International Job Resources: The Riley Guide

International Job Resources: The Riley Guide

Earthquake + Hurricane = More Stress

All the way up and down the Atlantic Seaboard (and beyond), Mother Nature decided to add a plethora of new stresses to the bad global economy, record breaking unemployment, unstable stock market, indecisive government leadership, etc.

First, there was the earthquake which shook most everyone from the Midwest to Canada. It caught me typing an email in my office and I really thought I was having a heart attack until I noticed the walls, my phone, computer, bookcase were all having heart attacks too! Unfortunately, what was already shaping up as a slow week in the recruiting business got even slower once the quake took placed.

The second stress of the week came about a day later when all weather forecasters (including an old high school friend at the Weather Channel) began painting a very bleak picture of the damage and destruction expected from Hurricane Irene. As someone who lived in the town that was the center of Hurricane Floyd almost 12 years ago, this left a huge lump in my stomach. Now living in a place that floods less but becomes an island, I started balancing the need to keep working with storm preparations. Unfortunately, Irene proved to be a very stubborn lady and did create hardships, some of which are still unfolding due to river and stream flooding at rates never seen over the past 500 years in many places.

A third stress actually took on two prongs. For many like me, there was the inability to start the work week on Monday, the day after the storm because roads were either flooded or covered with downed trees and power lines. In North Jersey, part of Route 287 actually fell into the Rockaway River, causing stress for thousands of commuters including my wife. For too many others, they woke up in shelters, neighbors' spare rooms, or trapped in their own homes and now face the ugly task of cleaning up and rebuilding their homes and livelihoods.

During stable times, this would be a daunting challenge to everyone who was impacted in some way. Today, this is even tougher to swallow. So many folks are either unemployed or underemployed that they do not have money sitting in savings to help get repairs going until their insurance carriers or FEMA come to their aid. I just heard that President Obama will have to find money to fund FEMA as they do not have enough funds to finish repairs from Hurricane Katrina. That was SIX YEARS AGO and we still do not have money to close that book! Many more people will undoubtedly lose jobs, at least short term, when companies are forced to close doors while awaiting loans to rebuild from storm damage.

I wish I could provide some sound advice. The best I could offer right about now comes from the fact that if you are able to read this article you are most likely safe and sound. If you, your friends, and family are alive and well, you have overcome the first hurdle. Start prioritizing your needs, one by one, and do not try to recover completely in rapid speed. Just like a diet, the best way to recover is step-by-step so you do not fall backwards. Do not pay for services that seem overpriced. Do not accept offers of temp jobs payable in cash that may never show up. Continue on the path you already carved out before the crazy events of the past week, albeit with a few extra hurdles to overcome.

My best wishes go out to everyone as we all try to gain strength from a very bad stretch!

Criminal Records and Job Hunting

Over the past 20+ years, I have had repeated experiences coaching job seekers who have criminal records. Most have asked what to do about the question on job applications that deals with whether or not one was convicted of a felony. The short answer is to tell the truth and say yes. The more detailed response is to say yes but to indicate, if possible, that you have documentation showing why this is part of your past and will not happen again or influence job performance in any way.

Many years back, I was managing the job search process for students at a proprietary trade school. There was a student who showed a lot of promise. He had a great deal of hands-on experience repairing mechanical equipment and was studying to be an electronics technician. His past 10 years showed decent work history, academic record was solid, instructors told me he was highly skilled and he was very dedicated to his job search, checking in with me each and every day. A firm approached me looking to recruit several talented technicians to work on a project team for a prestigious organization. This student went through the entire process of submitting a resume, participating in a group interview, taking a tour of the facility, etc. The night before he was to have his final interview he came to see me and was extremely distraught. In his hands were the forms he needed to fill out and one of the questions dealt with criminal records.

The student told me that he had been arrested almost 20 years back and served a 30 day jail sentence. Apparently, he had been recently discharged from military service and had entered a local watering hole somewhere in Tennessee with some buddies. A shoving match ensued and he threw a punch at a rowdy patron. Unfortunately, this patron was an off duty police officer and my student was charged and convicted of assault of a police officer. He had a whole file about the case which showed that witnesses concurred that the officer never identified himself and was actually a perpetrator and perhaps instigator of the brawl but the local judge saw it differently.

Once I calmed the student down and read the entire file, we called the potential employer and advised them of the conviction before he filled out the paperwork. Their response was that everyone does something stupid at one time in their life and that 20 years of having a clean record negated any concerns they might have. IF the candidate had covered this up and they ran a background check unaware of the history, he likely would have been turned down.

I have seen both scenarios more than once and those who are honest early on usually will still get hired. Those who do not tell the truth tend to get caught when their name goes through the system and get eliminated for not being forthright. My best (non-legal) advice, is to answer questions 100% honestly but do not offer information if you are not asked for it. Most employers do check backgrounds but some simply are not that concerned so let them ask the questions. Your opinions and comments on this topic will be greatly appreciated!!

Unemployment claims at 400,000 level

Unemployment claims at 400,000 level

Some Late Summer Ideas

As summer continues its very gradual transition toward fall (not soon enough for most of us from the Northeast), my mind is tossing around a few topics for no particular reason in no special order. Since I did not have a specific idea in mind when I opened the laptop, I will subject you to a few of my thoughts!

Last week, I read a very upbeat article about the influx of jobs into NJ when the Super Bowl arrives in 2014. Bergen County Community College is going to train several thousand Certified Travel Ambassadors (I think that is the title) ranging from cab drivers to restaurant servers to hotel desk clerks to mall workers at the soon to be completed eyesore in the Meadowlands (sorry about that). Special grants are being arranged to pay for third training so that all workers anywhere near the Meadowlands site will be representing a unified brand. OK-I really hope this works out better than the indoor ski slope in the unfinished mall which, according to rumors, has to be demolished before the NFL's festivities arrive in the area. Will this lead to long term employment for many people? I have my doubts about this.

Transit authorities that control bridges and tunnels in numerous large U.S. cities are looking at astronomical toll increases to pay for grossly overdue repairs. The real losers here are commuters who are forced to live in less costly suburbs and drive to work each day. Public transit fares are even worse than fuel costs but now tolls will place another unfair burden on the working class and could ultimately help increase the unemployment rate.

Recently, I had the opportunity to volunteer my time at a Drum Corps International competition featuring 8 nationally ranked performing groups averaging 150 talented young people each. Their displays of poise and discipline and their exemplary performances are always a treat. What makes this even more incredible to observe is the dedication, diligence, and leadership demonstrated by tons of instructors and coaches who spend roughly 3 months toiling in the sun, travelling on coach buses day after day logging about 15K miles for the summer for minimal pay. This is the type of work ethic and spirit needed to assist in our nation's turnaround.

Finally, a thought unrelated to employment or the economy comes to mind. Joe Paterno, the legendary football coach, has declared that he will be on the field for Penn State's football opener even if he has not recovered from multiple injuries suffered during a practive session. Well into his 80's, he refuses to set an example for his players that one can sit back and rest because of some bumps and bruises!

The Whole World is Watching!

Do you recall the 1968 Democratic convention and the music that came out of that turbulent event? I fondly remember Chicago Transit Authority's record (not CD or MP3) before they became better known as Chicago with the chants of 'the whole world is watching' as the music eventually overpowered the chanting.

Now more than ever, we all need to remember that the whole world might be watching us at any given time in any given place. With the advent of Facebook, MySpace, Plaxo, Linkedin, Twitter, etc., please remember that everything you put out there is public information. If you do not want a potential employer to know that you spent a weekend in Atlantic city in an impaired state, do not post it on the web. Should you not wish for your present boss to know you are job hunting, it might not be the sharpest idea to list a job fair you recently attended on your Linkedin profile!

We are all on public display whenever we hit the streets in our town, on vacation or on a business trip. You never can tell when the person you scold for standing up to many times therefore blocking your view at a baseball stadium could be the person who interviews you for an open job the very next day.

Keeping our personal lives private today is very difficult. My suggestion is to look at all information about yourself that is available to the public and decide if you are happy with what you find. If not, your next mission is to make yourself look squeaky clean to everyone who checks you out!

Contract Job- Bergen County NJ

Excellent 1-3 month assignment in Bergen County for someone with strong data entry, decent Excel, very organized to review files. Knowledge of I-9 forms helpful. Send resumes to harold@smartstaff.jobs ASAP!

Caution Flag Is Being Waved

As a recruiter and career coach, it is obviously to my advantage for people to want to make career changes, whether it is just moving to another company for more money or a complete professional overhaul with a new direction. Since the beginning of our ominous downturn in 2008, I have been politely waving the caution flag about making non-essential career moves. Today, I am aggressively waving it in your faces and am close to recommending everyone get off the track for a little while.

While employers still prefer to hire those who are currently working, a few have actually told me they understand the risk involved in leaving one job for another right now as no one can really promise you longevity. The mainstream media is has definitely jumped on the 'disaster is near' bandwagon and this sadly impacts how companies operate.

Many years ago, I was told that I looked at things through very negative glasses. To remedy this, I retrained myself to look at half full glasses rather than half empty ones and I am trying extremely hard to do this today. It is extremely hard to maintain this philosophy right about now but I am doing my best to remain positive and urge all of you to do so too. If we do not, things will only get worse. At the same time, however, I reiterate that the caution flag is still on the track and it would be best to make the most of opportunities at your current job site rather than stepping into very choppy waters until the storm subsides a bit more down the road. One thing you could safely do is posture yourself for when things improve by polishing up your resume, doing some preliminary research on companies you wish to target, and making sure your reference list is current. Hang in there folks, it has to get better out there!

Contract Analyst Needed!

One of my clients in Bergen County NJ needs to find someone to review highly technical contracts. An attorney or seasoned paralegal would be the perfect fit but must understand terminology related to software, systems architectures, etc. The project will take about 2 months to complete. Please semd resumes to harold@smartstaff.jobs or call me at 908-508-0300, ext. 205.

Contract Technical Recruiters Needed!!

Cutting edge organization needs a dynamic contract (6-12 mos.) recruiter who is comfortable with new recruiting tools and social media to identify, recruit, and hire top quality staff. Prior exp. needed in sourcing fields such as applications development, enterprise architecture, engineering, etc. Candidates must live in local commuting range of either New York, NY or Bergen County, NJ. Send resumes to harold@smartstaff.jobs or call Harold Levin at 908-508-0300, ext. 205.

Value Goes Up and Prices Go Down

Does anyone else remember a retail clothier from a few decades back named Robert Hall? Their advertising jingle was something like the value goes up, up, up yet the prices go down, down, down.... With all the strife around the U.S. debt crisis and the very stagnant job market, I started thinking about how much value an employer could gain by hiring a well seasoned, high quality professional at a much lower salary today than 3 years ago.

Please understand, I am absolutely not condoning the underpayment of top shelf talent but am being reluctantly realistic about where we are right now. Way too many people have been out of work for 18 months or longer and simply wish to do something useful and earn whatever they can. If I were a hiring manager with a pile of work that needed immediate attention, I would go after the most qualified individual, make the best offer my budget permitted, and try to bring that person onto my staff. Of course, if things do pick up in a few years, I would then have to evaluate pay rates versus workload but, in all honesty, we should all cross that bridge when we eventually recover.

Too many employers are fearful of hiring those they perceive as overqualified for fear that they will not stay long and/or will not be able to take directions very well. Right about now, I know an enormous number of terrific folks who really just want to wake up in the morning and head out the door to a source of income. Rebuilding our economic infrastructure will take millions of baby steps and I wish this would happen sooner than later. In the meantime, companies have a golden opportunity to cash in on some great, value-priced talent!

Engineering Opportunity!

We begin the month of August with a brand new job opportunity. A Central NJ client needs a Mechanical Design Engineer who has worked with both wood and metal and is strong in Solid Works and AutoCAD.. Knowledge of fixtures, displays, signs, and/or kiosks is helpful. Send resumes to me at harold@smartstaff.jobs for immediate consideration of this full time position!