These 3 Career "Rules" Were Made To Be Broken
From the convoluted hiring process to the increasingly complex policies of the average company, there is seemingly no end to the number of rules and regulation we necessarily live by in order to conform to the rules of career building. There are rules for resumes, rules for interviewing, rules for the workplace once you land a job...so much time is invested to learn the rules that it isn't...
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Online-Dating vs. Recruiting: A Comparison (Part II)
Even though comparing online dating and professional recruiting is likely to initially elicit a chuckle, such a comparison invites the two questions posed in Part I of this analysis: Are there any online dating tactics that do or could conceivably succeed in recruiting? Why will most of the ones that are "successful" on dating sites nonetheless never, or only rarely, work in a...
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Explaining Employment Gaps on Your Resume? Don't do this.
So you have a gap on your resume. What are some ways you can explain this gap away during an interview or follow-up? Don't be apologetic. You set the tone for how this employment gap will be perceived. If you present it as a negative, it will be seen as negative. Instead, inform them about how you used that time to grow in other fields or highlight the fact that you stayed up-to-date and...
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Flip YouTube to a Recruiting Channel
It's time to take a second look at YouTube as a potential hiring channel. It's been around for a while and is used by many of the major corporates as part of their employer branding program, but perhaps it's time for smaller and medium sized employers to really take stock of what YouTube has to offer them as a hiring channel. So, why now? What's changed? Well, there are massive, irresistible...
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Recruiting Trends Sourcing and Recruiting Social Summit Huge Success
They came, they learned, and now a handful of the industry's brightest and leading recruiters are ready to go out and conquer. With around 80 attendees representing a range of companies, the Recruiting Trends Sourcing and Recruiting Social Summit, held April 11, 2013, was a tremendous success. Various sourcers and recruiters gathered in Washington DC to learn about sourcing, recruitment and...
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How Employee Referrals Impact Your Employer Brand [INFOGRAPHIC]
For many businesses, finding great talent is hard. Sometimes, it's even harder to retain employees who already suit the team's needs. Many companies across the world struggle with employee retention and referrals, but most don't realize it's not the employees who are the problem--it may be actually be an issue with the employer brand. A strategic employer brand sets the tone for a...
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6 Ways to Make LinkedIn Endorsements Worthwhile
Can we just talk about LinkedIn for a moment? I use LinkedIn for a variety of reasons, most notably to connect with other professionals for the chance to land new business or have a place to look for a job (should I ever get back into the employment game). I remember when recommendations were the topic discussed by recruiters and HR Pros. Who should give them? Do you have to reciprocate? How...
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Doximity Releases Sourcing Tool Connecting Physicians with Recruiters
Doximity, the largest online professional physician network, recently launched Talent Finder career matching service, putting its members in control of their futures. The "only authenticated network of its kind" is used by more than 140,000 physicians to market their practices and securely coordinate patient care. And now, with Doximity Talent Finder, member physicians can have their...
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Randstad: Most Employees Optimistic About Future, Job Security
HR services and staffing firm Randstad revealed that U.S. workers express feeling secure in their jobs and are generally optimistic about the future. About 75 percent of workers responding to the Randstad Engagement Index reported feeling secure in their jobs and 5 percent foresee an improvement in the job market throughout 2012. Additionally, employees were found to be less willing to make...
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401(k) Fee Disclosure Rules Show Minimal Impact
It turns out that people either don't care or don't pay too much attention to retirement plan investment fees. The Plan Sponsor Council of America's most recent survey on the impact of fee disclosures on participants has shown only a 1.4 percent increase in the number of investors who grill sponsors about disclosure statement details. And though more detailed disclosures go into effect on...
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3 Steps to Uncover a Future Superstar
We reported on some interesting research earlier this year from Wharton Business school which looked at the effectiveness of internal hires versus external hires. The report came out in favor of employers placing a greater emphasis on internal hiring versus external. For example, the research found that "external hires" receive much lower performance evaluations for the first two years...
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5 Ways to Turn Off a Recruiter
If you're out of work in this economy, then it's only natural to be concerned with making a good impression in the eyes of potential new employers. Oftentimes, shining in the eyes of a given establishment also means impressing a recruiter or a company headhunter first. You've been on interviews before and you know the necessary steps to take to demonstrate you're the ideal candidate....
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NCOA Launches Site to Help Older Job Seekers
The National Council on Aging (NCOA) recently launched JobSource, a new online job portal designed to help older adults in the job seeking process. The site will aid older job seekers by helping them assess their work skills, identify job training opportunities, and find employment. According to NCOA, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 1.8 million adults aged 55+ were actively...
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Survey of CEOs Finds Confidence Rebounding into 2013
According to CEO peer-advisory organization Vistage, CEOs foresee an improved economy and better prospects for their companies despite sequester cuts and tax increases. In its Q1 2013 Vistage CEO Confidence Index, the confidence index was found to have risen from 87 during Q4 2012 to 96.6 in Q1 2013. As the economy slowly improves, CEOs are becoming more certain about how to control costs, grow...
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Employee Confidence in the Positive for Second Straight Month
In its March 2013 Employee Confidence Index, Randstad reports that employee confidence has edged up slightly for the second consecutive month, increasing to 53.9, even as job market confidence dropped a notch. Even more notably, personal confidence in the ability to secure a new job and in the future of employers has experienced the largest gains since April 2010. "This month we saw an...
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How to Impress Candidates
Recruiters get a bad rap, even when the companies they work for are great. But it can be a tough (albeit rewarding) job to do when you live in a flyover state, don't have work-flex to offer and well...you're not the biggest brand in the fun house (employer or otherwise). What do candidates want? Well, you might not be able to offer the perks of Zappos, the fun of Google, or the culture of Amazon,...
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Why Every Professional Needs a Google+ Presence
One of the fastest growing social networks in existence today is the almighty Google+. Odds are that you already have a Google+ account, but if you don't and want to expand your networking reach, you should definitely think about getting one. It is a well-known fact that stellar social networking presences are critical for the success of your career path. This is certainly the case for...
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The Truth About Millennials and Job Loyalty
Most people value a sense of loyalty. Most want to be known as loyal people and desire for others to be loyal to them. Yet, I wonder if there's an accurate way to measure loyalty? Who and/or what decides this defines a loyal person and that doesn't? Our good friend Merriam Webster says to be loyal is to be unswerving in allegiance. Hmm. Unswerving as in unchanging, steady, constant. So, to...
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SilkRoad Partners with Nobscot Helping Companies Optimize HR Functions
SilkRoad, a leading global provider of cloud-based social talent management software, just announced its partnership with HR survey/analytics authority Nobscot Corporation. The joint venture combines SilkRoad's RedCarpet® HR onboarding system with Nobscot's automated FirstDays new hire/quality of hire surveys enabling companies to optimize their HR and recruitment policies and...
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When Time Really Becomes Money
If "time is money", why would time seem far more precious than money, if it replaced existing money as a universal currency? Is it because, in fact, "time is more than money"? If so, should we consider adding "time income" to current employment compensation packages, to our total personal income calculations (and expectations), and, God forbid, to taxable income? These are...
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Glassdoor: Nearly 1 in 5 Workers Concerned About Layoffs
According to Glassdoor's Q1 2013 Employment Confidence Survey, nearly one in five employees (19 percent) is worried that they may be laid off from their job in the next six months. Another 25 percent, including self-employed workers, believe that, in the next six months, it's unlikely they'll be able to find a job matching their experience and current compensation should they lose their...
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Economic Recovery (and Lack Thereof): A Status Update
Since the Great Recession officially ended in June 2009, several aspects of the economy have fully recovered from damage; household wealth and consumer spending are two prime examples. Home foreclosures and layoffs have also declined to pre-recession levels as economic output has returned to normal than stock prices have risen to record levels. But other signs, such as a stubbornly high...
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Retina-X Brings Mobile to Businesses with Bundled Licensing
Retina-X Studios, maker of popular mobile phone-monitoring software PhoneSheriff, is bringing the program to businesses at a discounted rate. PhoneSheriff for Business allows businesses to bundle licensing in order to save $50 off the regular $249.85 purchase price. "Businesses often distribute phones to their employees, especially those who are out in the field," said Craig Thompson, media...
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FutuHR Mobile HR Launches to Boost SMB HR Capabilities
The first SMB-focused enterprise-class HR toolset, FutuHR Mobile is a stand-alone, cloud-based HR system designed to assist companies with less than 100 employers afford enterprise-quality HR capabilities. The fully mobile system has no upfront contract and licensing fees nor maintenance costs and delivers full HRMS with ESS/MSS, time/attendance, performance, compensation, payroll administration...
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Employer Brand Measurement: This is How it's Done, Son
Like most things in the business world, we can write about the importance of employer branding until we're blue in the keyboard; but, at the end of the day, it's the bottom line that matters. On the other hand, 41 percent of companies have developed an employer brand strategy, so we know it's important, but how do you measure the effectiveness of your brand once you've established it? So,...
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Can You Find Talent to Steer the Ship in 2013?
The 2013 Executive Search Industry Global Outlook Report released in January this year by the Association of Executive Consultants has revealed that there will be continued shortages of senior executive talent throughout the world. Some of the acutest talent shortages are expected to occur in China, Brazil, and Africa and the current sectors/areas that are facing most demand for senior executive...
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Women in STEM Careers [Infographic]
Most Americans know what STEM stands for— science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Yet, I wonder how many are aware of the disparity between job openings in these crucial fields and the number of people qualified to fulfill them? According to a report by The Bertrand Group, 30 percent of job openings in large metro areas are in STEM, yet only 11 percent of the total population holds a...
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Labor Department Reports 10 Lowest Paying Jobs in America
The Labor Department's latest data detailing the average annual salaries of American workers may shock you. The 2012 data reveals that of the 10 lowest-paying jobs in the nation, 70 percent are in the food service industry. All but one occupation (farming) hail from the service industry. The 2013 poverty guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health Human Services state that for a household...
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Randstad: Employee Confidence Slightly Up in March
Each month the survey monitors the nation's workers' personal confidence and tracks perspectives around jobs and the economy. The latest survey of 1,185 U.S. workers showed that although workers feel more nervous about the availability of jobs, confidence in their personal ability to find a new job and in the future of their current employers is still high. According to Randstad, "these...
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Awful[ly Funny] Job Search Mistakes
If you're one of the thousands of Americans looking for a job, you know just how crowded and competitive the market is. You probably also know that any mistake on your resume, even a tiny one, can prevent you from scoring that coveted interview. The good news is that resume mistakes are preventable. Here are some tips to avoid common resume mistakes: Check your spelling. Nothing breaks a...
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March Sees Fewer Jobs Added After Three Consecutive Growth Months
In its National Employment Report, ADP has reported that private companies added fewer jobs in March than in February while breaking a three consecutive month streak in job gains. U.S. companies added 158,000 jobs last month, down from 237,000 in February and 177,000 in January. With a Q1 average gain of 29,000 jobs per month, construction companies added no new jobs in March with the probable...
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4 Reasons You Aren't Advancing Professionally
"There are costs and risks to a program of action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction," John F. Kennedy Allow me to preface this article by saying that when I talk about advancing professionally, I'm not referring exclusively to getting a promotion or starting your own company. Climbing the corporate ladder is, of course, a form of...
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Professional Mentorship: A Look into the Xerox Women's Alliance
We all know the value in having a personal mentor and the same holds true for our professional lives. Having a mentor and/or support group in the workplace can ultimately enhance your overall experience working for a company. Everyone needs a shoulder to lean on now and then, right? Document management company Xerox Corporation would answer yes to that question, and the women at the corporation...
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Snagajob Finds Summer Hiring to Continue a Growth Trend
The sixth annual summer jobs survey from Snagajob has found that summer hiring will reach recent record highs as 10 percent more (19 percent) of hiring managers plan to hire in 2013 than in 2012. Wages are also at their highest levels since the survey began in 2008. The number of hiring managers not planning to hire over the summer has also fallen 14 points from last year, hitting 31 percent....
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New Social Recruitment App Offers Unlimited Posts, Tracking, and Branded Portals
Employyd.com has announced the launch of a new social recruitment application for small businesses unable to afford larger job boards offering posting costs in the hundreds of dollars. Employyd.com provides unlimited free job posts during its beta phase along with a branded job portal for making the hiring process more effective. The new cloud-based, platform-as-a-service requires an initial...
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Assess Company Brand with Glassdoor's New Employer Center & Upgraded Free Accounts
Social jobs and career community center Glassdoor recently introduced a new feature for its more than 700 customers—the Employer Center. The Center, currently in beta, is a self-service tool designed to help companies make "social recruiting decisions based on job seeker activity and authentic workplace insights." With the Employer Center, companies can: Access job seeker demographics...
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Mobile Worker Comp Management Tool Released by myMatrixx
Benefit management company myMatrixx has announced the launch of the first tool designed for both workers and WC professionals to facilitate a more efficient claims process. myMatrixx clients are able to access open claims or personal information from within a secure mobile platform for both Android and iOS devices. myMatrixx mobile is useful for adjusters in workers' comp claims management who...
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Optimism Up, Hiring Down in March for Small Businesses
In its March 2013 SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard, online payroll provider SurePayroll Inc. reports that month-over-month hiring was down for small businesses by 0.2 percent while the average paycheck declined 0.1 percent. But optimism expressed by small-business owners actually grew substantially from 59 percent in February to 68 percent in March. Half of respondents said they expect to...
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3 Questions to Assess your Job Search Efforts
I know quite a few people who are "looking" for job opportunities. And I use the term "looking" very loosely. You see, these people I know are unemployed and say how much they want jobs, yet fail to put in the required effort to actually secure them. Although some industries are adding jobs, it's still pretty tough out there. Some experts say you should treat searching for a job as a...
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New I-9 Form Released to Certify Employment Eligibility
The new I-9 form released by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) within the past few weeks includes a collection of "improvements" to the form, including additional fields, error-reducing reformatting, and more clear instructions. A notice published by the Department of Homeland Security has sought to inform employers that they are requested to immediately begin using the...
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4 Reasons to Make Video Interviewing the Norm in 2013
Video is rapidly becoming the second language of the Internet, behind the typed word. How do we know this? Well, because YouTube is now the third most-trafficked site on the web after Google and Facebook. But, the influence of video is extending far beyond how we consume content, it is also influencing how we interact with each other, particularly in the corporate world. Employers now...
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Pairin Launches Two New Web-Based Hiring Solutions
Pairin, Inc. recently launched two new pre-employment selection solutions for small businesses: Job Pairin and Employee Pairin. Job Pairin is designed to "flip" the hiring process by emphasizing behavioral traits and design first, followed by experience and other considerations. Employee Pairin allows small organizations and departments to compare a final few top applicants to their...
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3 Ways to Brand and Hire for Pennies
So you've worked hard and sculpted a company culture to be proud of. Now you need to raise awareness about your culture and find some new recruits that suit your style. Getting the word out about your company culture and open positions doesn't have to be expensive, but it does take some work. How do you best get the word out about your open jobs and reach a targeted audience in volume? Here...
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Low-Wage Workers Top Job Gains but Remain Pessimistic About the Future
According to a survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs, even as lower-income workers have posted the largest jobs gains of any workforce sector since the beginning of the recession, few are optimistic about their future. Included in the study were those workers earning an annual income of $35,000 or less. The general mood of the sector was one of pessimism about finances...
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New Wellness/Health Improvement Solutions Offered by BioIQ
Health improvement technology company BioIQ has announced a new set of health-improvement and wellness solutions for employers and health plan providers to optimize their employee-specific wellness investments. The four targeted solutions include BioIQ Dimensions, BioIQ Axis, BioIQ Ecosystem, and BioIQ Advisor. BioIQ Dimensions is a health-screening platform that collects biometric data from...
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New Study Finds Many Companies Still Uncertain on PPACA Compliances
A new study of 259 small-business owners from eHealth, Inc., including a number of small businesses with 10 or fewer employees, has found that about 55 percent of small business (50 or fewer employees) owners think that they will owe a fine to the federal government should they not provide health insurance to their employees next year. In reality, the new penalty structure is only applicable to...
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PeopleMatter to Acquire PeopleClues to Boost Pre-screening Assessment Services
PeopleMatter has announced the acquisition of employment-assessments provider PeopleClues, which will join the company as the PeopleClues Division. Previously a strategic partner with PeopleMatter, PeopleClues will continue its work in developing employment assessments with accesses to the expanded capabilities and resources offered by PeopleMatter. "The acquisition of PeopleClues...
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What's the Best Way to Attract Talent in 2013?
This is the question that all employers should ask themselves at the beginning of each year. Why? Because we are seeing massive changes in the way that candidates look for jobs in terms of mobile and social media adoption, and we are seeing changes in the make-up of the candidate marketplace as Baby boomers begin retiring and more and more Millennials start entering the workforce. And it seems...
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