Working with an Air Force Recruiter: Everything You Need to Know
Many people consider the Air Force to be the most desirable branch of the military. It has the nicest dormitories, the most generous family housing program and the best shopping and recreation opportunities. In addition, all of the Air Force's more than 150 jobs provide opportunities for advancement. On the other hand, the Air Force is also the most difficult branch of the service to...
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On Doing the Numbers and the Names
"Knowledge is power."—Francis Bacon All jobs that have a high flow-through of people, such as recruiter, hospital emergency receptionist, used-car lot salesman, airport immigration officer, Secret Service agent, and even disparate occupations such as nightclub doorman and U.S. president are like Ph.D. programs in human psychology and sociology—albeit highly specialized for...
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G-8 Meeting: Post-Arab Spring Economy
The Obama Administration has stated that their goal is to double U.S. export in the next five years. While attempts to increase trade with emerging markets like China and India will play a large part in reaching that goal, there is one other nascent market that the administration would like to see become a factor: The Middle East. While it's still far from clear what sort of governments and...
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Chrysler Pays Back TARP Loans
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced yesterday that Chrysler Group LLC has repaid its outstanding Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) loans. Chrysler's repayment comes six years before the scheduled maturity of those loans in 2017. As part of today's announcement, Chrysler Group LLC repaid $5.1 billion in TARP loans and terminated its ability to draw a remaining $2.1 billion...
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Mass Layoffs Hit Manufacturing Hardest
In April, 244,000 non-farm payroll jobs were added to the economy. But that doesn't mean that no one lost their job. Unfortunately, that is the net number of jobs added to the economy; actually many more jobs were added in April, but they were offset by the many jobs that were also lost. In fact, the number of mass layoff actions (i.e. a layoffs of at least 50 people by a single employer)...
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Working with Professional Career Advisors
Over the last few years, the changing economy has forced more people to face a changing job market in their field. When you were in high school and college, career advisors were readily available to you for curriculum choices and information about possible careers. This information is still available to people who have been in the work force for some time. The person to see is a career coach or...
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Google Docs – Why You Should Use It
At Recruiter.com, we've all but ditched Microsoft Office in favor of Google Docs. This cloud-based solution was a no-brainer for us from the get go. I, for one, have never been a fan of emailing document attachments back and forth between team members. It's a giant drag on our mail server, consumes unnecessary disk space on our laptops (checked your mail "sent" folder for these old 5Mb emails...
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Recruiting 101...Back to Basics
Sometime this morning, between my first blissful cup of Monday morning coffee and checking my voicemails from the weekend I received some interesting news from my very best client. They were putting together an offer for one of my candidates...huzzah. But that's certainly not the interesting part. No, the interesting part was that they were coming in at approximately $20,000 under the...
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Largest Occupations Pay Less
If you're earning more than $44,410, consider yourself lucky; you are earning above the national average salary for all occupations. But if your job is one of the top fifteen in the country (as measured by number of employees), chances are you're salary is not even average. Among these 15 largest occupations, only General and operations managers (whoearned, on average, $113,100 per year in May...
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PTSD App Helps Veterans Manage Daily Challenges, such as Problems that Occur at Work
"I'd like people to listen to our soldiers. They were there. They heard the alarms go off. They tasted the substance in the air. They spit up blood. They had rashes on their bodies. They got sick," said Congressman Christopher Shays about returning veterans. For so many returning soldiers, there are plenty of obstacles to returning to life at home. As recruiters know, finding and...
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More Tourists Make for More U.S. Jobs
What does an American export look like? A jar of peanut butter? A hunk of orange cheese? The reality is much more complex. Recent reports from the Commerce Department identify tourism to the United States as one of the most significant sources of exports in the United States. International travelers enable millions of service sector jobs in the United States. According to new data,...
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Work Life Balance: Juggling on a Tightrope
As Recruiters, we hear quite a bit about work/life balance. I can count on one hand, really one finger, the number of candidates who have expressed a desire to work to the exclusion of everything else in their lives. Most often, people are looking for a job or a career that they can enjoy; one that can give them a satisfying workday and leave some room for friends, family and leisure at the...
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Fractional Voting for Presidential and Job Candidates
"In the CVS (Conventional Voting System), the input to the voting system is the preference order of a voter and each voter has a single vote. In the FVS (Fractional Voting System), the input is the preference distribution of a voter for the candidates ...."—K.K. Nambiar, School of Computer and Systems Science, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 1989 With the 2012 presidential...
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Tennessee Receives Federal Grant
Today schools are closed in Minneapolis while people are trying to figure out how to clean up after a tornado ripped up entire neighborhoods. But it's not as if there aren't other projects that the government is still trying to work through. When so many areas have been devastated by storms, it's difficult to figure out what regions should be immediately prioritized. Tennessee is among the...
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Most Executives Avoid Future Plans
"I never think of the future-- it comes soon enough," said Albert Einstein. Einstein's attitude seems like a pretty good option. It probably makes for more restful sleep. This type of attitude may also make you more aware of the present moment. A recent survey by Right Management, a division of ManpowerGroup, suggests that most business executives have few plans for the future. At...
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Atlanta's "Best and Brightest"
What makes a place a good place to work? Every time a friend is stuck in a woeful job, do you break out the pros and cons list? Some people get attached to their company's relaxed dress code or their compassionate boss, but in the end it's a lot of qualities that go into creating a work environment where most people are happy to work. The National Association for Business Resources (NABR)...
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A Lightbulb Goes Off
I was pretty excited over the weekend to get a zippier cable modem. This one had blue lights instead of green. It looked fast and somehow evil. Webpages loaded half a second faster. Recruiter.com popped up like lightning; birds chirped and all was right in the world. Bird don't usually chirp over lightning fast Internet, but I live in a strange part of the forest. Anyway, my bliss was...
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Who Wins? Five Types of Technology for Recruiting with Facebook
If Linkedin's recent IPO served as a proxy for interest in recruiting with social networks, the answer is clear: the market is white hot. While Linkedin represents a pure play on next generation online recruiting, Facebook is instead seeding numerous markets. Facebook has massive user activity and social data, but is still relegated to personal use and content sharing. Everyone knows that...
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Being Fired When You (Do Not) Have a Right to Smoke
You are a smoker who wants to defend what you believe is your right to smoke. Your company wants to limit, deny or circumvent your alleged right and, if it has the most Draconian policy of all, is prepared to fire and not hire people like you, even those who smoke only a little. You Have the Right or You Don't For the sake of argument, let's tautologically assume that either you...
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Pseudo-Fatigue
"Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration and resentment."—Dale Carnegie "Energy: the capacity to do work (physics)"—dictionary definition You feel tired near the end of your day. If that happens every day or most days, it can be a psychological clue about how you feel about your job, how you are working or what you are working at, rather than...
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Changing Professions
The workforce has seen its share of upheaval in recent years. Recession and the need for companies to be leaner have both put a large number of experienced people back in the job market. It is a buyer's market as they say and those buyer's are fussy. The new economy has made it necessary to contemplate changing careers for people who really liked where they were. Still, you are not alone....
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Dept of Labor Helps NJ Deal with Lost Jobs from Base Closing
This country spends a lot on defense (about $685.1 billion in 2010, or about 20 percent of the federal budget). So, if possible, the U.S. Department of Defense should be encouraged, where possible, to cut costs. For instance, closing a military base that is deemed unnecessary. Of course, that is a politically difficult thing to do. Military bases bring jobs and commerce to local...
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Real Earnings Decline in April
Unless you got a raise last month, your paycheck didn't quite as far as it did the month before. Though the U.S. Federal Reserve has dismissed a recent rise in the consumer price index as due to "transitory" spikes in commodity prices that will eventually correct itself, real average hourly earnings for all employees declined 0.3 percent from March to April, seasonally adjusted. This decrease...
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RealTime Performance Suggests Ways to Exchange Feedback
"People have an innate desire, and a right, to know where they stand," said RealTime Performance's CEO, Sean Murray. "Without feedback, self-perception falls prey to self-delusion, and the blind spots may eventually derail one's career." Some workers are painfully aware of their shortcomings, while others are woefully blind to them. Both scenarios can essentially lead to the...
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Attributes of a Good Project Manager
You have project managers, and then you have good project managers. Employers searching for quality project managers look for certain criteria that separates good project managers from those who simply wear the title well. This criteria can vary depending on the type and size of the organization, but there are basic characteristics employers look for in general and what potential candidate should...
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Employee Appreciation – How a Big Supermarket Chain Misses the Mark
Anybody will tell you that the most important asset of any company is its people. This is true whether it's a tiny startup or a corporation that employs tens of thousands. So it's hardly surprising then that most companies deem it important enough to make their employees feel special and valued. But what they do to show their appreciation is another story. Some companies really get it. Some...
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Economic Consequences of the Mississippi Flood
The flooding along the Mississippi river has already taken a toll on the area, and will continue to for some time to come. Putting a dollar amount on the personal loss and emotional trauma that the people effected by this disaster is impossible. But economists are already starting to quote estimates of property damage so far, and projections of further economic loss. Michael J. Hicks, Ph.D....
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The Airlines are Hiring
The passenger airline industry has not been getting much in the way of good press over the last few years. The government had to intervene to stop airlines from virtually holding passenger hostage on the tarmac of up to 11 hours waiting for take off. Security measures have made flying more and more inconvenient, and between measuring exactly how much mouth wash you can bring on the plane to...
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Higher Consumer Prices Fuel Inflation Fears
Over the last few years the U.S. Federal Reserve, in an attempt to stimulate the economy, has been buying billions of dollars in U.S. Treasury Bills, thus putting more money into circulation. The overall success of this policy is still open to debate. One aspect of the policy that has been consistently voiced by critics of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is that it may lead to inflation. An...
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Holy Social Networking! Linkedin Shares Pop
The greatest investor in the world warned us about social networking company valuations. Apparently, no one listened. Today the public had their first chance to buy shares of Linkedin, and they did so with a vengeance. Linkedin shares quickly doubled on its first day, giving it a market capitalization of over $8 Billion. Wild optimism? Starry-eyed social networking naivety? Perhaps, but one...
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Is a Career in Corporate Finance for You?
If you love working with numbers, are mathematically gifted and possess strong quantitative and analytical skills, corporate finance may be the right career for you. A career in corporate finance is also ideal for you if you enjoy and are exceptionally good at problem-solving, and you also possess possess strong attention to detail. Working in corporate finance requires that you crunch the...
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Back to the Future, an American Recruiter Icon
"I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past"—Thomas Jefferson As a recruiter, you pretty much live for the future—the next job posting, the next applicant, the next interview, the next client, the next paycheck, retirement. The past is pretty much a collection of pay stubs, Rolodexed contacts for future use and thank yous. The history of recruiting interests...
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Bears, Babies, and Why No One Remembers You
Yesterday, my car started sounding like there was a baby raccoon squealing from inside the engine block. My powers of automotive description are woefully inadequate for Car Talk, so I figured that I better have some professionals look at it. Do I know a mechanic? No. Do I own the Yellow Pages? No. Does anyone in my extended family have any inkling of what to do with a car besides put it in...
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YouthBuild Program Helps Employ 16-24 Year Olds
The national unemployment rate is hovering at around 9 percent, which is bad enough. But the unemployment rate for teenagers is much higher - 24 percent. The U.S. Department of Labor is trying to address the high rate of unemployment among young people in this country with their YouthBuild program. From an event at a YouthBuild facility in Chicago, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today...
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Employers Expect to Rehire Workers who Lost their Jobs this Winter
We're well into 2011 now. Yet most of us don't seem to believe that winter is finally over. This mental disbelief may have something to do with that storm-mangled tree on your block or that basement that hasn't really smelled right since January. Or it may have to do with the fact that this winter, plenty of Americans lost their jobs. During January, February, and March, employers...
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Beware of Citizenship Discrimination
Discrimination is never pretty, and when it comes to hiring practices, it's downright illegal. It is common knowledge that discrimination in hiring based on sex, race, or ethnicity is strictly prohibited by federal law. Recruiters, especially those dealing with documented foreign job seekers, need to be aware that discrimination based on citizenship status is also illegal. An employer may...
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Why Papa Razzi restaurant gets it right (and others don't)
Tonight, we're heading to Papa Razzi for dinner with the kids. I'm actually really looking forward to it, even though it means eating super early by my standards. On paper, Papa Razi is your "typical" family friendly Italian restaurant. They promote themselves with the very same cookie-cutter slogans found anywhere, like: "enjoy a taste of Italy without the airfare!", or "whether it is a...
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Manpower Offers its Two Cents
Have you filed your recommendations on education, workforce development, immigration, regulatory reform, and health care? Well, if you haven't, other people have. Apparently, it's part of a day in the life of a corporations to weigh in their suggestions on national issues. ManpowerGroup was among those that offered suggestions on all these issues at an event on Capitol Hill. The goal was...
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Employees Gain Recognition Even Amid Companies' Decline
Most companies faced with diminishing profits or lackluster budgets still find ways to recognize their employees' achievements and dedication. Despite the troubling economic times, 86 percent of companies still insist on recognizing their employees in some way. According to a survey released this week by WorldatWork, this priority is down three percent since monitored in 2008. "A 3%...
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Top IT Skills Employers Are Looking For
According to Computerworld's 2011 annual forecast survey of companies who plan on increasing hiring in next 12 months, 23 percent of the survey's respondents reported that they plan on increasing their staff. According to the survey, there are 11 crucial skills that employers are looking for in potential IT candidates. Forty-seven percent of survey respondents will be looking for incumbents...
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What Recruiters Do In the Dark
Everyone wants their recruiting team to be productive. On the corporate side, you want understanding of hiring needs and performance coupled with adherence to policies. On the agency side, you want recruiters to pick up the phone, stay motivated, and drive sales. Everyone wants everybody else to work, but who really works when no one is watching? From the recruiting salesperson who meets...
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Attitude versus Aptitude...What It Takes to be a Great Recruiter
Headhunting is not easy. No matter what some people might think or say, no matter what you yourself may sometimes think, ours is a tough job. It takes grit to make this a career choice rather than just another job along the way. Sure the world of recruiting is lucrative, dynamic and fun...but it is also highly charged, super stressful and extremely competitive. Like most things in life, our...
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Social Recruiting Company Jobvite Raises $15 Million in Funding
Jobvite, a provider of social recruiting solutions and applicant tracking has raised $15 million in Series C funding. The areas of social recruiting, job referral, and SaaS recruiting technology have received strong levels of investment lately, but this amount of funding demonstrates a new level of confidence. Jobvite's press release cites a 600% growth in customer size over the last two...
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I Think My Client is Discriminatory. Now What?
If you've spent any time in this business, chances are you've run into a picky client. Dealing with picky clients is a challenge in and of itself, and there are all sorts of tricks, tips and conversations that can help you on your way to building a successful partnership. But what do you do when you start to see a pattern to the candidates your client is turning down? Or worse yet, what...
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Ants, Grasshoppers, GrAnts, AntHoppers and GrantHoppers: Five Approaches to Work and Fun
"'Come and sing with me instead of working so hard', said the Grasshopper. 'Let's have fun together.'"—from one version of Aesop's "Ant and the Grasshopper" fable Every child is familiar with Aesop's fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper—which tells a tale of the plan-for-the-winter "Ants" and live-for-today "Grasshoppers". When a child grows up, the colorful...
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Import/Export Prices Increase
One problem weighing heavy on our economy is our trade deficit (i.e. the fact that we import significantly more than we export). That deficit has been widening in recent year due to (among other things) the growth of emerging markets, particularly China. As of March of 2011, the trade deficit was $48.2 billion. That's a big, scary number, to be sure. But we might ask, are we at least...
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Productivity Numbers A Mixed Bag
U.S. productivity, a strong indicator of economic health, went up just 1.6 percent in the first quarter of 2011. Other than a decrease of 1.7 percent in the 2nd quarter of 2010, this is the smallest increase in non farm productivity since the first quarter of 2009. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, "A slowdown in productivity growth typically is bad for the economy in the long run. But it...
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ReviewSNAP Turns Data into Something You Can Picture
Once a company commits to using a new reporting system or database, you can assume it will get a lot of use. Software with limited storage have little place in the exponential world of data. A new product from ReviewSNAP boasts that it can "generate an unlimited number and types of reports and graphs," ameliorating worries and frustrations of professionals. ReviewSNAP, a division of...
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