The thought of retiring is going to be a novel idea in the near future, at least according to a new abcnews.com poll. In a recent survey of Americans (my bold): Half the population in this new ABC News poll thinks both job security and retirement prospects in the years ahead will remain worse than their pre-recession levels. Four in 10 also see worsened prospects for the availability of jobs and advancement, and, consequently, their own spending power. No surprise there. The second aspect regarding worsened prospects for the availability of jobs is phrased in a negative manner. However, it is only 40%. This effect occurs in these difficult economic… Read More
Continue ReadingAlluring Experience
I’ve written about this phenomenon in the past and I continually encounter it in many sales areas – the allure of experience. In fact, I just talked to a recruiter from a different part of the country who focuses on sales hiring. We talked a bit of strategy and I was just dumbfounded. This gentleman focuses solely on finding someone with as much industry experience as possible. His primary motivation – find candidates who can bring accounts with them. No discussion about skills, no behavioral-based questions, no attempt at learning their style and motivation…just simple experience. I am not even sure if he asks if it was successful experience. My… Read More
Continue ReadingPink-Slip Parties
This is a new trend, I think: As unemployment numbers hit historic highs, “pink slip” parties are popping up in big cities around the country. Hundreds of axed employees are going to happy hour meet-and-greets, where one can enjoy a drink and discuss career prospects with eager recruiters. People are finding creative ways to stand out above the pack. In order to get a job in this economy, people have to get out there. And while there are no guarantees of gaining anything more than good conversations and a few contacts, some pink slip attendees have had success in finding new employment. Pink slip parties offer those on the prowl… Read More
Continue ReadingFind The 15%
CNNMoney.com provides this article regarding 2009 hiring. As you may expect, hiring is down and it appears more cuts are coming soon: Of the 31,800 employers surveyed, only 15% anticipate hiring more employees during the second quarter, down from 16% in the first quarter and 26% in the same period last year. About 14% expect a decrease in their payrolls, up from 13% last quarter and just 9% one year ago. Another 4% said they were undecided about their hiring intentions. The net employment outlook, or difference between employers who plan to add jobs and those who expect to cut them, was 1%, down from 3% in the previous quarter… Read More
Continue ReadingThere Are Still Open Positions
You never quite know what you are going to receive from the Herman Trend Alert which makes it one of the more highly-anticipated newsletters in my inbox. This week the topic is how many job postings there are presently – over 1.8 million. Granted, there is far more to hiring than just the quantitative aspect, but the number surprised me. Here is their intro (sorry, no link): While job postings between January 2008 and January 2009 have declined in all industries, there are still almost 1.88 million jobs that require skilled workers. According to a release by Indeed.com last week, the industries that experienced the least contraction were Education and… Read More
Continue Reading“Stable” Sales Recruiting
There is a common marketing approach used in recruiting that states some form of “we locate the candidates who aren’t looking.” I suppose the hook is that we can find amazing candidates that you can’t find. It’s a hook, I guess. Anyway, here is one I received in an unsolicited email: What we do is go after the best candidates & the elite that are not currently looking for a job as they already have one. We personally present and sell your specific company’s opportunity to their individual needs. Our clients find that these hidden candidates are more stable, more qualified and haven’t been interviewing all over town. Stable? More… Read More
Continue ReadingOnline Job Ads Down
Recently Cheezhead mentioned that online job ads are down again in November. According to the Conference Board Help-Wanted Online Data Series online job postings declined 70,200 to 4,369,200 in November. Job postings for the September to November period were down 264,000. The data they collected shows declines in the Northeast, the South and the West. In the Northeast Pennsylvania lead with a decline of 19,900 postings and in the south Texas lead with a decline of 37,800. Our state, Minnesota, had the largest decline in the midwest – down 12,600 postings.
Continue ReadingQ4 Job Forecast
Recruiting Trends provides a summary of CareerBuilder and USA Today’s Q4 Job Forecast and there are some interesting trends. First, according to the survey workers are postponing active job searches but are open to a change if the right one comes along. Of the 6,100 workers surveyed, 38% are planning to sit tight for the next year and wait for the economy to swing back while 41% plan on staying until retirement. This “squatting” will create some tension in that 23% of employers plan to add full-time, permanent employees in the next three months and 34% say they are having a hard time finding qualified candidates, especially in highly-skilled areas. Not… Read More
Continue ReadingCraig’s List Fees
Last week Craig’s List job postings started costing $25 in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Miami (South Florida), Philadelphia, and Phoenix. These cities joined the following cities that already charge a fee for job postings – Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, NYC, Orange County, Portland, Sacramento, Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Washington DC and NYC. I supposed it is not surprising with all the “get rich now” ads that are all over the sites. We are fans of Craig’s List and have had some decent success using their job board. Unfortunately, it does require some patience by the candidates since there is much garbage to sift through on the site. Still, it… Read More
Continue ReadingLinkedIn Registrations Booming
Seems like LinkedIn is benefiting from the recent financial industries crisis. According to a post at Cheezhead they have had significant increases in registrations and in recommendations: The site has reported a 17 percent increase in registrations in the last two weeks. They are now claiming to reach 28 million users, up one million from last quarter. Reports show that memberships from people representing the financial sector have also doubled after thousands of people have been laid off or threatened with termination as closures and mergers usurp industry leaders and rattle the core of the sector. The site also claims to have seen a 14 percent increase in recommendations, most… Read More
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