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

Seventy-one years ago, our country joined World War II after being attacked at Pearl Harbor. Because the worldwide jobs market continues to be assaulted, we may be dragged into another international calamity, global depression.

Beginning the week was a report from the Institute for Supply Management that the U.S. manufacturing sector fell back into contraction last month and employment weakened sharply. Ending the week was today’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report that stated that even though: a) the unemployment rate dropped to 7.7% and b) 146,000 new jobs were created last month, there are still 22,700,000 Americans that are either unemployed, under-employed or just gave up looking and are not even counted by the BLS unemployment rate!

Our firm, in partnership with several leading experts, has decided to take action to address this crisis! We are developing a new, trademarked, low-cost alternative to outplacement, called World2Work™. Currently, only a few companies offer outplacement, to only a small sampling frame of displaced workers and with only very limited results. One of the major impediments is outplacement’s high cost (e.g. $10,000 or more per person). Instead, I stepped back in history to my social work days to borrow some ideas from the highly successful Alcoholics Anonymous http://www.aa.org program, which fosters self-help using both small groups and sponsors. Research shows that over a long period of time A.A. has succeeded in helping exponentially more people at a far lower cost than one-on-one therapies.

Adapting A.A. to job hunting, we will deliver: 1) small group training to 10-20 subjects at a time 2) 1/10th to 1/20th the cost of outplacement to mass layoff companies (so they are more willing to offer it to greater numbers) 3) a formula for selecting and employing “sponsors” (i.e. fellow attendees) to jointly apply the tenants of the program and 4) comprehensive job hunting instruction involving four modules that attendees will simultaneously revolve through during the one-day session including: a) core training (e.g. based upon both http://www.strategicsearch.com/real-benefit-exercise.php and http://www.strategicsearch.com/interview-preparation-tips/interview-preparation-tips.php ) b) speech and on-camera skills (Key: the most important part of landing a job is selling yourself in the interview and delivery is an integral part of that success) c) resume development advice and d) research guidance including optimal use of online resources and job boards plus future homework that will guide attendees towards mastering the four modules and landing their next job.

Though no one can master job-hunting during one session, our main goal is to provide the necessary tools and self-help framework (e.g. sponsor) to ensure continued future success. Furthermore, our research shows that many related experts currently exist across the country. Unfortunately, they lack standardization and interconnection. Our hope is, with the success of this program, we will attract many of these resources under one umbrella and standardize the delivery model to more quickly and efficiently address the needs of the growing masses of job seekers.

The U.S. economy added 163,000 jobs in July, the most in five months. However, the unemployment rate rose one-tenth of a percentage point to 8.3% as more and more workers scramble to enter the job market. This has created an uneven recovery heading into this fall’s presidential election. Fortunately, a cure exists in applying SEO to job-hunting.

As both: a) an expert on jobs, careers and workplace issues and b) a recruiter specializing in high technology, I came to realize several years ago the benefit of applying SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to job hunting and recruiting. As a result, I built up the largest, non-profit, professional SEO group in the Chicago area with almost 600 members. Our main objective is to explore cutting-edge SEO techniques.

Tomorrow, Saturday, August 4^th starting at 10:30 a.m. at 200 S. Wacker we will host our first ever symposium devoted to analysis of one’s online presence. Two major goals are: a) to evaluate one’s Internet footprint (or lack thereof) and b) to suggest improvements.  These techniques can significantly increase a job seeker’s chances of getting noticed by prospective hiring companies and being hired.

Recently, I have been bombarded by requests by friends, family and clients to help them find a job. Unfortunately, there is no secret to landing a job especially with this terrible economy with the real unemployment (including those who are involuntarily working part time because they cannot find a full time job and those that have given up looking) at about 16% or 1 in 6 workers! However, I do recommend being very diligent and using a three-pronged approach including:

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 companies (especially human resources) require it. Therefore, you should 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 the mantra: numbers, numbers, numbers. As a rule of thumb, when you put some wording in your resume, ask yourself the questions: a) “so what?” or b) “what does this mean to an employer?” or c) “what is the benefit of this to an employer?” Then add one of the following (or some variation) sales bridges to what you say:

1. The benefit of (whatever you wish to say) was (e.g. a 40% increase in sales or $560,000 profit etc.).
2. That was important because (tell the benefit in quantitative terms).
3. The result of (whatever you mentioned) was (mold the result into dollars or profit or percentage change).

You should not lie on any of these “numbers”, but you can error on the high side. Remember that your resume is an advertisement about you! It is not an encyclopedia of your entire life. It is only meant to quickly share your highlights. For example, if you think you saved your employer somewhere between $10,000 and $45,000 with a new computer control system you selected, then say, “the result of the new computer control system was about $45,000.” Once again, the key is to seed your resume with: numbers, numbers, numbers! Also, try and keep it concise (e.g. no more than two pages). However, do not spend too much time, effort or money on developing a resume, because as my 2^nd Commandment of Interviewing says, “Resumes don’t get you hired, you do!”

Second is the selection and use of recruiters. I recommend using recruiters who place both full time and temporary positions. To access full time recruiters, I recommend getting a copy of The Directory of Executive and Professional Recruiters. Please go to http://www.recruiterredbook.com to learn more. It is available at most libraries. It divides recruiters into two main categories: a) retained and b) contingency. Retained recruiters, like myself, work mainly for the company to find talent. Contingency recruiters only receive their fee when they place someone. It also further divides each group into their specialty areas.

I also recommend using temporary (also called contract or staffing) agencies. This is an often-overlooked tool. Please review my 9^th Commandment of Interviewing for more details. The key is one of the trends today is towards temp-to-perm conversions. This means companies hiring you on a temporary basis, trying you out and then hiring you full time after you have proven yourself. Unfortunately, many people think temporary positions are beneath them. However, if you overlook this avenue you may loose out on a tremendous job! Please go to http://www.americanstaffing.net/jobseekers/find_company.cfm to view and select several temporary agencies.

I recommend selecting 1-2 retained recruiters, 4-6 contingency recruiters and 4-6 temporary or staffing agencies within your areas of expertise. The reasons are: a) contingency recruiters and temporary or staffing agencies will probably work harder for you since they will only get paid if they place you b) temporary or staffing agencies may know of a few good assignments that will lead to full time work c) temporary agencies can probably find you more immediate income (and you can continue your job search with a pay check coming in) and d) it helps to also add a few retained recruiters because they have access to higher level jobs. There is no magic formula to selecting recruiters. Instead, you should follow several steps:

1. Review The Directory of Executive and Professional Recruiters find: a) 5-6 retained recruiters and b) 10-15 contingency recruiters in your specialty areas.
2. Review the database of temporary or staffing agencies and find 5-10 that seem to meet your needs.
3. Develop a list of questions to ask these recruiters (e.g. how many searches have you done in the last two years in my area of expertise).
4. Call these recruiters and narrow it down to: a) 1-2 retained recruiters b) 4-6 contingency recruiters and c) 2-4 temporary or staffing agencies that you feel comfortable with. Some may ask you for an exclusive. I would tell them they have an exclusive, but do not sign anything. You do not want to narrow your possibilities!
5. DO NOT RELY UPON ANY OF THEM! They will all help to some extent, but your main way to help yourself is networking (below).

The third and most important part 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 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.

To develop this pitch, I recommend following these three steps:

1. Write down on paper your most pertinent information.
2. Work and rework this information until you have a very concise document that fits into 2-3 paragraphs.
3. Practice pitching this document aloud to yourself 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. Also time yourself and do not take any longer than 30 seconds to complete your pitch!

Once you have a pitch that you feel comfortable with, you want to practice it on everyone you meet and know. Also, use the written version of this 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.

Remember, there is no secret to landing a job especially in this terrible work environment. You have to be very diligent. However, remember that networking is the key and as part of that, you need to develop a very strong, 30-second elevator pitch. I hope this helps.

Jobs Points for June:

1. Only 80,000 (gain of only 11,000 over May) non-farm jobs added in June.
2. The combined total of unemployment + involuntarily working part time + those who have given up (and no longer counted by BLS) for June was 23.4 million ( Up 200,000 from May). The breakdown is: a) 12.7 (unchanged) mil. Unemployed + b) 8.2 (+100,000) mil. Involuntarily working part-time + c) 2.5 (+100,000) mil. who are not even counted = 23.4 million workers who are either unemployed or underemployed or 16% of all workers! = 1 in 6 workers still unemployed or underemployed in the June BLS figures!
3. BLS said that the National Unemployment rate stayed unchanged 8.2% in June.
4.  Illinois unemployment rate was 8.6% (-.1% from April) in May (Projected).
5. The only gains were: a) Health Care continues to add jobs and rose by 13,000 in June and b) Wholesale trade employment added 9,000 (on top of the 16,000 added in May ).
6. All other major industries showed little or not gain!
7. How bad is it? With only 80,000 jobs created in June, 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!

President Obama’s recent policy change allows some people who came illegally to the U.S. as children to apply for work permits. Unfortunately, it does not solve the larger question of immigration reform. Instead, it was a very calculated move by a very calculated and skillful politician who fears losing re-election.

Despite our current employment woos, we need major immigration reform. Immigrants are the backbone of this country and provide a huge infusion of ideas and labor, which can help our country grow. Therefore, we should spend a lot of time on developing a comprehensive plan that:

1. Rewards those who came into this country legally.
2. Allows easier access to top-notch talent (especially technical and scientific experts in growing fields such as nanotechnology).
3. Provides more extensive standards for entrance (e.g. service to the country).
4. Provides more barriers for criminals and terrorists from entering.
5. More quickly and easily deports criminals and terrorists if they do slitter in.

The BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) recently reported that the unemployment rate rose to 8.2% in May because only 69,000 new jobs were created. However, many fields have continued to grow including: a) Health Care, which added 33,000 in May and 340,000 over the year, b) Manufacturing, which added 12,000 in May and 495,000 since a low point in January, 2010 and c) Transportation and warehousing, which grew by 36,000 last month. This has created a shortage of key talent in countless areas. What can a hiring manager do to win this war for talent and gain differential advantage?

On Saturday, Saturday, September 8th from 9 to 11 a.m. CST in Chicago we will host a symposium sharing many of our top recruiting techniques. The foundation will be our 12 Commandments of Recruiting. Please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/technical-recruiting-tips/technical-recruiting-tips.php to view. Normally only offered during on-site, ½ day client workshops at $5000! However, as a special introductory offer for only $199, you will gain both: a) much of the same benefit and b) insights working beside peers who are experiencing similar recruiting problems.

During this special event, we will sequentially discuss each of the 12 Commandments and then break up into small work groups to practice them. We will critique your applications and offer suggestions for improvement. Then we will repeat this process for each of the twelve. At the end, will be a summary and question and answer session.

Space is limited so please sign up quickly.

World-renowned executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles committed a major blunder when not fully vetting Scott Thompson before presenting him as a CEO candidate for Yahoo. In fact, they never uncovered Thompson’s falsified educational credentials! Instead, it was activist shareholder Daniel Loeb, whose hedge fund Third Point controls 6% of Yahoo’s stock, who discovered that Stonehill College didn’t even offer a computer science degree until four years after Thompson graduated. This raises a lot of questions about Heidrick & Struggles quality of work including: 1) Why did it take until 4 months after Mr. Thompson started to unearth this falsehood? And 2) Why didn’t Heidrick & Struggles discover this misstep themselves as part of their background investigation?

This spotlights the need for our main mantra, being thorough. As part of our extensive background investigations we check criminal records, civil records (e.g. bankruptcies), educational credentials and references. Our private investigator, who is an ex-FBI agent, doesn’t just rely upon mass databases, which are often outdated and riddled with errors. Instead, he digs deep by going to directly to the courthouses where key information is housed. He takes this extra care because past behavior is the best predictor of future missteps. We have even trademarked our unique process, which is called Accu-Check™. Please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/accucheck.php to learn more.

This thoroughness has paid off many times over including during our recent search for a CEO of a venture-backed nanosensor company. During the vetting process we unearthed several DUI’s with one of the top candidates. Though he adamantly denied the infractions, I repeatedly quizzed him about this (Key: I learned from my investigator to ask and restate the same question in a variety of ways in order to “trip up” candidates). One version of my questioning was, “why would you agree to pay fines and do community service if you were not guilty of this infraction?” He folded under repeated questioning. As a result, my client was saved from the trauma of misinformation.