Recruiter News Line

Hiring a new employee is a difficult task where technical skill sets are important. Candidates are required to have a depth of skill that cannot be determined by a resume or an interview and many organizations struggle with determining the skill level of potential employees for technical positions. Many times managers do not posses the technical skills necessary and having staff test technical skills does not always lead to consistent or reliable  assessments of skill levels.  Simple Certification Manager provides organizations with a standard method for determining skill levels before an employee is hired.

Simple Certification Manager utilizes computer based testing to test skill levels at all levels from beginners to expert.  All tests are based on industry certification testing.  Organizations benefit by having a consistent measure of technical abilities of their applicants.

Simple Certification Manager is a great tool for both Human Resource departments and recruiting firms. Setting up tests take only a few minutes and after the testing a full evaluation of each question and answer are presented to the organization. This allows potential employers to determine the test takers strengths and weaknesses before employment begins.

Managing expenses can be a concern for many organizations today. Simple Certification Manager is offered in a simple to use unlimited use subscription allowing organizations to test applicants while managing costs. Available tests cover many different areas from accounting software such as Excel to development languages such as PHP. Organizations can also have custom tests built to better meet their needs.  Simple Certification Manager is available at www.SimpleCertification.com

Recruiters can start their own internet job boards in one day with easy to use, search engine optimized, and surprisingly affordable JobMount technology.

This is an excellent way to:
- leverage industry contacts
- build a proprietary database of contacts that will grow and stay
- earn a piece of the $6 billion per year that is spent on on-line recruiting

JobMount offers a choice of custom or template job board software, hosting and critical proprietary built-in SEO, as well as personalized optimization consulting.  Unlike other job board software, JobMount offers full transparency into SEO, as well as metrics and CRM with interfaces to Gmail and Google Calendar.

Despite global job losses due to the current economic crisis, hundreds of niche job boards are being launched every month, all aimed at gaining a share of the $6 billion annual spend on internet job advertising.  Driving traffic and conversions to these job boards is essential, and JobMount is a proven solution that dynamically creates website content that is viewed favorably by the complex search engine algorithms.

JobMount offers clients:
- Job Board technology perfected for Search Engine Optimization
- Sales oriented CRM Dashboard and analytics
- Google apps integrated: calendar, email
- Bulk posting, Job Spider for bulk jobs publishing
- Custom and template packages
- Starting as low as $995 for SEO Built-in Template Solution

View Demo: http://demo.jobboardmount.com
Packages & pricing info: http://www.jobboardmount.com/cm/pricing

Michael Woodrow, Chief Operating Officer of Aspen Technology Labs, states, “We have received rave reviews from our customers for both the custom and the template job board solutions.  Our clients are thrilled that the job board technology allows them to optimize as well as measure their search engine results, and significantly lower, and often eliminate, expensive pay-per-click marketing campaigns, while increasing traffic.”  One customer stated, “there is no question that JobMount is a better mousetrap.  Our visitors literally doubled in three months because we started appearing in the top four results on Google and Yahoo for literally hundreds of key word combinations.  This allowed us to eliminate our pay-per-click budget.”

Due to the built-in SEO features, there is now an opportunity for many niche players to enhance their position or launch a new board. Existing Job Board owners can use the self-assessment guide or request a free SEO review from www.jobboardmount.com

Two pieces of legislation were recently passed in the U.S. Senate that will dramatically impact any employer deemed to have compensation practices that have a disparate impact on women and minorities.

GAO assails EEOC & OFCCP
“Both the EEOC and OFCC were admonished last August by the General Accounting Office that they were not adequately monitoring and enforcing compliance relative to equal pay,” said Milt Cotter, Senior Partner and CEO of Texas – based Candidate Resources, Inc. “These two pieces of legislation will have far-reaching effects for employers,” continued Cotter.

Major changes
Cotter noted a few of the changes that will be brought about by the legislation:

1. Increased damages for EPA claims with unlimited compensatory and punitive damages
2. Prohibited employer retaliation against employees who discuss their pay with coworkers
3. Virtual elimination of the statute of limitations for pay discrimination claims
4. Expand class action lawsuits that claim unequal pay
5. Limiting of employer defenses.

“EEOC and OFCCP representatives will hold fact-finding interviews with employees, behind closed doors. The purpose of which is to discuss pay and promotion issues. It is imperative employers perform due diligence and review existing practices to identify areas in which they might be considered ‘negligent,’ Any violations can end in severe financial penalties for the company,” stressed Cotter.

Clarity important
“There is no question that these two pieces of legislation will be enacted,” said Cotter. “Employers need to get a jump on understanding what changes will take place and actively monitor any situations that might be seen as possible violations in their company’s equal pay practices.”

“It is crucial that employers get a head start on this legislation, that’s why Candidate Resources, Inc., has put together a number of Internet webinars that will cover this important subject,” said Cotter.

Webinars scheduled
Candidate Resources, Inc. has scheduled four, one-hour, repeat webinars in February. Presentations are scheduled each Tuesday in February, starting February 3rd and repeating on the 10th, 17th, and 24th, at 12PM Eastern Time.

Reservations required
Individuals can register by calling Andrew Schmidt, Conference Coordinator, at
(972) 641-5494 X204, emailing Andrew at aschmidt@criw.com, or online registration at - http://www.criuniversity.com/OnlineTeleRegistration.asp. Fee for the webinars is $65 per person.

Madison, OH - Some recruiters are using a secret weapon to assist them in placing a high volume of candiates in spite of the recession.The recession has hurt both large and small recruiting agencies, job orders have dried up, and many candidates are afraid to make a move. Yet in spite of the difficult environment many small recruiting agencies and independent recruiters are using recruiting networks to connect with each other and place more candidates than they can on their own.

John Kaufman of http://www.RecruitingRocket.com says,”Networking with other headhunters and exeutive recruiters in a split fee network helps by providing you with additional job orders and a larger pool of candidates so that you can fill more orders more quickly”.

He says that as a small recruitment agency or independent recruting company it’s often difficult to both find job orders and source candidates quickly enough because of increased competition from other agencies. He adds that recruiters working together as a team, allows each headhunter to have the resources of a larger company, while retaining the benefits of being independent.

Tips for Networking with other recruiters in a split fee network:

- Get it in writing - Make sure you have a split fee agreement in place, and you are both comfortable with the terms before you share client or candidate details.

- Act with integrity - When working splits with other recruiters, you should always act with honesty and integrity. Cheap tricks will get you banned from the networks, and will earn you a bad reputation with the clients.

- Only present fully vetted candidates - When working a split, you should present candidates to other recruiters in the same way you would present them directly to a company. “Dumping resume’s” on another recruiter and expecting him to do your job will not work. Make sure that your candidate is qualified, interested, and you have checked references prior to submitting him for consideration.

- Communicate effectively - Communicate with other recruiters regarding job requirements, timelines, candidate profiles, and each of your expectations from the relationship. Working with other recruiters in a split network is an excellent method of building long term business partnerships, not just one time placements.

Using split fee placement networks like RecruitingRocket.com helps recruiters by helping them build long term partnerships which help in both sourcing candidates and job orders.

John Kaufman is a managing partner with AgentHR - a nationwide recruiting agency with over 50 independent offices and founder of http://www.RecruitingRocket.com - a split fee and social network for recruiters.

Improved Experience, the parent company behind HR Technology products, Make Better Hires and Get Better Hires, is focusing on decreasing company costs during this difficult economic time. A move they say, is getting them in the door with customers.

“Our products serve as a mirror or a dashboard to how a company is doing in the their recruiting, hiring and onboarding practices,” said partner Claudia Faust, a 15-year industry veteran, who developed the product based on her own frustrations with poor HR Reporting.

Both Make Better Hires and its sister product, Get Better Hires, measure every step of the recruiting and hiring process by allowing job seekers and new hires to give anonymous feedback, which it then calculates to provide the dashboard numbers that are the products’ hallmark.

“My executive team ‘talks in dashboard’ and for my team to be able to articulate in this same language keeps us in the conversation of change,” said Carole Anderson, the Director of Recruiting at Classmates.com.

And while Faust admits that not all companies are interested in “looking in the mirror” to see a true reflection, warts and all, the ones that are willing to honestly evaluate the service they provide job seekers and third party hiring professionals, are more likely to “weather the storm” in her opinion.

“We’re not hearing as much talk now about a war for talent,” said Faust. “What I am hearing is that HR Technology has to do its job and provide 306 degree value for the money. In some cases, the technology has to be robust enough to support an already skeletal team. Improved Experience provides technology that powerful.”

Improved Experience offers business intelligence solutions for use in Human Resources, Recruiting and Staffing. From the earliest point of contact and throughout the entire employment life cycle, the Better Hires suite of products from Improved Experience measures and benchmarks critical indicators of workforce engagement and employer brand. Improved Experience products are real-time and subscription-based, utilizing patent-pending survey technology. Global sales, operations and customer support are provided from Dallas, Miami and Copenhagen.

Applicant Tree (http://www.applicanttree.com/)

, an internet job board that pays applicants each time their full resume is viewed, will now be a subsidiary of newly established parent company Three Stars Team (http://www.threestarsteam.com/).

Three Stars Team, an industry leader in their field, collects marketing leads through online job boards with the simple philosophy that an individual is more open to considering advertising offers while applying for a job than at any other time in his or her life. With advertising offers that are of keen interest to job seekers built into the application process, Three Stars is able to offer listing services to employers throughout the country at little or no cost. In addition, the associated advertising enables Three Stars to never have to charge applicants, keeping them in step with competitors.

Applicant Tree takes that philosophy one step further by actually paying job applicants for each full download of his or her resume. The ideology behind traditional recruitment services is that job applicants can be bought or traded as a commodity, but receive no reward for their talents and resources, which is at the very heart of the industry. To reverse this inequity, Applicant Tree charges a small amount to employers to view only the resumes that actually meet their requirements and then half of that amount will be passed directly on to the applicant. This is a huge cost savings to employers as the associated fees are a fraction typically paid to leading Internet job boards, and a veritable boon to applicants who have never had the opportunity to be paid for their job search before.

This approach will attract passive job seekers, i.e. those who are already comfortable at their present job, but who will also consider a more attractive offer should one be presented. With the option to be paid for their time, these individuals will be far more likely to post their resume than under the current non-paid model currently employed by most major job boards.

The day-to-day operations of Internet application service Power Applications will be handled at the corporate headquarters of parent company Three Stars Team, an online marketing company. With centralized operations, individual corporations will be able to draw knowledge from the expert staff of sister companies and improve overall service to clients and partners.

Power Applications serves small businesses by designing and hosting employment Web pages where potential employees can apply online. Businesses can continue to recruit new employees in a manner they are comfortable with, by posting on online job boards or in newspapers, but can then direct applicants from those ads to the online application. Results of the application are delivered in real time.

Each application contains advertising offers that provides these businesses with a unique revenue-sharing opportunity seamlessly rolled into their search for new employees. The advertising dollars generated by the applications both pays for the site and its upkeep as well as paying a portion back to the business. Consequently, not only are the services free and transparent, they actually infuse the business with new revenue.

The inclusion of targeted advertising within employment applications was pioneered by Three Stars Team based on the philosophy that an individual is more open to considering advertising offers while applying for a job than at any other time in his or her life. By selecting verticals that appeal to job seekers, Three Stars Team generates more revenue through this method than by traditional advertising. In turn, this represents tremendous earning potential for small businesses who utilize the services of Power Applications.

Staffing companies are saving jobs and hiring Skilled Tradesmen in the construction industry during this tough economic time. Construction Jobs are usually staffed with skilled tradesmen such as Ironworkers, Pipefitters, Pipe welders, Millwrights, HVAC, and Electricians - these industrial trades are commonly used in commercial and industrial construction as they have been for the past 25 years.

These skilled trades require years of practice and continuing education to master and always require certification of one form or another. Construction Staffing companies have a nationwide reach, enabling tradesmen to work anywhere in the country during these tough times. Skilled Tradesmen can not count on finding local work; these trades are to much of a niche. To find work as a skilled tradesman you must consider traveling to out of town projects where you can earn great pay, bonuses, and per-diem in some cases.

Construction staffing and personnel companies like Grus, Inc. call employees daily to check their employment status and to keep records updated. Skilled workers and tradesmen can also sign up for an automatic Hot Jobs notification service to ensure real time notification of the best opportunities.

Contractors notice these benefits; a company that keeps constant contact with its workforce is a tremendous asset because they generally have the highest quality workers. In these tough times lots of good men and women in the commercial and industrial construction industry are out of work. These construction personnel and staffing companies now have a large pool of some of the best tradesmen and women in the United States. If you need additional Journeymen for your construction project you should consider staffing with a construction personnel company.

The benefits out weigh the costs, usually a staffing and construction personnel company can handle all of the employment background checks, drug screening, skill assessment, payroll, workers compensation, child support, and tax administration - leaving the Contractor and Sub-Contractor to focus on the construction project as a whole. These time saving services not only make working with a construction personnel company enjoyable but they also demonstrate a smart approach to construction management in a recession.

Being smart with your workforce management is necessary in these tough times, making hiring mistakes can cost a significant amount of money in the long run, good quality works and tradesmen can be tough to find if your only looking in your local area. To be smart about your hiring process you must think outside the box and outside the state.

Internet marketing company Three Stars Team has merged with the Web based job board Career Network, and will now serve as the Web site’s parent company. The move by Three Stars Team is but one of many acquisitions the company has been involved with recently.

Three Stars Team, an industry leader in their field, collects marketing leads through their online job boards with the simple philosophy that an individual is more open to considering advertising offers while applying for a job than at any other time in his or her life. With advertising offers that are of keen interest to job seekers built into the application process, Three Stars Team is able to offer listing services to employers - via Career Network - throughout the country at no cost. In addition, the advertising enables Three Stars Team to never have to charge applicants, keeping them in step with competitors.

For employers, Career Network lists open employment positions on its site for free, and then networks those job ads by reprinting them in other media, such as newspapers and Craig’s List, to increase exposure and attract more applications than a typical employment listing will. This effectively multiplies the scope of each job ad to reach deeper into the base of applicants in the employers’ respective areas. These services are offered free because Career Network earns its revenue entirely through associated advertising just the same as all of Three Stars Team’s sites.

New research announced by Guidant Group and the Human Capital Institute (HCI), indicates that the United States contract talent workforce is growing at more than twice the rate of traditional employment. The study, released today by Guidant Group, HCI, and industry partners, examines the use of contract talent in U.S. organizations.

More than 90 percent of organizations surveyed for the study, “The State of Contract Talent Management and the Role of HR,” reported that they use contract talent. Additionally, 34 percent said that their use of contract talent has increased or increased dramatically in the past three years.  Looking towards the future, a full 85 percent of respondents believe that their use of contractors will remain about the same or grow over the next three years. Contract talent is defined as contractors, consultants, freelancers, temporary help, interim executives and others who are not part of an organization’s full-time or part-time workforce — a group that currently comprises almost one-third of the U.S. workforce.

The composition of the contract workforce is also changing in this economy; more than half are skilled consultants performing mission critical functions. The study indicates that human resources and procurement professionals will need to collaborate to manage contract talent strategically.  Larry Kihlstadius, Senior Vice President of Guidant Group, noted, “The future of talent acquisition clearly rests with the integration of contract, project and full time hires.  All sources of talent will become critical components to the strategic leverage of human capital.  Forward thinking companies are already stratifying the workforce to obtain the “right sourced” blend for talent acquisition.”

The Contract Talent Research Practice Area at HCI, which produced the study, was formed to examine the use of contract talent and provide strategic thought leadership.  Conducted in late 2008, the wide-ranging study included a survey of several hundred HR leaders, from an equal number of organizations, followed by in-depth interviews with a selection of HR executives from across the nation.