The Department of Labor (DOL) recently recovered more than $219,000 in back wages and liquidated damages on behalf of 44 workers who were misclassified as independent contractors, providing a real-life example of how serious the government's crackdown on misclassification is.

The employer had moved a…

As varying marketplace anxiously await the coming next series of unemployment numbers –  here’s a quick recap of what has caught my attention over the last couple months.

1.      January’s unemployment rate was 9.0%, down from 9.4% in December and 9.8% in November.

2.      The measure of employee output per hour – i.e. worker productivity – rose at a 2.6…

Here’s a quick look at the ten major American cities with the lowest unemployment, courtesy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

1.      Washington, DC – 5.7%.

2.      Oklahoma City – 6.1%

3.      Minneapolis-St. Paul – 6.5%

4.      Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos – 6.8%.

5.      New Orleans – 7.0%

6.      Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News – 7.0%.

7.      Boston –…

Let us know, what do you prefer?

Building your own successful Talent Network can be a long and hard journey.  However, through duel purpose job ads, resume sourcing, recruiting / networking events, active web sourcing and mobile recruiting you can quickly and effectively build your own Talent Network.  The question, however, is how do you make sure that all the contacts you source are as fresh and usable a year from…

I have spoken with and represented many people in the last six years who went out on their own to start a small business that for one reason or the other came to an end. When those individuals came back into the job market, especially a challenging one, it became clear that they were disadvantaged is some ways. Large and mid sized companies often target professionals who are coming from a similar environment who are familiar with the culture, challenges and processes of companies their size.…

The times they are a-changin’ – and Mr. Zimmerman never even envisioned the internet, much less job boards. One way or another I end up looking at a lot of online recruitment sites – some aimed at employers, some at job seekers, some at who knows what. Examining sites is, in my opinion, extremely worthwhile – there are always ideas to ‘borrow’ and ideas to avoid. So, without further ado, let’s go on a

magical mystery job site tour:…

Take it from a HR Professional, HR and Staffing are one. How? Why? Because in order for your HR department to add its maximum value, you must realize that Staffing and HR are joined at the hip. HR Managers, and Directors need to be connected to their recruiters, and Hiring Managers need to partner as one in order to reduce time to fill, and increase the performance metrics that are needed to find great talent. It is so key to know each other, to keep that department chugging along at its…

Oceanside, CA (PRWEB) March 21, 2011

Advanced Personnel Systems, Inc. (APS), the makers of SmartSearch®, an industry-leading applicant tracking system and recruiting business software solution, teams up with subject matter experts to present a series of best practices webinars in 2011. These informative, topical webcasts are presented as a value-added service for users of SmartSearch, and are open to members of…

It appears New Zealand and Australia are leading the way when it comes to one area of social recruiting.  Working with Deloitte New Zealand, we adopted an approach used by celebrities and politicians and applied this to a graduate recruitment context. About 15 months ago we ran our first interactive live streaming video show on our Facebook page. At the time…

As SXSW Interactive week came to a close, I took a look at what our recruiting team had accomplished in Austin, TX.  What I found most interesting was the realization that I was looking at measuring the success of our participation from a "recruiting" standpoint much differently than recruiters or recruiting management might expect.  In fact, in speaking to anyone else in the staffing or…

Nearly all of us faced challenges during the downturn-some more dramatic than others. The question is: how will business owners apply the lessons we've learned to make the most of their opportunities, internal and external?  - Randy Farnum, Planning For Growth in the New Normal

Back in late 2009 I wrote some content for an email campaign that went out to HR leaders, business leaders and talent…

A recruiter recently asked me an interesting question after a webinar I presented on conducting interviews.  She wanted to know the preferred medium for sending a rejection letter.  Should it be done by email, or with an old fashioned letter through the post?  It’s certainly a great question to consider, as it’s a sensitive subject.  What is the best way to deliver the bad news? 

The most important thing to remember here is the people you interview are human, and regardless…

Hold on to your hats because it’s time for all good little employees to get their dose of training! Your company has found reason to give its workers more knowledge on a particular subject, whether it is the integration of a new company wide program or leadership skills. Training usually ends up being the afterthought of doing anything new. A lot of companies think that their employees are super human robots that can pick up and go with something like a fish to water. It’s time for a reality…

One topic that seems to be a hot button for many is the lack of communication between applicants and employers.  Specifically, the communication (or lack there of) after an applicant submits a resume to an employer. 

When applicants submit resumes one of three basic things happen: 1) nothing, 2) an automated receipt, 3)  a call.

I won't give an automated receipt the time of day...it simply tells the applicant nothing other than their email works.  Of course…

Industrial espionage has been on the rise, along with employee theft.   Perhaps it is the bad economy or perhaps the overall loosening of ethics, but more employees, disgruntled and otherwise are stealing valuable proprietary data and attempting to sell it to the competitor.

French automotive giant, Renault, thought it had such a calamity where three of its employees where suspected of stealing sensitive documents related to Renault's electric car program and selling it off to the…

How can I check my recruiting process for adverse impact?

First, I commend you for stepping up to the plate and taking action to eliminate discrimination at your company.  Second, please check with your law team because I am not an attorney.

Very easy to do, not always easy to fix.  Adverse impact is defined by the EEOC as a substantially different rate of selection in hiring, promotion or other employment decision which works to the disadvantage of members of…