Barry Geiman (barrygeiman@comcast.net) is a researcher who is extremely generous with his time and resources.
Here are some sites he has identified that can support your diversity recruiting goals:
DIVERSITY SITES
African Americans in Science
http://www.princeton.edu/~mcbrown/display/faces.html
A directory with biographies and Ph.D. statistics
American Association of University Women
http://www.aauw.org
American Chemical Society-Women Chemists Committee
http://membership.acs.org/W/WCC/
American Indian Science and Engineering Society
http://www.aises.org/W/WCC/
American Physical Society Committee on the Status of Women in
Physics
http://www.aps.org/educ/cswp/
Association for Women in Computing
http://www.awc-hq.org
Association for Women in Mathematics
http://www.awm-math.org
Association for Women in Science
http://www.awis.org
Canadian Coalition of Women in Science, Engineering and Technology
http://www.ccwest.org/english/ccwest.html
Council for African and Americans in the Mathematical Sciences
(CAAMS)
http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/CAARMS/CAARMS-index.html
Diversity in Science and Engineering Resources
http://www.mills.edu/ACAD_INFO/MCS/SPERTUS/Gender/wom_and_min.html
DiversityWeb Bulletin Board
http://www.diversityweb.org/
Search or post the latest news and materials on jobs, conferences,
resources, etc.
Loka Foundation
http://www.loka.org/
IEEE Women in Engineering
http://www.ieee.org/women/
National Association of Black Geologists and Geophysicists (NABGG)
http://www.www.nabgg.org/
National Association of Mathematicians
http://www.math.buffalo.edu/mad/NAM/NAM-index.html
National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in
Engineering and Science, Inc.
http://www.nd.edu/~gem/
National Society of Hispanic Physicists
http://utopia.utb.edu/nshp
National Technical Association
http://www.ntaonline.org/
Northern California Council of Black Professional Engineers
http://www.ncalifblackengineers.org/
Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science
http://www.sacnas.org/
Society of Women Engineers
http://www.swe.org/
The Just Garcia Hill Science Web Site: Virtual Community for
Minorities in Science
http://hyper1.hunter.cuny.edu/JGH/default.htm
the Woman Astronomer
http://www.erols.com/njastro/twa
A quarterly publication about promoting astronomy; the women role-
models in astronomy, past and present and the quickly changing
science, and hobby, of astronomy.
Women in Astronomy Database
http://www.stsci.edu/stsci/service/cswa/women
Women in Endocrinology
http://www.women-in-endo.org/Pages/index.shtml
Women in Engineering Organization
http://www.WIEO.org/
Women in Neuroscience
http://www.beemnet.com/win/
Women in Technology International
http://www.witi.com/
HISPANIC SITES
American Association of Hispanic CPA's
www.aahcpa.org
ASPIRA Association
www.aspira.org
Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies
www.ahaa.org
California Chicano News Media Association
www.ccnma.org
DC Latino
www.dclatino.com
Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility
www.hacr.org
Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities
HACU
Hispanic National Bar Association
www.hnba.org
Hispanic Organization of Professionals & Executives
Hispanic Public Relations Association
213-239-6555
Hispanic Students Business Association
csulb.edu/org/hsba/
Latin American Professional Network (LATPRO)
www.latpro.com
Latin American Management Association
202-546-3803
Latin Business Association
www.lbausa.com
Latino Issues Forum
http://www.lif.org/
League of United Latin American Citizens
www.lulac.org
Mexican American Unity Council
210-978-0500
National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives (Govt)
National Association of Hispanic Journalists
www.nahj.org
National Association of Hispanic Publications
www.nahp.org
National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services
Organization 202-797-4321
National Council La Raza
www.nclr.org
National Hispanic Business Association
http://www.nhba.org/
National Hispanic Corporate Council
www.nhcc-hq.org
National Hispanic Employee Association
www.nhea.org
National Hispanic Media Coalition
323-722-4191
National Hispanic Medical Association
202-265-4297
National Hispanic Medical Organization
202-265-4297
National Society of the Hispanic MBA's
www.nshmba.org
Professional Hispanics in Energy
714-777-7729
Society for Advancement of Chicanos & Native Americans in Science
www.sacnas.org
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
www.shpe.org
Society of Mexican American Engineers & Scientists
www.maes.com
US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
www.ushcc.com
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Your Online Application Process
There are three things that strike me as peculiar about how many firms have created their online application process.
The first, and most obvious, is the requirement that many sites have of uploading a text resume, instead of a Word or Adobe resume.
Yes, I understand your system requires it but do you have a system that requires it?
Many non-computer people do not know how to convert a document to text. Does that make them less of a potential employee for you? Do you want them to think of your firm as one that "makes it hard" on people?
The other thing that troubles me is how often firms have a junior person review resumes once jobs are applied for. You know, someone not particularly knowledgeable about the job is reviewing resumes to discern fit? That seems like a waste.
The third thing that seems off is that, once in your system, resumes are never searched except to preclude agency referral. You have a data base of viable people but don't use it except to disqualify someone who recognizes someone's fit from actually affecting the hire that you were unwilling or incapable of making.
Fixing these three things would be smart for many employers to do.
The first, and most obvious, is the requirement that many sites have of uploading a text resume, instead of a Word or Adobe resume.
Yes, I understand your system requires it but do you have a system that requires it?
Many non-computer people do not know how to convert a document to text. Does that make them less of a potential employee for you? Do you want them to think of your firm as one that "makes it hard" on people?
The other thing that troubles me is how often firms have a junior person review resumes once jobs are applied for. You know, someone not particularly knowledgeable about the job is reviewing resumes to discern fit? That seems like a waste.
The third thing that seems off is that, once in your system, resumes are never searched except to preclude agency referral. You have a data base of viable people but don't use it except to disqualify someone who recognizes someone's fit from actually affecting the hire that you were unwilling or incapable of making.
Fixing these three things would be smart for many employers to do.
Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com
© 2008 all rights reserved.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.
To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.
Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series
- Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
- Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
- The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
- The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
- The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
- Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
Plus
- Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
- Indian Job Network: Network for Work in
- Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
- VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
- The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
- 4ITProfessionals: Search for jobs, resume services and post your resume—targeted on IT professionals
- HeadHuntYourNextJob.com: 3 Search Products in one place
Thursday, January 24, 2008
The Need For Speed
Despite the commencement of the US recession, the skilled labor shortages that have pervaded the job market for the past two years continue, particularly in staff level roles (or "doer roles" People who "do things as opposed to mange people who do things).
This can be explained simply by three facts:
1. The number of y0unger people entering the work force with such skills has declined from previous years.
2. The number of organizations wulling to train people to improve their skills has declined
3. Immigration of skilled labor (or H-1b's) was cut from 225000 to 65000 six years ago. As a result, there are 960,000 fewer technology professionals in the US than had the program been left untouched.
I am not debating the merits of expanding the H-1b program today; I am of the opinion that fewer jobs would be off shored today, more tax payers in the US and more jobs in the US had we permitted their entry.
Today, that is not the point.
The point is that when you see someone that your firm wants to hire, your process must be streamlined to make the hire easier because talent is going to continue to be fought over.
Assuming your intention is not to outbid your competition by fast sums of money, your hiring process, including our onboarding process must be streamlined to insure that new hires continue to have "warm feelings" about joining you and are not afforded the time to lose them.
One firm I know has a hiring process that is fast (a week to 10 days for the interviewing to be concluded and for the person to be selected; however, once selected, there HR process including referencing & background checks often take 30 days.
And they wonder why they lose people to other firms.
Reference checking and background checks do not need to be a slow process and hiring gto get the talent that will allow your firm to compete in this market should not interfere with actually hiring.
Is there any part of your process that can be down more quickly?
This can be explained simply by three facts:
1. The number of y0unger people entering the work force with such skills has declined from previous years.
2. The number of organizations wulling to train people to improve their skills has declined
3. Immigration of skilled labor (or H-1b's) was cut from 225000 to 65000 six years ago. As a result, there are 960,000 fewer technology professionals in the US than had the program been left untouched.
I am not debating the merits of expanding the H-1b program today; I am of the opinion that fewer jobs would be off shored today, more tax payers in the US and more jobs in the US had we permitted their entry.
Today, that is not the point.
The point is that when you see someone that your firm wants to hire, your process must be streamlined to make the hire easier because talent is going to continue to be fought over.
Assuming your intention is not to outbid your competition by fast sums of money, your hiring process, including our onboarding process must be streamlined to insure that new hires continue to have "warm feelings" about joining you and are not afforded the time to lose them.
One firm I know has a hiring process that is fast (a week to 10 days for the interviewing to be concluded and for the person to be selected; however, once selected, there HR process including referencing & background checks often take 30 days.
And they wonder why they lose people to other firms.
Reference checking and background checks do not need to be a slow process and hiring gto get the talent that will allow your firm to compete in this market should not interfere with actually hiring.
Is there any part of your process that can be down more quickly?
Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com
© 2008 all rights reserved.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a practicing psychotherapist and is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues.
To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search job openings, use his free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe. to subscribe Jeff’s free job search ezines, Head Hunt Your Next Job and/or Natural Selection (his free recruiting ezine), or to find out about his VIP Personal Search Agent service, go to http://www.jeffaltman.com.
If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff or locating consultants, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at thebiggamehunter@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Are People Raiding Your Firm to Take Staff?
As job markets become tighter recruiters, both third party and corporate are resorting to raiding their competition to hire staff.
A former Director may contact 10 key people and try to bring them along with her.
A recruiter leans that four of the last 7 hires have come from your firm and is bouncing around your voice response system trying to find potential recruits to fill the job or jobs.
What defenses do you have?
1. Figure out who you don't want to lose and take time with them. Many people like to be stroked by their bosses and taking a few minutes every week or two to praise their performance and speak about opportunities.
2. Figure out who you can afford to lose. there are nice people who are adequate performers. Can they be replaced? Absolutely . . . and probably for around the same money they earn (plus interview costs and fees). Why buy them out of another offer if they are dispensable and can hire someone with better upside. This leads us to
3. Compute your break point. At what point should you walk away from losing a person to a competitor? Also, find information about what staff say about your competitors on social network sites and anti-company sites to develop responses to potential resignations.
4. This is not a job for the HR Department but for every manager and business leader. No disrespect to HR but if your culture doesn't have culture taht values HR, then having them lead this will doom it to failure.
5. Scan job boards for your own employees. There are two reasons to do this-- the least important one is being prepared for a resignation. The primary reason for doing so is to be able to sit down with the disgruntled employee and see if what is bothering them is something that can be resolved before getting to the point where they are sitting in your office ready to quit.
I addition, it affords you the opportunity to contact former employees or "boomerangs" who might return to your firm.
There are a lot more things you can do, but these are the five easiest to implement. In doing so, you will slow down losses and put yourself and your firm in a stronger position.
A former Director may contact 10 key people and try to bring them along with her.
A recruiter leans that four of the last 7 hires have come from your firm and is bouncing around your voice response system trying to find potential recruits to fill the job or jobs.
What defenses do you have?
1. Figure out who you don't want to lose and take time with them. Many people like to be stroked by their bosses and taking a few minutes every week or two to praise their performance and speak about opportunities.
2. Figure out who you can afford to lose. there are nice people who are adequate performers. Can they be replaced? Absolutely . . . and probably for around the same money they earn (plus interview costs and fees). Why buy them out of another offer if they are dispensable and can hire someone with better upside. This leads us to
3. Compute your break point. At what point should you walk away from losing a person to a competitor? Also, find information about what staff say about your competitors on social network sites and anti-company sites to develop responses to potential resignations.
4. This is not a job for the HR Department but for every manager and business leader. No disrespect to HR but if your culture doesn't have culture taht values HR, then having them lead this will doom it to failure.
5. Scan job boards for your own employees. There are two reasons to do this-- the least important one is being prepared for a resignation. The primary reason for doing so is to be able to sit down with the disgruntled employee and see if what is bothering them is something that can be resolved before getting to the point where they are sitting in your office ready to quit.
I addition, it affords you the opportunity to contact former employees or "boomerangs" who might return to your firm.
There are a lot more things you can do, but these are the five easiest to implement. In doing so, you will slow down losses and put yourself and your firm in a stronger position.
Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com
© 2008 all rights reserved.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.
To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.
Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series
- Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
- Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
- The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
- The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
- The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
- Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
- The Shopping Universe: More than a thousand stores in this mall AND help a child at the same time.
Plus
- Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
- Indian Job Network: Network for Work in
- Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
- VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
- The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
- 4ITProfessionals: Search for jobs, resume services and post your resume—targeted on IT professionals
Are Third Party Recruiters Doing An End Run Around Recruiting?
In a recent discussion on ERE, a corporate recruiter posted an interesting scenario:
"At our company, we have a contract with 3rd part recruiters that states they will not contact the hiring manager to present candidates. If they do so, they are breaching their contract. Once corporate HR finds out that a 3rd party recruiter is doing what you are describing, that recruiter/vendor could lose orders or referrals in the future, period. They see this as being sneaky and corrupting the partnership that the corporate recruiter and hiring manager have created. Corporate recruiters need to follow compliance guidelines with OFCCP, therefore, they are going to follow a process when submitting candidates to the hiring manager. "Please don't here what I write as disagreement. It is the paradox.
==============================================================
In Jack & Suzy Welsh's column in the current issue of Businessweek, they answer the question, "How do you take on the bureaucracy that damages so many organizations?" by starting off:
"Damages? How about deadens? That's a better word to describe what what bureaucracy does; it sucks the life out of a business. it turns normal people, granted a smidgen of authority, into rule-bound technocrats and twists candid conversation about real issues into jargon-laden gobbledygook. In short, bureaucracy gums up the works. It's a competitiveness killer."
I'll pick up from here.
OFCCP compliance is necessary. No argument.
What else is?
Why is talking directly to a manager to decipher a bureaucratic job description without nuance so horrible? The answer offered is that it stands between the user and HR's relationship.
Again, respectfully, what stands in the way of it is poor information communicated in job descriptions.
Most TPR recruiters are trying to do what our institutional customers are asking us to do--help them fill requirements. They receive job specs that are flipped to them like the kitchen crew does with burgers at White Castle. The specs say little (we want 3-6 years experience with X,Y,Z) and fail to mention that X is required Y & Z are preferences and that knowledge of A,B, and C are really critical. Or that the manager hired his last 6 people from these two companies.
Where process interferes with substance and the institution is too process bound to appreciate how what it is doing is standing in the way of getting what it says it wants (a person to fill a particular job), most TPRs, those people who you offer the privilege (and it is a privilege) of recruiting for you try to solve the problem by getting the information they need.
If their line of questioning is incompetent or stupid, maybe you're working with the wrong recruiter or recruiting firm. If the manager is fielding too many of these calls, the agencies are telling you they aren't getting the info they need to do anything more than shotgun resumes and you're saying "Tough."
Doesn't make sense, especially if you are asking those people to work for free until they deliver someone.
One more thing, and again, said with respect.
Tell me one retained search firm that works under those conditions and gets targeted success.
None will accept the assignment under those conditions because they are there to deliver outcomes.
Third party recruiters are there to do the same thing. Instead of tying their arms behind their backs and expecting them to make phone calls that yield quick efficient success, see if you can set up a 15 minute call with the hiring manager where several of them can ask questions.
If there are subsequent questions, then get the answers for them.
Open up the doors and get better results, yet still deliver OFCCP compliance.
--
"At our company, we have a contract with 3rd part recruiters that states they will not contact the hiring manager to present candidates. If they do so, they are breaching their contract. Once corporate HR finds out that a 3rd party recruiter is doing what you are describing, that recruiter/vendor could lose orders or referrals in the future, period. They see this as being sneaky and corrupting the partnership that the corporate recruiter and hiring manager have created. Corporate recruiters need to follow compliance guidelines with OFCCP, therefore, they are going to follow a process when submitting candidates to the hiring manager. "Please don't here what I write as disagreement. It is the paradox.
==============================================================
In Jack & Suzy Welsh's column in the current issue of Businessweek, they answer the question, "How do you take on the bureaucracy that damages so many organizations?" by starting off:
"Damages? How about deadens? That's a better word to describe what what bureaucracy does; it sucks the life out of a business. it turns normal people, granted a smidgen of authority, into rule-bound technocrats and twists candid conversation about real issues into jargon-laden gobbledygook. In short, bureaucracy gums up the works. It's a competitiveness killer."
I'll pick up from here.
OFCCP compliance is necessary. No argument.
What else is?
Why is talking directly to a manager to decipher a bureaucratic job description without nuance so horrible? The answer offered is that it stands between the user and HR's relationship.
Again, respectfully, what stands in the way of it is poor information communicated in job descriptions.
Most TPR recruiters are trying to do what our institutional customers are asking us to do--help them fill requirements. They receive job specs that are flipped to them like the kitchen crew does with burgers at White Castle. The specs say little (we want 3-6 years experience with X,Y,Z) and fail to mention that X is required Y & Z are preferences and that knowledge of A,B, and C are really critical. Or that the manager hired his last 6 people from these two companies.
Where process interferes with substance and the institution is too process bound to appreciate how what it is doing is standing in the way of getting what it says it wants (a person to fill a particular job), most TPRs, those people who you offer the privilege (and it is a privilege) of recruiting for you try to solve the problem by getting the information they need.
If their line of questioning is incompetent or stupid, maybe you're working with the wrong recruiter or recruiting firm. If the manager is fielding too many of these calls, the agencies are telling you they aren't getting the info they need to do anything more than shotgun resumes and you're saying "Tough."
Doesn't make sense, especially if you are asking those people to work for free until they deliver someone.
One more thing, and again, said with respect.
Tell me one retained search firm that works under those conditions and gets targeted success.
None will accept the assignment under those conditions because they are there to deliver outcomes.
Third party recruiters are there to do the same thing. Instead of tying their arms behind their backs and expecting them to make phone calls that yield quick efficient success, see if you can set up a 15 minute call with the hiring manager where several of them can ask questions.
If there are subsequent questions, then get the answers for them.
Open up the doors and get better results, yet still deliver OFCCP compliance.
--
Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com
© 2008 all rights reserved.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.
To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.
Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series
- Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
- Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
- The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
- The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
- The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
- Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
- The Shopping Universe: More than a thousand stores in this mall AND help a child at the same time.
Plus
- Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
- Indian Job Network: Network for Work in
- Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
- VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
- The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
- 4ITProfessionals: Search for jobs, resume services and post your resume—targeted on IT professionals
Sunday, December 16, 2007
The Wise Use of a Nominal Retainer
I was reading a rant on the Hiring Revolution blog called "You and Your Damn Internal Shifting". It was written by a recruiter who was steamed and who had applicants who were burned after a lot of effort, resources are time were expended sourcing people only to find "the last minute internal candidate" winning the day.
As he says, "I feel personally and professionally screwed EVERY TIME when: after weeks of intense direct sourcing and work, resulting in 3-5 candidates who have every element on their resume you asked for, the needles in the haystacks from the four corners of the agency world, we get the e-mail (NOT EVEN A CALL) from you: “Great news – we were able to fill the position internally by shifting someone from another account that lost some of its budget. Thanks soooo much for all your efforts, the candidates you showed us were great!”
With wisdom, he writes," Here’s who it’s unfortunate for: the 3 candidates who all thought they had a shot at this cool position, who updated resumes, cleared schedules, and jumped on planes with a day’s notice, only to realize no one was hired.
The article continues with the promise to never let this happen again and the usual threat of re-paying this behavior by recruiting from this firm.
Now, my point in this is not to advocate for this person. Frankly, I haven't been caught in a situation like this in years. It's part of working with clients closely for years that I am offered the courtesy of being told when internal candidates are still being evaluated.
At the same time, like my other article, "Influence, Hiring and Retention," it speaks to a relationship that is damaged and what its potential impact can be.
So what does this have to do with the idea of the nominal retainer?
A few dollars invested by this firm would have quelled the anger that has breached the relationship and insured the continuation of a valued resource. And, if you say, "So what! That comes with the territory," I can only reply that you probably waste too many people's resources and that disrespect will hurt you and your firm in the end.
When no one of any value will respond to your call of, "round up a posse and go out and find . . . " it hurts. When you need to continually explain your corporate culture to strangers because they will work for free, you are wasting your own time unnecessarily. After you book needless appointments too often because you've burned valuable allies who can help "close" your offers because they understand the nuances of your firm only to use people who don't know your company well enough to help you when the chips are in the center of the table . . .well you get my point.
But this is probably the least important reason you should provide a nominal retainer.
I don't lie to people--you or job candidates. It's what you expect of me when I refer someone to you; it's what job applicants hope for when they work with a recruiter (I say hope for because of how few recruiters are known for honesty).
So when your senior professional asks me with the position is on contingency or retainer, you know darned well that they have a different of your seriousness and my capabilities to serve if I answer one way vs. another.
It is for senior professionals who understand the difference, that being able to say, "This is a retained search," that the modest retainer has great value.
So, as always, evaluate your resources regularly. Replace the ones that fail to perform or who use up too many of your resources for too few hires (always remembering that you may have a part in their failure by providing inadequate information). Look at the nominal retainer at times when you have a critical hire and want to use the contingency recruiters in your search.
As he says, "I feel personally and professionally screwed EVERY TIME when: after weeks of intense direct sourcing and work, resulting in 3-5 candidates who have every element on their resume you asked for, the needles in the haystacks from the four corners of the agency world, we get the e-mail (NOT EVEN A CALL) from you: “Great news – we were able to fill the position internally by shifting someone from another account that lost some of its budget. Thanks soooo much for all your efforts, the candidates you showed us were great!”
With wisdom, he writes," Here’s who it’s unfortunate for: the 3 candidates who all thought they had a shot at this cool position, who updated resumes, cleared schedules, and jumped on planes with a day’s notice, only to realize no one was hired.
The article continues with the promise to never let this happen again and the usual threat of re-paying this behavior by recruiting from this firm.
Now, my point in this is not to advocate for this person. Frankly, I haven't been caught in a situation like this in years. It's part of working with clients closely for years that I am offered the courtesy of being told when internal candidates are still being evaluated.
At the same time, like my other article, "Influence, Hiring and Retention," it speaks to a relationship that is damaged and what its potential impact can be.
So what does this have to do with the idea of the nominal retainer?
A few dollars invested by this firm would have quelled the anger that has breached the relationship and insured the continuation of a valued resource. And, if you say, "So what! That comes with the territory," I can only reply that you probably waste too many people's resources and that disrespect will hurt you and your firm in the end.
When no one of any value will respond to your call of, "round up a posse and go out and find . . . " it hurts. When you need to continually explain your corporate culture to strangers because they will work for free, you are wasting your own time unnecessarily. After you book needless appointments too often because you've burned valuable allies who can help "close" your offers because they understand the nuances of your firm only to use people who don't know your company well enough to help you when the chips are in the center of the table . . .well you get my point.
But this is probably the least important reason you should provide a nominal retainer.
I don't lie to people--you or job candidates. It's what you expect of me when I refer someone to you; it's what job applicants hope for when they work with a recruiter (I say hope for because of how few recruiters are known for honesty).
So when your senior professional asks me with the position is on contingency or retainer, you know darned well that they have a different of your seriousness and my capabilities to serve if I answer one way vs. another.
It is for senior professionals who understand the difference, that being able to say, "This is a retained search," that the modest retainer has great value.
So, as always, evaluate your resources regularly. Replace the ones that fail to perform or who use up too many of your resources for too few hires (always remembering that you may have a part in their failure by providing inadequate information). Look at the nominal retainer at times when you have a critical hire and want to use the contingency recruiters in your search.
Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com
© 2007 all rights reserved.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.
To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.
Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series
- Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
- Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
- The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
- The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
- The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
- Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
- The Shopping Universe: More than a thousand stores in this mall AND help a child at the same time.
Plus
- Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
- Indian Job Network: Network for Work in
- Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
- VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
- The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
- 4ITProfessionals: Search for jobs, resume services and post your resume—targeted on IT professionals
Friday, November 30, 2007
Uh, Oh!
I have been writing for years about how our current H-1b immigration policy is choking the ability of businesses to hire sufficient skilled labor.
CIO Magazine says that 51% of CIO's worry about their ability to hire adequate talent for their needs. Any firm looking to hire accounting, engineering or other skilled staff is struggling to find people with adequate skills for their needs.
Here are two things, courtesy of the December 10, 2007 issue of Fortune that:
1. According to HCL Technologies, their best young workers now want domestic assignments, instead of overseas (read that as US) work. This is the opposite of what was demanded two to three years ago.
2. The European Union has drafted new rules to remove restrictions that kept skilled foreign workers out of the EU, offering them two year renewable permits to live there.
3. King Abdullah of Saudia Arabia is building a new graduate research center for $12 billionand will endow it with $10 billion. That endowment is as large as MIT has built in 142 years of operation and they will have it on their first day.
I remember a time when every foreign worker wanted to come to the US because we had great work and financial opportunity. Years of treating H-1b workers worse than the dirt in your toe nails, paying them less and restricting their ability to change jobs until recently, years of not so subtle racism in the labor force against foreign workers (Indian, Chinese, Russian, Pakistani and others) in hiring practices and wage scales using the excuse of the cost of the visa transfer (ridiculously cheap), coupled with our currency devaluation this year and the persistent threat of terrorism, has made working in the US far less desirable, even if they can get in.
The talent you want to hire does not need to work for you any more. They have other choices in the US and certainly abroad. A few months ago, I wrote about the number of workers on H-1b visas starting to return home, frustrated by slow INS processing and other reasons.
What can you do to make your firm an employer of choice in a competitive playing field?
CIO Magazine says that 51% of CIO's worry about their ability to hire adequate talent for their needs. Any firm looking to hire accounting, engineering or other skilled staff is struggling to find people with adequate skills for their needs.
Here are two things, courtesy of the December 10, 2007 issue of Fortune that:
1. According to HCL Technologies, their best young workers now want domestic assignments, instead of overseas (read that as US) work. This is the opposite of what was demanded two to three years ago.
2. The European Union has drafted new rules to remove restrictions that kept skilled foreign workers out of the EU, offering them two year renewable permits to live there.
3. King Abdullah of Saudia Arabia is building a new graduate research center for $12 billionand will endow it with $10 billion. That endowment is as large as MIT has built in 142 years of operation and they will have it on their first day.
I remember a time when every foreign worker wanted to come to the US because we had great work and financial opportunity. Years of treating H-1b workers worse than the dirt in your toe nails, paying them less and restricting their ability to change jobs until recently, years of not so subtle racism in the labor force against foreign workers (Indian, Chinese, Russian, Pakistani and others) in hiring practices and wage scales using the excuse of the cost of the visa transfer (ridiculously cheap), coupled with our currency devaluation this year and the persistent threat of terrorism, has made working in the US far less desirable, even if they can get in.
The talent you want to hire does not need to work for you any more. They have other choices in the US and certainly abroad. A few months ago, I wrote about the number of workers on H-1b visas starting to return home, frustrated by slow INS processing and other reasons.
What can you do to make your firm an employer of choice in a competitive playing field?
Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com
© 2007 all rights reserved.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.
To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.
Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series
- Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
- Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
- The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
- The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
- The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
- Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
- The Shopping Universe: More than a thousand stores in this mall AND help a child at the same time.
Plus
- Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
- Indian Job Network: Network for Work in
- Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads
- VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
- The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
Thursday, November 29, 2007
A Simple Inexpensive Way to Retain Your Staff
You may not be able to give someone a huge bonus or give them a spot bonus.
You may not be able to financially reward a group of people who stepped up and did something important.
You can look them in the eye and say, "Thank you," slowly and sincerely.
You can put a note in their personnel file about their heroism.
You can even do this and buy them a pizza or two (depending upon thje size of the group) to thank them for doing something terrific.
Let's see. In New York City, a pizza with a bunch of stuff on it easily costs under $20. That's a lot less than a bonus.
And even less expensive is a simple sincere thank you.
Do them both; encourage management to do them both, too.
You may not be able to financially reward a group of people who stepped up and did something important.
You can look them in the eye and say, "Thank you," slowly and sincerely.
You can put a note in their personnel file about their heroism.
You can even do this and buy them a pizza or two (depending upon thje size of the group) to thank them for doing something terrific.
Let's see. In New York City, a pizza with a bunch of stuff on it easily costs under $20. That's a lot less than a bonus.
And even less expensive is a simple sincere thank you.
Do them both; encourage management to do them both, too.
Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com
© 2007 all rights reserved.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a practicing psychotherapist and is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues.
To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search job openings, use his free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe. to subscribe Jeff’s free job search ezines, Head Hunt Your Next Job and/or Natural Selection (his free recruiting ezine), or to find out about his VIP Personal Search Agent service, go to http://www.jeffaltman.com.
If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff or locating consultants, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at thebiggamehunter@cisny.com
(If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).
Sunday, November 18, 2007
The Major Complaints from Job Hunters
Having been in the search business for more than 35 years (gasp), I have heard a lot of extremely funny things from job hunters. Like the one from the person who wanted to change jobs so that he could get home earlier to take his dogs for a run (take resume; place in garbage). Or the one who wanted to change firms to end an affair.
Yet, in the midst of the applicant stupidity I often hear, there are a few useful things that as an employer you can offer.
1. A sense of your timetable for making a decision. It is useful to a job hunter that you are interested in to know that first round interviews will take three weeks; you might discover at that point that the person is midway through second rounds at a competitor with a comparable role and adjust your plans or manage your departments expectations (I am not suggesting that you must change your plans; I believe that all information is useful and this helps you get useful information).
2. Let them know if your timetable changes. Make a quick call of email to a candidate you are interested in to let them know if there is a change in the timetable.
"I just wanted you to know that we will be back to you in one more week with our plans for moving forward. The delay was caused by a (vacation, a desire to meet with an internal candidate, an introduction that was made that your manager wanted to assess)."
3. Give Constructive Feedback for Why You've Chosen Someone Else. The feedback "too light" has no meaning. Deficiency in a particular skill required, concern about "fit," except in cases where you are rejecting an individual from a diverse population, divergent leadership style are valid reasons.
Observing these three courtesies (and many others) will help your organization foster an environment of being a fair and courteous employer and desirable in the marketplace.
Yet, in the midst of the applicant stupidity I often hear, there are a few useful things that as an employer you can offer.
1. A sense of your timetable for making a decision. It is useful to a job hunter that you are interested in to know that first round interviews will take three weeks; you might discover at that point that the person is midway through second rounds at a competitor with a comparable role and adjust your plans or manage your departments expectations (I am not suggesting that you must change your plans; I believe that all information is useful and this helps you get useful information).
2. Let them know if your timetable changes. Make a quick call of email to a candidate you are interested in to let them know if there is a change in the timetable.
"I just wanted you to know that we will be back to you in one more week with our plans for moving forward. The delay was caused by a (vacation, a desire to meet with an internal candidate, an introduction that was made that your manager wanted to assess)."
3. Give Constructive Feedback for Why You've Chosen Someone Else. The feedback "too light" has no meaning. Deficiency in a particular skill required, concern about "fit," except in cases where you are rejecting an individual from a diverse population, divergent leadership style are valid reasons.
Observing these three courtesies (and many others) will help your organization foster an environment of being a fair and courteous employer and desirable in the marketplace.
Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com
© 2007 all rights reserved.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.
To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.
Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series
- Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
- Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
- The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
- The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
- The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
- Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
- The Shopping Universe: More than a thousand stores in this mall AND help a child at the same time.
Plus
- Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
- Indian Job Network: Network for Work in
- VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
- The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
Saturday, November 17, 2007
4 Steps to Improved Hiring
Some HR professionals are refreshingly candid when they tell me that their hiring managers are not skilled interviewers. Oh, there may be a job specification developed in order to approve the job and target the hire, however many times I have heard that the person hired just doesn't seem to fit the target nor are the questions asked in the interview designed to ascertain whether the person fits the job requirements.
So what can you as an HR professional or you as a hiring manager or business owner do to keep your interview in line with your pre-determined needs?
1. Ask open ended questions designed to encourage the job applicant to talk. It doesn't take a genius to determine the right answer to a closed ended questions. Asking open ended questions allows you to find out about the job applicant's oral communications, logic skills and experience that is relevant to you.
2. Double team the applicant. Let one person ask questions and the other observe your questioning to see what you've missed. Or have one person ask tons of questions and the other person fill in some of the gaps. Or do the "strong arm tag team" approach--alternate questions that are extremely difficult and that determine required skills.
3. Jot down your questions in advance and don't "wing it." Too many people are completely unprepared to administer an interview. By writing down your questions in advance and then by writing down the applicant's answers, you prevent making mistakes by operating from memory or whim.
4. Remember to evaluate the person for personality match. When you hire a sales person, do you look for a "nice person" who agrees and goes along with everyone or do you want to hire a "killer."
Interviewing applicants is the most common way companies decide whom to hire yet research shows that interviewers do a poor job at predicting if an applicant will succeed - or flop - if hired.
So what can you as an HR professional or you as a hiring manager or business owner do to keep your interview in line with your pre-determined needs?
1. Ask open ended questions designed to encourage the job applicant to talk. It doesn't take a genius to determine the right answer to a closed ended questions. Asking open ended questions allows you to find out about the job applicant's oral communications, logic skills and experience that is relevant to you.
2. Double team the applicant. Let one person ask questions and the other observe your questioning to see what you've missed. Or have one person ask tons of questions and the other person fill in some of the gaps. Or do the "strong arm tag team" approach--alternate questions that are extremely difficult and that determine required skills.
3. Jot down your questions in advance and don't "wing it." Too many people are completely unprepared to administer an interview. By writing down your questions in advance and then by writing down the applicant's answers, you prevent making mistakes by operating from memory or whim.
4. Remember to evaluate the person for personality match. When you hire a sales person, do you look for a "nice person" who agrees and goes along with everyone or do you want to hire a "killer."
Interviewing applicants is the most common way companies decide whom to hire yet research shows that interviewers do a poor job at predicting if an applicant will succeed - or flop - if hired.
Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com
© 2007 all rights reserved.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.
To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.
Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series
- Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
- Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
- The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
- The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
- The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
- Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
- The Shopping Universe: More than a thousand stores in this mall AND help a child at the same time.
Plus
- Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
- Indian Job Network: Network for Work in
- VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
- The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Do What Third Party Recruiters Do Well . . .
In the early 1980's, I used to network with recruiters at other search firms in order to find talent for my clients. I had just purchased a PC and printer, a huge step at that time when I visited with one of the firms I would network with.
Before I make my point, I want to be clear, do not use information from third party recruiters in the recommendation I offer. It is stealing and your firm and, probably you personally, will be sued if you do.
With that said . . .
Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com
© 2007 all rights reserved.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.
To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.
Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series
- Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
- Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
- The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
- The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
- The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
- Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
- The Shopping Universe: More than a thousand stores in this mall AND help a child at the same time.
Plus
- Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
- Indian Job Network: Network for Work in
- VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
- The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
Define Yourself or Have Others Define You
By the time a
What is your firm and, by extension, you doing to create an image of your firm as an employer?
Is all your company doing running ads on job boards and telling people that yours is a growing company with a growth position that is visible and offering an incredibly dynamic and progressive work environment? That yours is one of the fastest growing companies in the world and has a high profile opportunity for career advancement requiring a candidate who is a high energy team player?
Have you discovered that the word progressive appears I more than 5000 job listings on Monster? Dynamic is also in more than 5000; Career advancement is, too, as is high energy. High profile is in more than 3000; visible in 3400+.
In contrast, the word "renegade" appears once. Maverick appears 95 times. Invisible appears 105 times including The Invisible Fence Company. Laid back appears 286 times.
Do you get my point?
Terms like this are ordinary and making you invisible and telling employees nothing.
It’s time to re-think your ad campaigns and really speak to people instead of copy and pasting job descriptions from requisitions and then adding these phrases to the ad and calling it marketing. Do you know how your firm is seen in the job market, both from a positive AND a negative standpoint? What is your employer brand and how can you improve it, especially as we enter what, I believe will be an extremely complicated part of the employment cycle.
It is tough enough that unemployment is so low, but the Baby Boomers will start retiring, the population cohort entering the job market is far smaller and will be less skilled (on average) and you will be asked to fill jobs only using trite words like these.
Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com
© 2007 all rights reserved.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.
To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.
Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series
- Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
- Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
- The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
- The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
- The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
- Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
- The Shopping Universe: More than a thousand stores in this mall AND help a child at the same time.
Plus
- Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
- Indian Job Network: Network for Work in
- VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
- The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
Thursday, October 18, 2007
An Overlooked Source of Talent
A commuter I travel with regularly was recently faced with a crisis. An experienced compliance officer, her firm was being acquired and she received a message from her boss that she would probably not survive the cuts.
She came to me for advice and we discussed many alternatives . . . and then she remembered one.
At her exit interview from a previous job, the Chairman of the bank she worked for wrote next to the eligible for rehire check box on the form he used the words, "ABSOLUTELY!" twice, something HR said they had never seen before.
He also planted a seed with her at that time that should she ever be in a situation where she was looking for work, to consider coming back--and that is what she is doing.
Using exit interviews to plant the seed of opportunity to return with desirable former employees can supplement your recruiting efforts and allow you to hire people who understand your firm's culture and be able to get up and running faster than the average hire might.
The accounting firms have known this for a long time.
Now you do too.
She came to me for advice and we discussed many alternatives . . . and then she remembered one.
At her exit interview from a previous job, the Chairman of the bank she worked for wrote next to the eligible for rehire check box on the form he used the words, "ABSOLUTELY!" twice, something HR said they had never seen before.
He also planted a seed with her at that time that should she ever be in a situation where she was looking for work, to consider coming back--and that is what she is doing.
Using exit interviews to plant the seed of opportunity to return with desirable former employees can supplement your recruiting efforts and allow you to hire people who understand your firm's culture and be able to get up and running faster than the average hire might.
The accounting firms have known this for a long time.
Now you do too.
Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com
© 2007 all rights reserved.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a practicing psychotherapist and is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues.
To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search job openings, use his free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe. to subscribe Jeff’s free job search ezines, Head Hunt Your Next Job and/or Natural Selection (his free recruiting ezine), or to find out about his VIP Personal Search Agent service, go to http://www.jeffaltman.com.
If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff or locating consultants, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at thebiggamehunter@cisny.com
(If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Foreign Nationals Starting to Head Home--The Other Side of the Immigration Discussion
I have been in the recruiting business for more than 30 years and for as long as I can recall, the US has been an extremely desirable place to live for foreign workers. The US was a leader in research and, despite the challenges posed by how the H-1b system was implemented (years of indentured servitude to one employer, low wages, less interesting work, an INS that is exceedingly slow to process green cards), this was the country to move to for opportunity.
Recently, I have had several instances that have opened my eyes to the possibility that our skilled immigration problem may become even harder to solve than I thought and that stems from some quick conversations I have had with several people working in the US on H-1b visas.
Each complained about being captive to the US and unable to visit family. They were frustrated with INS delays that caused what is supposed to take a very little amount of time to process dragging on into years.
But there was something new. Several started to talk about how good work was now going overseas and that currency depreciation was starting to make the US far less desirable than a few years ago.
You may have seen the recent articles about how Canadian currency was now at parity with the US dollar for the first time in 25 years. On my recent trip to Singapore, where you received $1.46 for each US dollar, I was surprised to read that it was expected to reach $1.20 by end of year.
That's almost an 18% currency depreciation projected over the next few months!
Couple this with the shortage of university students expected during the next few years (New York schools are being encouraged to recruit foreign students in the face of a 14% shortage of students projected to begin during the next few years) and it begs the question--Where will you be getting your new skilled talent from?
So, as we start to see rising prices for foreign made goods and services, we may see an exodus of H-1b, green card and foreign born US citizen-workers and few people to replace them just as The Baby Boomers start to retire. It suggests looking at F-1 visa employees as replacements for junior staff and examining longer term alternatives.
And the only answer I can see is to increase the number of H-1b employees into the US, sooner, rather than later.
Recently, I have had several instances that have opened my eyes to the possibility that our skilled immigration problem may become even harder to solve than I thought and that stems from some quick conversations I have had with several people working in the US on H-1b visas.
Each complained about being captive to the US and unable to visit family. They were frustrated with INS delays that caused what is supposed to take a very little amount of time to process dragging on into years.
But there was something new. Several started to talk about how good work was now going overseas and that currency depreciation was starting to make the US far less desirable than a few years ago.
You may have seen the recent articles about how Canadian currency was now at parity with the US dollar for the first time in 25 years. On my recent trip to Singapore, where you received $1.46 for each US dollar, I was surprised to read that it was expected to reach $1.20 by end of year.
That's almost an 18% currency depreciation projected over the next few months!
Couple this with the shortage of university students expected during the next few years (New York schools are being encouraged to recruit foreign students in the face of a 14% shortage of students projected to begin during the next few years) and it begs the question--Where will you be getting your new skilled talent from?
So, as we start to see rising prices for foreign made goods and services, we may see an exodus of H-1b, green card and foreign born US citizen-workers and few people to replace them just as The Baby Boomers start to retire. It suggests looking at F-1 visa employees as replacements for junior staff and examining longer term alternatives.
And the only answer I can see is to increase the number of H-1b employees into the US, sooner, rather than later.
Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
thebiggamehunter@cisny.com
© 2007 all rights reserved.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.
To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.
Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series
- Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time
- Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home
- The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs
- The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information
- The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters
- Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better
- The Shopping Universe: More than a thousand stores in this mall AND help a child at the same time.
Plus
- Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads
- Indian Job Network: Network for Work in
- VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent
- The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)