizens unemployed. This has created a virtual breeding ground for identity thieves and other criminals looking to take advantage of the job seekers' desperation over finding employment. Those surfing the web looking for jobs and/or job leads need to be very careful when it comes to sending any organization or individual personal information about themselves.

We have written extensively about the topic of identity theft and have provided sound advice to both employers and job seekers on ways to protect their sensitive information. employeescreenIQ's Rob Thomson just wrote an article on this topic called "Don't Let Someone Take Credit For (From) You!" which has been published in our most recent edition of The Verifier. We've also maintained an ongoing blog thread about identity theft as it relates to both consumers and employers. There is no limit on the amount of information available for consumers looking to protect their personal information or for those whose identities and/or bank accounts have already been compromised. Thieves are counting on the uninformed in order for their ploy to succeed. Don't give them the upper hand!

Local Contractor Gets Scammed While Looking For Work

By Neda Iranpour, Channel 2 News - January 12, 2008

As the economy spirals downward so does Dennis Hunter's hope to line up new work. Not many people are looking to have security systems installed these days. "(I am an) installer of Direct TV and installer of home security systems, it fell apart I've been out of work now for a month and a half."

So Dennis checks web sites like www.craigslist.com daily. He came across an ad for experienced handymen or contractors. It sent him to www.mycontractorsource.com."I didn't see anything that seemed illegitimate."

He was told to submit information for a background check, "they've got my driver's license, my social security number and my address. They've got access to my entire world."

He gave up his personal info, in exchange for leads for work within 48 hours."It's right on the website, within 48 hours they're going to give you work, but I never saw a thing."

Turns out Dennis was not alone. He got several e-mails from other contractors who never got any leads for jobs either. Some people wrote "this is a scam," while another email warned contractors "to check your bank accounts."

$100 was taken out of Dennis' account, twice without his permission. "When you give into the wrong individual, now what? You try to do legit work and you get bit in the rear."

Dennis closed out his debit card and his bank says their fraud investigation team will look into this.

Our calls to www.mycontractorsource.com have not been returned.

Article by, Natalie Beck and courtesy of EmployeescreenIQ

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 21, 2009 at 8:14 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Early last year, I highlighted a story in the New York Times about the alarming trends in the FAA and the looming shortage of air traffic controllers. Well, it's a year later, and the problem is just as bad, if not worse, with 15,000 air traffic controllers (70% of the FAA's employees) expected to retire by 2015. Maybe some of that TARP money should go to schools that can train people to fill those jobs and cash incentives to get people to enroll. If people are willing to enlist in the military as a preferred alternative to unemployment, they'd certainly be willing to accept the stress of a career as an air traffic controller. The schools would benefit from the 'stimulus' and the students would receive training that guarantees them lifelong employment. Such a program could also get 15,000+ people back to work. That might be a small number given the millions that are out of work, but it certainly beats a cash payout to guys like John C. Hope III who has no intention of doing anything but pocketing the $300 million handout he received from taxpayers.

Article by, Toby Dayton and courtesy of Diggings, a blog about recruitment advertising, media, publishing, HR, work, & technology, among other things.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 21, 2009 at 8:07 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

While the recession injured many industries in 2008, health care was one of the few bright spots in the employment picture, growing by 372,000 jobs last year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' January 2009 Employment Situation Summary. The large aging population has health care employers in need of qualified workers: stat. Therefore, despite the current economic conditions, health care employers will continue to increase staff in 2009, according to CareerBuilder.com's annual health care hiring forecast, conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive.

Close to one-in-five (17 percent) of large health care employers (50 or more employees) plan to increase the number of full-time, permanent employees in 2009, while 67 percent foresee either making no change in the number of employees or are unsure. Sixteen percent plan to decrease the number of employees.

"The health care industry continues to boast high demand for qualified workers. Employers are reacting to this need by continuing strong recruiting efforts this year," says Jason Ferrara, vice president of corporate marketing for CareerBuilder.com. "Half of health care employers, the highest among industries we surveyed, have open positions for which they can't find qualified candidates. In response, health care employers will have to adjust their recruitment and retention strategies to find and keep top talent."

Health care recruitment trends for 2009

1. More Flexibility
Flexible work options continue to be an important benefit for health care employers to provide in an effort to attract new candidates and to prevent employee burnout. Forty-one percent of health care employers will provide more flexible work arrangements for employees in 2009, including:

Alternative schedules - come in early and leave early or come in later and leave later
Compressed work weeks - work the same hours, but in fewer days

• Telecommuting


• Job sharing


• Summer hours

2. Recruitment Tools
As demand for qualified workers continues, health care employers will leverage a variety of recruitment tools to reduce the time-to-hire cycle and fill open positions. Health care employers plan to spend more money on the following recruitment tools in 2009:

• Online recruitment sites


• Newspaper classifieds


• Career fairs


• Staffing firms and recruiters


• Social networking sites

3. Retaining and Rehiring Retirees
Nearly one-third (32 percent) of health care employers are concerned about the loss of intellectual capital at their companies as a large number of baby boomers approach retirement age.

4. Freelance Workers
To help alleviate their employees' demanding work load, health care employers are hiring contract and freelance workers to help get the job done.

5. Green Jobs
Being "green" is a burgeoning movement within the health care industry as companies seek ways to run more efficiently. Health care employers plan to be more environmentally aware in 2009, as 14% plan to add "green" jobs, up from 7% in 2008. "Green jobs" are positions that implement environmentally conscious design, policy and technology to improve the conservation and sustainability.

Article courtesy of Kennedy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 20, 2009 at 7:34 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

New college graduates who have taken part in an internship or cooperative education assignment may have an edge in the job market over their peers who lack such experiences, according to a report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

Employers taking part in NACE's Job Outlook 2009 Survey reported a strong preference for college candidates with relevant work experience.

"More than three-quarters of employers say they would prefer to hire new college graduates who have relevant work experience. For college students, that experience is most typically gained through an internship or co-op assignment," says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director.

Although the majority of respondents favored relevant work experience, the study underscored the importance of any work experience to employers.

"Nearly 20 percent of employers said they look for any type of work experience--relevant or otherwise," says Mackes. "Less than 3 percent said they don't factor in work experience when deciding to hire a new college graduate," says Mackes.

Interestingly, the results are similar to those of a NACE study conducted in fall of 2007, when the economy was better. (See Figure 1.)

"This is a clear indication that relevant work experience matters regardless of the job market conditions," says Mackes. "College students can better position themselves with potential employers by including an internship or co-op assignment in their college plan."

But taking part in an internship or co-op assignment can yield even greater benefits in a poor job market.

"Our studies show that in a poor economy, when employers do have jobs, they often look first to their own interns and co-op students," says Mackes.

Figure 1: Importance of work experience to employers

                                                            2009             2008

I prefer to hire candidates ..................... 76.3%........... 76.2%

with relevant work experience.

I prefer to hire candidates with .............. 18.9%........... 18.2%

any type of work experience.

Work experience doesn’t typically .......... 2.6%............. 4.8%

factor into my decision when hiring

a new college graduate.

Other.................................................... 2.2%............. 0.7%

Source: Job Outlook 2009 and Job Outlook 2008, National Association of Colleges and Employers

Since 1956, theNational Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has been the leading source of information about the employment of college graduates. NACE maintains a virtual press room for the media at www.naceweb.org/press/.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 20, 2009 at 7:26 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Who "owns" an employee's time? Are you stealing from your employer if you take a personal call at work? What about if you check your personal email, or take some time to send out resumes?

Since the FLSA was a central piece of the New Deal, do present economic circumstances require updating it to ensure that worker protections deemed essential to economic recovery during the Great Depression are not watered down, but able to play the same role today?

Our December 15, 2008, post on increasing employee theft in the recession included "time theft" by employees because many employers consider this a proper description of employee misuse of working time, such as attending to personal business while on the job (including looking for another job).

That post led to a blog post by Jon Jacobs at JobsintheMoney's CareerWire blog entitled "Deconstructing Time Theft," which quotes me and raises what Jon considers to be employer "theft" of employees' time. (Jon was just a guest poster here on the subject of Wall Street bonuses in December).

I have my own views, as do Dawn and Jon, so we decided to start a series of posts on these issues with a three-way discussion. Continue reading about "time theft" ...

Article by George Lenard, the originator of George's Employment Blawg, has over twenty years of experience in all aspects of labor and employment law, including preventive law as well as litigation. His special interests include employment discrimination, sexual harassment, and noncompetition agreements. He is currently a managing partner with Harris, Dowell, Fisher & Harris, L.C., in St. Louis, Missouri, and lives in the suburb of University City with his wife and family.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 20, 2009 at 7:18 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

While reviewing a set of about 30 employment applications for one of his clients facing an EEOC allegation of hiring discrimination, George started seeing patterns in the mistakes that the job applicants were making that led to their being disqualified.

This post is a direct result of George's observations while doing that work, presented with hopes of helping employers and job seekers alike.

Employers Should -- and Often Do -- Apply Rigid, Unforgiving Criteria When Screening Applications

Because of laws governing the hiring and firing of workers, employers must pay close attention to how they read and act upon job applications.

Hiring one applicant despite an unexplained two-month gap in employment history makes it much harder to defend not hiring another whose application shows an unexplained five-month gap. And if the latter charges discrimination, the employer has a problem.

Is the difference between two and five months significant? What about three months?

Far easier to have a policy of not hiring anyone whose application contains any unexplained gaps -- period.

Bottom line: [S]eemingly minor errors, omissions and discrepancies acquire an importance many applicants fail to appreciate -- becoming "red flags" and thus automatic reasons for rejection. This is nothing personal -- it's what the company feels is necessary to protect itself. Continue reading about application errors ...

Article by Dawn Wolfe and courtesy of George Lenard, the originator of George's Employment Blawg, has over twenty years of experience in all aspects of labor and employment law, including preventive law as well as litigation. His special interests include employment discrimination, sexual harassment, and noncompetition agreements. He is currently a managing partner with Harris, Dowell, Fisher & Harris, L.C., in St. Louis, Missouri, and lives in the suburb of University City with his wife and family.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 19, 2009 at 7:11 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Identity theft is on the rise and people must be vigilant not only protecting their personal information, but monitoring their credit to ensure that they do not fall victim. [E]mployeescreenIQ's Rob Thomson recently authored a great article in our quarterly newsletter, The Verifier, that highlights ways that individuals can protect themselves.

Don't Let Someone Take Credit For (From) You! - By Rob Thomson

The year 2009 ushers in with it an unprecedented emphasis on personal credit. Economic conditions worldwide may be as difficult as they've ever been in most of our lifetimes, and no one can say for sure if we've yet hit the bottom. Identity theft is a term we have all become familiar with, and despite the intense focus that has been placed on protecting individual identities, the threat continues to proliferate as identity thieves carry on in refining their methods and developing new and more devious ways to steal identities. If you've taken care over the years to cultivate and maintain a strong credit rating, it has never been more valuable than today. Even if it is less than perfect, the last thing you need is someone else wreaking havoc with your credit. The saddest part is that if these criminal minds applied the same level of ingenuity and creativity to legitimate, productive occupations, they would be among the greatest assets to employers!

The most common perceptions of how identity theft happens are still the stolen laptop computer containing a large database of personal information, simple old-fashioned dumpster diving, or email-based phishing scams that sway the unsuspecting into volunteering their own financial account passwords or personal information. Some of these techniques may be within our control to prevent, but some are completely outside our control. Therefore, no one is immune from the potential of having their identity stolen and credit compromised. No matter how many precautions and safety protocols are implemented by companies armed with your personal information, there are that many more criminals out there working to overcome each obstacle.

Is Help Available?

There is no shortage of products and services out there to take your money in exchange for offering varying levels of protection ranging from electronically monitoring your credit to assistance in cleaning up the mess if your identity is breached. The value represented by any given credit protection tool really depends on the individual comfort level you have with keeping tabs on your own information. Monitoring your own credit report on a regular basis is the first key in spotting potential fraudulent activity under your name. Under federal law you are permitted to review your credit report, upon request, once per year from each of the three major national consumer reporting companies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion).

It is useful to point out a couple of keywords here that can be a bit confusing in the way they apply to accessing credit reports online: "Annual" and "Free". AnnualCreditReport.com is the official website to help consumers to obtain their free credit report. AnnualCreditReport.com was created by the credit bureaus for the specific purpose of accessing individual free credit reports upon request annually, as required by law. The credit "score" is not part of the free credit report offer, but can be obtained from each credit bureau for an additional one-time fee. There is another website you are probably more familiar with, after having their catchy jingles running through your head for a few hours at a time: FreeCreditReport.com. This website advertises heavily on television and is run by a private company called ConsumerInfo.com. The only way to obtain a "free" credit report from FreeCreditReport.com is to agree to a free trial membership of Triple Advantage (sm) Credit Monitoring. Failure to cancel the trial membership within 9 days results in being billed $14.95 per month on an ongoing basis for the credit monitoring service. This is fine if your intent is to enroll in this service, but some would argue that the trial membership requirement (along with subsequent billing arrangements) is not made as obvious as it should be.

Read More

Article by, Nick Fishman and courtesy of EmployeescreenIQ

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 19, 2009 at 7:03 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Is anyone sick of my rants about why it isn't a good idea to use Social Networking sites when conducting background checks on your job candidates? If you answered yes, you might not want to read this post.

A company called Yasani is now offering a free internet search tool which will allow employers to view a candidate's online persona whether on Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and get this, online shopping wish lists! So let's get this straight, if I've posted that I would like to buy a new flat screen TV, an employer can decide not to hire me?

Are you kidding me?

Here are a couple reasons why employers could get into hot water using sites like these when making hiring decisions:

• There is no way to authenticate the information for accuracy
• Anyone can establish a profile in anyone's name and post whatever they like
• Photographs can be doctored
• Evaluating these sites provides access to personal information such as religion, personal beliefs, sexual orientation, race, etc.
• How do you evaluate the information found consistently?

If you are interested in learning more about this topic and other Technology Trends in Background Screening, please sign up for a free webinar I will be conducting for JobMachine on January 29th.

By the way, I have been told by numerous attorneys that using sites such as Facebook and MySpace for employment screening purposes violates the user agreement that users must agree to when signing up for these services.

Still think this is a good practice?

Article by, Nick Fishman and courtesy of EmployeescreenIQ

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 19, 2009 at 6:55 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

HRRecruitingAlert's Sam Narisi just posted a great story about a case where Microsoft was sued and found liable for rescinding a job offer after it found adverse information on the candidate's background check. I had always been under the impression that a conditional offer could be made pending the successful completion of the check. It turns out that this is correct, however there's a little wrinkle everyone should pay attention to in Schley v. Microsoft Corp. See post below.

Offer Rescinded After Background Check: Can Candidate Sue?- By Sam Narisi

Your company offers a candidate the job -- then rescinds after his background check uncovered a felony conviction. He sues, claiming he was promised a job, quit his old position and bought a house in preparation to relocate. Who wins?

That's what happened in one recent case:

A candidate, living in New Jersey at the time, was offered a job at Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Washington. He received a written offer letter, which stated his employment was at-will and the offer was conditional on a successful background check.

He also spoke with the hiring manager, who encouraged him to quit his current job and begin looking at houses in Washington. He recommended specific neighborhoods and gave him the name of a real estate agent to contact.

The candidate quit his job and purchased a house. However, his criminal background check uncovered a felony conviction, and he didn't get the job after all.

He sued Microsoft, claiming the company asked him to leave his employer and move across the country under the promise of a new job.

Did [the] manager promise a job?

Microsoft tried to have the case thrown out. It pointed to the letter, which told the candidate he would be an at-will employee and that the offer would be canceled if his background check didn't come back clean.

But the judge didn't buy it. The offer letter may have stated that the offer was conditional, but the hiring manager went too far in encouraging the candidate to relocate and helping him buy a house.

The company now faces an expensive trial or a hefty settlement.

The bottom line: Microsoft took the right steps in the wording of its offer letter. And the manager may have just been trying to help, but it's best not to get involved in a potential employee's personal affairs before the job offer is finalized.

In this case, it didn't pay to be helpful. Employers take note.

Article by, Nick Fishman and courtesy of EmployeescreenIQ

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 16, 2009 at 9:25 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

With the new year comes a new way of looking at how we manage our lives and our careers. In his article for ERE, What's Going to Be Different in 2009, Kevin Wheeler speculates on the kind of changes that will appear beginning this year.

Work

Telecommuting has become more prevalent and Wheeler expects it to be "the dominant working style of the future," particularly for Gen Y employees, who seem to feel more comfortable with a telecommuting work arrangement than do their older colleagues.

Recruiting

Virtual sourcing, Wheeler says, will continue to expand in usage among recruiters. Blogs and sites like Twitter "will become part of a complete sourcing strategy." Virtual screening and assessment will become the methods of choice in the near future for finding and hiring college students for internships and recent college graduates for entry level jobs. "Very few candidates will ever meet a recruiter face-to-face unless they already have a natural physical proximity," Wheeler predicts. The first time new hires will see their bosses will be on their first days at work.

For those who telecommute, this new trend could mean never actually meeting either their recruiters or their bosses in person. They very likely will never set foot inside the building where their employer is headquartered, according to Wheeler.

Performance and Compensation

Because some of their employees will be telecommuters, employers will have to devise new methods of evaluating employees' performance and pay. Wheeler expects base salaries to decrease and be supplemented by bonuses that are based on goal achievement. "Stock options will steadily decline as a form of compensation due to tax laws and their unpopularity with Gen Y and X who prefer cash -- today," he believes.

Travel and Teleconferencing

Finally, Wheeler believes travel will be greatly reduced over the next five years because of the expense involved. Video conferencing will take its place, allowing colleagues to meet more affordably. The cost of teleconferencing equipment will replace the cost of airfare and hotel accomodations. It's also likely that entry level job candidates will be interviewed using this technology or using "VoIP-based applications like Skype."

According to Wheeler, recruiting and hiring will become less and less hands-on as the years progress. Soon recruiters will never have to leave their offices if they don't want. Everything from interviewing candidates to meeting with colleagues could be done from behind their desks. Where's the fun in that?

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 15, 2009 at 1:15 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

There are some recruiters who think campus visits are a luxury rather than a necessity. John Flato would disagree. In his article for ERE, 5 Reasons to Maintain a Strong Campus Recruiting Program During This Economic Downturn, he explains why maintaining a campus presence is important, regardless of the economy.

Flato's list points out why smart companies continue recruiting on college campuses even when financial times are tough.

1. Improve the quality of the talent you are able to recruit
2. Block and tackle competitors - "Smart companies know that this is a great time to take market share away from competitors, and this goes for talent, too," Flato says.
3. Thwart looming retirements and a drain of intellectual capital - baby boomers will be retiring soon; maintaining a steady influx of talented new hires prevents any gaps caused by attrition.
4. Campus continuity pays off - a break in recruiting on campus could lead to a loss of connection, familiarity and trust, making things more difficult once recruiting programs are reinstated.
5. Campus recruiting is the most cost-effective way to source and retain top diverse talent.

The best-managed companies with visionary leaders will seize the opportunity to exploit the current economic morass. College students looking for internships and recent college graduates looking for entry level jobs want some semblance of security, too. Companies that maintain a campus presence even when times are tough send the message that they are stable, they are secure ... they are a safe bet.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 15, 2009 at 10:43 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Today's top jobs require more brains than brawn, not surprisingly

Remember that kid in elementary school who always had a pencil and calculator nearby, and while the rest of us drew pictures, read comic books or played cards, that kid was happily crunching numbers - for fun. Fast forward 20 years or so, and it turns out that kid probably has one of best careers around today, according to an exclusive new study of the nation's best and worst jobs.

Mathematician ranks as the country's best job, followed by actuary and statistician - three jobs for which a calculator and solitude are prerequisites. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Monty Python troupe made famous the song, "I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK." Unfortunately, our study found that lumberjacks have the nation's worst job, followed by dairy farmers and taxi drivers, according to the research, which collected and compared key data for 200 different job titles. The rankings seem to bear out the old grade-school adage that "it's better to earn a living with your head rather than with your hands."

Of course, it doesn't take much effort to determine that mathematician is a more attractive job to most people than lumberjack. But ranking 200 jobs from best to worst is no easy feat. Researchers relied on five criteria to compare jobs as different as librarian and sheet metal worker. Those criteria: stress, physical demands, hiring outlook, compensation and work environment.

After the top three math-oriented careers, the rest of the top 10 read like a who's who of well-educated professions: biologist, software engineer, computer systems analyst, historian, sociologist, industrial designer and accountant. All rate highly in the key criteria, and all require at least a college degree, if not graduate-school credentials.

Conversely, jobs ranking in the lowest rung are rounded out with seaman, emergency medical technician, roofer, garbage collector, roustabout, ironworker and laborer. None require more than basic training and, in most cases, a strong back and large muscles.

Whatever job you're interested in learning more about, CareerCast.com's report will be a valuable aid to help ensure that your choice measures up to the standards you've set for yourself. To see CareerCast.com's rankings of jobs by industry, click here. And for a complete description of the methodology used to create our Jobs Rated rankings, click here.

Article by, Tony Lee and courtesy of Kenndy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 15, 2009 at 9:58 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

The new FMLA regulations go into effect this Friday, January 16. So, what does this mean for employers? Here's what all employers with 50 or more employees must do by that date.

Use the New Forms

The Department of Labor (DOL) has created new model notice, certification and designation forms.

• Notice. Click here for the new notice form, which must be given to employees within 5 business days of the leave request.
• Certification. If an employee will be required to certify leave, the certification form should be given to the employee (along with the notice form) within 5 business days of the leave request. Click here for the form for an employee's condition, here for the form for a family member's condition, here for the military exigency form and here for the form for military service member conditions.
• Designation. The DOL has created a new designation notice to indicate whether (1) leave is FMLA-qualifying, (2) paid leave substitution will be required and (3) a fitness-for-duty certification will be required to return from leave. The form must be provided within 5 business days of the designation determination.

Post the New Poster

The DOL has created a new FMLA poster, available here. Employers must post the notice either physically or electronically in a prominent place easily seen by applicants and employees.

Update Policies

Employers should revise their FMLA policies to include -- at a minimum -- all the information included in the new poster.

Communicate with Managers

Employers should ensure that managers are aware of the new forms, poster, policies and leave entitlements.

More Info

Click here for military leave FAQs and here for non-military leave FAQs. Click here for our patented FMLA Cheat Sheet.

Article by Mark Toth, Chief Legal Officer of Manpower's North American operations, and courtesy of Manpower Employment Blawg. Mark also serve as Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President of Franchise Relations and serve on our Global Leadership Team, North American Lead Team, Executive Diversity Steering Committee and Sarbanes-Oxley Steering Committee.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 14, 2009 at 1:46 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

After a much needed break from writing posts I have to admit I am now excited to get back into the swing of it, even with the current on going doom and gloom.

So before I start I would like to thank all my readers for sticking with me during 2008 and I wish you all the best for 2009.

This year is going to be a very interesting year for recruiters with some major challenges ahead with the impact from the down turn and the many redundancies, which brings me to the current news from Marks and Spencer making over 1000 redundancies.

But what caught my eye and wasn't really mentioned in the above article, but significant none the less was back in August a Tony Goode (Ex employee of M&S) exposed the plan that they were going to cut redundancy benefits and as a result was fired.

It now seems that this cut was all part of a master plan by M&S to fiddle their employees, knowing that they were going to make redundancies in the new year. But to rub salt in the wound, a recent redundancy payout to the ex Food Director Steve Esom of £500,oo0.00 for under performing after just a year was OK, whereas employees with 30 years or more would have lost £9,000 by the stroke of the pen!

As I write this I cannot see if the proposal that was instigated in August went ahead, but if it didn't then Tony is a hero, but I suspected it did.

Oh well I suppose the £1 billion in profit their employees made for them last year, means nothing!

Article by Stephen Fowler and courtesy of Recruitment Views blog.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 14, 2009 at 1:31 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Finding and keeping the best performers with the help of personality testing

For companies of any size, in any business sector, there are two critical talent management challenges: identify and recruit high potential performers, and ensure that they remain productive members of the organization. The difficulty in keeping such employees engaged reflects broader societal trends toward increased job mobility. The likelihood of long employee tenure with a single company has considerably diminished. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average job tenure is currently only four years (compared to 15 years in 1980). There is volatility at every level of the workplace - in just one example, studies show that 25% of managers in the Fortune 500 change jobs every year.

This kind of rapid turnover creates two organizational imperatives. The first is the use of personality assessment to identify the capabilities of each person within an organization so that those with high potential can be nurtured and targeted for retention. The second, related effort is the implementation of talent retention programs. Smart companies deploy organizational development solutions to identify, train, develop and retain top quality talent before the situation becomes critical. Every company should identify where leadership and talent gaps are likely to occur through retirement and normal and forced attrition, then plan a strategy to develop and retain talent internally.

True potential
Many companies track retention, but to manage the turnover issue human resource professionals need to discover why certain employees stay and thrive, while others leave. Identifying those at risk for voluntary departure is not as easy as it would seem. Often, employees who may appear to be falling short have been on one career path for an extended time and are ready for a change, but assume their only choice is to find another job that closely matches what they have been doing. If such a job isn't apparent in their current organization, leaving for another employer seems the only choice. However, personality assessment can allow employers to place such employees into more fulfilling career paths within their current organization, one that better fits their core personalities. These employees are more likely to perform to their true potential once they find careers and positions that are more aligned with their interests and work styles.

An economic downturn may be just the right time for such a re-assessment that encourages employers to look at their employees' interests, career needs, and work styles in order to shift their employees into more satisfying careers. When right-sizing the employee base it may be possible to transfer certain employees from their current jobs to others in parts of the company that are still growing. After all, they are trained in the culture of the organization, presumably are good employees (otherwise they wouldn't have been hired and retained in their current jobs) and should be capable of learning new skills. Cutting first, without a measured assessment of what skills exist in current employees and where they can be better used, eliminates muscle along with the fat. It will likely cause a problem when (not if) the economy recovers and companies must scramble to catch up with demand for talent. "Retain and gain" is the motto that makes most sense.

Satisfaction and success
Personality testing can provide the framework for smart retention by letting employers zero in on careers and positions that best fit their employees. The best tests measure social behaviors, underlying expectations of interpersonal and task actions, potential stress reactions to unmet expectations, occupational preferences and organizational strengths. They express these measurements in an easily understood format, typically a sliding scale showing employees the extent to which particular traits are dominant in their workplace profile. Testing is a simple, time-efficient, cost-effective way that can help place employees of any age into more fulfilling career paths that better fit their core personalities. These employees are more likely to perform to their true potential once they are placed in careers and positions that are more aligned with their interests and work styles.

The best personality tests analyze and report what motivates workplace behavior, and identify the needs that drive behavior in positive and productive directions. Testing describes desires, strengths, motivational needs and stress reactions for the individual and provides basic recommendations for developing skills when faced with varying environments and people. This helps individuals manage life and work situations in ways that fulfill their motivational needs, and reduce stress that can cause reactions that so often damage relationships and occupational effectiveness. Tests can help the companies that use them fit employees where they will be most comfortable and most likely to succeed. The result is greater job satisfaction, and greater employee retention.

Affirmative effort
Of course, employee retention is not in itself the real goal. Companies want to retain the right kind of employees, those with the drive and skills that will enable them to grow into greater responsibilities and make exceptional contributions. Here again, testing provides the crucial insight by offering basic recommendations for how employees can fulfill their motivational needs while best contributing to organizational success. Testing identifies whether people work better alone or on a team, whether they prefer a structured or flexible work environment, whether they take initiative or need guidance, whether they think in terms of details or the big picture. Each person will have his or her own strengths, weaknesses, productive behaviors and stress behaviors that may be similar to or differ from his or her peers. Personality testing identifies and brings those characteristics into focus.

Retaining and redeploying capable employees in any organization does not just "happen." It takes an affirmative effort to identify and enhance the best fit between personal skills and job responsibilities. Personality assessment can do this by helping employers fine tune their selection and retention strategies while undergoing a reduction in force. When the economic storm clouds lift, well placed employees are more likely to stay and perform to their true potential in careers and positions that are aligned with their interests and work styles.

Article by, Sharon Birkman Fink and courtesy of Kenndy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 13, 2009 at 11:03 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

A Banner Year for Fraud!

Chronicling a banner year for fraud, highlighted by Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion financial swindle, Oversight Systems presents the Fraudies Awards to recognize the most audacious attempts to bilk employers for personal gain.

For every headline grabbing story about multi-billion dollar scams, there are millions of smaller fraudulent transactions that go unnoticed every year. From stupid expense violations to ingenious travel scams, the Fraudies take a lighthearted look at a serious problem that costs companies millions -- and ultimately punishes the vast majority of employees who are honest and ethical.

The Fraudies Selection Committee has chosen its winners based on the cunning audacity, and/or the farcical nature of these career-limiting schemes.

These real-life scams are presented anonymously to protect the privacy of their employers, and each alleged perpetrator is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Continue reading about the Fraudies Awards ...

Article by, Dawn Wolfe and courtesy of George Lenard, the originator of George's Employment Blawg, has over twenty years of experience in all aspects of labor and employment law, including preventive law as well as litigation. His special interests include employment discrimination, sexual harassment, and noncompetition agreements. He is currently a managing partner with Harris, Dowell, Fisher & Harris, L.C., in St. Louis, Missouri, and lives in the suburb of University City with his wife and family.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 13, 2009 at 9:37 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Not long ago, ERE published an article by John Zappe about background checks and how some employers us them to discriminate against minority applicants - particularly African-Americans. The criminal conviction or arrest is a smokescreen used to hide the employer's true motives - i.e. bigotry - for firing or refusing to hire them. The previous article involved a woman, Charlene Clarke, who had a job offer rescinded by Madison Square Garden when a background check unearthed a 5-year-old misdemeanor assault conviction. Clarke contended that Madison Square Garden hiring authorities used her past mistake as an excuse to discriminate against her because she's African-American.

Zappe cites a different case in his article, "Add 'Review Background Screening' to Your List of Resolutions," for ERE. Douglas El made the same claim when he was fired from his job driving mentally and physically disabled people for SEPTA; however, El's conviction for juvenile homicide trumps Clarke's misdemeanor assault by a mile. SEPTA, like Madison Square Garden, used safety as the reason for dismissing El. When El filed a lawsuit, SEPTA hired a criminologist to testify that "a person with a criminal record is more likely to recidivate, even if, as in El's case, the conviction was 40 years old."

Should El be denied the right to work because of a crime he committed when he was only 16 years old? SEPTA would say yes. Had El's conviction been less serious, he might have stood a better chance. The fact that his attorneys didn't hire an expert of their own to rebut SEPTA's criminologist was also unhelpful.

Because of cases like El's, Zappe recommends employers test the policies of their pr-employment screening procedures against the EEOC's own guidelines for criminal convictions and against the SEPTA court's declaration that "discriminatory hiring policies accurately but not perfectly distinguish between applicant's ability to perform successfully the job in question."

Cases like Clarke's and El's raise a lot of questions about background checks and how they're used for screening job applicants.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 12, 2009 at 12:14 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Keys to Finding the Good Ones!

The best temporary employment agencies are out there to be found if you know what to look for when you are searching. Here are a few ideas on how to find a good one and how best to work with them.

Common Practices

If you have never dealt with a staffing firm it is a good idea to understand the common practices in the industry. Without telling you everything about staffing, there are some commonly accepted practices that you should learn about like differences between large and small firms, pricing models, what to expect in terms of service and support, etc.

Define Your Needs

To find a good fit for your company, you first need a good understanding of what your company needs in terms of the types of staff, the numbers and your budget. With this knowledge you can help narrow down the list of agencies that fit your criteria.

What is a Good Agency?

Before you can find a good staffing service or temp agency, you need to understand for yourself what you are looking for in a service. Is it primarily driven by Cost? Is it primarily driven by quality choices of candidates? Is it driven by professionalism? Is it driven by knowledge of employment and hiring practices? Is it driven by local knowledge? Or something else like what is your definition of a good temp?

Each of these factors contributes in what you need to look for when searching for the best temporary employment agencies for you! You may want to have a first choice and 1, 2 or more backups for your staffing needs. That is up to you.

The Decision

• Understand common practices
• Determine your staffing needs
• Determine key factors
• Seek Referrals
• Decide
• Train your service to meet your needs.

Final Thoughts

There are two steps we did not cover in the list above. The first was covered in the temp agencies section of this web site. The second is where you can impact your relationship the most. Have a clear understanding of what you are looking to accomplish in using the service and you will go a long way toward success in finding the best temporary employment agencies for your company.

Some things to address:

• The culture in your office, Is it quite, loud, social, professional etc.
• The benefits of working at your company
• Is there an opportunity to for a temp or contract employee to convert to a full time employee?
• Special challenges in your business or marketplace
• Past experiences that you do or do not want to repeat
• How often do you expect updates on open positions?
• ????

The better you communicate with the staffing or temp service the better your relationship and the better your results.

After 20+ years as an engineer in the R&D world, Tom Tassinari found himself in the recruiting world. By adapting the problem solving and process discipline skills of engineering to the recruiting world, he now works with companies on locating and hiring top talent...with his own techie twist.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 12, 2009 at 10:50 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

If you are looking for work, you've probably attended of number of networking functions in your target geography. How many people attended this job search event?

An even more interesting question is: How many people came to the event with the hope of meeting YOU?

Do this seem like an outlandish thought for you? Are you not usually the one people seek out? What if you could become a "must have" connection in your network and in the outer network of those you know?

When two people meet at Starbuck's and one asks: "who else should I be networking with?", is it your name that comes up?

If the answer to this last question is yes, it probably means one of two things:

• You have been looking for a long time and you are now a legend :-( OR
• You have found ways during your relatively short search to separate yourself by adding value.

So, how do you add value and become a highly desired connection?

Don't Connect With Everyone

Now this doesn't have a lot to do with adding value, but one way to be more in demand is to reduce the supply. What if you were to only accept 2 new Linkedin connections per week? Even more in demand? 2 per month. The value of this? You are discriminating. Being in your network means something. Also, if you connect with anyone and everyone, how can you ever really tap into your network when you need help? You'll need to start the conversation with "You don't know me but . . ." Want to know my Linkedin connection policy? Click here.

Create Something That Helps Others

During my job search in 2007, one of the things that made job search more difficult was to find qualified companies in my target geography. Oh, sure, I knew about the big ones. But what about all the smaller ones right in my backyard? So, I created a list with all the companies I knew and sent it off to a few friends. They added extra company names that I was missing and pretty soon I had back a nice long list. And, guess what, that list got e-mailed around to a few other people (as did the word that I created it). Who wouldn't want to meet the guy who created that helpful list?

Share Your Templates

Let me say this as loud as I can - job search IS NOT a solo effort. If you sneak around, keeping all leads deep in your front pocket, you will be less successful in your job search. Oh, and people won't want to help you. So, as I found special ways to think through my job search, I created a template and shared it with everyone I could think of who might benefit. For example, I recently created a simple spreadsheet called the Watchlyst™ to help you track the job objectives of those in your network. I also created a workbook to help you compare a job offer called SidebySide™. Both can be downloaded here for FREE. Whether you create it or you find it on a blog, don't be shy! Share it with others and you will be more highly valued in your network.

By offering your help and inspiration to others through positive networking, targeted connections, and the sharing of ideas and templates you become someone of interest. As a helpful and interesting person you will also be memorable.

Memorable people get more job leads than everyone else. They also make great long term relationships.

Well, what are you waiting for? Get going!

Your network needs you.

Article by, Tim Tyrell-Smith of Spin Strategy - Tools for Intelligent Job Search

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates seeking entry-level jobs and other career opportunities.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 12, 2009 at 9:24 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Simply Hired, Inc., job search engine and recruitment advertising network, released November employment data for location and occupation searches in the United States. Despite the traditional lull in job seeker activity during the holidays, site usage increased by 27% during the two weeks ending November 20, 2008 as compared to the two weeks ending November 6, 2008.

Over the course of these two-week periods, New York topped the list cities with the most searches with an increase of 104%, followed by Sunnyvale, home of ailing Internet giant Yahoo! and Symantec, with a percent increase of 67%. Sacramento (62%), Miami (58%) and San Francisco (57%) rounded off the top five. The number of searches decreased in a few cities, including Oakland (-37%), Cincinnati (-21%), and San Jose (-13%).

The presence of certain occupations in searches increased as well, with 20 occupations increasing by 25% or more over the two-week periods before Thanksgiving. Searches for entertainment jobs such as actors, athletes, musicians and dancers increased the most (37%) followed by searches for math jobs like actuaries, research analysts and statisticians with a one-third increase. Other occupations with an increased presence in searches during November include production workers (32%), architectural and civil drafters (30%), and hotel jobs (29%). Searches for construction work and forestry occupations decreased slightly over the two-week periods.

Article courtesy of Kennedy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 9, 2009 at 12:50 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

How Will the Recession Impact Juries in Workplace Disputes? That is the (Important) Question

Several employment-law attorneys, including myself, have been asked to comment on the possible impact that the recession could have on juries in workplace disputes. Given that I defend management in such suits, the following is my take on the situation.

In This Recession, Business Leaders are the (Perceived) Villians

I would expect present economic circumstances to generally favor employees in employment jury trials as to liability, if not damages. I'm thinking of the typical case involving alleged discrimination in termination of employment, which for years has been the bread-and-butter of many employment law practices, my own included. Continue reading about George's employment law prediction ...

Article by George Lenard, the originator of George's Employment Blawg, has over twenty years of experience in all aspects of labor and employment law, including preventive law as well as litigation. His special interests include employment discrimination, sexual harassment, and noncompetition agreements. He is currently a managing partner with Harris, Dowell, Fisher & Harris, L.C., in St. Louis, Missouri, and lives in the suburb of University City with his wife and family.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 9, 2009 at 12:40 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

The Conference Board released its online job listings report for December earlier today which showed that online job postings dropped by 507,000 openings to 3.86 million in December, the lowest level since July, 2006. The Conference Board's 12% decline is slightly less than the 16% decline reported by LinkUp.com earlier this week, but regardless of which number one looks at, there is no doubt that the jobs market continues to weaken. Despite an unexpected drop in the number of jobless claims reported this week, everyone expects tomorrow's employment report to be abysmal.

Article by Toby Dayton and courtesy of Diggings, a blog about recruitment advertising, media, publishing, HR, work, & technology, among other things.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 8, 2009 at 2:21 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Sometimes technologists are prone to exaggeration. What I mean by that is shiny new technologies are impressive, and they put butts in seats for conventions, seminars, and webinars.

I've spent the last four years telling you that social media is coming, and that as recruiters, we need to be involved before candidates and hiring managers cut us out of the loop. If we do our jobs well, we'll continue to be the go-to source for the employment experience. This applies to internal recruiters as well as third party firms.

Our job is to know where candidates spend time, and meet them where they live.

So what happens when an increasingly networked public recognizes that the same tools we use to source (linkedin, blogs, facebook) can be used to get them jobs? Recruiters start looking for a new industry (and mortgage isn't coming back anytime soon).

From an old blogging friend, Dean Esmay, whose son works in VoIP, I found this note about a VoIP blog that is offering to help candidates find positions in the VoIP community. Note the blog author isn't asking for a fee, or selling job postings. He's simply an industry expert offering to make the connections for employers directly. He's offering to do for free what recruiters and job boards pay for.

No big deal, right? The blog has about the same traffic as this site, which is about 100 readers a day plus subscribers. It's not bankrupting a 122 billion dollar staffing industry. Well, Craiglist was just a free classified listing when it started, job boards didn't start out that big either.

What this blog speaks to is a failure on the part of staffing professionals to engage with the public. Treating a customer base as a fishing pool works great until the fish figure out how to grow legs and walk away, and that's exactly what the public is doing. SmithonVoIP is just a start. Social networks around industries JobsinSocialMedia and blogs on specific positions (goodproductmanager.com) are going to start taking the best players in a field out of the hands of recruiters (and they already have left job boards).

Are you going to get in this game? Start with LinkedIn training for recruiters, and move to using Facebook to Hire. Time is ticking, and if you're not interfacing with candidates in social media now, they won't need you in the near future.

Article by Jim Durbin and courtesy of StlRecruiting.com

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 8, 2009 at 10:01 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Inspired by the review of my notes from a webinar about job boards I attended earlier this year hosted by Peter Weddle, a recruiter, HR consultant and business CEO turned author and commentator, I want to share with you his simple formula for a successful job posting. Just last month, I was reminded of his inspiring ways and analytical mind when I saw him speak at the Kennedy Recruiting Conference in Orlando. His session was titled "The Carrot in Recruiting Success," of which he joked that the carrot is the "vegetable of good vision." He was the opening speaker and he hammered home the point that each of us is responsible for our own careers, that we should be the hero of our own stories and not let anyone stand in our way. It was a great talk and a wonderful way to get the conference started, but I digress. Back to job postings.... As always, the name of the game for most people is WIIFM, or "What's in it for me?" They want to know the following things before they'll work for you.

• What will they get to learn?
• What will they get to do?
• Who will they get to meet?
• Who will they get to work with?

It is critical to SELL them on why they should work for you. Also, please note that they are not likely to read your entire job posting. Instead, they will scan it, so make it brief and interesting with highlights and bullets. Peter also mentioned a simple formula for the job posting, S-ABC-S, which stands for:

• Summary
• Advantages
• Benefits
• Capabilities
• Signoff

I felt great affirmation listening to him speak because this is what I tell my clients all the time. You've got to sell your location first and then follow with the job details and instruct them on how they should apply. Luckily all of the clients on Coolworks.com are in pretty incredible locations, with an amazing amount of recreation and fun things for the employee to do while not working, so why would you leave this out of your job posting? It is a competitive advantage. Use it!

So here is how I envision the S-ABC-S formula in action.

Summary

This paragraph should be all about who you are, what you do and where you are.

Example: Coolworks.com is a job website that helps employers post their seasonal jobs in great places across the U.S. and the world. The company is based at the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park so on your days off a hike or a friendly encounter with some wildlife is just a few steps from your door.

Advantages

• Advantage #1 - Example: We are the biggest and best at what we do.
• Advantage #2 - Example: We are a small, intimate resort where being a member of our staff feels more like family.
• Advantage #3 - What is your competitive advantage?

Benefits

• You'll get ... a bonus, health benefits, free housing, etc.
• You'll get ... experience doing a new job, customer service skills, etc.
• You'll get ... new skills, opportunities for promotions, etc.

Capabilities

• You need X years of experience.
• You need Y years of education.
• You need management skills or name your job requirement.

Signoff

The signoff should include the following.

• How to Apply
• Your Website
• Refer Your Friends Invitation. For example, if this isn't the job for you, please tell your friends that might be interested and qualified.
• A Thank You

I hope that this is useful. Like I've said before, our job at Cool Works is to help you meet your staffing needs by driving traffic to your job postings and recruiting websites. It is our hope that when we get them there, your message will inspire them to want to work for you.

If you would like to learn more about Peter Weddle, check out his website or pick up his latest book Recognizing Richard Rabbit: A Fable About Being True To Yourself.

Article by, Kari Quaas, PHR, Director of West Coast Operations and Manager of On-Line Communities for CoolWorks.com, a job website focusing on seasonal jobs in great places like national parks, resorts, camps and ranches. Her experience as a seasonal employee, recruiter, and former HR Manager helps her to relate to both employers and job seekers to whom she provides guidance and support.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 8, 2009 at 9:47 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

The most critical task in this time of downsizing is a professional commitment to understand workforces and labor markets. This is because recruitment, as with all human resource functions, are about shifting work needs and employment as related to geographic niches and industries. And while an economic downturn across the board is expected, how it will affect different locations and industries is not fully known. For example, some think that the mid-west farm belt will fair better because of food production, while Massachusetts and New York will be harder hit due to employment numbers in the financial industry.

Due to globalism, however, much is unknown. We are in an uncharted economic time. In addition, the United States has yet to experience this type of economic stimulus, including the size and scope of the package recently announced by the federal government.

Location and industry
However, there are known outcomes of this economic decline: it is going to affect everyone's job, profession, community, and workplace. In times like these the professional should refer to what is known: human capital management and recruitment are about location and industry. Looking for work, keeping a job, building a workforce, and meeting production needs are all embedded in two things: industry and location employment patterns. The more that is known about each, the better one can strategize and respond from a company, professional, and personal perspective.

The bottom-line is that workplace and workforce decisions are made based on industry and geographic patterns. So, while, today, it is difficult to know the impact and effectiveness of the economic stimulus package soon to filter down from Washington: industry and locations are the two most critical factors in the mix.

Success for the human resource and recruitment professional - depends on knowledge of industry and geographic workforce patterns. Without localized workforce and industry specific data - decisions about talent pools, skill needs, hiring, re-employment, and training during times of declining revenues and downsizing are more confounding.

Tools for making location and industry-based decisions
Geo-workforce™ demographics provide human capital management professionals with a tool for making better location and industry-based decisions, regardless of the economic climate. They provide information about pockets of skills and talents as well as other geographic workforce dimensions for any place in the United States. They supplement all other available employment related information and material.

This time of economic restructuring is not only reshaping our profession and industry; it is also calling for new ways to understand workforces including our own ability to succeed within them.

It is expected that the stimulus package will be targeted to address a location's inter-related environmental, technological, transportation, industry, and human capital infrastructure system. This list quickly puts into perspective the changing world of human capital management and recruitment.

This is why geo-workforce demographics (industry, occupation, and skill employment patterns) are critical. They provide a look at the human capital infrastructure for any location.

New roles for human capital specialists
What also will come down along with the stimulus package is likely a restructuring of our profession, including new roles for human capital specialists. These roles will require a deeper understanding of geographic labor pools, as part of filling jobs within a company, including recruiting, training, retraining, hiring, laying-off, and re-hiring.

These geo-workforce demographics provide knowledge about locations, industries, and workforce patterns for use in the changing field of recruitment and in the human capital management industry as a whole.

Article by, Theresa Clary and courtesy of Kenndy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 8, 2009 at 7:51 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

I recently discovered Twitwall.com through following a link from @kimbeasley. Twitwall allows a cross between blogging and Twitter and allows you to write more than 140 characters.

You can also embed your videos and widgets, upload your photos and mp3's to your post at Twitwall.

Twitwall is easy to set up with your Twitter user name and password and has a WYSIWYG interface though at the time of writing this article it has no spell check or tagging feature that you would find on blogging platforms.

Alternative ways to post more information to Twitter would be to syndicate your content from your blog, from platforms like FriendFeed, use tools like Twitpic, or syndicate your content applications such as Flickr, YouTube or many other sites that now allow you to link to your Twitter account.

Another alternative to Twitwall is Twitblogs.com

I'm not sure if I'll use Twitwall, but why not make up your own mind? And thanks to Kim without whom I may not have come across Twitwall.

I can see that it has benefits for someone who wants to post more content than 140 characters but who do not blog - but as with all free hosted solutions, you will not have the archives should the service ever cease.

So if you are interested in creating real estate to reflect your personal brand online and share your passions, interests and expertise perhaps Twitwall is a good place to start?

In the meantime you might find the article from the Blog Herald with a more indepth look at Twitwall and an interview with Twitwall founder Michael E Carluen.

Here is a video of Twitwall in action from Richard Osterude @RichOsterude on Twitter.

Article by Krishna De and courtesy of Biz Growth News blog

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 8, 2009 at 7:45 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

A lot of people are making resolutions for the new year like getting into shape, getting out of debt and becoming better people. One way we can all become better is by respecting each other more, and more often. In her article for Respectful Workplace, "R-E-S-P-E-C-T," Ruth Ramos introduces a new way to show respect for others called the Platinum Rule. Unlike the Golden Rule that says, "treat others the way you want to be treated," the Platinum Rule says, "treat others the way they want to be treated." Be aware of cultural differences among employees in the workplace. Some cultures, Ramos points out, believe it is disrespectful to make eye contact while speaking, and others believe it is respectful to greet someone with a kiss on the cheek(s).

The Platinum Rule becomes increasingly relevant as workplaces become more diverse. Recent college graduates starting new entry level jobs and college students beginning new internships can both benefit and learn from employers practicing the Platinum Rule. Or they could be the ones to introduce a new trend that would make their workplaces more pleasant.

"In order to really implement [the Platinum Rule]," Ramos says, "you must have a conversation with the person(s) you interact with about what respect is to them. Understanding what respect means to [others] requires getting to know them well enough to understand their culture[s], life experience[s], and perspective[s]."

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 8, 2009 at 6:43 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Few organizations have any workable executive integration plan in place, suggest findings of a recent article, Integrating New Execs Takes More than Name-Plate Change in C-Suit, published by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Between 30% and 50% of executive appointments end in resignation, according to the SHRM article. Data indicates that the cost of these mis-hires to the organization can be as much as 15 times the amount of the executive's base salary when all costs are considered, according to author Tim Ruef. Posing the question, "Why do such a high percentage of new executives fail to achieve expectations?" he reports that the lack of an executive integration plan is a key factor. Differentiating between orientation, and integration, Ruef highlights the critical importance of the latter, and notes that very few organizations have any organized plan to facilitate smooth and successful executive entry. The author describes the typical path of executive failure without such a plan, and lays out actionable steps organizations might take immediately to reverse the trend.

Article courtesy of Kennedy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 8, 2009 at 6:11 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Just a gentle reminder that employers must start using the new I-9 form starting on February 2.

Click here to read the mind-numbing regulations and to see the beautiful new form. The official form will be posted on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) web site on or before February 2.

According to USCIS, "[t]he biggest difference in the revised Form I-9 is that all documents presented during the verification process must be unexpired." The new I-9 also reduces the number of acceptable documents. "An expansive document list makes it more difficult for employers to verify valid and acceptable forms and single out false documents compromising the effectiveness and security of the Form I-9 process," said a USCIS representative.

The new form eliminates three documents from List A (the temporary resident card and older versions of the employment authorization card). It adds to List A the new U.S. Passport Card, certain foreign passports containing "machine-readable immigrant visas" and passports for certain citizens of the Marshall Islands and Micronesia. It also includes changes to the employee attestation section.

The USCIS' I-9 handbook will be update to reflect the new form and will be available on the USCIS web site soon.

Employers who fail to use the new form could be subject to monetary penalties.

Article by Mark Toth, Chief Legal Officer of Manpower's North American operations, and courtesy of Manpower Employment Blawg. Mark also serve as Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President of Franchise Relations and serve on our Global Leadership Team, North American Lead Team, Executive Diversity Steering Committee and Sarbanes-Oxley Steering Committee.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 6, 2009 at 11:30 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Technology has changed the face of recruiting. Our success is still dependent on developing strong working relationships with our candidates and clients - our internal hiring managers. Technology helps us work more efficiently and has greatly enhanced "sourcing" capabilities, but it's important to also remain high-touch. The following tips will help you master this balancing act.

TIP #1 - Communication
The four generations in our current job market each views technology very differently. Baby boomers don't necessarily text message, while Gen Y feels that is the best way to communicate. It's important for all recruiters to study the traits and characteristics of each generation to communicate effectively.

Utilize all forms of communication, but realize every third contact should be a conversation if you want to become a trusted advisor to both your clients and candidates.

TIP #2 - Planning
It doesn't make a difference whether you plan on line or utilizing a manual planner. The important point here is that you are planning out your day BEFORE leaving your office. If you are not a planner start out by writing down the six things closest to the money you have to do the next day and you commit to getting them done!

TIP #3 - Interviewing
Most recruiting organizations have a system they are using to track candidate updates and clients. It is important that you utilize these systems to accurately track pertinent information. If you are not computer savvy, you might want to hire a teenager to help you enter information.

When trust is established and answers are changed due to a higher level of trust, it is easy to change information on your clients and candidates, enhancing your ability to make accurate mtches.

TIP #4 - Candidate/Client Rapport
Technology makes it very simple for us to track every conversation, contact and action taken with each of our candidates and clients. This enables you to sound very informed when you are having subsequent conversations. With the number of people we talk to each day, utilizing systems in your office allows information to be tracked rather than slip through the cracks. Calls set up in your calendar also prevent you from forgetting to follow up with your clients and candidates.

TIP #5 - Sourcing
Technology is a necessary resource to help you identify and attract top talent. Individuals who are great at sourcing - utilizing many of the tools and social networks - are normally introverted, detail- oriented individuals. That is obviously NOT a description of the typical recruiter. You may want to "delegate" this task to someone not on your sales team.

TIP #6 - Referral System
The reason most recruiters don't receive referrals is they don't ask for them, which is obviously accomplished during a conversation with candidates and clients. However, one of the best ways to dramatically increase referrals is to email an article of interest bi-monthly to both clients and candidates.

Included with the article you send to internal clients is a listing of your most qualified candidates. Included with the article to your candidates is an updated sampling list of all your job orders. When individuals receive a list, there are many who then forward the list to their entire mailbox. This lateral marketing can result in candidates and clients! If you are not a good writer go to www.elance.com and utilize the services of one of their freelance writers.

TIP #7 - The Recruiter with the Greatest Database WINS
It is so important to be building a database of candidates, clients and prospects. You should be tracking every "hit" on your website. Read your website, marketing materials, and emails you send out. Make sure they are not WWD - but are focused more on the WIIFM of your targets.

Place a FREE download on the top of your Web site. Have one free download for internal clients or hiring managers and one free download for candidates. In order for them to receive this free offer (you do need to determine what your clients and candidates would download without hesitation) they must provide their name and/or email address. Now you are creating a database of the candidates who clicked on your site, while building rapport and communication with your hiring managers. You would then start sending them the bi-monthly email, also making sure you offer them an opt-out feature, if they want to stop your bi-monthly emails.

TIP #8 - Matching
Many of the new systems actually assist you in the matching function. As you enter your job orders, your system can provide a list of possible matches. You need to take time to learn how to utilize your systems to the fullest.

If you do not have this type of technology, utilize percentages when writing job orders and interviewing candidates. This shows your candidate that you are attempting to truly understand their level of expertise and you are also identifying what they want to do in their next position. This too helps improve rapport.

TIP #9 - Time Management
We all have the same 168 hours each week. Technology can help you work more efficiently or it can shut down your ability to provide a cost-effective recruiting function. One simple tip - stop answering email the minute it arrives! Try not taking incoming calls or answering email from 9:00 - 11:30 am each day and watch how your time management capabilities improve.

What about not taking incoming calls from 9:00 - 11:30 am each day and completing 65% of your planned outgoing calls during this time? This is another time management tip that will greatly enhance your production (unless you do light industrial or office support temp placements).

TIP #10 - Improved Client and Candidate Relationships
Even people who meet on the Internet eventually have to meet in person. Communication is extremely important in solidifying any relationship.

AFTER you place someone, it is more important than ever to call both the successful candidate and the hiring manager to make sure they are doing well.

TIP #11 - When Problems Occur
The LAST thing a client or candidate wants from us if there are problems is an email. They want to hear from us, bounce things off of us and know we are in their corner. High Touch is critical in times of "issues!"

TIP #12 - Email
Every time you open an email, answer it, file it or delete it. Continually reading the same emails repeatedly is a major waste of your time and often emails get lost in the shuffle which is not the high level of "customer care" we want to attain.

TIP #13 - Stats
Track your stats. Often systems can calculate your ratios based on your numbers which allows you to know your stats and ratios. Once you have those numbers you can determine your effectiveness by knowing what results you attained - even on a daily basis. If you don't have system that calculates your ratios, you need to keep these numbers manually if you are to provide the level of service your organization has come to expect from you.

TIP #14 - Utilize All Resources
You never know when new technology could up your game. Watch demonstrations of new technology, visit booths at trade shows and listen to their pitches, but also weave into these activities those indirect recruiting calls that are still extremely effective.

High touch without the advantage of technology limits your success. High tech without the advantage of developing rapport will also limit your success. It's the great combination of High Tech/High Touch that will truly increase your level of success and income!

Article by, Barbara Bruno and courtesy of Kenndy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 6, 2009 at 11:23 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

While the formal implementation of social networks and Web 2.0 tools within corporate intranets is still in the early adopter phase, new research shows that an increasing number of organizations are informally experimenting with and benefiting from the use of these tools for business purposes. The study, conducted by global professional association and think tank Human Capital Institute (HCI), along with integrated talent management software provider Cornerstone OnDemand Inc., reveals that more than half of the companies surveyed use communities of practice/groups and chat/instant messaging (IM), with other popular applications including corporate social networks (49%) and blogs and/or wikis (39%).

For the comprehensive report, Leveraging Social Networking & Web 2.0 Collaboration Tools in Enterprises, HCI polled nearly 200 senior human resources (HR) professionals regarding their use of corporate social networks and Web 2.0 applications for business purposes - particularly for learning and talent management.

"Corporate social networks and Web 2.0 tools can have profound implications around the talent lifecycle, employee productivity and engagement, and channel effectiveness, as well as brand and product awareness, which affects the bottom line," says Allan Schweyer, HCI Executive Director and Senior Vice President, Research. "These new technologies are likely to be among the high-demand applications of the next generation of employees."

There is a heightened awareness among HR and talent management professionals regarding the benefits of these collaboration and knowledge-sharing technologies for acquiring, onboarding, managing, developing and motivating employees, according to HCI research. This includes allowing for better informal training by using communities of practice (29%) and threaded discussion boards (29%), improved communications via communities of practice (42%), and faster knowledge transfer via wikis and blogs (26%). Respondents also believe that implementing these tools will allow them to access and retain corporate memory and tacit information that could provide significant organizational benefits.

Despite the increased experimentation and perceived benefits of leveraging Web 2.0 applications in the enterprise, organizations included in the research felt that user adoption (37%) was among their greatest barriers in using these tools for business purposes, with lack of integration with corporate networks or other business applications identified by some as an inhibitor to employee usage. Creating a compelling business case for the tools (34%) also was seen as one of the greatest barriers to corporate usage.

"It is essential for organizations to get beyond the hype of these new technologies and to develop practical implementation strategies that support real business goals," says Charles Coy, Director, product marketing, Cornerstone OnDemand. "Integrating social networking and collaboration tools with existing applications for learning and performance regularly used by employees will increase the chances for engagement and participation."

Article courtesy of Kennedy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 6, 2009 at 11:19 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

What better way to earn a degree than to take course work online in the comforts of your home? Those contemplating such course work should read "Is Your Distance Learning School Accredited?" by Bill Johnson before you make the commitment. Johnson discusses the importance of both accreditation and acceptance. If the institution isn't accredited, it most likely will not be recognized by prospective employers. Equally important is how accepted that institution is to potential employers. If employers don't recognize or accept the academic institution, all of that course work is moot and could run the risk of hurting your job prospects. See excerpt from Johnson's article below.

For whatever reason, when deciding to continue education through distance learning or online colleges, the most important requirement to check out first is if the establishment is "accredited" by accrediting institutions that are recognized by the federal government through the Department of Education. Otherwise, students could end up paying their money for a qualification paper that will not get recognition by almost all traditional establishments.

The downside of distance learning or an online degree is, even if the learning establishment that is giving the qualification has the required accrediting, it is not yet widely accepted by employers. It could also be difficult when trying to transfer the credits obtained to other programs run by those that do not recognize the particular learning establishment. This attests to the fact that it is a mutual recognition among the educators and their partners, so that the quality of the education given will be at a higher level, and there are no sets of rules to follow.

The accreditation is a process where other learning institutions, through a peer group setup, ascertain that a given learning establishment has what it take in terms of the education quality it is availing. The essential issues they would be looking at could be the school's mission, goals, objectives, available resources and how they are utilized, enrollment requirements, and the overall quality of the education.

Read More

Remember, that employers are getting more suspicious of degrees from institutions that they do not recognize as more and misrepresent their educational background. You don't want to run the risk that they think you have obtained your academic credentials from a diploma mill.

Interested in identifying accrediting organizations and known diploma mills. Check out our recent white paper: employeescreenIQ's Guide to Identify Fake Degrees.

Article by, Nick Fishman and courtesy of EmployeescreenIQ

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 6, 2009 at 11:02 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

In a previous post, I wrote about how important it is to engage new hires the moment they walk in to start their new jobs. Lee Salz of SalesArchitecture.com wrote an article for ERE - "The New Employee's First Day" - that illustrates that point beautifully.

Salz created a composite character, Steve Harmon, and sent him to work for a company -probably also a composite - called Newman Industries. Newman Industries did everything right when they recruited Steve, a much sought after candidate. Sadly, Newman Industries made the mistake that many employers, according to Salz, make when recruiting top candidates - they didn't follow through.

Like a lot of employers, Newman Industries put all of their time, money and effort into wooing Steve away from the job he already had and completely forgot about making preparations for his first day at work. As a result, Steve introduced himself to a receptionist who had never heard of him, got assigned to a cubicle that still contained the belongings of the previous occupant - which he was asked to throw away - and spent all day trying to meet with his elusive mananager, Jamie. And those are just a few of the indignities Steve suffered.

By the end of the day, Steve was thoroughly disillusioned. Newman Industries wasn't what he thought it would be when he first accepted their offer. When his wife asked him how his first day of work went, Steve replied, "'I'm really happy that I didn't pull my resume off the job boards or tell the recruiters that I was off the market, because I don't know if this is going to work out. We'll have to see.'"

"The company thought they had Steve when he accepted the offer. That was their error. They failed to recognize that they had only completed the next step of the process," Salz explains. What Newman Industries lacks is a program that will preserve the positive impression made during the recruiting and interviewing process once the new employee arrives on his first day, he concludes.

Although Salz's scenario was specifically about recruiting and hiring salespeople, I believe his advice applies to any employer trying to recruit and hire the best college students looking for internships and recent college graduates looking for entry level jobs.

It should also be noted that Steve was a "passive candidate," which probably made Newman Industries feel even more proud of their accomplishment. Unfortunately for them, all that time and money was in danger of going down the drain before Steve had even been given a company email address. In this economy, it's safe to say that companies can ill afford to make such a costly mistake when hiring new employees.

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 5, 2009 at 2:18 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

There is one possible bright spot on the horizon for both the decaying national park system and the economy. According to a major new statement from the 690-member Coalition of National Park Service Retirees (CNPSR), there is a major economic stimulus opportunity - one strikingly similar to that seized upon in the wake of the Great Depression - to revitalize our national parks and the fraying infrastructure related to them, the group notes.

The statement concludes: "As the new President takes his office and selects a new Secretary of Interior and National Park Service Director, the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees calls upon him to place a priority on the health of the nation's crown jewels."

There are also opportunities that can effectively link the needs of the National Park System with those of the Nation during this period of economic crisis." Areas in which a stimulus package might allow for national park-related job creation include: enacting federal and state legislation which protects wildlife migratory routes and patterns, as well as preserves healthy levels of each species; enacting laws, promulgating regulations and providing enforcement resources that provide park managers the authority to stipulate the type of vehicle or equipment allowed, as well as the location of that vehicle use; approving and funding an adequate land acquisition program; developing a specific response to the recommendations of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program's recommendations to the National Park Service for reversing global warming; better protection of national park water resources; resolving international border issues so as not to impair the natural or cultural resources of these areas; restoring national park interpretation education programs.

Article courtesy of Kennedy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 5, 2009 at 11:38 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Ebenezer Scrooge would not be pleased. According to a recent Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) study, 62% of companies reported that workplace productivity took a dip during the holiday season, with most citing workflow snags as the main culprit. The study found that a full 70% of organizations regard interruption of workflow as their top concern during the holidays, followed by holiday distractions (such as gift-giving and parties) at 48%, and 45% of respondents say employees taking more vacation time during the holiday season was a drag on productivity.

The current economic doldrums are also having an effect on the workforce, according to the study. Fifteen percent of companies said the economic situation has made employees more reluctant to take earned time off during the holidays. The main reason for the trepidation is the perception that employees are afraid that taking time off will reduce their job security status, pointed to by 61% of respondents. Also, 56% feel that they'll be seen as "inessential" to the company if they take time off, and 47% fear this would be seen as lacking commitment to the organization. "During this economic crisis, and particularly with the holiday season upon us, improving productivity of the existing workforce is priority number one," says Dr. Mary Key of i4cp. "However, the key to improved productivity for most companies lies in improving the corporate culture. Nurturing and developing the 'survivors' in the company is often overlooked in times like these but is essential to the cultural and competitive success of the organization long term."

However, not all is holiday humbug. Despite the seasonal slowdown, companies have a variety of strategies to keep holiday spirits up, ranging from parties and office shutdowns to special incentives and flexibility. Some holiday "strategies" used by respondents include the following:

• We allow this temporary slowdown; it is good for morale.
• Gave the entire company the last week of December off with pay. Everyone strives to get everything done before that period - motivational in this case.
• Organize holiday activities for the entire company. Provide meals for those who must work on holidays.
• Encourage employees to take their vacation & personal time, holiday party - allow them to relax. We have bonus incentives every 6 months so people are encouraged to meet their goals.
• We acknowledge the "festive" spirit and try to work with it, encouraging our staff to have fun, but remember what needs to be done. Everyone seems to just pitch in and go for it!
• It's a short-term issue. With the current economic situation, employees need the opportunity to enjoy life a little. We actually have a "festivities week" with holiday bingo, a potluck and grab-bag, office golf, etc. (a different activity every day).

Article courtesy of Kennedy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 5, 2009 at 7:33 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Just before Christmas I had the opportunity to meet with a colleague in one of my networks who was interested in exploring options for developing his business this year.

Many people would consider him highly successful - he has authored a book that's considered a definitive work in his specific field. He has even done what many of us want to do and productised his service so that it can be offered to thousands of people without him having to hire a huge team and it allows him to unlock new streams of revenue in his business.

He also has a service that is going to be in great demand this year (sorry in the interests of privacy I can't explain the details, but suffice to say, the current economy will mean that his services will be much in demand).

What we did talk about was how he could be even more targeted with his communications for potential customers and the fact that he is leaving significant money on the table as he has offered a solution for people who can not afford either his consulting or the full productised service. Even some of his ideal clients, in the current economy are having to scale back on investments, so he needs to reconsider how he serves them.

This is not something that will take him long to put in place. He can segment the productised offering into the key elements that will be of greatest interest to clients this year and make them available for purchase both through an online store and by phone/fax/email/snail mail orders.

The biggest challenge for him was considering the re-packaging - not from a technical perspective of making it happen - but from his own mindset.

You see he is used to serving his clients with everything from A-Z. My proposition to him was that in the current economy clients probably only want, need and can afford elements D, G, N, Y (the letters are arbitrary - I am sure that you get my point).

At the beginning of the year it's a great time for us to consider how we can repackage our products, services and offerings, fine tune our marketing communication plan, and serve our clients and customers with what they really want and need at this time.

I've been going through that myself in recent months and it can be challenging - stopping some activity, starting new programmes, perhaps even learning new skills.

So as we start the new year, why not take some time in the next few days to consider what your irresistible offer will be that's going to attract more clients and more profits to your business in the year ahead.

Here's an example of something I experienced recently. I hope it will stir up your imagination. And I'd love to know what you decide will be your irresistible offer - and any suggestions for me and how I can serve you better are always welcome.

Article by Krishna De and courtesy of Biz Growth News blog

Posted by Candice Arnold on January 5, 2009 at 7:28 AM | Leave a Comment (0)