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March 2010
Strong Staffing Growth Predictions
In the March 2010 edition of Staffing Industry Review, a CareerBuilder study reports that 20% of employers plan to increase their number of full-time, permanent employees this year, up from 14% in 2009. Those numbers increase even more when you look at the fields of IT and Sales, where 32% of IT and 22% of Sales employers plan to add full-time, permanent employees this year. These percentages represent true increases in staff; they are not inclusive of replacement hiring that will occur as well.
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July 2009
Times Have Changed, Again - Know What is Expected of You as an Employee
By Brian Connors, Director of IT Recruitment, AllSearch Professional Staffing, Inc.
In the late 1990's through the mid to late 2000's, the business world was different, employers had no choice but to succumb to every whim, desire, perk, benefit, need, wish, etc, of every employee that they hoped to land, and over time, as difficult as it will be for some to admit, that created an era of employee entitlement. Employees, for the most part, could do a pretty good job, do some of their required tasks and make a good chunk of change. Employees didn't really need to bend over backwards, didn’t really need to be superhuman and didn't need to exude a Dale Carnegie-esque attitude in the way they dealt with coworkers, clients, and managers. Screeeeeeeeech! Those days are officially over, gone and dead...time to face that reality, and move on into this new era where if you aren’t clearly indispensable you are gone.
To succeed in keeping your job, getting promoted, or landing that new job in this new era, you'd better tuck some pride away, open your eyes, and quickly get yourself up to speed on what it is going to take to survive and succeed in this new era. Harsh words, but these are unprecedented times. You can still succeed and make all your dreams come true, but there are some lessons that school books and college courses don’t necessarily get a chance to cover.
Make no mistake, in every single industry, IT, Accounting, Sales, Non-Profits, and even in some of the areas of the market obviously the hardest hit by the downturn, such as Mortgage brokers, and even Real Estate Agents, there is a whole top class of employee who are not only surviving, but thriving. These people aren’t better than you, they aren’t smarter than you, and by gosh they are certainly not luckier than you. No, in fact, the simple common theme of those folks who thrive even in the most challenging of markets, niches, industries and skill arenas is...drum roll please...willingness to change. Pretty obvious, I know. Painfully simple, yes. Yet, many won’t change, don’t realize they need to change, or truly know in what direction to change...so let’s dig deeper and try to hone in on what employers are looking for in this new era.
From the .com boom to the recession, a nearly 10 year span, employees grew to expect a great deal, and grew to believe that their specific area of expertise would, in and of itself, land them a good job. Now, it's back to the basics in nearly every category of business life. Relationships, partnerships, long term attitudes, handshakes that mean something...sadly these are areas that suffered in the hot market of the last decade...but now it's just those areas that will help set you apart from those who remain stuck in the "Entitled Era."
Now, it's back to basics, personality first, understanding business need, building relationships, verbal handshakes. Employers expect and need a business person to be a business person...and the definition of a businessperson is one who is able to dynamically create business opportunity and value, for the most part, out of thin air. In the rich market of the last 10 years, that need was not as glaring as it is now. People could, for the most part, simply occupy a desk, do the bare minimum and make a fortune.
The statistics and market press can be bleak, no doubt about that, but don't be fooled; for well educated people with real career drive, and a willingness to change/learn/adjust, the future is as bright as ever. Following are a few real-world tips to help you understand what employers want in their employees these days. And make no mistake, employers absolutely understand that their only ticket to success is to find and keep as many good employees as they can possibly afford. If you can bring your unique experience to the table and show an employer or prospective employers some of the following, your chances for continued employment or for landing that new job increase dramatically:
- You don't have to work 12 hours a day, but in your regular work day, you'd better be ready, willing and able to show PASSION!
- Learn how to FOCUS...multi-tasking is the death of productivity. FOCUS with brutal attention on each and every task at hand. Plan your Day and then Work your Plan. If you ever again show up to work without a Plan, don’t even bother getting out of the car.
- No excuses, don’t complain, there is no such thing as luck, you are entitled to nothing...own everything, take accountability for everything!
- Be POSITIVE! Never be a source of negative office gossip, the boss finds out who the sources of negative energy are, whether you know it or not, every single time. It’s in the boss’ mental personnel file for you forever.
- Personality is more important than ever. If you are shy, if you are introverted, no matter what your career, you'd best get to the bookstore and buy every book you can on public speaking, self confidence, Dale Carnegie, etc.
- Don't assume your boss knows that you are excited about your job. And don't just tell them. Constantly (without being a teacher’s pet) show them the types of things you are doing to better yourself, to land a new client, to go above and beyond on a project. If you are waiting for that opportunity you’ll still be waiting as attention, raises and promotions go to your co-workers who are going way above and beyond.
- Get out of your comfort zone, make that uncomfortable client call first thing in the morning, sit down with that difficult Project Manager at 8am, attack a new system issue on your own time at night, before the morning meeting. Trust me, employers, managers, bosses, etc. are becoming vigilant in looking for the “sheeps” of the company...in the past it was necessary to have a whole layer of “operational” level bodies, those days are over. Everyone absolutely has to become a producer...from the receptionist to the President...you’d best be thinking about every way possible for your company to produce revenue, and what you can do to help that process be achieved. Scared of sales, scared of the phone, scared of confrontation...better get over it, real quick.
- If you see your boss doing something, don't assume he's the only one who should be doing it. Offer to go to the meeting with him, offer to go to a meeting on your own, offer to develop a new idea on your own time, do homework...if you expect to “get paid” for every minute you are working for the company, then you are still existing in that “Entitled Age” of the last 10 years. Trust me, your boss wants to see people in the office step up and do the out of the box tasks, while it's always been on the boss' docket, the boss wishes an employee would step up and help him or her out! In years past it was an irritant, these days, just “doing your job”, makes you dispensable.
I could go on and on, and perhaps will in future blog posts...but for now, if you’d like to continue this conversation, hear more, or just chat about how some of these apply specifically to you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me: brianc@allsearchinc.com. I’m more than happy to advise, guide, and assist you on the way to an enriched career path over the long term!
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April 2009
Open Letter to the Media - April 2009
Dear National Media:
Please be responsible. Please be fair and balanced. Please feel free to add to the solutions instead of consistently and endlessly attempting to bring down morale in this country. Please stop invoking fear into the lives of the American People. Please stop pulling only the worst projections and the worst data out of every story. Please stop your attempts to suck out every ounce of optimism from the people that are watching your stations, listening to your airwaves and reading your material. Please stop your endless negativity. Despite the doom and gloom you bring, and your best attempt to sensationalize and manipulate every economic story, the world is not ending.
Plain and simple: companies are hiring. In March, The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 4.4 million Americans got jobs in February. That’s only slightly less (and February is a short month) than the 4.5 million new hires in January. Skilled professionals and highly talented individuals still have employment options. Are you a talented and productive salesperson that is working for a dying company? Trust me, there is a thriving smaller company out there that would hire you tomorrow! Are you a highly skilled IT professional with a very advanced technical skill set, but you are working for a floundering organization that is not allowing you to advance your career? I assure you, there is a company out there TODAY waiting to hire you, in fact, desperate to hire you.
This is not mere speculation by me, but fact. The U.S. Staffing Industry was a $100 billion dollar industry in 2008. Are U.S. based companies spending $100 billion dollars for the heck of it? No. They are spending this money, investing in search firms like AllSearch to help them recruit, hire and retain the best of the best. My company, AllSearch, continues to place highly skilled professionals in better jobs, with better pay, with better security and more upward mobility. My small team is literally working on nearly 100 open, permanent positions for various clients.
My advice for thriving in today’s challenging economic world? Turn off the TV. Turn off the radio. Stop reading every negative news headline that you see online. Stop watching the stock ticker ever 10 minutes. Instead, spend your time where it counts. Work harder than ever. Keep your eyes open for that opportunity to better your career. Spend your extra time with your loved ones, your family, your friends!
The economy will bounce back, it always does.
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February 2009
The War for Top Talent Still Being Waged!
by Jason Connors, CEO, AllSearch Professional Staffing, Inc.
Don’t be fooled into believing that because there have been many recent layoffs, that great skilled talent is now somehow easier to find.
At the professional skilled level, from a staff level Sales Rep to Management level and higher, great talent is as hard to locate today as it has ever been. One needs only to run a job ad on a major job board to realize that. Will there be more replies and resumes than ever? Of course! Out of all those people replying, is more than just a very small percentage an actual perfect match for the job being advertised? Not a chance. In fact, because hiring managers are getting so bogged down by candidates that are not a fit, it has made finding that needle in a haystack that much tougher!
More than three quarters, 77%, of United States Business Executives who responded to a February 2009 poll conducted by a major executive search firm, feel that the demand for talent will increase more over the next five years than it did during the previous five year period. In fact, nearly half say the demand will increase “significantly.”
The only difference in the war for talent in 2009, versus 2005, is the reason WHY a company needs that top talent. In 2005, the war for talent existed primarily due to the growth and expansion of companies. In 2009, the war is still there for talent, but now the reason companies need to hire the best of the best has changed. Employers’ need for top performers in 2009 is an even more critical component in the fight to survive. In order to get the most bang for their buck as an employer, to get the highest levels of production in tougher times and to get back to growing their companies, employers will thrive again only by finding and employing the best of the best! Bottom line is employers should not underestimate their need to compete for finding top talent, simply because 2009 is a different job market than 2007, 2006 or 2005.
Now the question is where do you find the best of the best these days? I assure you they are not being laid off in large numbers. They are not applying to random job postings on job boards. They are not walking into the lobby of employers asking for jobs. They are working! They are talented employees who are producing amazing results for their current employers!
Just as we were in the early and mid 2000’s, we are here to help you find that talent right now in 2009! AllSearch will add real value to your recruiting efforts. We actively build relationships with employed professionals all over the country. We don’t run job ads. We don’t surf job boards. We continue to grow our internal recruiting team with the best Recruiters in the markets we serve. AllSearch finds the impossible to find talent no matter what it takes.
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AllSearch Professional Staffing HOLIDAY FOOD DRIVE 2008!
AllSearch Professional Staffing is sponsoring a food drive, donating food to a local food pantry this holiday season. We are collecting food for the Timonium United Methodist Church Food Pantry (who also distributes food to other needy food pantries in the Towson area). If you’d like to join in on our efforts, and help make this food drive a huge success, please drop off non-perishable foods (canned or packaged foods - no large institutional size items) to:
AllSearch Professional Staffing, Inc. ~ 11019 McCormick Road, Suite 200 (2nd floor)
Drop off hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm ~ donations will be accepted thru Monday, Dec. 22nd
When you drop off your donation, be sure to drop off your business card or contact info in order to be included in a drawing for a $25 American Express Gift Card.
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Thank you so much for helping us help those in need!
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If you or your company would like to make arrangements for a large food donation, or have any questions about the food drive, please contact: Melissa Connors @ melissac@allsearchinc.com or 410-560-1702, ext. 18.
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2008 - A Year in Review at AllSearch
by Jason Connors, CEO, AllSearch Professional Staffing, Inc.
As everyone in the business world knows, 2008 has been a volatile year. We have all gone through highs and lows, the likes that many of us have never before experienced in our lifetime. The good news is, if you follow the history of the US economy, the light at the end of the tunnel is never too far away. For different reasons, the economy falters every ten years or so. That faltering is always followed by a long period of recovery and growth. So as we now start to reach the bottom, we can all look forward to growth in the not too distant future.
Despite the ups and downs that 2008 has brought, AllSearch has continued to focus on the future. We have continued to invest in our company and our resources, so that we can continue to deliver the great results that our employers and job seekers have come to expect. In 2008, AllSearch opened its 4th Regional Recruiting Branch, located in York, PA, in an effort to expand our recruiting services to the York, Harrisburg and Lancaster areas of South Central Pennsylvania. We launched a brand new state-of-the-art website to better service our client’s and candidate’s needs. We also developed an internal Recruiter Trainee program to insure that we are constantly developing the best recruiting resources for our clients. Additionally, we continue to invest in our internal team so that they are happy and providing the best possible service and results to our clients. As such, also in 2008, AllSearch was named the #1 Best Place to Work in Baltimore by the Baltimore Business Journal.
Why does AllSearch continue to move forward and grow? Because the business world moves on! Because in both good times and bad, we understand that great companies still need great people. Often times, in a lean economy, it is even more important to find and hire the best of the best. Companies can’t afford to hire the wrong person for a critical role. They need only the most talented people on their teams to help guide them through tough times and lead them back into growth. And today, just as it was last year or five years ago, great people are hard to find.
As we wrap up 2008 and gear up for a great 2009, I would just like to personally thank all of our great partners. Between the fantastic employers that we recruit for, and the terrific job seekers that we help find careers, we would not be a success without all of you. Thank you for the continued opportunity to serve you!
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