ETC.

• Roughly 47 years ago, I hung out in preschool debating who was better, my Phillies or my good friend's Yankees. Happily, we are still friends and will know who is best (at least for now) in about a week or so. My condolences to any fans of the Angels or Dodgers but they are two very good teams!
• The folks who own Bed Bath and Beyond appear to be expanding the Christmas Tree Shoppe chain. This might be a great time to send them a resume if retail is in your future plans.
• Assuming health care reform does get approved in our lifetime, I wonder how it will impact the employment numbers around the nation.
• Helpful hint: Please update your resume BEFORE contacting staffing firms and/or direct hire managers!

Frustration!!

Many people have brought to my attention the fact that I am a bit weird at times and look at things through a rather cloudy picture window! It has even been suggested that I think in a different fashion than most others do. Believe it or not, none of that bothers me one bit because people tend to see stuff my way sooner or later and admit that I was somewhat correct in my comments and observations!

Several clients and colleagues in the Human Resources and Staffing fields have drawn similar conclusions about the state of the current pool of available candidates. The pool is absolutely a mess. Try posting a job requirement on the web for a Packaging Engineer and see who responds. This week, I posted an engineering job with PLC background. Instead of seeing resumes of those capable of programming controllers, I received someone who managed a burger joint, another who did not have an engineering degree, yet another who is a financial broker.

I understand all too well how rough it is out there. Please do not apply for jobs without thoroughly evaluating the opportunity first.

Lab Tech Needed

I have a very immediate need for a lab tech who has biotech or medical device experience with knowledge of SAP as well. Send resumes to harold@smartstaff.jobs.

Stay Positive!

In the past week, I have placed two highly overqualified candidates into long term assignments because they took a realistic look at the job market and did their best to get their respective offers. Both people approached the interviews with limited expectations but a 'can do' attitude. Many employers fear that hiring overqualified people will lead to the need to replace them quickly. Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to prove them wrong!

What If??

• What if I hire someone who used to make $10K more than I can offer and someone presents a job to them in six months for $5K more than I am paying ?
• What if I hire someone who has 85% of the required skill sets because nobody can do all the tasks I have merged under one job description?
• What if I hire someone who has been unemployed for over a year, will they remember how to work?
• What if an employer offers me $10K less than I was earning at my job before I was laid off two years back?
• What if someone offers me $5K more six months from now?
• What if I need training to perform 100% of the required tasks?
• What if employers and candidates keep saying what if? Who will get this country moving again?

Abundance of Job Opportunities!

To my readers:

A plethora of new job opportunities has crossed my desk in recent days and I want to share them with you! Please feel free to pass them along to others. Interested candidates should send resumes to harold@smartstaff.jobs and put "As per your blog" in the subject line!!!

• Research Associate, Manhattan, Perm position, to 50K+ - Leading market media research firm needs someone to explore new business ventures involving new technology,such as e-readers, mobile phone applications, out-of-home video advertising, etc. Ideal candidate will have 2-4 years media or advertising research experience and a degree in a social science or business discipline. Masters Degree is a plus.
• Senior Lab Technician, Wayne, NJ, temp-to-perm, $20-22 hourly- 2-3 years testing experience in a biotech or pharma environment with Instron and Radial Burst background as well as some knowledge of report prep and analysis using SAP. Degree in a scientific field preferred but additional hands-on experience will be considered.
• Engineering Manager, Bloomfield, NJ, perm or temp-to-perm, pay to be determine- must have 5-10 years experience in a manufacturing company with significant electrical engineering and project management along with a strong knowledge of PLCs. Must have been hands-on but also able to drive a project and lead team members. BSEE highly preferred. This is not a mechanical engineering job.
• Shipping and Receiving Clerk, Morris Plains, NJ, perm, $14-18 hourly-rapidly growing company in the perishable foods industry needs someone with extensive knowledge of all aspects of shipping and receiving who can lift 80+ lbs. on a regular basis. Forklift certification is desired.
• Medical Device opportunities, Mahwah NJ, temp-to-perm- Several positions are open for QA Inspectors, Engineering Technicians, and CAPA Analysts with varying levels of experience. Candidates must have exposure to Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals, or other FDA regulated industries. Contact Harold for specifics about each position!!

Tough Questions

What have you been doing the past two years?....... Why did you take an unrelated part-time position?......How did you end up taking courses in Accounting last spring when your background is in Chemistry?

These challenging questions and more will be coming your way as the fog lifts from the job market. I am finding that many employers wore very strong blinders the past few years. While they were laying folks off like crazy, they seem to expect you to have had a stable work history, a classic Catch 22!

My suggestion is to be as prepared as possible. For example, explain the while out of work for 2 years, you had enough unemployment and severance benefits to to take a good hard look at where you were and decided to freshen up your resume by obtaining new shills. To help sustain yourself after the benefits ran out you grabbed a part-time job close to home which would not interfere with your studies or burn much gasoline to get to. Go a bit further and say that by adding new skills you might be able to multitask for a company and save them budget dollars. Good luck!

Latest News - Is It Accurate?

The figures released today put nationwide unemployment up around 9.8% with over 200,000 additional filings for unemployment benefits in September. Thus far, I have not listened to or read much commentary on this topic. Gut reactions are not terribly accurate but I have to suspect a great number of those filings may be related to the completion of seasonal summer work across the nation. One thought I do have is the economic recovery will not come about simply by increasing the number of construction jobs on the market. We need some plan to stimulate the job market at every single level!

Read Thoroughly Before Replying!

Everyone is entitled to apply to any job posted on the Internet, in newspapers,etc. This does not mean you should apply to every job out there. Be selective and do not apply if you do not even remotely qualify for the job. Recently, someone responded to my posting for an Engineering Manager with numerous years experience dealing with PLCs, electronics, manufacturing equipment, etc. This candidate had worked as a team leader in a large chain restaurant with no related work experience or academic training. He stated that the person he replaced at his workplace took an Engineering Manager position so he felt he could as well, but it must be noted that this individual had a BSEE and 3 years experience before being laid off due to the economy. Whatever it takes, be sure you are at least partially qualified before applying.