Viewing October, 2009 Archive

T.O. of CEO is OK!

For those of you seeking some GOOD news about the economy and the job market, it’s time we started paying more attention to some of the interesting indicators that things are actually getting better.

I read an article on MSN Money that shows there are quiet but measurable signs things are getting better.  It’s an upgrade announcement of two major Executive Search Firms, Heidrick and Struggles and Korn Ferry International from “neutral” to “buy”.   This is based on a shift from a 0.6 decline in revenue in August to a 2.6 GAIN in revenue in September.  Another factor was the reduction in financial sector job losses from 40,000 last December to 2,300 in August to just 700 last month (Heidrick’s #1 segment). 

One of the analysts in the article made an interesting statement:

“Our view is that a resumption in executive turnover rekindles growth exiting a recession, which is spurred further by global economic growth in the second half of an expansion,”

So the takeaway is that the job hopping of executives (remember how prevalent it was in 2004-2006?) is a GREAT indicator that business is growing and jobs aren’t far behind.

Don’t be too upset if your CEO or CFO announce they are leaving the company.  It may simple be an indicator we are finally pulling out of this recession.

Who Cares?

Just not a nice question huh?  Ask someone a question and when you get this response you just feel bad – like they are brushing you off.

Yet this is the response I get most often (verbally, physically) when I ask recruiters about the candidate experience – especially the candidates who apply but are not qualified or have clearly applied for the wrong job.

But my answer is always “you need to” and apparently The Gallup organization agrees with me.  A 2008 study in The Gallup Management Journal (surveying a targeted U.S. sample of 1,376 adults aged 18 and over who were seeking a job – The sample consisted of those who are currently unemployed and seeking a job as well as those who are currently employed full time or part time and have searched for employment in the past six months) found that if you don’t care and aren’t treating all candidates like customers, you may be significantly harming your recruiting efforts. Continue reading

Job Board Logic

I remember in 1992 when the “world wide web” (the term internet had not been invented yet) was touted as a game changer for recruiting. And it was true…..for a time. There was Monster, then Careerbuilder but two was not enough, the job board industry realized that they could carve up the universe into bite sized pieces and convince recruiting departments that they had to be part of this movement in order to get closer to the talent they seek.

And millionaires were made.

Today, we’ve seen a proliferation of niche job boards (to the tune of over 45,000 available) and the promise of the web (automate and create efficiency) has all but gone by the wayside.

Allow me to explain via example: Continue reading