When designing software for the employment industry, functionality and usability are two of the most important considerations. Recruiters and hiring managers known that time is money, therefore, if a software option takes too long to master, they are losing money. Because of this, recruiting software must be designed in a way that encourages easy use. In hopes of increasing the ease of locating new clients, applicant tracking software company Catch the Best has recently announced the addition of a new keyword search feature.
This feature enables users to type in various keywords that summarize what they are looking for in a new employee. Their system them electronically skims their resume database and locates the job seekers who are fit the criteria the best. This enables hiring managers and recruiters to decrease the amount of time they spent locating potential employers.
"We are always striving to enhance the hiring process for our current and future customers by incorporating requested functionality that aligns with out vision of a simple, effective applicant tracking and resume management solution," said Mike Wagner, who is the company's Vice President of Marketing & Business Development.
Since the best employees are often in high demand it is important for an employer to be able to locate them quickly. This enables a company to snatch these individuals up before another workplace can. Because a business is only as good as its workers, this ability can make or break a company.
The addition of keyword search to the company's service goes along with the their pre-existing tagging search capabilities.
"Now users have tools to quickly search through their repository of applicants. One by keywords and the other by tagging the resume for a more abstracted search," said Wagner.
Catch the Best was founded in 2007 and is located in Seattle Washington. It serves both recruiting and non-recruiting professionals who are involved in the hiring process for their companies.
A recent budget cut in the Chicago public school district will alleviate property taxes on residents, but will result in the loss of several hundred jobs. According to the Chicago Tribune, the city's Board of Education hopes to ease the stress put on area taxpayers that were effected by last fall's tax hike under Mayor Richard Daley.
In order to lower taxes after one of the greatest increases in the city's history, more than 400 Chicago jobs will be lost and over 70 schools will be expected to consolidate their bus routes. This $5.1 billion spending plan will be made possible by dipping into $100 million in reserve funds.
The Board of Education budget will be increasing by 4.3 percent this year in order to help pay for an agreed upon raise in teachers' salaries. As part of a five-year contract with educators, the Board is expected to boost teachers' pay by 4 percent each year.
The additional .3 percent increase in spending will result in an extra $40 million going towards improving high school instruction. The Board plans on creating programs to assist underperforming schools and help new freshmen get used to high school.
At a recent meeting, the president of the Civic Federation Laurence Msall stated that he approved the district's efforts to fix budget problems without adding pressure to tax payers. Despite the applause, the nonpartisan government watchdog group issued a report urging officials to come up with a detailed long-term capital improvement plan in order to analyze future proposals with consideration to declining enrollment in the district. Msall did not mention how the group he represents feels the job cuts will effect the area.
Although employers in many industries across the country have been decreasing the number of individuals they employee, healthcare jobs continue to plentiful. The economic uncertainty that has been the cause of such downsizing has yet to effect the medical field. The large number of jobs being posted online in this industry is further proof that employment in healthcare will continue to offer job security that is scarce in today's market.
Industry specific job search site HealthcareCrossing posted over 28,000 new positions in one week during the month of July. This record breaking number of job announcements happened despite several layoffs at various hospitals and medical centers in June.
Many of these layoffs were the result of internal problems and efforts to increase profits. Experts do not believe that they reflected greater issues in the industry, which remains relatively steady.
"The recession has hit the recruiters pretty hard in the first quarter," said HealthcareCrossing CEO A. Harrison Barnes. "But HealthcareCrossing has been seeing a record growth in the number of jobs, and is really doing a superb job."
As proof of the site's success Barnes cited the fact that approximately 217,000 active jobs are currently available on the website's database. This is a 256 percent increase from January when HealthcareCrossing had only 84,758 positions.
According to the number of positions being posted on the site the careers with the highest demand are:
One of the factors that makes HealthcareCrossing different from other job search sites is the fact that it weeds out spam and positions that are not industry specific. The company believes that this increases the efficiency of its users job search efforts.
Where as many job search sites only list positions that employers have paid to post, HealthcareCrossing tries to locate all healthcare job announcements listed on the Internet and offer them in one convenient location.
Employers Less Likely to Hire Interns, Entry Level Applicants this Year
With a slowing economy, employers are currently less likely to hire interns and employees for entry-level jobs than in previous years.
MonsterTRAK's annual survey of college students, graduates and employers revealed that only 59 percent of employers planned on hiring 2008 spring and summer graduates, a decrease of 17 percent from last year. At the same time, 29 percent of employers were unsure of whether or not to hire interns, nearly twice as many as in 2007.
It was noted that 85 percent of employers that did plan to hire interns or entry-level workers would offer an equal amount or more positions than in 2007, and one-third of employers planned on increasing entry-level salaries by 1 to 5 percent.
The survey also revealed that despite the status of the economy, students are remaining positive about their chances to grab an internship or entry-level job, as 73 percent of students expect to receive two or more offers by graduation.
Of the students surveyed, 81 percent ranked job growth opportunities as being important, 79 percent ranked personal fulfillment highly and only 57 percent ranked salary as being important.
While remaining optimistic, students are having a hard time getting out on their own, according to an article on BNET. While last year's survey showed 22 percent of 2007 graduates planned to move back home for more than six months, 43 percent are still living at home this year. Also, 42 percent of students have a student loan debt higher than $25,000 and 33 percent have credit card balances higher than $5,000.
The reason some students may not be finding work is the difference in opinions between students and employers as to what is most important. The survey revealed 43 percent of employers think personal characteristics are most important, while only 19 percent of graduates think the same. Also, 48 percent of students think relevant work experience is the most important item, while only 21 percent of employers agreed.
Employers also noted that some student behavior during interviews can result in adverse hiring decisions, such as a general lack of professionalism, wearing inappropriate attire and arriving late. Most employers also expect a thank-you note, while 28 percent of students didn't follow up with employers in 2007.
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Jobs search engine Fresho.com recently announced that it has partnered up with not one, but two, applicant tracking systems providers. JobTarget And BrightMove will enable Fresho to offer job seekers a larger number of job listings.
Businesses and recruiting agencies that are clients of either applicant tracking system will now access to Fresho’s exclusive job ad distribution network. This includes some the largest and most widely used career search engines.
Since both mid-sized and large companies often receive more resumes than a hiring manager can easily keep up with, applicant tracking solutions have become extremely important. Aside from keeping up with candidates, these systems also help out with posting new jobs. When an employer posts a job through their ATS, the system automatically posts it on all of the job boards that are considered part of its network. Now those who post their jobs through JobTarget and Bright Move will also have the added benefit of having their staff vacancies announced on Fresho.com
Currently JobTarget has established relationship with more than 100,000 employers. Their online network receives anywhere from 20 to 50 million page views per month.
BrightMove’s fully web-based ATS was actually designed by recruiters to suit the needs of others in their field. This system features a resume database, reporting and analytics and contact management. Now it with also feature a job distribution tool that will allow employers the ability to publish and manage their jobs their job requisitions on Fresho.com’s career search engine.
Aside from pairing up with these two companies, those in charge of Fresho are working to create partnerships with other applicant recruiting and tracking solutions.
Fresho.com was launched earlier in January of this year and is a completely free online classified directory. The web site has job ads from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, all of which are broken down into 41 separate industry categories.
Employers Gather to Recruit Workers for Chicago Foodservice Jobs
Talk of a recession has made many in Chicago and elsewhere more cautious about the money they spend. This takes a particular toll on the retail, tourism, hospitality and food services industries. Instead of eating out, people are electing to stay home and cook, which may employers to have fewer Chicago foodservice jobs to offer.
That being said, those looking for a position in this industry should consider attending the Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance's (MFHA) annual conference on August 12th. More than 30 well known names from the industry will be at the Chicago Fairmont Hotel in hopes of finding new workers to fill their current staff vacancies. Between the hours of 10 am and 3 pm, these employers will be available to let job seekers know what a career with their establishment can do for them.
Some of the establishments attending in hopes of recruiting new workers include: Gordon Food Service, ARAMARK, Chipotle, Sodexo, Buca di Beppo, Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, Denny's, CAMPBELL SOUP, Outback Steakhouse, Potbelly Sandwich Works, Heartland Food Corp/Burger King, Save-A-Lot and Potawatomi Bingo Casino. These businesses will be highlighting the different career paths an employee can take and what each positions entail.
Whether a veteran in the industry or a new-comer, those looking for a job in the industry might find it beneficial to stop by. Many find that it is often easier to get a job in a setting such as a career fair for several different reasons. For starters, Employers attending an event like this have immediate openings they are trying to fill. Another good point about industry specific career fairs is the fact that job seekers are given a chance to leave a good impression before an official interview.
In order to this, those looking for a job in the industry should dress as they would if they were actually going to a company to apply for a job. It is also a good idea to take copies of your resume with you. Many employers will accept these on site, so be prepared to hand it out.
This event will also serve to highlighting diversity in the workplace. Host MFHA is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the benefits of a culturally diverse workplace to both workers and employers.
"Leading companies in the hospitality industry know that a diverse workforce is key to successfully fulfilling the employment needs for our hotels and restaurants," said MFHA president Gerry Fernandez. "This career fair is a great opportunity for matchmaking--and to introduce the wide variety of hospitality careers to candidates."
The event will take place at Chicago Fairmont Hotel located at 200 N Columbus Drive. For more information visit www.psijobfair.com/mfha
Background Checks Save Money and Make Work Safer for Everyone
Chances are if you've applied for several jobs in the last few years, you've had to sign a consent form in order to give your potential employer the right to conduct a background check on you. Maybe you've wondered why businesses are doing this more often than not now. Well, it's not that HR managers are just nosey. There are many reasons why investigating would-be employees is becoming popular. CheckPoint HR recently released the top reasons their clients are conducting more background checks now then ever before.
The most popular reason is that verifying the accuracy of the information and candidate provides increases the quality of new hires. The reasoning behind this is the fact that over 40 percent of applicants are dishonest on there resumes. According to CheckPoint's recent press release, common fallacies can be anything from accidental inaccuracies such as putting down the wrong dates to applicants lying about skills they don't have or fabricating their education and work experience.
Another reason employers are becoming reliant on background checks to make the final hiring decision is to cut down on theft and violence in the workplace. By finding out a potential employee's criminal history, employers have found that they can often avoid hiring those who have a history of hurting others or stealing from work. This can save money and avoid lawsuits.
Staying out of court also made the list. Many times, offices that neglect to do background checks find themselves accidentally hiring an unsavory character with a violent or negligent past. When these individuals cause harm to another, whether accidentally or on purpose, the company is often held liable. By investigating potential employees, companies have found that they can save themselves a lot of money on legal fees.
Looking into an applicants work history has also been found to reduce turnover and disciplinary problems. Employers often investigate this element of a candidate's resume to avoid hiring individuals who are known to quit soon after getting their first pay check. Since offices lose money every time a new hire resigns within the first six months, retention is a big concern for HR managers.
All of these reasons add up to two underlying reasons, employers who conduct background checks save money in the long run and create a safer office place for other workers.
"By hiring a new employee, you are entrusting them with your company and your clients. Therefore it's your corporate responsibility to ensure a safe work environment and protect your company’s assets," said Michelle Moylan, who is CheckPoint HR's HR specialist.
Internships are designed to give college students much needed real-life work experience. Instead of handing a potential employer a resume filled with academic achievement and club affiliations, those who intern are able to distinguish themselves from the rest of recent graduates because they know a little bit more about working.
Although this may be enough reason to intern in itself, the best thing an internship can do is set up with a job for after you graduate before you even get your degree. Most employers use their internship programs as unofficial recruitment programs. That means they are scanning their interns hoping that a few of them will show talent that is much needed in the office. Because of this, it is important to distinguish yourself while interning. This is especially true if you're involved in a rather large program and are having to compete for the possibility of a job offering.
One way to do this is to avoid the common mistakes that many interns make. For starters, show up on time all the time. If you think you're going to be late, then it's best to call ahead and let someone in your department know. Although this may draw attention to the fact that you're late, rather than sneaking in unnoticed, it also allows managers to see that you're responsible enough to be concerned about being at work when you should be. Most employers understand that mistakes happen and won't hold being late against you as long as you don't make a habit of it and are conscientious enough to call an alert someone.
Aside from showing up on time, avoid dressing like a refugee. Many employers complain that college students have no sense of professional dress. The best way to avoid this and other wardrobe faux-pas is to take a look at what those above you on the corporate ladder are wearing and follow suit.
Many interns make the problem of doing just what they're asked to do. If competing for the possibility for a job offering, it's best to go above and beyond. Instead of asking to leave early if you've finished all your work ahead of time, ask if there is anything else you can help out with. This let's employers know that you're a team player and are willing to take on responsibility.
Another important thing to do is get to know those you work with. Networking is especially important and business. The individuals you work with have more experience and can, therefore, teach you many things. There is also always the possibility that one of these individuals may end up leaving the company you're interning with and work for another employer you may be interested in down the road. If that's the case, then the relationship you built during your internship could once again serve you well by helping you to get your foot in the door with another company.
The construction industry plays an important role in many major cities, and especially accounts for many New York jobs.
Employment in New York City's construction industry is expected to expand considerably through 2011, according to an article by the Fiscal Policy Institute for the NYC Employment and Training Coalition and NYC Workforce Investment Board. The expansion is expected as there are several large commercial construction projects under development.
"The construction industry and construction workers literally build New York, creating the workplaces, houses, apartments, schools, hospitals, public spaces, transportation arteries, bridges and water tunnels essential to our city's existence and smooth functioning," the article states.
"Construction work is often physically demanding and dangerous, but it offers some of the highest wages available for workers with limited formal education," the article adds. "An extensive apprenticeship system provides many of the industry's workers with the craft skills required for the city's demanding construction projects, skills that can provide secure career ladders and demonstrable wage gains."
There should be thousands of openings in the industry through 2011 as about 30,000 construction workers are getting ready to retire. As of 2006, residential construction had grown in the city for four years, the biggest increase since the 1970s, and commercial construction had remained below its 2001 level.
The construction industry currently employs about 250,000 workers, with 175,000 of those being city residents. The leading construction jobs include laborers, carpenters, painters, electricians and plumbers. Construction workers earn a median hourly wage of $14.90, slightly higher than the overall median wage for the city.
New York City is home to 10,000 construction companies and more than 30,000 self-employed construction workers. Construction work in the city is usually project-based, with workers and companies migrating from one job to the next.
"Most construction companies are trade-specific contractors or employers, such as electrical, plumbing, masonry, or roofing," the article adds. "General contractors serve as organizing agents, working with engineers and architects and coordinating the entire array of trade contractors. Most residential contractors are very small businesses, averaging four to 10 employees, while most non-residential contractors are only slightly larger, averaging 15 to 25 employees."
Despite this, unemployment decreased in June to 5.5 percent. Originally the Agency for Workforce Innovation said that that May’s jobless rate was 5.5, the same as the national average, but refigured data to find that it was actually 5.6 percent.
Although the positive news of even a small unemployment decline is something Floridians need right now, the jobless rate is still the second-highest it has been in more than five years. According to Agency officials, Florida has lost 78,100 jobs in the last 12 months ending in June. This means that approximately 508,000 individuals are without work.
In hopes of improving Florida's job market Agency director Monesia T. Brown says that Governor Charlie Crist and the state Legislature is adding job training projects and trying to stimulate construction.
"The governor's been very focused on creating opportunity for more jobs in Florida," Crist's spokesperson Sterling Ivy agreed.
According to Ivy, Governor Crist is currently putting a lot of effort into trade with hopes of attracting foreign businesses to Florida. His focus has been mainly centered on the United Kingdom, France, Russia and Spain.
Hopefully these efforts will soon pan out, because state economist have recently predicted that it isn't likely that Florida will recover from its dismal economic situation until sometime near the end of 2009. This is six months later than was previously forecasted.
The economists also believe that the state's unemployment is going to continue to climb, despite the small decline experienced in June. According to them, the jobless rate will hit 6.03 percent before things start to improve. The last time unemployment was reached this high was in January of 2002 when most of the country was experiencing higher than normal jobless rates due to the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks of the previous year.
Other factors causing problems for Florida's economy include a heavy reliance on housing and population growth along, which have both been hurt by the housing slump and issues with the credit market. Increasing prices for both food and gasoline are not helping matters.
For high school and college students, finding Boston jobs has been difficult this summer. With the Massachusetts unemployment rate climbing form 4.9 percent in May to 5.2 percent in June, the workforce's next generation is having to compete for jobs with those who have much more experience.
Since unemployment rates do not take into account the number of individuals who are underemployed, there is no telling how many entry-level positions has been taken my adults need the income badly enough to take pay cuts. Employers naturally prefer workers with more experience and are, therefore, more likely to pass up on young people in favor of those who have a little more business know-how.
The problem with this is that teens and college students need these positions greatly in order to get a good foundation of knowledge of the workplace. Yes, many may make big mistakes on their first jobs, but it's those first mistakes that teach them how to behave in a professional setting.
In June, teen employment stood at 37.1 percent, which is a 2.5 percent decrease from the previous year and a decline of 14.3 percent from its highest point in the 1990's, said a Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market Studies expert. The teen unemployment rate, which only takes into account young adults actually searching for work, is currently at 18.7 percent. Even with rising unemployment across the nation, this figure makes the problems older members of the workforce seem less dire.
As labor-market studies professor Harry Holzer with Georgetown University in Washington recently said, times of economic instability are hardest on young people "because they are the first people to get fired and the last to get hired."
He went on to explain what demographics are hurt the most. "What's unusual is that it comes on top of a long-term trend that was already fairly negative. The long-term trend is hitting low-income and minority teenagers especially hard."
One reason that part-time jobs are particularly important for urban youth is the fact that statistics show that teens who work are less likely to be involved in violence, to join gangs or become parents before graduating.
Recently several businesses and officials have banded together to try to help out Boston's youth. John Hancock Financial Services Inc, Boston Globe Foundation and Mayor Thomas M. Menino organized a summer jobs program geared toward providing employment for teens early this year. The program, Boston Summer Scholars is able to provide young adults with jobs due to the fact that the two companies donated $1 million to create 500 jobs.
"The mayor has been very outspoken about needing summer jobs for out city's youth," said president and CEO of John Hancock John DesPrez III. "And, from a business perspective, it's important for us to have an opportunity to train our future workforce."
In the month of June employers created 3,600 new Connecticut jobs. On top of this, the state has regained nearly 91 percent of the jobs that it lost during the first few months of last year, according to the Connecticut Department of Labor.
While most of the nation lost jobs last month, June was the second month in row that Connecticut added jobs. The total number of people working nonfarm jobs was 1,705,800, which means the state has gained 5,900 since last year. In May, Connecticut employers created 3,300 new positions. At the same time, the unemployment rate remained steady at 5.4 percent.
"Connecticut's economy went in the opposite direction from that of the nation again [in June] showing gains rather than losses in almost all major industry sectors," said state labor economist John Tirinzonie.
During last month, seven of the state's 10 major industries showed job growth and two posted no change. The information sector was the only industry to report job losses.
The housing slump, which has greatly effected the construction industry, has yet to cause any real problems in Connecticut. So far, the number of jobs in this sector has remained relatively unchanged for the last year. Nationally, this sector has experienced a 5.9 percent decline.
"Much of this difference is due to employment stability in 'specialty trades contractors' here in Connecticut, while at the national level this industry has seen its work force lose a considerable number of jobs over the last two years," said Tirinzonie.
Another industry that has been suffering across the country is the manufacturing sector. Once again, Connecticut is not following the trend. In June, employers reported a gain of 200 new jobs.
The area of the state that had the highest unemployment rate was once again Waterbury, where the percentage of the population that was unable to find work went from 7.1 percent to 7.3 percent. Out of the last 91 months, Waterbury has had the highest unemployment rate in Connecticut 90 times. Approximately 7,600 people were without work in this area, which is an increase of 400 people since May.
