There are 5,000,000 jobs that are going unfilled because the skills just aren’t there.  5,000 jobs is a significant number.  5,000,000 is a significant impact.  We still have a ton of “underemployed” in America.

These skills like PLC programming, Medical Lab Technology, and Revit Design ain’t Rocket Science.  They are skills and they are specific, but they can be learned.

The gap is fillable.  Fill a spot or encourage someone who needs it to fill a spot and the skills gap will…

Economists are lowering their expectations going forward because of unexpected gridlock.  Gridlock is the norm in Washington but with a Republican White House and Congress there was some hope that a lot would get done.  But the gridlock remains.  Too many competing agendas.

Where this leaves us is probably stuck in this slow, lower than 2%, growth.  That’s better than a recession, but if you are waiting for the economy to give an extra boost to business you are probably going to be…

It’s pretty disappointing when we don’t land the candidate that we were after.  There’s a lot of frustration when this happens.  In most situations however, there is more than one person in the candidate pool.  Someone who fits the need and would be an excellent hire.

On any search you should look at the big picture and and understand that there are some number of potential candidates in existence that would be a great hire.  The objective is to make a great hire, improve your…

Job stability is not what it used to be.  It seems like it was a century ago when job stability was something that employees counted on from a single employer for an entire career.  That’s actually close to accurate.

The reality is that companies have been focused on business and results over individual employees for a long time.  That’s perfectly fine as long as employees understand that and take responsibility for their own careers.  Real job stability comes from doing great work.…

When you have a tough job to fill, a skill set that is in high demand and with a shortage of qualified people, you have to move when you can.  Too many times we see hiring managers hold to a set process of finding 3 candidates to interview before moving forward or something similar.

It’s great to have a good hiring process that works for you, but you have to think about the current situation and do what is best for business.  Candidates with backgrounds and skills that are in short…

Many companies recruit sharing as little information as possible.  Knowledge is dangerous.  The more the candidate knows about our business, the more they can find to object to.

Great companies work the opposite way.  The more they share the better.  Great companies come in all shapes and sizes and are in any industry, but they all do great work.  Sharing their vision, how they operate, what they accomplish, what they are building……these things show the great work that they do and…

Currently we are experiencing low unemployment and stalled wage growth.  There is a disconnect here and something’s gotta give at some point.

This really highlights the sloppiness of the long recovery we are in.  At some point we will get a good economy again.  It’s not horrible now, but without wage growth it’s not the real deal.

More good work and more patience.

Todd Kmiec…

Sponsorship is a pain.  There’s a cost and there’s paperwork.

But for some searches the candidate pool is really tight and opening up to sponsorship does open up the candidate pool.  The decision to not sponsor is an easy one if you can fill the position without it.  However, the negatives are not significant enough to take the option off the table for challenging searches.

Todd Kmiec…

It’s easy to lose sight of what you are recruiting for.  We want this.  We have to get one of those.  It’s imperative that you know what you are.

What does your business do?

What do you provide?

What do you sell?

How do you sell it?

Recruit with that in mind.

Todd Kmiec…

In the United States about 5,000,000 people leave their job every month and a little more than 5,000,000 people take a new job.

Do the numbers on that…..per region, per state, per metropolitan area etc…..

That’s a ton of movement and clear evidence that the candidate pool is always changing.

Todd Kmiec…

You can get stuck in anything.  Fixing a mechanical problem, recruiting, sports, writing and on and on.  Getting stuck is normal.  Staying stuck is a problem.

The key to getting unstuck is to change things up.  A small tweak.  A different source.  A different tool.  As soon as you realize that you are stuck, look to change things up and get moving again.

Todd Kmiec…

We all want the perfect fit.  Sometimes we get it.  Sometimes it’s just not there.  One approach is to keep working at it and be patient.  Better to have the perfect fit at some point than to have a very good fit sooner.

The other approach is to constantly work to improve the roster.  Upgrade each spot every chance you get.  Work hard to expand your reach and identify the best fit that you can land for each spot.  Great sports teams do this.  Look at the New England Patriots.  They…

Sometimes you know exactly who you need.  One target.  The approach, a shotgun approach, is simple.  If you have lots of time you can work towards the goal of landing the ideal candidate without a lot of risk.  If you don’t have a lot of time, the risk goes up significantly.

The other approach is to have many possible targets and expand your reach to engage as many as you can.  Much lower risk.  Much more likely that you will be able to engage the right candidate.  You may even end up…

A good job ad gets your attention.  It peaks your interest.  Something like…..

“Great opportunity for an experienced widget maker”

Then it will state the critical information.  The main idea is to peak interest and give the critical requirements that you are looking for.  You want the right candidate to recognize that they fit and generate enough interest for them to want to explore it and find out what makes it a great opportunity.

If an ad goes over the top it sounds…

The unemployment rate has been trending down since 2010.  That’s a good thing even considering the fact that we were in really bad shape then and the numbers are regularly massaged.

If you include the underemployed (those working at lesser jobs than they really need but still not qualifying for unemployment) the numbers aren’t nearly as good.  You really have to include the underemployed to get a feel for how good or bad the situation is.  The underemployed don’t make enough money and…

There is no shame in not being the right fit.  Many candidates feel rejected when they are passed on by a hiring manager.  Recruiters, especially early in their careers, can sometimes feel rejected when their candidate is not a fit.

I’m not the right fit for the Golden State Warriors at small forward and I’m not the right fit for manicurist at the local salon.  No shame in that.  Recruiting is about finding.  Finding the right candidate.  Finding the right position.  Feeling rejected…

If you want to know why you recruit, ask yourself why you are in business.  Companies are in business for a reason or for a number of reasons.

• To make an impact on the world.
• To satisfy a need.
• To make a given set of people happier.
• To make things easier for a given set of people.
• To make money, employ people, produce something useful……..

If you’ve got a reason to be in business then there’s a reason you need to recruit.  In…

If you do something well, it is better to put more effort and resources into doing more of it than to branch off into something new.  That is until you’ve covered most of the market.

It’s a really big world and most businesses don’t have enough market share to worry about having too little room to grow.  If you’re fishing in the ocean, there’s no need to go out and hunt buffalo.  Just cover more water more efficiently.

Todd…

I’m a Cubs fan.  Have been all of my life.  Last year the Cubs won the World Series and it was an incredible ride all year long.  This year, not so much.  They are playing 500 baseball (roughly the same number of wins as losses) and while they could still turn it on, they aren’t dominating like they did last year.

This year some other teams are dominating.  The Astros and Dodgers to name a couple.  The Astros have clearly followed the same process as the Cubs.  Drafting well, building…