Classifieds

I just took a quick look at today's employment ads in the Sunday Newark Star Ledger. Surprisingly, there were a few more full page ads than in recent months and the entire section was just a bit thicker than usual. Granted, a fair number of the jobs were not local but this might be a positive sign among all the negativity we are enduring!

Sound Sharp

Imagine calling someone to discuss a possible job opportunity at one of your client companies during possibly the worst job market in at least 80 years. Do you expect lots of excitement and enthusiasm on the recipient's end of the line? I do! As i learned yesterday, people are getting so worn down that they now answer the phone very cautiously. Who knows? A bill collector could be on the line or just another agent with a lukewarm, dead end lead. As the recruiter, we need to realize that these are not normal times and folks are getting rather gun shy. As the candidate, you must remember that you cannot sound down on your luck even if you feel that way. Plain and simple, things are crappy everywhere but sounding disinterested will not help at all.

Recruiters Needed

Please contact me at harold@smartstaffpersonnel.com if you are an experienced recruiter with at least 3-5 years experience (or know someone who is) and are looking for a new opportunity. Requirements are proven experience recruiting and placing permanent and contract staff in Accounting, Finance, Warehousing, or other fields excluding I.T. and Engineering. Commission based opportunities for people located in northern NJ.

ETC.

Watching my Phillies somehow win a series at the new Yankee Stadium this weekend got my brain was energized for a few minutes! Here are the thoughts that leaked out:

• It was great seeing all the military personnel who were awarded free seats to fill the holes at field level in the new stadium. Certainly, they deserved the royal treatment they received. Unfortunately, the average baseball fan will not be able to pay the $2500 price for a seat there or even the half price discounts slowly coming out. Remember this when looking for a job, companies will keep workstations empty rather than overpay to fill them.
• While shopping for a laptop for my daughter, I have suddenly realized that Microsoft forces retailers to sell Vista as the operationg system. Every PC expert I know tells me this is an awful option. The silver lining is a lot of techs will earn money downgrading folks to XP.
• As I have done errands this weekend I have noticed less Help Wanted signs than ever before. Business in Central Jersey seems brisker than past Memorial Day weekends. My concern is that is because less folks are travelling rather than more available shopping dollars.

That is about I could get to trickle out so have a good Memorial Day tomorrow!

What Do You Think?

My latest poll (in the right hand column) was posted because I am totally confused by the reports on the economy. Just today, I heard that new registrants for unemployment benefits were down for the last 4 weeks and that purchasing agents are starting to place orders for raw materials in numbers not seen in well over a year. At the same time, selling prices for homes are tumbling downward while the stock market had another rough day. Some of my clients are targeting July as their turnaround month while others are unsure about when things will improve. Please weigh in on my poll and let me know what you think!

Quick Resume Thought

Good morning! I am sitting in my office right now going through a bunch of resumes submitted via email. I just deleted one because the candidate incorrectly named his graduate school three times!! Has anyone ever heard of the 'Jersy Institute of Technology' in Newark, NJ? An MSEE from NJIT (The New Jersey Institute of Technology) certainly is a challenging degree to obtain. This candidate tossed away its value by not taking the time to learn his school's proper name. If this happened only once out of three attempts I would give him the benefit of doubt but not when he consistently demonstrated that a problem might exist. There are lots of new grads out there today, please do not throw yourself to the bottom of the pile!!!!

Auto Sales and Client Lists

Memo to salespeople in the automotive industry: If your dealership is about to be forced out of business, try to put together rather quickly a list of all your paying customers over the past several years. Make sure that potential employers know you will be bringing a client list along with you if they hire you! When you land a job, get word out to your loyal clients and invent therm to stop by, even just to browse. Generating traffic is in your favor!

Quick Thoughts

While preparing for a quick lunch at my desk, some thoughts have crossed mind and I decided to share them before though back into the cloudy area of my brain!

• Recently, I read an article about out-of-work professionals in the 45-60 years old age group turning to Botox injection or plastic surgery to give them a competitive edge in the job market. I challenge a hiring manager to tell me that they hired someone because they looked young. In most cases, this is not true. In fact, I have much more luck placing my contemporaries (yes, I'm somewhere in the 45-60 group) because a lot of firms are looking for people with a ton of professional work experience. Unless you want a job as a fashion model, night club performer, beauty pageant contestant, etc., do not waste your time or money on medical procedures to land a job. An interesting aside was that one of the main characters in the article still does not have a job!
• Several folks have sent me resumes of 5 lines in length or shorter this week. When I wrote one of them and asked for a more detailed version he replied that he has been in one job for almost 25 years, is good at what he does, and does not need to detail his experience to get an interview! Best of luck, my friend but don't wait for me to help you!