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Understand Recruitment Cycles to Give Your Job Search an Edge

Posted on by The Organic Recruiter in Hiring, Interviewing, New Job, Uncategorized

What do 23, 21, 20 and 36 mean to you? Seasons come in all walks of life to include the right time to get serious about your job and when it just might be a little harder to be seen. Enjoy this read to find out more about what these numbers mean.

~The Organic Recruiter

by John Rossheim, Monster Senior Contributing Writer

When it comes to connecting with the right job opportunity, timing isn’t everything, but it’s certainly something. Tuning into industries’ and employers’ annual recruitment cycles just might give you a decisive edge.image

That’s the consensus of recruiters and employers with fingers on the pulse of seasonal variations in hiring. Here’s a quarter-by-quarter summary of how these hiring dynamics play out.

First Quarter: A New Year’s Wave of Hiring

Sometimes peaks of hiring correspond with workplace factors that are only loosely related, like when people take vacation. “Hiring seems to be done by consensus more than any other decision,” says Scott Testa, chief operating officer of Mindbridge Software in Norristown, Pennsylvania. “So most hiring decisions have to be made when people are in the office.”

Major hiring initiatives may follow close on the heels of the holidays and summer. “The big months for hiring are January and February, and late September and October,” says Testa. “Job seekers who make contact right at the start of these cycles have the best chance of being hired.”

Strong hiring periods like the first quarter, when demand for talent may outweigh the supply of qualified candidates, may be a good time to go for a job with more responsibility or higher pay. “If you’re currently employed and looking to improve your status, you’ll want to look during the peak hiring season,” says Glenn Smith, president of search firm Precise Strategies in O’Fallon, Illinois.

Second Quarter: Gearing Up for Summer

For those whose livelihood depends substantially on fair weather, spring is when hiring peaks. In the construction industry, hiring in April, May and June proceeds at double the pace of December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).

Tourism and hospitality hiring is also very strong in the spring. And businesses looking to hire professional workers before fall often do so now, before key decision makers start rotating out for summer vacation.

Third Quarter: Recruiters Relax a Bit, and Vacation Plays a Role

Hiring slows down in July before picking up at the end of August. For those with nontraditional but impressive employment backgrounds, there’s an advantage to looking in relatively slow hiring months like July and December, says Smith.

For example, recruiters, less pressed for time than in peak months, may be willing to take a longer look at an experienced professional woman seeking to return to work after taking years off to care for children.

Fourth Quarter: A Rush, Then a Lull

The fourth quarter presents the most complex hiring dynamics of the year, with its mix of fall activity, holiday retail hiring, Thanksgiving-to-New Year’s slowdown, and end-of-year financial and budget maneuvering.

“Hiring managers and bank CEOs will typically try to reduce their operating profits by incurring search fees towards the end of each year, to avoid paying taxes,” says Josiah Whitman, an executive recruiter with Financial Placements of Lake Oswego, Oregon. His firm’s job orders are distributed this way: first quarter, 23 percent; second quarter, 21 percent; third quarter, 20 percent; fourth quarter, 36 percent.

Although December hiring is at low levels in many industries, recruiters are determined to fill the year’s remaining openings by December 31, and the supply of applicants dwindles as Christmas and the new year approach.

Major industries classified as information, financial services, and professional and business services, having hired heavily in the second quarter, see their lowest level of hiring in December, says JOLTS.

But December isn’t as slow as it used to be, say some observers. And applications tend to slow down during the holiday season more than openings do — tipping the balance in favor of those who do apply.

“It seems that business just keeps going through the holidays,” says John Challenger, CEO of outplacement and search firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas in Chicago. “There doesn’t seem to be the kind of letup that there used to be.”

So playing the recruitment peaks doesn’t mean waiting out the rest of the year. “You need to be out there looking for opportunities, not finding excuses to avoid looking,” says Tom Johnston, CEO of SearchPath International in Cleveland.

Original Article

Are You Doing Your Part For Your Military Initiative?

Posted on by The Organic Recruiter in Diversity, Employment Value Proposition, Hiring, Interviewing, Military, New Job

 

Fleet week 2Every year I get excited to hear about Fleet Week and often wonder what it would be like to go to one. Fleet Week is a United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and United States Coast Guard tradition in which active military ships recently deployed in overseas operations dock at major cities for one week. The crew members have the opportunity to enjoy the local cities for that week while the public can take a guided tour of the ships.

This year, in fact today, was my first time as LA is having its inaugural Fleet Week. We at Military.com / Monster.com have the opportunity to team up with the office of Mayor Garcetti of Los Angeles (thank you Blas Villalobos and Lorraine Perales) to be a part of a celebration of our servicemen and servicewomen who protect the seas for us. As an organization that that truly believes in our servicemen (military.com) and my own personal advocacy to help (brother served in the Army for 28 years), I find myself privileged to walk the hanger, cruise the outskirts of the ships with the likes of the men and women that serve.

One of my personal goals have been and always will be is to serve the ones who serve us to make sure they are gainfully employed after serving a career (short or long) in the military. So today my goal was to share our transition app as well as our military skills translator with the military, veterans and equally important, the spouses. Our families of the United States Armed Forces have skill-sets that are unparalleled to most. Our problem in talent acquisition is we don’t speak their language and it takes too much time to work with them to figure out how they fit…or rather fit in (culture is for another article).

In LA County, 3% of the population is comprised of veterans, while 11% of the homeless population is a veteran. This equates to 2,733 of our homeless brothers and sisters are the folks that served you proud in the military.

Now Military.com is one of the few places to go to for a preventative measure for our military (and spouses) to be proactive about their career in the afterlife of service so they are not stranded and underemployed after separation. There are a ton of tools to prepare for transition and we have some of the best.

My brother used to recruit for the Army more than 10 years ago and we all know the big draw for young adults is they will have the skills to do any job they want when they get out. The unfortunate truth is when they transition out, albeit they have the skills, they do not and cannot (self-doubt) get the job they are qualified for because there needs to be a better bridge between recruit and separation. Then on the flip side, recruiters (in the civilian world) do not have the time or the patience to see where these candidates are qualified for the job they applied for, therefore pass on them.

I am not advocating that recruiters take their own time to learn MOS (military occupational specialty) codes, however I am asking for you to open up and grab the tools to learn what they do and have more patience. Because I tell you, they can blow away some of your current staff and they can also add some new light and flavor to your culture.

To learn more about what Mayor Garcetti’s team is working on to  help our homeless veterans, please go to www.lamayor.org/ending-veteran-homelessness for more information. I encourage you to reach out and see how you can help. If you are not from LA, inquire what your city is doing to help the veteran homeless predicament.

~The Organic Recruiter

JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER – MAY 2016

Posted on by The Organic Recruiter in US Employment Numbers

Ratio:

Job Openings Hires Separations
5.5 million 5.0 million 5.0 million

As you look at these seemingly good numbers note that we net 0 increase as hires are higher equal to separation in May. What does that mean? It means supply and demand is super tough if you are trying to hire folks.

The numbers are looking good once again.  However, please do your due diligence and know that these numbers don’t necessarily talk about the people that have taken themselves out of the workforce or are underemployed.*

Summary

The number of job openings decreased to 5.5 million on the last business day of May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Hires and separations were both little changed at 5.0 million. Within separations, the quits rate was 2.0 percent and the layoffs and discharges rate was 1.2 percent. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the nonfarm sector by industry and by four geographic regions.

Job Openings

Job Openings decreased in May by 345,000 to 5.5 million. The prior 3-month average change in job openings was +80,000. The job openings rate in May 2016 was 3.7 percent. The number of job openings decreased for total private and was little changed for government. Job openings decreased in a number of industries, with the largest changes occurring in wholesale trade (-104,000), other services (-98,000), and real estate and rental and leasing (-53,000). In the regions, job openings decreased in the South and the Midwest.

Hires

The number of hires was little changed at 5.0 million in May. The hires rate was 3.5 percent. The number of hires was little changed for total private and for government. Hires were little changed in all industries and in all regions in May.

Separations

Total separations includes quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations. Total separations is referred to as turnover. Quits are generally voluntary separations initiated by the employee. Therefore, the quits rate can serve as a measure of workers’ willingness or ability to leave jobs. Layoffs and discharges are involuntary separations initiated by the employer. Other separations includes separations due to retirement, death, and disability, as well as transfers to other locations of the same firm.

There were 5.0 million total separations in May, little changed from April. The total separations rate in May was 3.4 percent. The number of total separations was little changed over the month for total private and for government. In May, total separations decreased in state and local government education (-17,000) and in federal government (-8,000). The number of total separations was little changed over the month in all four regions.

The number of quits was little changed in May at 2.9 million. The quits rate was 2.0 percent. Over the month, the number of quits was little changed for total private and for government. By industry, quits increased in educational services (+17,000). The number of quits increased in the Northeast region.

There were 1.7 million layoffs and discharges in May, little changed from April. The layoffs and discharges rate was 1.2 percent. The number of layoffs and discharges was little changed over the month for total private and for government. Layoffs and discharges declined in state and local government education (-15,000) and in mining and logging (-9,000). The number of layoffs and discharges was little changed over the month in all four regions.

The number of other separations was little changed for total nonfarm, total private, and government in May. Other separations increased in professional and business services (+29,000) and in educational services (+4,000). Other separations decreased in information (-6,000) and in federal government (-5,000). Other separations were little changed over the month in all four regions.

Net Change in Employment

Large numbers of hires and separations occur every month throughout the business cycle. Net employment change results from the relationship between hires and separations. When the number of hires exceeds the number of separations, employment rises, even if the hires level is steady or declining. Conversely, when the number of hires is less than the number of separations, employment declines, even if the hires level is steady or rising. Over the 12 months ending in May, hires totaled 62.3 million and separations totaled 59.8 million, yielding a net employment gain of 2.5 million. These totals include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year.

For the full report: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm

Quickest Path to Yes…or even no

Posted on by The Organic Recruiter in Latest News and Articles

There is something special about being a trusted consultant to our clients. Often we hear, “I did not even know that was possible”. To that we grin and get more excited for a number of reasons. 2 that come to mind first are 1. We are getting closer to a yes and 2. We just got a chance to teach you something.

Every salesperson is looking to get a yes from their client as fast as possible. We are all on sales quotas and as much as we like what we do and love consulting you on the industry, we don’t work for free. That statement is not meant to be harsh, rather it’s to make clear we don’t make much off our base. We make the bulk of our money by making you happy.

There are a lot of egos that that lie in the DNA of successful salespeople. Not only for making the dollar but also making you the hero. So often we get a bad wrap for having our own agenda. We do have an agenda, but it is not malicious nor are we trying to gouge you. We are trying to get you to your goals though a straight line (quickest way from A to B) so you may achieve your goals as fast as possible.

So I ask, what is the quickest path to yes to you the buyer?

Far too often, we get:

  • “still working on it”
  • “no time to work on it”
  • “stuck in finance”
  • “my boss hasn’t gotten back to me”
  • or the dreaded – radio silence (black hole for job seekers)

We understand we are not your only job and you have a ton to do. We also realize decisions don’t always lie with you alone. I just ask, let us help you get to the yes decision quicker so we can all rest better and move on to the next stage of our relationship and quite frankly our day. I am quite sure you’d rather move on as well. Let’s just set timelines and next steps to have a roadmap to yes.

Think about yesterday when you went into your boss’ office to ask for a raise, PTO or an update on your ideas. It may have been the 3rd or 4th time you went into ask her. How did you feel each time when she said, “not now” or “it’s stuck in finance”? We understand that you are people first

Having this empathy for you, we don’t take it personal when you don’t have an answer or you may sound upset with us for asking for one. You and I both have someone to answer to, so we get it. Let us know how we can help.

Quick story – A friend of mine did everything he could to close a deal by the end of the quarter before it lapsed. He of course forecasted it and had quota on the deal. The client said, at every call and email as long as 45 days out from when the deal was to close, “we’re good, I just have to get it signed off”. She also claimed she was traveling and could not get to it until she returned. Of which my friend then received radio silence upon her return.

To wrap up this story up, remember she said she had to get it signed off? Well on the final day, my friend reached out to her boss who said, “I had no clue about this deal and never saw it”. To the dismay of my friend, it never closed.

Remember my friendly buyers, as much as we love and want a yes, we can take a no better than radio silence. We still expect to bring the deal in if we don’t get a no. If you know it is most likely a no, please don’t spare our feelings. We can take it, albeit hard on our quota.

I only ask the favor to please just coach us on why it is a no because maybe there is something we may have missed and by all means, there is a chance we can both leave with a smile…and quite possibly we may have a better alternative to what you thought we did not do.

~The Organic Recruiter

Managing the Black Hole in the Job Application Process

Posted on by The Organic Recruiter in Employment Value Proposition, Hiring, Interviewing, New Job
Margot Carmichael Lester, Monster Contributing Writer
As a job seeker, you have to act like a salesperson. As a salesperson myself, I am here to tell you it is extremely hard to get to a yes or a no. Usually it’s a “hold tight”, “no word yet”, radio silence, or “we’ll let you know when we need you”.
What’s it going to take to get to a yes or a no? First off, read the article below as it gives great advice to the job seeker. I would add to it that you need to know the company, the competition and you better than any other candidate. Do not pretend to be anyone else and be the best you you can be.
Recruiters, please share this article with friends, family, and anyone you know are looking for their next job. ~The Organic Recruiter
Managing the Black Hole in the Job Application Process

You’ve invested the time in completing the job application, polishing your resume and writing a compelling cover letter. Once you’ve submitted your materials, though, you enter the black hole — the space between applying for jobs and hearing back from potential employers. Managing this period of the job search process effectively is harder than ever in a tight economy.

“We’ve all been on the opposite side of the desk,” says Armen Arisian, HR manager at Nytef Group, a plastics manufacturing company in West Palm Beach, Florida. “Twisting in the wind is no fun.”

But don’t stress. Employ these strategies to survive the uncertainty without losing your sanity.

Be Real

It’s important to remember there are people on the other side of the black hole who are doing their best to fill the job in a timely manner, says Will Pallis, a lead recruiter for VistaPrint, an online supplier of graphics and printing based in Lexington, Massachusetts. Chances are good the hiring companies have been inundated with applications.

“While there are a lot of variables here, the most important factor is how much time the corporate recruiter or hiring manager has to sift through the resumes submitted for each job,” he explains. “Skilled corporate recruiters have the ability to review large quantities of resumes to determine if the applicant has the required skill sets and education required for a particular role. But if that recruiter has a large volume of active resumes, the amount of time to review them is obviously decreased.”

Be Reasonable

There’s nothing wrong with checking in on the status of your application, as long as your job-seeking behavior does not become desperate. Unfortunately, there’s no industry standard for how often to inquire. “Do not be a pest” says Jay Meschke, president of EFL Associates, a Leawood, Kansas, search firm. “It is fine to seek acknowledgement of application material after a week, but diplomacy is the watchword. A potential employer becomes wary of applicants who become ‘stalkers.’”

If you’ve got a real person to contact on the inside, ask about the ground rules or protocol up front. “Inquire about when you should expect to hear back, if you should proactively contact the gatekeeper and at what intervals, plus what forms of contact would be most appropriate, such as telephone calls, emails, etc.,” he says.

And if you don’t hear back at all? “After more than a couple [follow-ups], move on same as you would in any other potential relationship,” Arisian counsels. “They’re just not that into you.”

Be Positive

The biggest challenge may be managing your own emotions. “Learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable,” says Scott Silverman, executive director and founder of Second Chance, a nonprofit agency helping the homeless and chronically unemployed in San Diego. “The only thing you can control is your own attitude.”

To do that, Eric Frankel, a personal branding and job search expert in Westwood, New Jersey, suggests, “Transition yournegative, stressful feelings to positive, optimistic emotions by supplementing your job search tactics with positive activities — time with friends, family, exercise and casual strolls on the beach. A limited number of ‘vacation’ days are OK when unemployed.”

You also can busy yourself by continuing your job search.

Be Optimistic

Dealing with uncertainty is never easy, but it’s a fact of life. Use this time as an opportunity to focus on what can happen, not what isn’t happening.

“As with the universe, realize that thousands of black holes are present,” Meschke notes. “Each one is worth exploring. You never know when the black hole evolves into a worm hole that leads to the next job.”