
Streamlining the Onboarding Process with the New Form I-9
Every organization aims to improve the way they onboard new employees—typically a time-consuming process given the abundance of paperwork both the employer and new hire must complete. Adding further complexity is the fact that if mistakes occur when filling out the necessary forms, the company can face significant fines and penalties. However, recent changes to the Form I-9 have made its...

5 Ways to Craft a Killer Resume
Things are looking slightly up in the economy and people are experiencing some guarded optimism. While for the last four to five years the employed have been clinging to their jobs for dear life, now comes the period where people begin to seriously consider moving. And it's not just those folks who need help with their resumes. One out of every ten people are currently "un" or "under"...

Proven Releases New Employer App
On-the-go employment app Proven recently launched its new Employer App, which, according to the company, "introduces a native app mobile job-listing solution with a more efficient hiring process." This new, free tool allows companies of all sizes to post jobs to Craigslist and then search, sort and contact candidates directly from a smartphone or tablet. According to Proven, the company...

TimeSheet Professional Launched by Insperity after Strategic Acquisition
Insperity, Inc., a provider of HR and business performance solutions, has announced an enhanced release of Sage TimeSheet software, acquired with Insperity's buyout of Sage last year. The new TimeSheet Professional offers improved reporting and data conversion upgrades and integrates with other Sage products, such as Abra Workforce Connections. "The enhancements introduced with TimeSheet...

The Conversationalist: How to Find Networking Gold
Successful job seekers understand that developing professional connections goes beyond career fairs, conferences, and professional meet-and-greets. Networking can take place anywhere you are. Sure, these networking conversations are frequently intentional and well planned, but sometimes you may find yourself shaking hands with a "mover and shaker" at a grocery store, a soccer game, or your...

How to Find the Best Training Provider
A recent study from Manpower highlighted the continuing U.S. skills gap, indicating that anything from 25-50 percent of employers are having difficulty finding candidates with the right skills to fill key positions. This news, bleak as it may seem, should serve as a call to arms for the Learning and Development (LD) function, as it represents a great opportunity for the LD function...

How Loud is Too Loud?—When Office Soft Talk is a Better (or Worse) Choice
In the office, at home, in public and virtually everywhere, the one thing that often matters as much as, if not more than what you say, is how loud you say it. Sometimes you have no choice—you have to be loud, e.g., on the job as an auctioneer, and sometimes you can't, e.g., when at work as a professional hypnotist. Given the significant (un)intended business, professional and social...

Keeping Your Sanity Intact at Work
Let's start out with something light. How about the annoyance, nay the indignity, of brown-bagging it every day to just eat at your desk as phones ring, coworkers chatter (and steal your food), and email mounts. It's a wonder that the atmosphere of the office doesn't steal your appetite altogether. Not to mention to the typical unappealing nature of the standard brown bag lunch (bologna...

Adding Flexibility into your Workplace
It's no secret that most (if not all) employees want that oh so important work-life balance. Everyone wants some degree of flexibility when it comes to their place of employment. Why? Well, having flexibility helps workers adequately balance their personal and professional lives. We all know how much of workaholics Americans can be and having a less flexible professional life and career is...

New InstaJob App Allows Companies to Create Jobs from iPhone
Social resume and recruiting platform CareerCloud just released InstaJob, a first-of-its-kind app that creates instant job ads from an iPhone, the company said. InstaJob is like an "Instagram for employers" where users can turn any picture of their company or office setting, business, employees, or any company related photo into a unique visual job advertisement that is immediately...

ClickSoftware Seeks to Set Standard for AI Context-Aware Computing in Workforce Efficiency
ClickSoftware, a leading provider of enterprise-level automated mobile workforce management solutions, has announced the release of ServiceOptimization 8.1.9 with ClickButler technology, an extensive enhancement offering improved context-aware computing; more embedded artificial intelligence (AI); and automation. The new tools provided in the update make management of customer calls and field...

Aon Hewitt Survey: Employee Benefits No Longer a Primary Driver of Engagement
Employee benefits were found to be much less important for driving employee engagement than other factors in a new Aon survey. The value of employee benefits was reported to be inferior to other engagement drivers, such as career opportunities, recognition, compensation package, and clear communication. However, benefits were still identified as part of a larger set of requirements necessary for...

10 Questions to Ask Before Overseas Expansion (Part 2)
The 16th Annual Global CEO survey by PwC shows us that 25 percent of CEOs are planning to expand within overseas market this year. This means that HR and Talent attraction professionals can expect to be called on this year to support their firm's international expansion plans. In the first part of this article, I outlined five questions that international talent managers should be asking in...

The Battle of the Job Boards is Over- They all Lost
We're lucky in that we can analyze the hiring strategies of thousands of companies and organizations. Most use job boards in some form and the two that stand out in terms of cost per hire are Indeed and LinkedIn. In truth, nothing else comes close. In some respects they encapsulate the battle that "job boards" will face in the future, not so much what they offer but how they price...

Why Cover Letters are the Worst....Until They Aren't
Ask any corporate recruiter for a large company drowning in a sea of resumes and dealing with a massive, frustrating ATS what he/she thinks of cover letters, and the person's answer is likely to be "pointless" at best and "irritating" at worst. When a recruiter is already dealing with an onslaught of information from a constantly streaming fire hose of candidates, chances are, he or she may not...

Apply Only If You Have Skills We Cannot Require
How do you deal with a job posting that requires skills that the company is not allowed to require—perfectly respectable, normal, not criminal, immoral or insane skills, and, on top of that, relatively rare skills that are essential to the job? That's a bizarre challenge a job seeker may now face in Canada, given a recently-reported Canadian employment issue and the legislation intended to...

Small Business, Self-Service Wellness Program on Tap from Trotter Wellness
Trotter Wellness, a health management and services provider, has announced the release Corporate Wellness Essentials, a self-service, web-based wellness program designed specifically for small businesses. Plan participants receive basic health and wellness tools for improving the overall health of employees. The tools allow business owners a path to reduce healthcare costs, improve productivity,...

Okay, Enough With Work, it's Time to go Home!
While most people plan their day around quitting time, some have a difficult time leaving the office, whether or not they like their job. Whether your work culture stigmatizes those who don't put in extra hours every day, or you are a work-a-holic who is obsessed with work, there are ways to break out of the cycle of persistently working late, which can have a negative impact on your physical...

Charisma: What the Heck Is It and How Can I Get Some?
The notion of charisma makes grown men and women tremble. It brings us face-to-face with the one thing we believe we can't acquire—our big looming deficit in the social connection game, if you will. It terrifies the self-proclaimed introvert who equates it with extroversion. It points to the one deep inner flaw of the alpha male and alpha female, the trait that all of their social skill and...

The Importance of Knowing your Role—and When to Leave It
There's a statistic that the average person stays at each of his/her jobs for 4.4 years. And there's another one that says for 91 percent of Millennials, this average job duration is cut down to less than three years. And according to Justin Wolfers, a University of Michigan economist, this isn't such a bad idea. In a Business Insider article, he says: "Approach your career ambitions...

Jobs Recovery Suggested by SurePayroll's Small Business Scorecard
Results of SurePayroll's May 2013 Small Business Scorecard show that small businesses are growing consistently more optimistic as economic optimism increased for the fifth consecutive month to 75 percent. Optimism reached a year low for the survey in September 2012 when it dropped to 45 percent. Even as optimism continues to improve, month-over-month hiring in May ticked down 0.3 percent and...

ADP Review Tools Help Predict Success of Retirement Plans
With the release of the ADP Plan Health Review tool, ADP now provides clients ADP Retirement Services a way to measure how ready their employees are for retirement. The tool is primarily designed to assess retirement plan health so that employers can take necessary steps to improving the readiness of their employees. ADP Plan Health Review offers an abundance of statistics regarding plan...

How to Promote Your New Job by Quitting
Quitting one job for a better one happens all the time; but promoting that better job with the employer you're leaving? What's that? That's exactly what Chris Holmes, 31, an aspiring baker who resigned from his job as Border Agency official at London's Stanstead Airport did: He wrote his resignation letter in frosting on one of his cakes (note: image of his cake is shown at the...

10 Questions to Ask Before Overseas Expansion (Part 1)
Despite tough and uncertain economic times, the 16th Annual Global CEO survey by PwC shows us that CEOs are still committed to international growth, with 25 percent planning to expand within overseas markets this year. It seems that the opportunities and threats of emerging economies combined with the strengths and weaknesses of their own business and domestic economy are ensuring CEOS are...

Infographic Details the State of the Internship
Did you know that nowadays students are beginning to intern as early as high school? According to "The State of the Internship" infographic by InternMatch, 17.4 percent of students completed their first internship in high school and 40.7 percent of students completed one internship prior to accepting a job post-graduation. With more and more students seeking internship opportunities (and...

PPACA Could Usher in 40 Percent Rise in Premium Costs
According to a new study released by bipartisan organization Center Forward, premiums for health insurance could rise as much as 40 percent after the full implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). On average, the cost of individual premiums are expected to increase between 25 percent and 40 percent and small market group premiums are estimated to increase by 6...

Effective Talent Acquisition Through Technology
Why does technology matter when acquiring talent? Talent acquisition. Not just a new term for selection and hiring, but a more accurate description of the new thinking in recruitment. Talent acquisition is a huge undertaking and it has high standards in processing job applicants and making selection decisions. Technology plays a vital role in keeping everything in order, maximizing every stage...

How Recruiters Can Help Build More Agile Organizations
The talent sourcing model is shifting and we are moving into an era of temp and contract hire. For example, consider the statistics from a recent TNLT analysis of Department of Labor data, which has revealed that temp worker hiring in the U.S. is growing five times faster than the overall economy, suggesting that firms are using temp workers to help get ahead of the game. I guess I am asking a...

4 Internship Lessons from "Nooglers"
This past June, The Internship hit theaters. This great comedy for HR professionals got two thumbs up from Recruiter.com. In this hilarious look at internships, technology-challenged Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson compete for two intensely coveted spots as a Google interns. While the laughs are what got us to buy the ticket, there are actually some pearls of wisdom to glean from these two Google...

LinkedIn Adds "Apply" Feature, Allows Members to Apply Via Mobile
More than 30 percent of LinkedIn members who view jobs posted on the site access LinkedIn from mobile devices. And previously, users were only able to save jobs on their mobile devices, but not apply. Yet, the popular social network recently changed all that. LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network, just introduced a new capability allowing users to apply for jobs anywhere and on...

IT Pros Most Concerned with Offshore Outsourcing, Says Monster
Monster.com has released a new survey examining the attitudes held by workers within the IT industry regarding the general job market and overall sentiment. And while most IT workers expressed satisfaction with their jobs, job security was found to be the locus of concern. Key insights gleaned from the survey include: • IT workers rank fourth in job satisfaction, only topped by...

HealthPocket: Two Out of Three Americans Want to Choose Their Own Health Insurance
A newly released health insurance survey from HealthPocket has found that working Americans who prefer to choose their own health insurance far outnumber those who would rather lay the responsibility on their employers. Just 22 percent of survey respondents preferred that their employer be in charge of the decision making. Another 38 percent said that they were either unemployed or weren't...

4 Steps to Conducting the Perfect Job Interview
Finding the perfect person to fill a position at your company is about so much more than just the candidate. A huge part of your success depends on your technique as the interviewer as well. Finding out what you need to know about a given candidate is all about asking the right questions and employing skillful evaluation technique. Keep these simple interviewing tips in mind in order to help...

Working from Home: How to Secure and Maintain this Role
In today's society of seemingly insane demands for time and effort, more and more are looking for alternative solutions in the employment category. With moms and dads not wanting to leave home and pay the babysitter, working from home is the most ideal solution. Yet, searching for jobs where one can work from home is a perilous journey filled with scam artists and dead ends. So how do you find...

The Case for Office and Home Balloons
Don't laugh, but I want to recommend tethering a floating, helium-filled smiley-face balloon to somebody's workplace desk, or at least at home. No, I don't know anybody in the balloon business. That disclaimer in place, I want to convince you that having just one balloon in your office and one at home is a very good idea—with positive consequences for employee morale, client and...

CareerBuilder Lists Hardest Jobs to Fill in 2013
According to a survey of hiring managers by CareerBuilder, over one-third of respondents have positions that have remained vacant for at least 12 weeks. The jobs cited as most difficult to fill between 2010 and 2013 include: • Sales representative: 584,792 new jobs added between 2010 and 2013; a 3.8 percent job growth • Machine operator/assembler/production worker: 135,363 new jobs; 9.9...

Video Interview? Put yourself in First Place in 3 Steps
Video interviews are taking over—and for good reason. I recently wrote about an infographic from SparkHire detailing how video interviews are on the horizon. The data said: Video interviews save hiring managers time. Managers can conduct 10 one-way video interviews in the time it takes for one phone screen. Video interviews save approximately 67 percent of the travel costs associated with...

Freelance Jobs Get New Distribution Solution with WorkMarket's Work Feed
Work Market, an enterprise platform for finding and managing contract labor, has announced the launch of Work Feed, a live stream of jobs for the Work Market platform that can be embedded into business websites, media properties, location-based websites, and trade associations for freelancers. Work Feed is a first-of-its-kind open distribution engine for expanding the reach of freelance...

Hire People Today who Can Also Deliver Tommorow
With globalization and the continuing emergence of new disruptive players in the marketplace, the business world is becoming more competitive than it has ever been. And having the right talent in place at the right time is becoming a key performance differentiator for businesses to get an edge on their competition. When you combine this pressure to get top talent in fast with the scarcity of...

Why Wellness Programs Matter
Investing in the wellness of employees has a ripple effect on the entire company. Any time an organization makes a smart investment in their employees, that investment will come right back. Wellness programs are quickly being proven to be one of the most important tools that companies can offer employees. The physical and mental health of employees is of obvious importance. With health declining...

Bloomberg BNA's Wage Trend Indicator Predicts Steady Wage Growth
According to Bloomberg's most recent Wage Trend Indicator (WTI), private sector workers should expect their wages to increase at nearly the same rate as in recent years, with the index remaining virtually unchanged from Q1 2013 to Q2. The index for the second quarter of 2013 stood at 98.72 while Q1 readings were at 98.73. The past two years have seen the WTI only fluctuate between 98.47 and...

4 Social Media Mistakes to Avoid if You're Job Hunting
We're living in a day and age when the internet is an inevitably large part of our lives in a number of different ways. Naturally, it's a huge part of how you keep tabs on your social life or unwind after a long week. It's also probably a huge outlet for you when it comes to expressing yourself and cutting loose. However, it's important to always remember that the internet is a smaller...

U.S. Debt Upgraded to "Stable" by Moody's Investors Service
Moody's Investors Service has announced that it has upgraded U.S. government debt from "negative" to "stable" while affirming the country's AAA rating. Thanks to a drop in the federal deficit, the U.S. government is set to report its lowest annual deficit in five years. So far during the budget year, the deficit has totaled $509.8 billion; $400 billion lower than the deficit one year...

Reasons for Being 'Overqualified' for a Job
Being turned down for a job is never an ego-building experience, especially when you are turned away for being too inexperienced or lacking necessary skills. But for companies looking to further pare down their list of applicants, denying a candidate for being "overqualified" is also a common tactic. If you've been turned down for a job that you thought suited you well but were turned down...

How Upgrading your Dating Game Improves your Hiring Process
We've all been there: a really great first date. It had it all: a connection, interesting conversation, that good kind of awkwardness followed by laughter. You clicked and all things pointed to the fact that this could be something real. Still, in between 3-day rules and telling your dates what they want to hear instead of what you really feel, you find yourself alone at the end of the dating...

Hiring Up on Improved Economic Outlook
According to a survey by the National Association of Business Economics, one-third of all participating economists reported that their companies added jobs during Q2 2013; the highest ratio in almost two years. This spate of hiring is thanks to increasing confidence in the modest growth of the economy. Furthermore, 39 percent of survey participants expect their companies to hire more over the...

eQuest Launches Dashboard Free Job Posting App
eQuest has announced the release of a completely overhauled user interface as part of its 3.0 Big Data rollout. The new application enables users to quickly access job post advertising recommendations without interpreting data sets on a dashboard. eQuest's data base of analytical statistics holds over a billion units of candidate performance data that is used to assist customers with...

Job Hunting? Set Yourself Apart from the Crowd in 4 Steps
We are all looking for the magical combination in a resume that will land us the job of our dreams. The job market has been tough lately, so any cutting-edge information that can help us get our foot in the door is welcome information indeed. There are a number of professional organizations that offer quality resume writing, but the truth is that there are many ways that you can update your...