Corporate directors kept CEO pay largely flat in 2012. But chief executives took home more money as the bull market swelled the value of prior stock-based pay, including some particularly profitable awards made during the financial crisis, when stock prices were weak.

The findings emerged from an analysis of annual proxy statements by consulting firm Hay Group and The Wall Street Journal, and highlight the challenges of measuring executive pay.

Even as annual total compensation for chief executives at big U.S. companies is coalescing around roughly $10 million a year, there are still elements of pay packages that can cause compensation to vary widely—even in the same industry.

Such payouts are more controversial now that investors have become more vocal about CEO pay in the wake of a federal law requiring companies to put their compensation policies up for regular advisory shareholder votes.

How strong is the jobs market? On Wednesday, payroll-processing firm ADP reported that last month was the weakest private sector hiring month since last September with only 119,000 jobs created. However, today the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said that the U.S. economy added 165,000 jobs last month, more than the 148,000 expected by top economists. This supposedly dropped the unemployment rate to 7.5%. Who is right?

Whichever figures you decide to follow, REAL UNEMPLOYMENT remains very high! If you total: a) unemployment (11,700,00 for April = the same as March) b) those working involuntarily part-time (7,900,000 for April = an increase of 278,000 over March) and c) those who just gave up looking (2,300,000 for April = the same as March), you have a total of 21,900,000 or an increase of 300,000 over March! This is about 16% of the workforce that is either unemployed or underemployed!

My consultants regularly answer the phones of these great Americans who are eager to work, but don’t have an opportunity to do so. Just a walk back home yesterday down Broadway showed many small businesses that had been there in the last few months now out of business! What politicians regularly trumpet, but fail to grasp is small businesses are the real engine for jobs growth creating almost 70% of the net new jobs over the last 20 years. Unfortunately, many of the current policies run contrary to what small business owners need to succeed and add new jobs!

Though the unemployment rate dropped to 7.6% and employers are hiring more readily across the U.S. the results are mixed. For example, in Illinois, the unemployment rate stands at 9.5%. Furthermore, only 14 out of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas have more jobs now than they did before the 2008-9 recession! Moreover, 6 out of those 14 are in Texas according to researchers at the Brookings Institution.

On a positive note, job gains were in:

1. Professional and Business Services, which added 51,000 jobs in March.
2. Health Care, which continues to grow, and added 23,000 last month.
3. Construction, which rose by: a) 18,000 last month and b) has added 169,000 since last fall.
4. Leisure and Hospitality, which has added: a) 13,000 last month and b) 262,000 over the past year!

Another positive sign is, for the first time since the financial crisis, U.S. employers are expected to soon reach their yearly allotment of 85,000 H-1B visas. The last time employers reached this limit in less than a week was 2008. Though this is for foreign workers, this is a quasi indicator of hiring demand for technical workers.

Several recent studies have revealed an increasing shortage of skilled technical talent. For example, a recent report conducted by Crain’s Chicago Business, revealed that: a) demand for tech workers continues to rise and b) the unemployment rate for tech workers is less than 4%. In fact, for some specialty tech professions unemployment is NONEXSISTANT! As a result, many employers have had to resort to signing bonuses and other unique perks to woo talent. For example, Fred Lee, Chief Technology Officer of Chicago-based Enova, an online payday lender that plans to add 50 tech workers this year to its Chicago staff of 1000 employees said, “There’s a tech talent war that’s happening.”

No worries; we can deliver top-notch R&D, scientific, IT and engineering candidates from Staff to C-levels (e.g. CTO or CIO). Please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/qualification-technical-recruiting.php for a detailed list of our specialties and terms.

Unlike most recruiting firms, which just “float” resumes (i.e. haphazardly send numerous resumes to you in hopes that one meets your needs), our very systematic 3-STEP PROCESS ENSURES YOUR NEEDS WILL BE MET!

This proven 3-step process includes:
1. Meeting your key representatives on location to develop a comprehensive NEEDS ANALYSIS doctrine. This extensive consultative process includes both: a) reviewing stated job descriptions and b) uncovering hidden employment necessities unique to your corporate culture. The cornerstone is brainstorming to expose additional parameters, which may not have been considered, based upon the distinctiveness of your work environment and limitations of the current labor pool. We spend unlimited time on this very important step before moving forward because this provides the roadmap of your search and ensures surfacing only those candidates who truly meet your unique needs!
2. Engaging in an exhaustive process of SOURCING all viable candidates including: a) employing our 100,000 candidate internal databank b) utilizing all relevant mass databases (e.g. LinkedIn, where I personally have almost 2000 direct connections) c) uncovering all related industry associations and utilizing their internal databases, contacts and jobs posting sources and d) directly recruiting candidates from agreed upon competitors.
3. Applying thorough BACKGROUND INVESTIGATIONS on all finalists including: a) face-to-face interviews b) reference checking c) confirming educational credentials and d) applying our trademarked Accu-checkcriminal and civil investigation process. Please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/accucheck.php for more information on this unique practice. Assisting us is former FBI agent Tim Pitchford who utilizes the “trapline” network of retired FBI agents to comprehensively cross-examine your finalists to uncover any “skeletons” in their past.

Furthermore, we also offer STAFFING AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONSULTING. This includes acting as a strategic advisor to share some of the best recruiting and workplace practices worldwide to streamline your staffing methodologies. This will greatly improve your probability of attracting the key talent you desire. Please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/technical-recruiting-tips/technical-recruiting-tips.php to view some of our best practices.

If we can be of service to your organization, clients or colleagues, please forward this information. Also, please let me know if I can answer any additional questions.

Though the unemployment rate dropped by .2% to 7.7%, a lot more needs to be done. For example, if you total: a) Unemployed (12 million) b) those involuntarily working part-time (8 million) and c) those who have just given up looking (2.6 million), the aggregate figure only fell 100,000 from last month (from 22.7 million last month to 22.6 million Americans this month)!

Fortunately, there is a three-pronged approach to increase job seeker’s probability of success:

1. Developing a quantitatively laced resume.
2. Selectively using recruiters
3. Networking, which is the most important of the three!

Let’s take these from least important to most important. First, having a resume is a necessary evil. Most hiring managers (especially human resources) require it. Therefore, you need to mold your resume into a quantitative one. Please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/interview-preparation-tips/interview-preparation-tips.php and review my 1st Commandment of Interviewing. The key is seeding your resume with numbers (e.g. % improvements or dollar savings to employers).

The Second prong is the selection and use of recruiters. I recommend using both recruiters who place full time and temporary positions. Access both: a) The Directory of Executive and Professional Recruiters for full time and b) the website http://www.americanstaffing.net/jobseekers/find_company.cfm for temporary agencies. There is no magical formula to selecting recruiters. Instead, develop a list of questions to ask, contact them and select a few that you feel meet your needs. However, DO NOT RELY UPON ANY RECRUITERS! Some may provide some assistance, but the primary way to land a good job is through networking.

Finally, the third and most important of my recommendations is networking. There are two types of networking: a) the old fashioned form of meeting people and b) e-networking. Please refer to my 2^nd and 3^rd Commandments of Interviewing for more information. However, one of the cornerstones of any networking approach is developing and applying a 20-30 second elevator pitch. During this pitch you want to quickly convey three things:

1. Who you are?
2. What you are looking for (be specific)?
3. Your 2-3 greatest strengths.

Practice pitching this information aloud into either: a) a tape recorder or b) the mirror at least 50 times until you feel it is very concise, “rolls off your tongue” and conveys everything you wish to convey very powerfully. Also, time yourself with a stopwatch until you can complete it in no longer than 30 seconds!

Once you have a pitch finalized that you feel comfortable with, you want to use it on everyone you know and meet. Also, use the written version of this pitch on social media sites like LinkedIn. Join appropriate business groups and meet people. When you meet someone new, don’t forget to share your 30-second elevator pitch because you don’t know who might know about your next job.

This is a very tedious process that requires a lot of diligence, but there is no secret to landing a job especially in this terrible jobs market. You have to be work harder than everyone else since there are so many people now out of work! Finally, remember that networking is your most important tool. As part of that you need to develop a very strong, 30-second elevator pitch.

As Big Data becomes a fixture of office life, companies are turning to tracking devices to gather real-time information on how teams of employees work and interact. Sensors, worn on lanyards or placed on office furniture, record how often staffers get up from their desks, consult other teams and hold meetings.

Businesses say the data offer otherwise hard-to-glean insights about how workers do their jobs, and are using the information to make changes large and small, ranging from the timing of coffee breaks to how work groups are composed, to spur collaboration and productivity.

The caveat is workers have to become more and more cognizant of their actions. Otherwise they risk being disciplined or laid off. This is especially true during these tough employment times when about 16% of the workforce is either: a) unemployed b) underemployed (e.g. involuntarily working part time) or c) has just given up looking!

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 312,000 new jobs have been created during the last two months. Furthermore, anecdotally, I have observed that many of our clients have significantly ramped up hiring since January 1st. Unfortunately, few have prepared for this momentous recruiting increase.

As a result, I recommend a 360-degree audit of your staffing needs for the next 18 months including:

1. Full assessments of all your department’s requirements.
2. Thorough evaluations of your talent needs in comparison to: a) manpower availabilities in the current job market and b) your competitors’ needs and current recruiting efforts.
3. Researching new methods for securing talent for your organization.
4. Increasing the recruiting prowess of your hiring managers.
5. Brainstorming sessions among all key managers to discuss actual and projected regulations and how they will affect your abilities to secure key talent in the future.

To assist your efforts, we have prepared a list of 12 key tips we recommend for recruiting. Please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/technical-recruiting-tips/technical-recruiting-tips.php to learn more.

If you would like more information about this topic or need any assistance with your staffing needs please contact me at 312-944-4000 or e-mail ssargis@strategicsearch.com

The National Hockey League (NHL) has only 28 current players of black African descent. The team with the most is also the team with the current best record in the NHL, the Chicago Blackhawks with 3! Goal tender Ray Emery, defenseman Johnny Oduya and forward Jamal Mayers have helped catapult the Hawks to a 10-0-2 record. The Hawks didn’t plan on being the NHL team with the most players of color because of any quota or affirmative action program. Instead, they did so because it was smart business. All three players have made major contributions to their success. This should serve a lesson to other clubs in the NHL as well as other sports. It should also serve notice to bureaucrats hell bent on more regulation. Instead, hiring people of color is smart business.

Talking Points for the month

1. 157,000 (+2,000 from December) non-farm jobs added in January. But unemployment rate up to 7.9%!
2. 22.7 million ( Same as December)= 12.3 (+100,000 from December) mil. Unemployed + 8 (+100,000 from December) mil. Involuntarily working part-time + 2.4 (-200,000 from December) mil. who are not even counted = 22.7 million workers who are either unemployed or underemployed or 16% of all workers! = 1 in 6 workers still unemployed or underemployed in the January BLS figures!
3. BLS said that the National Unemployment rate stayed the same at 7.9% (revised upward from December) in January. This was the 5th straight month below 8% after 43 straight months of 8% or above!
4. Illinois unemployment rate was 8.7% (same as November) in December (Projected).
5. The gains were across the board: a) Health Care continues to add jobs and rose by 45,000 in January (- 22,000 from December, but over the year has added 320,000) b) Retail added 33,000 c) Construction rose by 28,000 in January (since a low in January, 2011 has grown by 296,000 jobs) d) Wholesale added 15,000 jobs in January (since a low in May, 2010 has added 291,000 jobs) and e) Mining added 6,000 jobs in January (has risen 23,000 over the last 3 months).
6. Transportation and warehousing dropped 14,000 jobs in January and manufacturing stayed the same!
7. How bad is it?  With only 157,000 jobs created in January, it will take over 10 years to make up for the 7.9 million jobs killed off by the recession. Many of them are not coming back!

My strong interest in the recent NFL coaching carousel, which left eight head coaches with “pink slips”, extends far beyond my fervent curiosity for the sport. A paradigm of sound versus shaky recruiting practices can be observed. Case in point the Chicago Bears versus the Philadelphia Eagles. Both cities have blue-collar roots. Furthermore, both teams interviewed almost a dozen candidates before coming to final decisions today. Fortunately the Bears’ was based upon sound recruiting practices versus the Eagles’ was based upon a lot of hype!

The Bears General Manager Phil Emery, was slow, methodical and thorough in his approach. He formulated a long candidates list, crisscrossed North America to interview them, graciously quickly alerted candidates when they were out of contention and then quickly pared his list down to three finalists. Then he and the organization moved swiftly to both re-interview all three and then secure their man, Marc Trestman.  Coach Trestman quickly proved his mettle by selecting Aaron Kromer, from the high-powered New Orleans Saints offense, to be his offensive coordinator on the same day he was selected head coach!

By contrast, meddling Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, approached many candidates who go contrary to NFL success. Historically, very few successful college coaches have had any success in the NFL! The ones that do, like Jim Harbaugh, were very special cases (e.g. his dad, Jack, was a successful coach and he had a very successful NFL career). Most other college coaching “gurus”, such as Nick Saban (15-17-1 in two seasons with the Miami Dolphins), Steve Spurrier (12-20 in two seasons with the Washington Redskins) and Bobby Petrino (3-10 in one season with the Atlanta Falcons), failed miserably! Even Pete Carroll, who had a marvelous season with the Seattle Seahawks, failed twice previously (with the New York Jets and New England Patriots respectively)! Now Lurie tries to woo two college coaches named Kelly before finally selecting one named Chip. This goes contrary to all historical recruiting data for the NFL.