Legal Secretary Needed!

A long time client in Norther Jersey needs an experienced Legal Secretary to fill a short term assignment ASAP.  Resumes to harold@smartstaff.jobs or call me at 908-508-0300.

The Sameness Theory

While I have no plans to regularly participate in Throwback Thursdays, I just experienced a flashback on a rather chilly Saturday afternoon!  My mind journeyed all the way back to 1996 when I was recruited to join the career services team of a well known and highly regarded proprietary trade school.  Due to the relocation of a valued team member, I was asked to step in and manage the placement process for a large number of technical students.  A primary selling point of the job was that I would have as much latitude as needed to do whatever it took to be successful.

The job was fantastic.  My students bought into my requests and directions and many of them quickly were headed into the working world to begin their new careers!  Accolades were coming in from employers, my colleagues at the campus level and members of the corporate office.  Things were moving along nicely and our placement rates were on a steady climb!  Then it happened and the bottom fell out.

A new national director was hired from outside to help the company as a whole increase its placement rates.  Without looking at the individual successes that some of her team team members at various campuses were enjoying, she adopted the rule that everyone on her staff must do everything exactly the same.  It did not matter if you were located in Texas or NJ, placed computer programmers, medical office assistants, or automotive repair technicians.  It did not matter if the unemployment statistics in your region were high or low, everyone was expected to do the job exactly the same way with zero tolerance for any local deviations.  Numbers declined faster than they had recently increased. Previously successful schools could no longer enroll large numbers of students and the schools who had already been on the decline kept heading downward.  Eventually, the company realized they had made an error and things were gradually rectified.

Today, as I chat with many companies, it is apparent that this sameness theory is starting to gain steam m once again.  Perhaps, with smaller operating budgets, companies feel having when method of operation is more economical.  Having lived on both sides of the street at various times in my career, I strongly endorse setting guidelines while allowing so level of creativity to exist.  I firmly believe that, in most cases, a happy, independent thinking employee will be much more productive than once who has no options at his/her disposal.

Veterans Job Fair

Veterans job fair in Morristown NJ:

http://www.communityhope-nj.org/files/standdown14/Hiring-Fair.pdf?utm_source=2014+Stand+Down-2&utm_campaign=StandDown+2014-2&utm_medium=email

Quality Inspectors Needed!

Excellent 2nd shift opportunity to perform QA and QC inspection of components, instruments and gages  to ensure the dimensional and visual integrity of product, standards, goals and objectives.  All candidates must have at least 2 years of product inspection experience in a cGMP manufacturing environment. Ability to read blueprints and proficiency in standard inspection tools including calipers, micrometers, height gages and comparators required.  Excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to follow directions are essential.  Third party referrals will not be considered at this time.  Send resumes to Harold Levin at harold@smartstaff.jobs.  Only those candidates we are interested in pursuing will be contacted.

Recipe for Success

Ron Franklin's approach is one all of us should emulate to some degree in order to be successful:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/james-franklin-prompts-penn-state-football-energy-surge/2014/08/11/c3d885d2-1f01-11e4-9b6c-12e30cbe86a3_story.html

Up From the Ashes!

August 2014 Up From the Ashes

Our new office building, across the street from the one that burned down. We're happy to be in our new offices and back to business! It took a couple of months to find a new space. Then we had to buy everything that goes into an office: from desks, chairs, computers, phones, to pens, paperclips, file holders, staplers and calculators!  Here's what the old building looked like Of course, it looked nicer before the fire!  HERE WE ARE David Cantor Seventeen years in the staffing industry. Worked as a Director with a firm in NYC, then opened SmartStaff Personnel in 2000. Concentration on graphics, editorial, other creative positions, as well as daily operations of the business. Theresa Edwards Twenty-five plus years in the staffing industry. Worked for several area firms, with SmartStaff Personnel for the past nine years. Concentration on office support, customer service, and human resourses positions. Harold Levin Twenty-five plus years in staffing. Joined SmartStaff Personnel in 2006. Extensive experience as a Career Service Director in the trade school industry. Focus on engineering, IT, scientific, manufacturing, and human resources. Also currently provides career coaching services. Kathilyn Buryk After a successful career  in sales for T-Mobile and AT&T, went into the staffing industry in 2008. Joined SmartStaff Personnel about a year and a half ago. Concentration on technical, legal, financial, and office support. We Help Great Companies Find Excellent Employees! With a strength in staffing and placement both deep and wide, we are the ideal firm to help with your hiring needs. We cover a wide range of industries and disciplines, and can help you find qualified employees for short-term assignments, temp-to-hire, and full-time placements. To get started on solving your hiring needs today, give us a call at 908-508-0300 or email david@smartstaff.jobs. We look forward to helping you with your staffing needs. SmartStaff Personnel, because smart works! WE ARE BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER! We're having an "after the fire sale". When you place a new order with us for a full-time (permanent) employee, we'll take 10% off of the fee. When  you place a new order with us for a temporary employee, after two full weeks of work, the first day of the third week is NO CHARGE. That's a 20% discount for the week! These offers are for new orders only, please, and don't apply to jobs we're currently working on. Make sure you mention this ad in order to receive your special pricing. VISIT OUR WEBSITE

Excellent Work-at-Home Opportunity

Please share this great opportunity with others who might have interest! Multiple openings for Customer Service Reps to work from home resolving customer issues and provide superior customer experiences through an email support platform. All work will be done online. Excellent written communication skills, ability to multitask and demonstrate care and concern for all customers essential. Candidates must have a home computer and reliable high speed internet. College degree preferred. Our client is an industry leader using cutting edge technology. Send resumes to Harold@smartstaff.jobs

Available Jobs in NJ!!

Several of my excellent clients in NJ have immediate needs they have asked me to identify candidates for.  If you are interested in any of these or know someone who is, send resumes to harold@smartstaff.jobs ASAP!

A leading designer and builder of Mission Critical Data Centers in Central Jersey is in need of Senior Commissioning Agents, Mechanical Engineers and Electrical Engineers.  All positions require 5-10 years related experience and are contract-to-hire opportunities.

A well established manufacturer of industrial equipment and machinery in North Jersey needs a Mechanical Engineer with 4-10 years experience in machine and and component design.  Experience with refractory metals, furnaces and/or industrial ovens is desired but not require.  This is a 3-4 month contract assignment.

Finally, a permanent opportunity is available for a Programmer Analyst with Oracle R12, LoadRunner, Performance Center, and strong testing skills.  Job is located in Central Jersey.

Resumes to:  harold@smartstaff.jobs.
Harold Levin, SmartStaff Personnel
908.508.0300

Developing Positive Work Environments

Here is an extremely well written article on workplace environments:

http://hr-mpact.com/Documents/positive-environment.pdf

Nothing is Forever

I have been on a blogging hiatus but am ready to get moving once again!  Recently, professional athletes have not been doing a great job of being role models with several criminal cases pending and some downright odd behavior patterns.  Perhaps, some of these cases simply deal with the fact that there are a few rotten apples in every bushel.  Just as troubling is their disregard for the people who support them who are struggling to stay afloat in this sluggish economy.  Athletes appear to believe they are entitled to grossly inflated salaries no matter what.

This year's NFL draft had several interesting sidebars.  One that stood out involved Johnny Manziel's (aka: Johnny Football) reaction when he was finally taken as the 22nd pick in a draft where many had rated him in the top 4 or 5 selections just a few days before.  As he approached the podium at Radio City Music Hall, he rubbed his fingers together signifying he realized how wealthy he was about to become. Considering how far his market value had dropped, and how many people watching the broadcast are struggling to stay afloat financially, this was a very greedy display of his sense of entitlement.

Stephen Drew is a successful shortstop, not the greatest one to ever play the game, but pretty decent. Rather than re-sign with the Boston RedSox this season, he tested the waters as a free agent.  No one came to terms with him.  Until yesterday, he was out of baseball.  Boston rehired him yesterday and his gross earnings will end up being about $14Mil less than last year based on playing a truncated season.  Here is a case where holding out for what he felt he was entitled to backfired.

Over the past two years, I have coached several individuals who were unemployed.  Many of them were offered new opportunities at significant drops in pay from what they were used to earning.  My advice was that some level of earnings plus an actual job to freshen up one's resume were worth accepting.  I did a quick check on some of those folks this week and they are still not working.

The simple message is that no one owes any of us anything.  If your bank accounts are running empty, your 401K is trickling down the drain,and no other serious job is headed in your direction at present, how can you turn a job down?  Nothing is forever in this world and it is much easier to trade up from a job than to be on the street with nothing happening.