Perhaps the most common question I get asked these days is whether the dark days of the recession are truly behind us and specifically, are employers hiring again?

Well, I can certainly say that 2010 was better than 2009. But what of 2011?

As anyone in recruitment knows, the answer to that question is a moving target, hard to pin down at best, totally elusive at worst.

And of course it depends what sector we are talking about, what level of employee, and what country or…

As most of you who follow my blogs know, I am an avid reader. I read and re-read many books that are often referenced in my blogs and I am always on the lookout for interesting stories, observations and bits of information from newspapers, magazines and other blogs that I find interesting and that I think others might find interesting as well.

The February issue of Inc magazine is filled with a number of articles and observations that are all blog worthy. Two items…

Can someone please tell me why an organization would invest real money in any new, cutting edge, or industry-leading HR technology?  How are value propositions assessed?  Are purchasers identifying problems that need to be solved first, or are they being exposed to technologies and then building an argument for why the technology has value?



I think very few new technologies offer actual, realized value to the early adopters.  One area of recent growth and expansion of technology…

Guarantees aren’t exactly something that recruiters love.  However, the vast majority of recruiters offer some sort of guarantee to their client companies on the candidates that they place with them.  What percentage of recruiters offers a guarantee to their clients?  Well, that’s one of the questions we set out to answer in a recent survey that we conducted of recruiters all across the country.

We asked recruiters a number of targeted questions about the guarantees that they offer,…

While many buyers view competing services as commodities, there are a handful of firms in most markets that have earned the perception of offering breakthrough service. From value-packed offerings to highly effective methods of responsiveness, the delivery of service by these firms has been carefully planned and crafted to meet and exceed the expectations of their customers.

To enhance the service you provide, take some time this week to categorize the interactions and impacts you…

I went home this past weekend and I felt like Dr Phil for about the whole time with my brothers and sister.  Not about feelings and family issues, but about career management and decision making.  Not the position any of else wishes for however turned out to be a good way for us to bond.  With a large family, six siblings spread across 17 yrs there tend to be some lost communication and relationships differ.  That being said, this weekend in career counseling might be more difficult than…

The ultimate purpose is to not just focus on the finish line but also understand the best method to get there and not hope or expect, but drive to achieve our career goals in the desired time.

If you are reading this you must have an interest in business, management, leadership and your own role in an organization. As students of these disciplines we constantly seek and find stories of success as defined by academics and executives that we identify as…

Hello, Everyone. I stumbled across this article written in 1998 and the words of advice and matter of opinion seem to be right on! I am curious to know what other recruiters out there think. Please respond to any parts of the article that you may disagree or disagree with. Have our recruiting methods changed significantly after 13 years? Tika

Original Article Copied and Pasted Below: …

I'll give kudos where kudos are due. LinkedIn was a pretty nifty idea. It negated all the Myspace and Facebook triviality and packaged up something that resembled an interactive resume. Not bad. 

Recruiters gone wild! People just giving out content that is usually discovered by means of an internet scouring fest? Jockpot.

Well... now LinkedIn is trying to play jackpot. They invited us into their site, pampered us a little, spoiled us a bit. Little did…

Congratulations new Recruiters! The market has picked up and so has the demand for fresh meat new recruiters. You have a lot to learn! Being a new recruiter is exciting and at times can be scary frightening. So here is a little list to get you oriented as you begin your new recruiting career

Talent Management System = Applicant tracking systems (AKA “black hole”)

Boolean Search Strings = Sacred secrets among nerdy…

Every year, Fortune Magazine releases a list of its “100 Best Companies to Work For,” that group of companies that offers the best combination of compensation, perks, fringe benefits, and company culture.  This list, of course, is of great interest to recruiters.  After all, recruiters need to know which…

We all know Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.  If you haven’t read it lately, take another look.  The first habit, “Be Proactive” is universal – it applies to everything we do. 

The second habit, “Begin with the End in Mind” has wonderful applications to hiring.  Combining the two habits, being proactive and beginning with the end in mind, will enable you to envision what the…

Here is our weekly feature in which we share the top articles we enjoyed from the past week about recruitment marketing. This week we'll be talking about Jeff Van Gundy's wisdom, DunBar's Number, Job Boards not being dead, evaluating your LinkedIn Network and Taking Risks.

Here are the articles our that interested us this week (in no particular order), enjoy!:

 …

It happened again. One of your top candidates for a job you're desperately trying to fill just called to inform you that he has decided to accept another offer.  You knew three offers were already on the table, but your clunky hiring process prevented you from making an offer sooner. Now, this highly qualified, highly skilled IT professional is going to work for a competitor.

This scenario is not unusual. In fact, it’s becoming the norm within the technology industry. Industry reports…

On April 20, 1999, Cassie Bernall, a 17-year-old student at Columbine High School, faced a life and death choice — tell the boy with the gun what he wanted to hear or tell him the truth. Being strong in her convictions, she chose the truth and he choose to end her life. This tragedy is one of the saddest moments of that decade and it holds for us a powerful truth about control over others: we have none. Each and every person we work with has the power of choice and nothing we say, nor how we…

There are three important reasons for us to be aware of…

When making any decision in life, you need to process and interplay a variety of factors to determine between a variety of choices you have at your disposal.  When sifting through these choices you’ll see differences in money, production and overall enjoyment that a certain decision will bring.  But the key deciding factor is most always time.  Do you have enough time to do this choice or better yet is it worth your time to do (with the other choices that are available to…

I had a great student job when I was in college.  I had the pleasure of working in the SUNY Geneseo College Student Union and working for a great mentor, Chip Matthews, Union Director.  I often lean on the learnings and advice I received from Chip, and wanted to know how he was doing since I left (I am sure the place is falling down without me!).  I had the opportunity to sit down and discuss the topic of managing college students with Chip Matthews.  What…