My Recruiting Blog

At a time when the number of available job seekers highly outweighs the number of available jobs, companies are getting creative in the way they find the best potential employees.

It doesn't seem to be enough anymore to simply have candidates submit their resumes and then go through the typical interview process. Instead, employers are starting to use other tools at their disposal, such as personality tests online (Click here), surveys and even "speed-dating" style set-ups with current company employees.

Take for instance Physicians Choice of Arizona, or PCA Skin Inc., a 100-employee company located in Scottsdale, Ariz., that develops clinical skin-care products. In June, the company began asking job seekers to complete personality tests before they would be considered for employment.

The tests, which take about 10 minutes to complete, contain dozens of trait descriptions, which help the company ensure they're getting the right type of employee for the job. So far, the company has filled 17 positions using the personality tests.

"We have had about 65 candidates take the survey," Chief Executive Richard Linder told The Wall Street Journal. "So far, every hire we have made in which we used the survey tool has resulted in a successful placement."

Officials at Fisher, Herbst & Kemble, P.C., a San Antonio-based accounting firm, also are relying on personality tests to help with the hiring process. The tests the company administers take about 15 minutes to complete and consist of questions designed to forecast behaviors such as interpersonal style, outlook and motivators.

Instead of using personality tests, one company in Albuquerque, N.M., has created its own in-person evaluation system. Officials at McKee Wallwork Cleveland evaluate a candidate in person over the course of several days, allowing the potential employee to experience the work culture of the firm and even attend some company meetings.

Another company that has recently shown creativity in its hiring process is I Love Rewards Inc., a 38-person consulting firm based in Massachusetts and Toronto that advises companies that want to implement employee benefits and performance-based rewards.

During its latest hiring effort, the company received 1,200 applications for nine job openings. Instead of reading through all the resumes, the company asked the applicants to attend an open house in Toronto, and only 400 potential employees showed up, drastically reducing the screening process.

For the open house itself, I Love Rewards rearranged its two-story office, with the first floor serving as an area where current company employees could mingle with candidates, and the second floor serving as a "speed-dating" area, where candidates could talk to current employees one-on-one.

Through that process, the company was able to dwindle the potential candidate pool down to 68 people, who will eventually be asked to come back for group and individual interviews.

Labels: Personality tests online

ProAssisting, an online executive, personal and administrative assistant training program, recently announced that it has formed a 1-for-1 partnership with Dress for Success, a worldwide non-profit.

ProAssisting and Dress for Success have co-opted the unique TOMS Shoes 1-for-1 business model, where the company gives one pair of shoes to someone in need for every pair of shoes purchased. The partnership creates a new way for companies and non-profits to join forces and do good for people in need.

"I've been volunteering with Dress for Success for the past year while we were developing our training program," ProAssisting Co-Founder Stephanie Bull said. "After a session recently, I mentioned how Dress for Success had enhanced its career transformation center to my co-founder. He started asking questions about what exactly those career centers entail and then suggested a potential partnership for ProAssisting.

"As we talked through how to potentially work with Dress for Success over the next few weeks, we watched a news segment on TOMS Shoes and their unique business model and that’s when the 1-for-1 partnership idea really took shape," she continued. "We're truly honored to be partnered with such a great organization."

To start out, ProAssisting has donated 150 assistant training program scholarships to be distributed to Dress for Success clients throughout the country under the organization's scholarship program.

After the initial scholarships are awarded, for every future participant in the ProAssisting Training Program through 2010, the company will donate a full-year scholarship to a Dress for Success client who would otherwise be unable to afford the training.

"ProAssisting has really made the connection between professional development and self-sufficiency," Denalerie Johnson, executive vice president of workforce development at Dress for Success, said. "We are pleased to have a strong supporter of our women through the educational scholarships provided by ProAssisting and their community which enables higher education, gainful employment, and true personal pride and accomplishment around developing key job skills."

Labels: Online training

Any potential candidates looking for Miami teaching jobs should know the city has a lot to offer when it comes to education.

Although the Miami area has lost some of its education jobs when compared to last year, the city has managed to see a monthly increase in employment, despite the current state of the economy. Aside from healthcare, education is often considered one of the only industries to be recession-proof.

The Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall area's education and health services industry employed 154,900 workers during September, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 153,400 workers during August, but a .3 percent decrease from last year.

All public schools in Miami are governed by Miami-Dade County Public Schools, which is the largest school district in Florida and the fourth-largest in the country. During 2008, the district had 385,655 students in its 392 schools and centers.

MDCPS also is the largest minority public school system in the nation, as 60 percent of its students are Hispanic, 28 percent are African American, 10 percent are White and 2 percent are non-white. The district is one of few that offer an optional bilingual education.

Some of the most notable high schools in Miami are Design and Architecture High School, which was ranked the best magnet schools in the country; Coral Reef High School, which was ranked as the 20th-best public high school in the country; MAST Academy; Miami Palmetto High School; and the New World School of the Arts.

Miami also is home to several Roman Catholic and Jewish private schools. Some of the city's best non-denominational private schools include Ransom Everglades, Gulliver Preparatory School and Miami Country Day School.

The Miami area also is home to several colleges and universities, including:

• Barry University
• Carlos Albizu University
• Florida International University
• Florida Memorial University
• Johnson and Wales University
• Keiser University
• Miami Dade College
• Miami International University of Art & Design
• Nova Southeastern University
• St. Thomas University
• Talmudic University
• University of Miami

Labels: Miami teaching jobs

Local officials are doing their part to help improve economic development and create City of San Antonio jobs.

The San Antonio City Council's Economic and Community Development Committee, the Mayor's Corporate Retention and Recruitment private-sector subcommittee and the business community recently came up with three primary recommendations to help spur economic development throughout the city.

In order to come up with the recommendations, the corporate retention and recruitment subcommittee worked over the past year to acquire information and interview stakeholders in the economic development community, as well as evaluated national economic industry trends and best practices from other cities.

"This is an exciting opportunity to really engage the community in a conversation about what we want San Antonio to be in 10 or 20 years," Mayor Julian Castro said. "We need a strategic plan that not only focuses on attracting new business, but one that places greater attention on retaining the many good corporate citizens we already have in the region."

The recommendations include:

• Create a plan - This includes coordinating economic and community development and creating a systematic approach by developing a regional vision and strategic plan.
• Establish process and structure for economic development - This includes managing economic development regionally; optimizing the economic development delivery system by assigning and promoting functions and roles to community organizations; focusing on the economic development led by officials; improving communication and collaboration by partnering with government entities, chambers, industry and trade groups and community members.
• Improve resource utilization - This includes prioritizing investments to drive strategy, streamlining public sector activities and optimizing investments in external entities.

San Antonio could benefit from the added effort from city officials to improve economic development. Although the city has seen a slight increase in unemployment, it has managed to add some jobs on a monthly basis and the unemployment rate remains well below the national average.

During September, San Antonio saw its unemployment rate increase from 7 percent to 7.1 percent, following a decrease from 7.1 percent during August. Despite the increase, the city's unemployment rate was still lower than the national unemployment rate at the time of 9.8 percent.

San Antonio had a total non-farm employment of 845,800 workers during September, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 844,500 workers during August, but a 1.1 percent decrease from last year.

Labels: City of San Antonio jobs

A local organization has received a sizable amount of funding to help train workers for City of Orlando jobs in the green-collar industry.

The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced that it awarded $1.25 million to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, which will be used to support job training for green-collar and related jobs.

Other groups throughout Florida also received grant money, including the Urban League of Broward County in Fort Lauderdale and the Florida Institute for Workforce Innovation Inc. in Melrose, both of which received $100,000.

According to an article by the Orlando Business Journal, the DOL handed out a total of $55 million in grant money to be used for green jobs throughout the country. The funding is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was passed earlier this year.

The funding came in the form of two grants. Green capacity building grants, totaling $5.8 million, are meant to increase the training capacity of 62 labor departments. Groups targeted through this grant include women, Native Americans, farm workers and at-risk youth.

State labor market information improvement grants, which will help connect job seekers with clean industry jobs after completing training, accounted for $48.8 million of the funding.

There has been a strong focus on green-collar jobs as of late in Orlando and throughout the country. A recent study from Orange County found that Central Florida could become a "cleantech hub" and grow its own economy by funding green grants and launching a new business incubator aimed at attracting green companies.

The Orlando area could certainly use the additional jobs, as the local economy has continued to see a decrease in employment amid a rising unemployment rate.

During September, the Orlando-Kissimmee area saw its unemployment rate increase from 11.1 percent to 11.5 percent, which was higher than the national unemployment rate at the time of 9.8 percent.

The area had a total non-farm employment of 1,015,700 workers during September, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 1,017,700 workers during August and a 4.7 percent decrease from last year.

Labels: City of Orlando jobs

If you're considering a career in healthcare, you might want to check out the various Colorado nursing jobs that are available.

The healthcare industry is one of the few that has been able to survive - and even add jobs - during the current economic recession. The industry is often considered to be recession-proof. The theory is that as long as there are people in need of medical assistance, there will always be a need for healthcare providers.

Colorado's education and health services industry employed 259,500 workers during September, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 257,900 workers during August and a 2.7 percent increase from last year.

Nursing, which is one of the most popular healthcare professions, is continuing to grow throughout the country. Some places have even declared a nursing shortage, as they are unable to find enough qualified workers to fill open positions.

Throughout Colorado, employment in nursing and residential care facilities is expected to increase by 7,475 jobs, or 19.9 percent, by 2018 to 44,972 workers. According to the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment, employers in the industry include community care facilities for the elderly, nursing care facilities, other residential care facilities and residential mental health facilities.

The top 10 most popular occupations within the nursing and residential care facilities sector in Colorado include:

1. Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants with 10,021 employees
2. Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses with 2,806 employees
3. Home health aides with 2,741 employees
4. Registered nurses with 2,353 employees
5. Maids and housekeeping cleaners with 1,537 employees
6. Institution and cafeteria cooks with 1,221 employees
7. Personal and home care aides with 1,165 employees
8. Non-restaurant food servers with 972 employees
9. Mental health counselors with 915 employees
10. Recreation workers with 754 employees

In addition to the many nursing opportunities the state has to offer, another plus is that Colorado is often considered to be a very healthy and active state. Colorado residents have the lowest rates of obesity of any state throughout the country and the state has a lot to offer in terms of outdoor exercising.

Labels: Colorado nursing jobs

Job seekers in Las Vegas have not had a lot of luck as of late, with the city's unemployment rate consistently increasing and the gaming industry, one of the area's most prominent, continuing to decline. However, there are other alternatives if you're looking for work, such as the many Las Vegas medical jobs that are available.

Even though the Las Vegas-Paradise area managed to add 9,600 jobs during September, the area saw a 6.2 percent decrease in employment when compared to last year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In addition, the area's unemployment rate increased from 13.4 percent to 13.9 percent, which was much higher than the national unemployment rate at the time of 9.8 percent.

However, the Las Vegas area's healthcare industry has continued to add jobs. The education and health services industry employed 69,600 workers during September, which is up from 68,100 workers during August and a 4.2 percent increase from last year.

According to the Nevada Workforce Informer, Clark County's education and health services industry is ranked fourth in terms of high wage industries.

In fact, seven of the top 10 high wage occupations in Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, are healthcare-related. These positions and their average annual salaries include:

• Surgeons at $214,054
• Psychiatrists at $204,380
• Obstetricians and gynecologists at $197,730
• Physicians and surgeons at $188,038
• Pediatricians at $180,069
• Dentists at $158,149
• Family and general practitioners at $146,175

As far as where you should apply, Las Vegas is home to a long list of hospitals. Some of the more prominent hospitals include: Desert Springs, Desert Willow Treatment Center, Harmon Medical and Rehabilitation, Healthsouth, Horizon Specialty, Kindred, Mountain View, Nevada Cancer Institute, Progressive, Rawson-Neal, Souther Hills, Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services, Spring Mountain Treatment Center, Spring Valley, St. Rose Dominican, Summerlin, Sunrise, University Medical Center, Valley and Vegas Valley Rehabilitation.

Labels: Las Vegas medical jobs

Those with tourism jobs in the City of Fort Lauderdale Florida recently received some good news.

The travel industry throughout the United States has taken a big hit since the current economic recession began in December 2007, losing 400,000 jobs during the last two years. However, a new report found that the industry can expect to see an increase in employment next year.

A recent report from the U.S. Travel Association found that increases in leisure, business and international inbound travel will create 90,000 new jobs during 2010.

"Our industry is uniquely capable of adapting to economic upswings and quickly adding tens of thousands of jobs," USTA Chief Executive Roger Dow said.

The association expects leisure travel to increase by 2 percent, business travel to increase by 2.5 percent and international travel to the United States to increase by 3 percent.

Even though international travel to the United States is projected to increase by 3 percent, that number falls to 1 percent when Canada and Mexico are excluded. Unfortunately, tourists from overseas who travel to the U.S. spend considerably more than those from Mexico and Canada.

In addition, the USTA is working to pass the Travel Promotion Act, which would establish a nonprofit organization to promote U.S. tourism abroad. The association also is lobbying for improvements to the visa entry process.

This could all be welcome news for South Florida's tourism industry, which has continued to see a decrease in employment amid the troubled economy.

The Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach area's leisure and hospitality industry employed 77,500 workers during September, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 78,900 workers during August and a 2.1 percent decrease from last year.

Labels: Jobs in the City of Fort Lauderdale Florida

It's not surprising that, thanks to the current economy, fewer companies are planning to hire seasonal workers this fall and winter. However, some prominent companies are planning to hire some workers for flexible jobs (Click here).

Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., a Chicago-based outplacement firm, recently reported that there will only be a slight improvement in retail hiring compared to last year, which accounted for the lowest seasonal employment growth in almost 20 years.

In addition, a September report from the HayGroup, a Philadelphia-based consulting form, found that 57 percent of retailers who depend heavily on seasonal workers are planning to reduce their holiday hiring by 5 percent to 25 percent.

There is some good news, though, as retail sales increased by 1.8 percent from October 2008 to October 2009. And a recent survey from CareerBuilder found that 31 percent of companies plan to hire at least one seasonal worker for a full-time position.

Here's a list of the companies that do intend to hire workers this holiday season:

• JCPenney - The store usually increases its workforce by 10 percent to 15 percent. Part-time positions are available for customer service, cashiers and associates for "hot zones" for highlighted merchandise.
• Macy's - Although the company has not released specific hiring figures, it expects to hire about the same number of workers as during past years.
• Target - While the company is planning to hire, fewer workers will be recruited than during previous years. Target is reportedly focusing more on a plan to cross-train current employees across departments.
• Wal-Mart - While the company has confirmed it will be hiring seasonal workers, hiring levels for Wal-Mart will vary on a store to store basis.
• Michael's Stores, Inc. - the company is planning to hire about 10,000 seasonal workers, an increase from the 7,300 seasonal workers Michael's hired last year. Of those seasonal workers, about 10 percent are usually recruited for staff positions.
• UPS - Aside from retail, shipping and delivery companies often see a hiring boost during the holidays. The company has reported plans to hire about 50,000 seasonal workers throughout the country, but that number is lower than in the past.
• U.S. Postal Service - The USPS will hire an unspecified number of additional workers during the holidays. Those working as temporary casual mailhandlers can expect to earn about $12 per hour with extra pay for night shifts.
• FedEx - The company plans to hire temporary workers during this month and December on a necessary basis. Part-time package handlers, who are expected to life and carry packages, can expect to earn about $10.50 per hour.

Additional companies planning to hire include Best Buy Co., Toys "R" Us Inc. and Zappos.com Inc.

Labels: Flexible jobs

Thousands of Maryland and Baltimore jobs (Click here) have been created or saved because of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Gov. Martin O'Malley recently announced that the federal stimulus plan has helped create or save 4,460 jobs throughout the state. The state has lost 25,800 jobs since the ARRA was passed in February.

However, Maryland has only spent 6 percent of the more than $4 billion the state expects to receive. While the state was first to use stimulus money for road projects, many grants for healthcare programs and home weatherization have been approved recently.

According to an article by The Baltimore Sun, $184 million in stimulus funding created 800 transportation jobs through 84 construction projects, education funding has saved or created 1,810 jobs for teachers, and $34 million in workforce grants was used to hire hundreds of students for part-time summer jobs.

State officials have reported that the stimulus has created an additional 1,450 indirect jobs and induced another 8,170 jobs. Those numbers, along with 965 private-sector jobs created or saved by the stimulus, are not included in the most recent figures.

Despite jobs created through the stimulus, Maryland has continued to see a decrease in employment and an increase in unemployment.

During September, the state saw its unemployment rate increase from 7.1 percent to 7.2 percent, following a decrease from 7.2 percent during August. However, the current rate is still lower than the national unemployment rate of 9.8 percent.

Maryland had a total non-farm employment of 2,533,900 workers during September, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 2,537,500 workers during August and a 2.2 percent decrease from last year.

During September, the Baltimore-Towson area saw its unemployment rate stay even at 7.6 percent. The area had a total non-farm employment of 1,276,700 workers that same month, which is down from 1,277,400 workers during August and a 2.8 percent decrease from last year.

Labels: Baltimore jobs