Do you still believe?  Do you still have hope?  Do you still have the ability to find your inward drive to deliver?  The economy is improving, but challenges still exist, the latest SHRM Line Report says it all, while 2010 was a year of improvements we are still 5% below pre-recession highs.  Improvements have been modest, hiring has been tough decision making for leaders of companies as they make tough decisions and hire contractors and supplementary staff with the stringent standards once held for perm jobs.  In these days, it is up to your inward belief in your own destiny to prevail over unlikely circumstances - the SHRM Line Report is reason FOR HOPE.  See here:

http://www.shrm.org/Research/MonthlyEmploymentIndices/line/Document...

As I review this document, I ponder this interesting journey, I look out the window while at work as the sun rises to start the day, and realize I can only give my best this day, and in that moment.  The effort I put in MAY help someone get their foot in the door, it also teaches me about human nature, about the hiring manager who forgets their scheduled interview, and then blames the candidate for the circumstance, or the candidate who says one thing while hiding thier true intent of squeezing out 4 or 5 offers and using your offer even if temporary for leverage.  There are the hiring managers who still sit in thier recession mind-set, that there are plenty of candidates, that they have to be PERFECT vs. having 80% of the skills, to the very hang up on job title, when duties clearly present the desired results.  It is something that makes me ask - DO YOU STILL BELIEVE.

DO YOU STILL BELIEVE....

That you will make your desired income goals?

DO YOU STILL BELIEVE....

That you can go to work each day and make a difference?

DO YOU STILL BELIEVE....

In the staffing industry's ability to point you on track in making you a better professional?

DO YOU STILL BELIEVE....

that hiring managers do care about their staff and do not see people as just robots, widgets, capital, or anything other than human?

DO YOU STILL BELIEVE....

That HR watches out for the organization, and can be a value added partner in the staffing process?

DO YOU STILL BELIEVE....

In the power of the individual to excel past any understanding of what was ever written on a resume?

DO YOU STILL BELIEVE....

That the summation of a person's total skills is not ALWAYS on the resume, and that finding 70-80% of the keywords likely means you will find the other 20-30% and maybe much more?

DO YOU STILL BELIEVE....

In the power of your network to make the incredible happen, do you live for the moment you have harnessed the power within to make a match so worthwhile that it changes multiple lives in a domino effect?

DO YOU STILL BELIEVE?

The recession has made some of us narcissists, some of us pessimists, some of us non-believers in the human spirit, some of us sensitive to out-of-the-box applicants who use some interesting surprises to get past the online black hole of the VMS or ATS.

These days a human touch to recruiting is the most vital component of success, but yet, we hear about candidate control, what about hiring manager control?  Resetting expectations, providing prompt feedback, making real-time decisions that harness a fabulous candidate's commitment, when the market irregardless of past economic struggle still puts forth options and opportunities and multiple choices. 

These days, 1 offer is just the start of a search for savvy candidates, how you sell them is key.  It can no longer be about the company anymore, but must be a true business partnership on both sides of the handshake.

Today we must believe in the efficacy of long lasting trust in the candidate marketplace, don't be without belief that the good, the great, and the imperatives to the staffing equation are not without true positive outcomes.  They are full of positive outcomes.  They also have thier challenging negatives.  The true scope of success in staffing is strong belief in every phase of the recruiting process, a belief you can find, screen, and move mountains, when the deal is all said and done.  Miraculous mountain movers - that's the staffing profession in a nutshell.  Back to basics, back to a true inward resolve to make the mighty happen.  That is the key to success in these new economic days.  May it be better this year, and may we all find hope in the positive economic indicators, true patience and grit make it happen.  The question is DO YOU STILL BELIEVE?