Thursday, June 30, 2011

Lab Quality Technician

A very solid client in the Morristown NJ area needs a tech with 2-3 years experience doing very repetitive testing using densitometers, thermometers, thermocouples, etc. Candidates should have GMP or ISO experience, excellent written and oral communication skills, and be PC literate. Referrals welcome!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Candidates Needed

Please contact me if you or someone you know has significant experience as a CNC Machinist. Ideal candidates would come from the medical device / surgical implant realm but anyone who has worked for a manufacturer of components, gears, devices of any sort might qualify. Positions are located in Bergen County, NJ and I need numerous people for 2nd and 3 rd shifts. The assignments are for roughly 6-9 months.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Entitlement

I was mulling over possible topics to write about and several came to mind. One was to take a look at proprietary trade schools as an alternative to college. Another was to talk about seasonal work that could open more long term doors. The third thought was to focus on how to make interviews feel important without developing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. These topics, along with hopefully many more, will come your way soon but today I selected a topic I hear so many of you mention--ENTITLEMENT.
To get started, I will share a little bit about my grandfathers who both came here from Europe in the early 1900's My maternal grandfather picked up a sack of hot roasted peanuts each day from a local vendor, transferred them into small bags which he sold to hungry travelers riding the trains up and down the tracks of Pennsylvania's coal region. He worked tirelessly to help raise seed money for the tailor shop he and his father eventually turned into 2 thriving clothing stores. Many years later, he told me how appreciative he was of the commuters who paid him a dime per bag to help his family
My paternal grandfather painted houses to come up with the money to open a candy store complete with a soda fountain! When the Great Depression hit him hard, he returned to the paintbrush until things got better. He told me stories about those times and always ended with something along the lines that as long as he figured out how to feed, clothe, and house his family, everything else was not terribly significant.
Not we look at the present. Please understand I am not out to insult or offend anyone but tell it as I see and hear it! Over the course of a year I deal with numerous contract or temporary employees who are assigned to various jobs assisting companies with their immediate needs. Temporary means just that, nothing more and I amazed how many temps call me after a week and say they are working too hard, not given the same privileges as full time employees, and are expected to account for every minute they are on the clock. Astonishing! They feel they are entitled to all the perks of someone who has been on the job perhaps 20-25 ears and should not be held accountable at all times!
Next, many people seem unaware of the recession which still dominates us every day. They will contact me and complain that they are not paid enough or being utilized to their fullest and they want to move because they are entitled to more. The only problem is, most folks who move right now could take a pay cut and also jeopardize job security. Never the less, I am constantly told that I am wrong, that they are entitled to more and will get it somewhere.
My concern is the spillover effect this entitlement mentality is having on children. From what I observe, too many youngsters do not understand the concept of earning something. They know that if they hold out long enough, they will be entitled to whatever it is they desire. If you think we live in challenging times today, I dread to fast forward perhaps 30 years for a look into the future!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Some Very Random Thoughts

A few may have noticed I have been quiet of late. Battling annoyng bronchitis is the main reason for my disappearance as it has been tough putting intelligible sentences together. One thing about lack of sleep, restlessness, coughing, etc. is that may random thoughts move through my mind. What follows are a sampling what has been spinning past me of late.

Retirement used to mean somewhere between 65 and 70 years old, people packed up their offices and headed to the golf course, a condo in Florida, or perhaps a life of fishing in the Poconos. I guess that is not so anymore. NJ native Jack McKeon just came out of his semi-retirement at age 80 to serve as interim manager of the Florida Marlin baseball team, claiming he feels good enough to coach another 15 years. Joe Paterno, the 85 year old living legend with the Penn State Nittany Lions now skypes with his football recruits and has told them he expects to coach another 4-5 years.

Getting elected to Congress, the role of Governor, etc. once was held in high regard. Folks like Anthony Weiner and Elliot Spitzer, to name just a few, have certainly changed that perspective. I imagine lot of young prospects are thinking twice before making runs for high profile elected positions.

As small businesses are gradually being replaced by branches of nationally owned companies, I worry about the future of customer service. How could a pharmacy chain that regularly changes change the staff in each branch, possibly know the medical quirks of its customers? There was a time when we could walk into the local branch bank, realize we forgot our ID's or account information and be treated like a friend, not an adversary.

I guess that is enough ranting for one day as it is time for some rest, fluids, and antibiotics.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Advice for New Grads

Every year, a few friends will approach me asking for advice for their child who recently graduated from college and cannot find a job. With the current state of our economy, the number of such inquiries continues to grow. No matter how great or depressing the market is in a particular year, my guidelines pretty much remain the same. Even though some folks maintain I am boring and inflexible about just about every topic, the basic rules of job hunting never change, just the technology used to execute them. These suggestions will be offered in no particular order and your recent grad may select the ones most suited to their needs.

One strong recommendation needs to be voiced before moving on and some of you may not like this but here it is anyway! The majority of the search for a first job out of college must be done by the candidate, not their parents!!!! Certainly, we all should feel obligated to advise and steer but we must all let our children learn the lay of the land immediately to strengthen for the future. Use self restraint when they try to get you to do their work for the. To any recent grads reading this: I am not being harsh, rather I am a realist and you need to dig down and get involved now!



  1. If you have not already done so, contact your college's Career Services office and ask them for any guidance and recommendations on places to search. While they are not obligated to find you a job, they should be able to support your efforts.

  2. Contact everyone you know at home and from school and make sure they are aware you are out there job hunting. This includes former school teachers, professors, long time neighbors, members of the clergy, former scout leaders or coaches, etc.

  3. Personalize your resume so that you stand out from all the other entry level candidates vying for the same very limited pool of jobs.

  4. Be extremely open minded about the types of positions you will consider applying for. No job is too menial for someone trying to start at the bottom.

  5. Realize early on in your search that the pay rate, work schedule, and title might not be what your college admissions assured you would be available four or five years back. Even in better times, this was not always the case.

  6. Strongly consider aggressively searching even during the long and hot summer. Many folks wait until September to begin locking around and, before you know it, December is approaching and hiring budgets dry up until April.

Have fun searching for a job. Be as creative as you wish and look for ways to challenge yourself each and every day!

Job Opportunity for a System Developer

A longtime client of mine in Northern NJ has a long term contract-to-perm position for a Systems Developer available for immediate consideration!

Must have extensive applications development (5+ years exp. ) in a majority of the following skill sets: ASP. NET, BizTalk, Visual Studio, C#, SQL, SOA, WCF, CSS, XSLT, etc. This is a contract-to-perm opportunity so all candidates must be eligible for full-time employment in the U. S. without sponsorship. Resumes to harold@smartstaff. jobs or call Harold Levin at 908-508-0300, ext. 205.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Slamming a Door Shut

Once upon a time, we lived in a world where the economy was robust, companies were expanding by leaps and bounds, and employers were offering top dollar to keep the best talent away from their competitors. Obviously, I believe we all are hopeful for a return to the way it was but we are in for an extremely long wait. While waiting, good things do happen along the way and one of those good things came along last week when a client asked me to find a very specialized consultant for a long term assignment.

Without any hesitation, I started networking to find suitable candidates. A few people jumped out as very strong prospects and I focused on them immediately. One such candidate answered his phone and quite rudely informed me he was too busy to talk and that I should email full details to him then he might call me back.

Quite honestly, no matter how busy you might be, never blow off a recruiter or hiring manager without getting a quick overview of what they are looking for. As this candidate will learn, once you slam a door shut, the dead bolt almost never unlocks again!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

System Administrator Needed: Plainsboro NJ area

Long term project requires 4+ years managing a cluster in excess of 50 machines and GPU's. Must have set up clusters of 50-100 nodes, using Infiniband or Gigabit Ethernet with Linux as the main OS. Must be able to handle all aspects of networking, cluster management tools, and network storage.

Candidates must be eligible for employment without any sponsorship or corp-to-corp needed. Local candidates only at this time!!! Send resumes to harold@smartstaff.jobs or call Harold Levin at 908-508-0300, ext. 205.