Positive Thinking Needed!

Recently, I was listening to a local radio talk show host who is a physician. His usual format is focused around helping people discover healthy options to cure what is ailing them or to aim them at the right type of professional services. The broadcast I happened upon was shortly after news broke of the tragedy that took place in Norway. He talked about how the events impacting the world in recent months could gnaw away at personal physical and mental health if we do not pay attention to our well being.

The same could be said about unemployed job seekers. It is important, of course, to stay on track with your job hunting routine. However, some mental and physical breaks are essential to keep your head clear and your positive energy flowing! Consider putting at least 30-45 minutes into your daily schedule to take a walk, bike ride, swim, etc. Also, find at least 30 minutes to read a book, magazine, or newspaper (not online media as you are likely doing that all day!) and perhaps visit the library, a local park, etc. a few times a week to break up the monotony. It is important to appear fresh, enthusiastic, and eager to work without looking anxious, worn out, and frustrated.

As hard as it might seem, positive thinking is really critical to a successful job search. If you need help achieving this difficult balance, seek out friends, former colleagues, teachers, clergy people, or a career coach to get you aimed in the right direction!

Marketing Manager Needed!!

A terrific client has asked me to find a Marketing Manager for a 2-3 month assignment (perhaps a bit longer). Candidates must have at least 5 years experience including significant time in the publishing field with some exposure to teaching or a degree in Education a definite plus. Experience in design campaigns, interfacing with sales team and clients, and high comfort zone with new forms of social media all are needed. Contact me at harold@smartstaff.jobs if interested or with referrals.

The Perfect Omelette!

Have you ever been to a breakfast buffet and had an omelette that came out tasting not quite right? While I do not frequent breakfast buffets, I do stumble across them now and then and the food is usually underwhelming. This past week, my family and I drove from NJ to Columbia, SC to partake in a family member's wedding. The hotel had a full service buffet loaded with very nondescript food but did feature an omelette station staffed by a talented gentleman named Albert who cooked the eggs to perfection!

Why, might you ask, am I writing a food review? I assure you this is not the case! Albert epitomized the dedication and commitment to a profession that I found quite refreshing. Not only is he a talented chef, he is an official resource for points of interest to help visitors plan out their free time, freely shares his cooking tips with anyone who asks, and quite proudly tells the story of how he learned to be a chef by learning the tricks of the trade from his grandmother. Albert obviously awakens terribly early each morning to make sure his station, including the vegetables he hands cuts for his omelettes, is ready to go when the first diners arrive and looks like he never gets tired or bored of his job.

One of my favorite tips of advice to job seekers is always to make sure that one of your criteria for taking a new job is that you will actually like what you are doing. Certainly, pay rate, benefits, location, and potential for advancement are critical as well but I really think it is important to like your job in order to excel. So, next time you are job hunting, decide if you are ready to make the perfect omelette!

Long, Long Ago

In the last fifth of the 20th Century (aka the 1980's), I began my journey as a rookie recruiter with a small staffing firm. Picture this: no Linkedin, no Twitter, no texting, no email, no cell phones, no internet search engines, not even a fax machine!! The tools of the trade consisted of a telephone used to cold call both companies and potential candidates, the classifieds from the Sunday papers, industry specific directories, word of mouth referrals, and an IBM Selectric typewriter.

Some of my younger readers must be rolling in laughter about now! Laugh on! Without all the electronic tools, a good recruiter was obliged to dial at least 40-50 potential hiring managers each day and make live contact. We actually spoke to candidates at length in the evening after hours as most could not be phoned at work as calls went into a staffed switchboard. There was a tendency to build relationships this way. Instead of emailing a resume, many candidates sketched out their profiles in prolonged late evening phone calls (I remember conducting a phone screen at 3:00 AM while a computer operator took his 3rd shift lunch break) leading to having a solid understanding of who they really were.

To expedite delivery of resumes to my clients, I would drive as much as 35-40 miles to hand them over in person along with a sack of donuts or bagels which usually led to a nice conversation. Clients became friends and colleagues and deep levels of trust were developed. With the economy slowing down the staffing industry, I have actually visited a few clients in recent months with incredible results. There have many days in the last year or so when I have wondered if rolling the clock back a bit might prove to be a good idea. Sometimes, less is more and we may be approaching one of those time periods.

Urgent Staffing Need!

One of my well established clients in the Morristown NJ area needs a Lab Quality Technician with about 2-3 years of strong GMP experience, some ISO knowledge, and hands-on experience with calibration tools, densitometers, micrometers, thermometers, etc. This is FIRST SHIFT, FULL-TIME, paying up to about $42K with comprehensive benefits. Send your resumes to harold@smartstaff.jobs immediately and mention this blog. My goal is to submit candidates on 7/13/11 so do not delay! Please mention this blog in the subject line!!

$$ Money $$

The Beatles song, Money, got stuck in my head which I took as a subliminal message to write a blog entry! The lyrics, for those of you who do not remember, begin: The best things in life are free--But you can keep them for the birds and bees--Now give me money--That's what I want--That's what I want, yeah.. I hope that brings back memories for many of you from the not so distant (OK, I am being optimistic!) past!

Please do not embed these words in your brain before heading to a meeting with your employer as the results many not be so good and they might set you free to join the birds and bees. Some folks I have chatted with have discussed the need for huge raises or they are going to look elsewhere for a new job. Envision a large, red stop sign and cool those heels quickly! Look around you, both at your workplace and among friends and family. I bet if you take a good hard look, you will find that most received little or no raises in the past 3-4 years.

Friends, we are still in the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression. Have you noticed that doctor's offices seem slower than ever, retail stores have reduced hours and seem to have less cashier stations open on a normal day, signs advertising available space may be found at almost every industrial park and office complex?

Most employers simply do not have a ton of flexibility in their budgets right now. Even if someone makes you an incredible offer to switch companies, I highly recommend doing a ton of research to make sure the firm is well funded, has a history of retaining staff, has a healthy client list, etc. before making a move. Grass is not always greener and the other side and money might not be the best motivator right now.

Sunday Afternoons in the Fall

Anyone that knows me is aware that I look forward to Sundays in fall and early winter to sit down and watch some NFL football. Since the Redzone TV channel was invented, making it possible to watch parts of all games being played without any effort, I have found myself mesmerized at times. Right about now, I am thinking of ways to fill my Sundays with alternate activities this fall as I really doubt a full NFL season is likely due to this ridiculous lockout. At a time when so many people are unemployed, underemployed, or simply struggling in this horrible economy, how dare the owners AND players be as greedy as they appear to be.

Perhaps a plan would be to lower ticket prices, reduce the cost of parking and food (perhaps allow patrons to bring in their own affordable food), reduce salaries to realistic numbers and basically downsize the whole product. If players were paid less I suppose ticket prices could drop too so how about showing some respect to the vast majority who cannot afford to attend an NFL game? As it stands now, games will not be paid and the employees who work stadium events will be laid off', food vendors will lose a ton of money when they don't have games to send their products too, nearby hotels and restaurants will suffer, etc.

Now the NBA (which I tuned out years ago) has followed suit. In the past, after a work stoppage, fans eventually flocked back like nothing ever happened. This time could be different as people tend to soul search a bit more when things are not going so great for them.

July is Upon Us

One thing I have learned in 20+ years in the staffing field is that all bets are off at all times. Quite honestly, I was beginning to think the employment market was waking up as late April and early May were a bit more lively than at any time since 2008. Just when I started to get cautiously optimistic, things have slowed down dramatically again.

Several employers were hinting at making direct hires but have now reverted back to short term contractors to fill only the most essential needs. A few of my clients have moved their HR Directors to other roles and brought in outside experts to evaluate there entire staffing processes.

Why are we having such trouble reducing unemployment right now? I am unsure if it is fear on the part of companies, a lack of available capital to invest in new projects, a fear that many state governments are at a loss as to how to reduce deficits, lack of confidence in the federal Government or a combination of some or all of the above. Optimism has always been part of my method to avoid madness but there are days where I have had to dig extremely deep to remain positive of late.

In my younger days, before my back betrayed me, I used to love to visit bowling alleys. Back when scoring was done with pencil and paper (I am dating myself!), a bowler experiencing a bad game, would draw a line between frames to block out the bad and basically start over. Perhaps we all need to do this and look forward, not backward, to get things back on track sooner than later!