CareerBuilder is proud to be working with MAXIMUS, where finding qualified jobs for qualified candidates is the ultimate goal. We help MAXIMUS find the talent they need to position both clients and candidates for success in today’s workforce. CareerBuilder believes in doing our part to contribute to a stronger economy, and we believe helping companies like Maximus empower employment is the way to get there.

We recently got the opportunity to talk to Mark Andrekovich, chief of human capital for MAXIMUS, on how his organization works to empower employment.

CareerBuilder: When you hear the term Empowering Employment, what does that term mean to you?

Andrekovich: At MAXIMUS, we operate several workforce services projects across the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and we just recently launched a new project in Canada. When we staff these operations, we look for employees who are passionate about helping others. We primarily serve welfare-to-work clients, many of whom have never even held a steady job, much less a sustainable career. Our case managers recognize the barriers faced by workforce services program participants, but they provide encouragement and connect them to resources that will help them obtain a lifestyle of employment.

In our Tax Credit and Employer business line, we help organizations maximize available tax credits through programs that support hiring from targeted populations, including veterans, individuals with disabilities, and long-term welfare recipients. Our MAXOutreach® solution links employers and community-based organizations to help uncover hard-to-reach, tax credit-eligible applicants. So MAXIMUS empowers employment by helping job seekers obtain the right combination of skills and connecting them to job opportunities, while also assisting businesses and other organizations identify new tax-eligible candidates.

CareerBuilder: What areas of your business do you believe are the most important to invest in in today’s market?

Andrekovich: Our investments in people, process and technology have led to our company’s success today and will help drive our growth in the future. Our people support critical public programs – helping low-income families obtain health insurance coverage or supporting them as they transition from welfare into sustainable employment. The work they do requires a level of familiarity with government programs that are constantly evolving, so we make investments in training and re-training programs, as well as the necessary knowledge development needed to execute our business model.

At the same time, we are investing in the processes and technology that make our operations run smoothly. We place a high value on business process management strategies, which we use to operate more efficient government programs. We make regular refreshes to our internal technology systems and look for ways to leverage shared services across the organization.

CareerBuilder: There’s been a lot of discussion lately around “hiring for culture (or attitude) and training for skills.” Is this something you practice at your organization? Why or why not?

Andrekovich: MAXIMUS certainly takes cultural fit into account when we hire new employees. However, we also look at subject matter or technological expertise, depending on the position. The common thread we look for in new hires is the willingness to work hard and a shared commitment to our founding mission of Helping Government Serve the People®.

CareerBuilder: What skills – both technical and soft – do you see most valuable to today’s businesses?

Andrekovich: We look for candidates who have a level of technological expertise relevant to the position, but also the adaptability to learn new technologies and processes. Since we are a service-orientated Company, we seek trustworthy candidates who demonstrate personal pride in their work and a strong work ethic.

CareerBuilder: Where do you see your workforce in five or 10 years in terms of growth?

Andrekovich: MAXIMUS is experiencing growth in all our operations, in the US and abroad, so we definitely anticipate a more global workforce. As governments continue to seek more efficient public programs, we believe we will grow more technology-focused as well. MAXIMUS has experienced steady growth in recent years, so we anticipate this trend will continue in the years to come.

If you are proactively taking steps to drive economic growth in your local community or nationwide, we want to hear about it.

We may contact you about participating in our Empowering Employment series. Visit www.empoweringemployment.com for more information.

__________________________________________________________________

About Mark Andrekovich: Mark Andrekovich serves as the chief of human capital for MAXIMUS and president of the company’s Tax Credit and Employer Services business. Mark leveraged his human capital expertise to introduce innovative I-9, E-Verify and OFCCP Compliance services for hundreds of large and small employers for the Tax Credit and Employer Services business. Mark is an active member of the Human Resource Policy Association and the National Industry Liaison Group, and serves on the Business Advisory Council of Clarion University’s Dana Still School of Business. He is a highly sought after speaker on topics of Human Capital Strategy, OFCCP Compliance and Diversity Recruitment.

Prior to joining MAXIMUS, Mark worked for Banister International, a private human capital and executive search firm in Philadelphia. He has more than 20 years of comprehensive human resources experience with multi-national companies such as General Electric, Nordson Corporation and Cytec Industries. Mark holds a B.S. in business administration from Clarion University and an M.B.A. from Monmouth University.

About MAXIMUS: For nearly 40 years, MAXIMUS has operated under its founding mission of Helping Government Serve the People®. The company delivers administrative solutions for Medicaid, CHIP, Medicare, welfare-to- work programs, child support services, as well as specialized consulting services. MAXIMUS offers a single-market focus and a unique understanding of how to deliver high quality, cost-effective solutions tailored for all levels of government.

For U.S. veterans, returning to the workforce isn’t exactly easy. As of October 2011, more than 850,000 veterans were unemployed, and the jobless rate for post-9/11 veterans was 12.1 percent — well over the national average. According to whitehouse.gov, more than 1 million service members are projected to leave the military between 2011 and 2016.

CAREERBUILDER, “AMERICA WANTS YOU,” AND FREE JOB EXPOSURE

Despite these challenges, the situation just got brighter: Military veterans looking for work in this economy have a new champion in America Wants You, an effort bringing together the private sector and corporate America to find job opportunities for men and women who have served in the U.S. military. As the initiative’s chairman and CEO John S. Pike (who is a veteran himself), says, “America Wants You and its supporters are calling out to the corner offices to stand up and do their duty. It’s a corporate call to arms. There is no employer too big or too small to aid in this American effort.”

We’ve talked in the past about the multitude of reasons your business should be hiring veterans, and as President Obama said when referring to veterans’ wide range of skills, “This is exactly the kind of leadership and responsibility that every American business should be competing to attract.”

Now, CareerBuilder is powering the job engine for America Wants You, giving employers all over the nation an absolutely free way to expose their jobs to out-of-work military veterans who just may be the perfect fit for that quality and training analyst, RN, or project manager position you need to fill. Want to be one of the leaders in raising employment for veterans? Post your jobs for FREE on AmericaWantsYou in just a few simple steps.

POSTING YOUR JOBS TO AMERICAWANTSYOU.NET IS EASY (AND EVEN BETTER, IT’S FREE!):

To post a job to America Wants You, simply:

1.  Register for an account or sign into your current CareerBuilder account.

2. Send a blank email to jobs@americawantsyou.net from the email address registered to your CareerBuilder account. You will receive an email back confirming your CareerBuilder account has been added to America Wants You’s job search engine.

3. Log into your CareerBuilder account, choose “AmericaWantsYou” as your job type, and start posting! Your jobs will be instantly added to AWY’s database.

4. Done! Your job posting will be active until it’s filled and/or you remove it from your CareerBuilder account. When you receive new applications, CareerBuilder will email them to you.

*Note: If you’re an employer with more than 25 open jobs, contact jobs@americawantsyou.net for help automating your job postings.

A MESSAGE FROM CHRIS O’DONNELL

For those who want to learn more about the America Wants You effort (or who still, like me, sometimes quote “Circle of Friends,”) here is actor Chris O’Donnell discussing the importance of helping veterans in our current job market:

WHY HIRE VETERANS?

With their military background, extensive training, specialized skills and breadth of experience, veterans bring many unique elements to the workforce.  A few that you may not have considered:

1. Trustworthiness: Many military personnel have achieved some level of security clearance, demonstrating that he or she is recognized as a trustworthy person.
2. Background checks: With an honorable discharge, service members are essentially certified drug-free, and they have already had to go through rigorous background checks to be admitted into the military.
3. Dealing with high stress-situations: Veterans know the importance of deadlines, and they’re accustomed to being in high-stress situations and trained to deal appropriately and effectively. Though civilian workplaces offer different types of pressures, there’s likely nothing you can throw at them that’s more high stress than situations they’ve encountered while serving.
4. Tech savvy and international awareness: Veterans, because of the necessity to be aware of global affairs, are often one step ahead of many other workers when it comes to IT knowledge or the latest business trend or international security issue — not to mention IT training and hands-on skills.

CareerBuilder asked employers who have hired U.S. veterans or members of the National Guard to list the top attributes military personnel brought to their organization, and the following assets topped the list:

• Disciplined approach to work – 66 percent
• Ability to work as a team – 65 percent
• Respect and integrity – 58 percen
•  Leadership skills – 56 percent
• Problem-solving skills – 54 percent
• Ability to perform under pressure – 53 percent
• Communication skills – 45 percent

For more information about the America Wants You initiative, please visit AmericaWantsYou.net.

Are you planning on hiring veterans this year–or have you already? Let us know in the comments.

“Hey, remember when retiring was a ‘thing’? Those were the days.” While hearing that phrase might sound odd now, the fading out of traditional retirement not be so far off the mark: Fifty-seven percent of workers ages 60 and older said in a new Harris Interactive© study they would look for a new job after retiring from their current company–a sign that these days, retirement doesn’t necessarily mean the end of someone’s career. Some workers are postponing retirement out of economic necessity; they just can’t afford to quit. Others, however, are in fact choosing to continue the nine-to-five routine, for many different reasons (which I’ll get into more below).

The survey, conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder and PrimeCB.com (CareerBuilder’s job site for mature workers and retirees) among 3,023 hiring managers and HR professionals and 878 U.S. workers ages 60 and older, also found that 11 percent of respondents said they don’t think they’ll ever be able to retire.

Despite that discouraging statistic, there are still a good number of workers who, although they may not be ready quite yet, believe they’ll be able to retire within the next several years:

• 1-2 years (26 percent)
• 3-4 years (23 percent)
•  5-6 years (22 percent)
• 7-8 years (7 percent)
• 9-10 years (7 percent)
• More than 10 years (4 percent)

More hiring on the horizon

As an increasing number of older workers are putting off retirement, whether by choice or financial necessity, the timing of many employers couldn’t be better: Many of them are looking to hire within the 50-and-older demographic. This is great news, because as we’ve discussed previously, many older workers who want or need to continue working are unable to do so, simply because they can’t find an employer who will hire them. According to the survey:

• 43 percent of employers plan to hire workers ages 50 and older this year.
• 41 percent said they hired workers ages 50 and older in 2011.
• 75 percent of the employers surveyed would consider an application from an overqualified worker who 50 or older, with 59 percent of those employers saying they would do this because mature candidates bring a wealth of knowledge to an organization and can mentor others. (Note: Older workers have been found to have a host of other advantages as well, including quitting less, being absent less, and having better social skills and job performance than their younger counterparts).

“Whether mature workers are motivated by financial concerns or simply enjoy going to work every day, we’re seeing more people move away from the traditional definition of retirement and seek ‘rehirement.’ At the same time, employers are seeing the value these mature workers can bring to an organization, from their intellectual capital to their mentoring and training capabilities. In a highly competitive job market, mature workers can use these skills to their advantage.”

 

Finding out what older workers want

With more companies seeking the unique skills older workers offer, it’s vital for companies to know (or learn) what these workers want. Many of them want to keep working to stay active, keep busy and be social. They also want things like a friendly work environment, a chance to use their skills and depth of experience, respect from coworkers, the opportunity to learn, and a way to help others and do something meaningful.

When it comes to benefits, many older workers are seeking adequate paid time off, health care and insurance coverage, and a flexible schedule (doesn’t sound much different than what workers of all generations are seeking, does it?)

I recently saw lawyer Simon Heath speak at 2012′s HRPA conference about  older workers and age discrimination, and he also shared a few examples of methods employers may need to consider when accommodating older employees in the workplace:

• Flexible hours and conditions of work (i.e. compressed work weeks, flex time, and telecommuting).
• Part-time arrangements and job sharing, which both allow for a transition to retirement.
• Employing workers who have already retired on short term and/or fixed term contracts.

As Peter Cappelli, co-author of Managing the Older Worker: How to Prepare for the New Organizational Order, discussed at SHRM this past year, organizations can take steps to better work with older workers in their organization:

• Tailor your rewards and benefits to their lifestyle and interests: The promotion, bonus or stock options don’t matter as much to older workers, as mentioned above. Instead, provide motivation through meaningful work and social relationships; these factors are a bigger priority for older workers than financial- or career advancement-motivated rewards.
• Consult and empower them: Older workers want to be consulted, so ask them to participate in the decision process on a project or challenge a bit more. They have experience behind them and wisdom to solve many workplace problems, so ask them to get involved.
• Don’t ignore them: Older workers don’t want to be ignored, and they still need to be managed. Remember that managing someone older doesn’t mean you’re giving up authority; older workers must be held accountable, too.
• Initiate mentoring/onboarding: Companies like Deloitte have taken advantage of older workers’ unique talents by asking them to share problems they see in the organization that they’d like to work on and fix. Their attitude is, “If you think it’s a good idea, we will too, almost without exception. We trust you.”

Is your organization hiring more seasoned workers this year? What unique skills and experience do you see them bringing to the workplace?

We’ve talked recently about how voluntary turnover is on the rise this year. As it turns out, many of those workers may not be remaining anywhere near their own backyard when they leave their current job.

A whopping 44 percent of workers say they’ll relocate this year for the right job, according to a new CareerBuilder survey conducted by Harris Interactive© among more than 3,000 hiring managers and HR professionals and nearly 8,000 U.S. workers. Many employers are doing their best to make the stress of moving worthwhile: Nearly a third say they’ll foot the relocation bill in return for great new talent.

(See the Infographic)

A new way for out-of-area workers and employers to get in touch

Fast on the heels of this trend, CareerBuilder has just launched CareerRelocate.com, a site dedicated to helping workers and employers connect and turn job relocation opportunities into realities. Employers can post jobs and search resumes through CareerRelocate.com, and candidates have many options as well when it comes to making the right career move (literally and figuratively). As Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder, explains, “CareerRelocate.com helps workers identify relocation opportunities and understand related costs, so they have the right information in hand for their next career move.”

Through CareerRelocate.com, workers are able to:

• Run a simple keyword or category search and view a map detailing where the most and fewest opportunities are for their line of work.
• View actual relocation opportunities in different cities.
• Learn what they would need to earn in order to maintain their current standard of living in another city.
• Research homes, property values, mortgage quotes, moving and storage costs.
• Tap into articles and advice on relocating and hiring trends.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s in store for worker relocation this year:

In 2011, many laid-off workers turned to jobs out of their area to find new work. Of full-time workers who were laid off in the last year and found new jobs, 20 percent relocated to a new city or state, according to a September 2011 CareerBuilder study.

“One of the key trends we saw coming out of the recession is the movement of labor in and out of markets across the U.S. Workers have had to expand their job search geographically and employers in need of hard-to-find, skilled talent have had to recruit across state lines,” says Ferguson.

Positions most likely to pay (for the move)

Employers who are experiencing challenges finding workers for skilled positions said they’re willing to pay to bring on great new people: 32 percent reported they would be willing to pay to relocate new employees in 2012, and 19 percent would be willing to pay a smaller first year salary in order to give a signing bonus to relocate an employee.

While employers say they’re willing to pay both current staff and new hires for a wide variety of positions, the areas which they’re most likely to pay to relocate employees are tied to technology and revenue-generation:

• Engineering – 30 percent of employers
• Information Technology – 23 percent
• Business Development – 21 percent
• Sales – 21 percent
• Financial – 16 percent
• Marketing – 13 percent
• Legal – 11 percent

Owners of a lonely heart?

We’re all human, and sometimes work changes call for sacrifices we’re not thrilled to make, even if they are best for us in the long run. It’s not a surprise, then, that some workers who relocated last year experienced pangs of loneliness or doubt: 41 percent of them said their family wasn’t able to relocate with them and they had to travel to see them.

Here’s what workers said topped the list when it came to their other biggest relocation challenges:

• Cost of living was higher – 26 percent
• Caused more stress on the family unit – 24 percent
• It was difficult to make new friends – 18 percent
• They were feeling homesick – 16 percent

No looking back

Seventy-seven percent of workers who relocated in the last year reported they were happy with the move and didn’t regret their decision. How did workers say they benefited the most?

• Made a fresh start – 30 percent
• Made new friends – 31 percent
• Had new experiences they wouldn’t have had anywhere else – 29 percent
• Earning at a higher level gave their family more spending options – 27 percent
• Better long-term career opportunities – 22 percent
• Area was nicer and schools were better – 19 percent

Check out our “Relocation Nation” infographic to get a snapshot of relocation trends for 2012:

 Are you planning on looking for out-of-area candidates this year to get the right employees in the door? Will you pay for relocation costs?

It’s 2012. The year of presidential elections; the year of the world’s end, if you ask some; and, according to the results of a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive© of more than 3,000 hiring managers and HR professionals, the year of the temporary and contract worker?! Well, while that might be a stretch, it appears that 36 percent of companies will hire contract or temporary workers this year, up from 34 percent in 2011, 30 percent in 2010, and 28 percent in 2009.

Why the increase in demand for temporary and contract workers? 

As many of us are painfully aware, more than one-third (35 percent, to be exact) of American companies are operating with smaller staffs than before the recession. To address business needs and keep pace with market demand, many are turning to staffing and recruiting companies and temporary workers. And it’s good news for many employees: 35 percent of the companies hiring temporary and contract workers this year have plans to bring them on on a permanent basis.

When the hiring is happening

Some companies’ temporary hiring movement is already in full swing, and they’re not alone: 27 percent of companies will hire temporary or contract workers in Q1 2012.  As Eric Gilpin, president of CareerBuilder Staffing & Recruiting Group, pointed out, “Temporary jobs from staffing and recruiting firms are playing an increasingly important role in the economic recovery. Employers are relying on temporary and contract workers to support leaner staffs, and in many cases, will transition those workers to permanent roles.”

The most in-demand staffing and recruiting positions

We know that temporary and contract hiring is already happening — but where is it happening most?

Based on data from CareerBuilder’s Supply & Demand Portal, these are the most in-demand staffing and recruiting positions, broken down by industry:

Health Care
1) Occupational or Physical Therapist
2) Speech Language Pathologist

Industrial
1) Maintenance Technician or Mechanic
2) CNC (Computer Numerical Control) Machinist Information

Technology
 1) Java or .Net Developer
2) Network Engineer

Office-Clerical
1) Administrative Assistant
2) Customer Service Representative

Professional-Managerial
1) Business Analyst
2) Marketing Assistant

Temporary workers can provide a needed talent boost for businesses, while enjoying the flexibility that comes along with these types of jobs. “Candidates will find good pay, flexibility, opportunities to change careers, valuable skills training, and a bridge to permanent employment,” said Richard Wahlquist, president and CEO of the American Staffing Association.

Does your business plan on bringing on more temporary or contract staff this year (or have you already done so)? We’d love to hear how it’s turned out for you in the comments below. 

First it was Arrested Development. Then it was Beavis and Butthead, followed by layaway and (presumably) pantyhose. Now, the latest comeback story of the season involves middle management.

Middle management positions were a significant casualty of recession-era layoffs, but new research from CareerBuilder’s various industry sites indicate that many employers saw counterproductive consequences and are now rehiring for those positions.

Employers surveyed in the retail, IT and healthcare industries indicated plans to bring back previously eliminated middle management jobs for the purpose of bringing structural gaps and addressing market demands. When assessing the impact of downsizing middle management, employers who made cuts in these industries cited both positive effects (cost-savings and more efficient operations) as well as negative ones (structural and emotional drawbacks).

Don’t know what you got till it’s gone?
According to industry experts, part of the reason for the resurgence in middle management jobs is that employers are now realizing just how essential middle management is to the organization.

“Middle management often gets a bad rap for adding bureaucratic layers to an organization, but these roles can be essential in maintaining team cohesion, retaining core talent and providing direction to workers,” says Bill Meidell, product director of WorkInRetail.com

Jamie Carney, product director of Sologig.com, agrees. “When a department lacks leadership or direction, it is easier to see the value of middle management,” Carney says. “The data suggests that middle management plays an important role in making an employee’s work experience meaningful and productive.”

“Middle management is essential to providing balance and direction within complex organizations,” adds Rob Morris, product director of MiracleWorkers.com. “They play important roles from onboarding new employees and tracking progress to building positive morale and maintaining chains of communication – all things that are difficult to do without.”

Check out details for each industry survey below…

Retail
According to a WorkinRetail.com survey of 240 retail employers, of the 30 percent of retail employers who’ve eliminated middle management positions since the beginning of the recession, 32 percent plan to bring back these jobs.

While 73 percent of retail employers reported that cuts netted beneficial results, 77 percent indicated the following drawbacks:

• Lower morale (39 percent)
• Lower productivity (32 percent)
• Workers less motivated (30 percent
• Less communication given regarding company news (27 percent)
• Training is less effective (25 percent)
• Workers are less organized (24 percent)

Information Technology
A Sologig.com survey of 195 IT employers found that nearly half (45 percent) of the 27 percent of IT employers who’ve eliminated middle management positions since the beginning of the recession plan to bring back those jobs back.

While 73 percent reported that cuts netted beneficial results such as cost-savings and more efficient operations, 76 percent listed the following negative results:

• Lower morale (39 percent)
• Less succession planning (28 percent)
• Higher turnover (26 percent)
• Workers are less organized (24 percent)
• Less communication given regarding company news (24 percent)
• Less recognition for workers (23 percent)

Healthcare
Nearly a quarter (24 percent) of healthcare employers has eliminated middle management positions since the beginning of the recession, according to a MiracleWorkers.com survey of 282 healthcare employers. Of these employers, 44 percent plan to bring those jobs back.

While 81 percent reported that cuts netted beneficial results such as cost-savings and more efficient operations, 74 percent stated there were several structural and emotional drawbacks:

• Lower morale (47 percent)
• Workers less motivated (27 percent)
• Training is less effective (26 percent)
• Less communication given regarding company news (25 percent)
• Less succession planning (23 percent)
• Less recognition for workers (22 percent)

Is your organization bringing back previously-eliminated positions?

Tomorrow, on Veterans Day 2011, we take time to honor the scores of men and women who have fought for our freedoms. While we often honor our military veterans with words, how can we make a difference by taking action on some of those words? A great way for businesses to take the lead on this is by hiring a veteran. This Veterans Day is an opportune time for all of us to take a closer look at the strengths veterans bring to the workplace and discuss ways to help tackle the challenges many face — and a new CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,800 hiring managers helps us do just that.

What kinds of challenges are veterans facing?

Well, as of October 2011, more than 850,000 veterans were unemployed, and the jobless rate for post-9/11 veterans was 12.1 percent — well over the national average. This problem isn’t going away, but instead becoming more of a challenge: According to whitehouse.gov, more than 1 million service members are projected to leave the military between 2011 and 2016.

Veterans’ skills are often highly specialized, and it is sometimes difficult for them to determine how to translate those skills to those that employers are seeking in a civilian workplace environment.

Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America, has some advice for veterans struggling to reconnect and adapt to a civilian workforce:

“The survey shows that employers recognize the unique value military experience can bring, but that they don’t always understand how military skills fit into corporate America. Veterans will need to clearly make that connection in their resume, cover letter and job interviews as they enter this new chapter of their careers.”

New job resources for veterans

Resources are popping up everywhere to help veterans adjust to their new civilian lives and find jobs. In New Brunswick, NJ, for example, veterans are learning to release stress, heal, and adapt to civilian life through music classes, and CareerBuilder has recently launched a job site matching military veterans and employers, EmployVets.com. Exclusively for veterans returning to the job force, the site includes a tool for discovering how one’s military skills translate to the civilian world, career advice and resources, and much more. Sites like VETransfer are aimed at helping veterans with an entrepreneurial streak start their own businesses by connecting them with financing and equipping them with the necessary resources to get their venture started.

Veterans who believe they have a skills gap hindering their job search can also participate in the CareerBuilder Re-Employment Initiative, a paid internship program aimed at helping veterans and unemployed job seekers bridge the IT skills gap. This paid program will consist of several weeks of classroom training followed by up to six months of on-the-job, hands-on training with an assigned CareerBuilder software developer. Interested?  See the job description and apply here.

For veterans coming off active duty: How can you increase opportunities for employment?

• Speak their language. Two in five employers (41 percent) reported it can be difficult to decipher how military experience fits into civilian positions. It’s important to highlight specific military skills and spell out how they are relevant to the responsibilities listed in the employer’s job ad. For example, if you served in the infantry, there are many relatable skills for police or security guard positions or for training roles within organizations.
• Advertise your experience. More than one-in-four employers (27 percent) said one of the biggest challenges in recruiting U.S. veterans for open positions is that veterans don’t always market their military experience. Include your military experience with a bulleted list of accomplishments that shows how you put your knowledge into action.

Government initiatives

The White House is doing something about the employment challenge veterans face — and many businesses are following suit. President Obama has just announced several initiatives to help unemployed military veterans, including the Veteran Gold Card, which gives the more than 200,000 unemployed 9/11 veterans access to enhanced services like six months of personalized case management, assessments and counseling at career centers across the country.

He is also currently urging members of Congress to pass two provisions to the American Jobs Act that will provide tax credits to businesses that hire military veterans: 1) The “Returning Heroes Tax Credit,” which provides firms that hire unemployed veterans with a maximum credit of $5,600 per veteran, and the “Wounded Warriors Tax Credit,” which offers firms that hire veterans with service-connected disabilities with a maximum credit of $9,600 per veteran.

Some businesses are taking the lead

More good news: Despite battling a higher-than-average unemployment rate, those returning from military duty and re-entering the workforce may find better employment prospects over the next year:

• One in five (20 percent) employers reported they are actively recruiting U.S. veterans to work for their organizations over the next 12 months
• 14 percent of employers are actively recruiting members of the National Guard.

Which industries offer the best options for veteran hiring?

Employers are planning to tap into the technical and communications skills and leadership abilities of U.S. service men and women. More than one-third of employers plan to hire for Information Technology positions, which topped the list of hot areas for hiring U.S. veterans.

• Information Technology – 36 percent
• Customer Service – 28 percent
• Engineering – 25 percent
• Sales – 22 percent

Why hire a veteran?

We’ve talked in the past about the multitude of reasons your business should be hiring veterans, and as President Obama said when referring to veterans’ wide range of skills, “This is exactly the kind of leadership and responsibility that every American business should be competing to attract.”

With their military background, extensive training, specialized skills and breadth of experience, veterans bring many unique elements to the workforce.  A few that you may not have considered:

1. Trustworthiness: Many military personnel have achieved some level of security clearance, demonstrating that he or she is recognized as a trustworthy person.
2. Background checks: With an honorable discharge, service members are essentially certified drug-free, and they have already had to go through rigorous background checks to be admitted into the military.
3. Dealing with high stress-situations: Veterans know the importance of deadlines, and they’re accustomed to being in high-stress situations and trained to deal appropriately and effectively. Though civilian workplaces offer different types of pressures, there’s likely nothing you can throw at them that’s more high stress than situations they’ve encountered while serving.
4. Tech savvy and international awareness: Veterans, because of the necessity to be aware of global affairs, are often one step ahead of many other workers when it comes to IT knowledge or the latest business trend or international security issue — not to mention IT training and hands-on skills.

CareerBuilder asked employers who have hired U.S. veterans or members of the National Guard to list the top attributes military personnel brought to their organization.

The following assets topped the list:

• Disciplined approach to work – 66 percent
• Ability to work as a team – 65 percent
• Respect and integrity – 58 percen
•  Leadership skills – 56 percent
• Problem-solving skills – 54 percent
• Ability to perform under pressure – 53 percent
• Communication skills – 45 percent

 What veteran job initiatives have you read about — or are you a part of — that are exciting to you? Is your business taking steps to hire veterans or help them re-acclimate to the workforce?

As the carved pumpkins of Halloween were being given their final touches and trick-or-treating hosts were filling up their baskets for throngs of excited children, stores across the U.S. were already looking ahead to winter holidays — and many employers had already lined up their seasonal staff for the busy time ahead. Yes, seasonal hiring is in full swing, and though employers expect to hire at similar levels this year as last, according to a new CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,600 employers, a year’s time has brought more perks in pay, 29 percent of retailers planning to have extra hands on deck around the holidays (a moderate decline from 2010), and nearly one-third of employers planning to turn some seasonal staff into full-time, permanent members of their team.

INFOGRAPHIC: ‘Tis the Season for Holiday Hiring: What Employers Predict This Year Will Bring

Sales, customer service, technology, shipping, and administrative support are all hot areas for holiday hiring this season — let’s take a closer look at what else is happening:

Retail and hospitality outlook

As mentioned above, nearly three in ten retailers will have extra staff on hand to help this holiday season, a moderate decline from last year, and 10 percent of hospitality companies will add seasonal staff this year, the same percentage as last year. What do the similar patterns in seasonal hiring from last year to this year mean for the economy?

As Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder, explained:

“Employers are keeping the status quo for holiday hiring as economic uncertainties shake consumer confidence,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder. “While retail has the lion’s share of seasonal jobs, you can also find opportunities in various industries and corporate roles.”

Where is seasonal hiring happening industry-wide?

Many different types of companies are hiring for seasonal staff this year, in various functional areas where they need help the most during the holiday rush. Across all industries, popular areas for recruitment this holiday season include:

• Customer Service – 30 percent
• Administrative/Clerical support – 16 percent
• Shipping/Delivery – 15 percent
• Technology – 12 percent
• Inventory management – 10 percent
• Non-retail sales – 9 percent
• Accounting/Finance – 8 percent
• Marketing – 8 percent

Better pay is on the way

While the number of seasonal staff being brought on for the next few months may not look all that different than last year, one thing near and dear to many workers’ hearts has changed: what they’re getting paid. More than half of employers (53 percent) reported they will pay $10 or more per hour to seasonal staff, up from 48 percent who said the same last year. Fourteen percent will pay $16 or more, up from 9 percent last year. How does your business compare when it comes to pay — are you paying more or less this year?

Seasonal hiring: Still going strong

While there tends to be a mad rush to secure a seasonal job once the leaves start to change, many employers are still recruiting for candidates deep into the snowy underbrush of the winter holiday season:

If you’re still recruiting for seasonal staff, you may want to check out WorkinRetail.com, which connects retail job seekers with employers looking to fill retail positions from in-store to corporate and everywhere in between. It’s the perfect place to recruit for seasonal retail candidates when you need to find the right people fast.

From seasonal to all-season employees

Nearly one-third (30 percent) of employers who are hiring seasonal help plan to transition some employees into full-time, permanent staff, meaning there is a lot of room for workers to make their mark this season and secure a great job. Workers looking to turn their seasonal gig into a full-time, permanent position should consider the key traits employers are seeking for seasonal-to-permanent staff.

Many of the things employers are looking for revolve around employees being proactive, offering help above and beyond what is asked, and, believe it or not, simply showing interest in a full-time gig. When you look at the below criteria a bit more closely, most of the items mentioned are things all kinds of employers are looking for in their employees.

To stand out as a candidate for a long-term opportunity, hiring managers recommended the following:

• Provide above and beyond customer service. Offer help instead of waiting to be asked for it. – 66 percent
• Let the employer know up front that you’re interested in permanent employment – 49 percent
• Proactively ask for more projects – 45 percent
• Ask thoughtful questions about the organization – 39 percent
• Present ideas on how to do something better or try something new – 34 percent

Employers’ biggest seasonal hiring turnoffs

What are the biggest turnoffs for employers when interviewing for seasonal jobs? A lack of flexibility or expressed interest, unawareness of the company or brand, and discount-job-shopping top the list, according to employers surveyed:

• Someone who is unwilling to work certain hours – 70 percent
• Someone who isn’t enthusiastic – 63 percent
• Someone who is more interested in the discount than anything else – 40 percent
• Someone who knows nothing about our company/products – 36 percent
• Someone who shows up wearing clothes or merchandise from a competitor’s store – 22 percent

Read the full press release, send a snapshot to your co-worker with our seasonal hiring infographic, or snag the right seasonal candidates.

Do these results fall in line with what your organization is planning for seasonal hiring this year?

When (almost) alone in a room with American business magnate and investor Warren Buffett, what do you ask him? CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson appeared on Bloomberg Television’s “In the Loop” this morning to talk about just that. Buffett, Ferguson and a few other business leaders met last evening during Buffett’s stop in Chicago for an event for Junior Achievement, and discussed everything from U.S. job creation and the outlook for our nation’s economic recovery, to philosophies on business and the housing market.

This was the first time Buffett and Ferguson had gotten a chance to meet. On “In the Loop,” Ferguson shared a couple of highlights from their discussion:

• Long-term predictions: Buffett believes that, while the U.S. is going through tough times right now, we will bounce back, the unemployment rate will come down and we’ll find ways to create jobs for everyone in society.
• Short-term predictions: Right now, Buffett is focusing his closest attention on the housing market. He believes that when the housing market returns, we’ll see a broad range of industries related to housing or down the system from what housing creates. He thinks the housing market bouncing back is a lot closer than many of many people think.

See what else Ferguson had to say about his discussion with Buffett:

The current skills shortage — and why we should care

Ferguson said our current skill shortage is a longer-term issue that, though it won’t be changed overnight, must be addressed now.

As a result of a long and deep recession, technology evolution, and globalization, we’re in a position where we have a lot of jobs — and not enough workers with the right skills to fill them. “We have to re-skill a lot of Americans into new industries, and it’s not something that happens in 3 or 4 months — companies have to participate in it and government has to incent it. If we don’t start investing in it now, we’re going to look back 2 years from now and say, ‘I wish we’d started that,’” Ferguson said.

In industries like information technology, health care, and engineering, Ferguson pointed out that we’re seeing a mismatch in skills.  There are more job postings for some types of IT jobs this September than last, for example, but they’re staying open longer because there’s an undersupply of people in the U.S. who have the right skills for those jobs.

The key, Ferguson said, is to reskill people into various areas of those industries and help provide employment in the long term for them — but as he stressed, it will take all of us working together to do it. The positive news is that broad-based areas like customer service, marketing and sales are starting to make a comeback — a good leading indicator, Ferguson said, of the underlying health of the economy, and a sign that we may see better job creation as we move into 2012.

What do you see happening for U.S. economic recovery as we begin to prepare for 2012?

From zero to 103,000 in 30 days…

What sounds like the tag line of a lame Nicolas Cage action movie (redundant?) actually describes the change in the number of jobs created since last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which released September’s Employment Situation Report this morning.

Here’s a summary:

• Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 103,000 in September; however, that number includes the return to payrolls of about 45,000 [Verizon] telecommunications workers who had been on strike in August.
• The private sector added 137,000 jobs in September, with health care and education leading the growth, while local government shed 35,000 jobs, including 24,400 in public education.
• The number of unemployed persons was relatively unchanged at 14 million and the unemployment rate held at 9.1 percent.
• The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was 6.2 million in September.
• Since April, payroll employment has increased by an average of 72,000 per month, compared with an average of 161,000 for the prior seven months.

While it’s nice to see that jobs were actually added this month (and even surpassed economists’ predictions of around 55,000), 103,000 still falls far short of the around 200,000 jobs needed each month just to fuel growth.

But before I become too much of a Debbie Downer, I’ll just reiterate White House blogger Katherine Abraham’s advice to “not to read too much into any one monthly report.” Done and done, Katherine.

Related links:

• Get a read on employers’ hiring expectations for the remainder of 2011.
• See how unemployment rates vary by age, education and gender on NPR’s Planet Money.

From zero to 103,000 in 30 days…

What sounds like the tag line of a lame Nicolas Cage action movie (redundant?) actually describes the change in the number of jobs created since last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which released September’s Employment Situation Report this morning.

Here’s a summary:

• Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 103,000 in September; however, that number includes the return to payrolls of about 45,000 [Verizon] telecommunications workers who had been on strike in August.
• The private sector added 137,000 jobs in September, with health care and education leading the growth, while local government shed 35,000 jobs, including 24,400 in public education.
• The number of unemployed persons was relatively unchanged at 14 million and the unemployment rate held at 9.1 percent.
• The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was 6.2 million in September.
• Since April, payroll employment has increased by an average of 72,000 per month, compared with an average of 161,000 for the prior seven months.

While it’s nice to see that jobs were actually added this month (and even surpassed economists’ predictions of around 55,000), 103,000 still falls far short of the around 200,000 jobs needed each month just to fuel growth.

But before I become too much of a Debbie Downer, I’ll just reiterate White House blogger Katherine Abraham’s advice to “not to read too much into any one monthly report.” Done and done, Katherine.

Related links:

• Get a read on employers’ hiring expectations for the remainder of 2011.
• See how unemployment rates vary by age, education and gender on NPR’s Planet Money.

Today, CareerBuilder announced its commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting in New York, which brings together leaders from all over the world to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. The commitment is part of CareerBuilder’s ongoing effort to educate job seekers on where to find opportunities and put Americans back to work.

Hope Gurion, CareerBuilder’s Chief Development Officer, is going to be at the annual meeting this week to speak on behalf of CareerBuilder.  She recently answered a few questions for me about the mission and history of the CGI, CareerBuilder’s involvement in the initiative and what she hopes all of us can gain from this meeting.

Can you tell me a little bit about the Clinton Global Initiative?
President Bill Clinton established the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in 2005. Over the years, CGI Annual Meetings have brought together nearly 150 current and former heads of state, 18 Nobel Prize laureates, hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations, major philanthropists, directors of the most effective nongovernmental organizations, and prominent members of the media. These CGI members have made nearly 2,000 commitments, which have already improved the lives of 300 million people in more than 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued in excess of $63 billion.

What role does CareerBuilder play in the CGI?
CareerBuilder is a full member of CGI, and I represent the company at the numerous meetings throughout the year.  I actively participate on the “workforce development” committee, and this week I am in New York City for the annual meeting. The key focus area for the first day of the meeting is jobs, and I’m particularly looking forward to a healthy discussion around the opportunities to empower current and future workers with new skills.  This is an area where there is a lack of transparent and current data to inform both students and workers, and where we are focused to illuminate and inform people in making good choices that will provide them with income and opportunity.

What do you hope to accomplish by participating in the CGI?
CareerBuilder’s commitment provides CareerOneStop centers, sponsored by the U. S. Department of Labor, with complimentary access and usage of CareerBuilder’s online Supply & Demand Portal. The Supply & Demand Portal was designed to help employers zero in on the best markets to recruit hard-to-find talent as well as enable CareerBuilder to help job seekers discover occupations that are in high demand and hone skill sets for areas with great growth opportunities. CareerOneStop Center staff can use information from the portal to assist job seekers in the retraining and “re-skilling” they need for opportunities available today and in years to come. The commitment runs for 12 months starting on October 1, 2011 and offers a single annual license for CareerBuilder’s Supply & Demand Portal, available at no charge, to the 1,819 Comprehensive CareerOneStop centers and 1,095 Affiliate CareerOneStop centers across the U.S.

Want to know more about the Clinton Global Initiative? Follow @ClintonGlobal on Twitter or check out the CGI Facebook page for news and updates; visit live.clintonglobalinitiative.org to view and share session webcasts; or visit CGI’s Flickr page to see photos from the sessions.

These were some of President Obama’s words in his Presidential Address to Congress just a few days ago, as he stressed the need for Congress to pass the American Jobs Act. Many of us watched, or tweeted about it, or argued about it over dinner — and some of us, like CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson, were discussing hopes for the speech to come before it happened.

The purpose of the American Jobs Act, President Obama said, is simple — “to put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working.” So what exactly did President Obama say to explain that would happen? I’ve recapped the highlights here of what Obama says the American Jobs Act will do if passed:

What President Obama says the American Jobs Act will do (in his own words):

• Lead to new jobs for construction workers, for teachers, for veterans, for first responders, young people, and for the long-term unemployed.
• Provide a tax break for companies who hire new workers or raise workers’ wages, and it will cut payroll taxes in half for every working American and every small business.
• Provide a jolt to an economy that is stalled, and give companies confidence that if they invest and if they hire, there will be customers for their products and their services.
• Cut payroll taxes cut in half next year for all small business owners. (If you have 50 employees making an average salary, that’s an $80,000 tax cut).
• Repair and modernize at least 35,000 schools.
• Put people to work right now fixing roofs, and windows, and installing science labs and high-speed Internet in classrooms all around this country.
• Put thousands of teachers in every state back to work.
• Give companies extra tax credits if they hire America’s veterans. As Obama explained, “We ask these men and women to leave their careers, leave their families, risk their lives to fight for our country. The last thing they should have to do is fight for a job when they come home.”
• Give companies a $4,000 tax credit if they hire anyone who has spent more than six months looking for a job. President Obama: “We have to do more to help the long-term unemployed in their search for work.”
• Extend unemployment insurance for another year.
• Provide tax credits to companies that hire new workers, tax relief to small business owners, and tax cuts for the middle class.
• Cut away the red tape that prevents start-ups from raising capital and going public

Other points of emphasis:

• Obama stressed that we can’t grow the economy and create jobs by both keeping tax loopholes for all companies, and giving small business owners a tax credit when they hire new owners — we must choose.
• He also acknowledged that the American Jobs Act addresses the urgent need to create jobs right away — but that we have to look more into the future and make a lasting impact in order to make America competitive “for the long haul.”
• He wants to make sure the next generation of manufacturing takes place not in other countries, but here in the United States.
• “The people who hired us to work for them — they don’t have the luxury of waiting 14 months (until the next election).” He mentioned, as we have before, that some people are living week to week, paycheck to paycheck, or day to day – they need our help, and they need it now.

Before he ended his speech, Obama brought up Abraham Lincoln, and talked about how, in the middle of a civil war, Lincoln was also a leader who looked to the future. He was a Republican president who was able to mobilize government, Obama pointed out — leaders of both parties followed the example he set. Obama’s message in this comparison was clear — now is not the time for politics, but for putting them aside to make changes necessary for a better economy. But how successful was he in his plea?

Watch President Obama’s Address to Congress in its entirety:

How do you think we can create more jobs and make long-term economic improvements?

The employment situation report for August is disturbingly similar to that of July.

Zero: It’s not just the amount of interest you have in seeing the remake of Footloose. It’s also the number by which both nonfarm payroll and the unemployment rate changed in August, as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics today.

(Un-fun fact: Today marks the first time since 1945 that the government has reported a net monthly job change of zero. Most depressing. Record-setting. Ever.)

Employment numbers across the board showed little to no change last month, but in case you don’t feel like clicking over to July, here’s a summary of August’s employment situation report:

• Total nonfarm payroll employment, at 131.1 million, was unchanged (0) in August. Employment changed little in most major private-sector industries.
• The number of unemployed persons was relatively unchanged at 14 million and the unemployment rate held at 9.1 percent.
• The labor force rose to 153.6 million.
• The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was about unchanged at 6 million.
• The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) rose from 8.4 million to 8.8 million in August.
• The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 0.1 hour over the month to 34.2 hours.
• In August, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls decreased by 3 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $23.09. This decline followed an 11-cent gain in July.
• The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for June was revised from +46,000 to +20,000, and the change for July was revised from +117,000 to +85,000.

So, yeah. No change. No growth. No closer to buying that summer share in the Hamptons…This is usually the part where I try to be optimistic, but if “at least we didn’t lose jobs, y’all!” is the best thing I can say about this report…I’d rather go see Footloose.

OnStar, we have an emergency.

Veteran employees bring unique skills sets to the workforce.

The holiday may be well over two months away, but really, is it ever too early to start preparing for it? I’m talking, of course, about Veterans Day.

Do you realize about one million military veterans today are unemployed? Hard to believe, considering the vast array of skills they possess, training they’ve gone through and discipline work ethic they demonstrate – all of which are valuable skills in any industry. So if you’re looking for suggestions on ways to acknowledge the upcoming holiday, you could start with focusing your recruiting efforts on this remarkable group of men and women.

But don’t take my word for it…

A 2009 CareerBuilder survey asked employers who have hired U.S. veterans or members of the National Guard to list the top attributes military personnel brought to their organization.

Survey participants cited the following valuable traits these employees possessed:

• Disciplined approach to work (cited by 68 percent of employers surveyed)
• Ability to work as part of a team (63 percent)
• Respect and integrity (57 percent)
• Leadership (50 percent)
• Problem-solving skills (46 percent)
• Ability to perform under pressure (44 percent)
• Communication skills (37 percent)

A few other things you might want to know about hiring veterans: With an honorable discharge, service members are basically certified drug-free. And many military personnel have achieved some level of security clearance, demonstrating that an individual is recognized as a trustworthy person. It’s also possible that you could qualify for government-paid relocation services if hiring a military person coming off active duty from another location.

And now that President Obama has proposed a new tax credit for employers who hire veterans, there’s even more incentive to hire military service men and women.

But perhaps Obama articulated the greatest reason to hire veterans when –during a speech last month in Washington, D.C.’s Navy Yard – he said:

“Just think about how many veterans have led their comrades on life-and-death missions by the time they were 25 years old. That’s the kind of responsibility and experience that any business in America should want to take advantage of.”

To further help companies find employees with these valuable skill sets, CareerBuilder recently launched Employvets.com, dedicated to helping match employers and military personnel. Veterans and National Guard members can identify employers who are sensitive to their employment needs, while employers can benefit from targeting these uniquely skilled workers for their positions.

According to a recent CareerBuilder survey, 60 percent of workers who were laid off in the last year have found new jobs. Of that 60 percent, 88 percent found full-time positions, and 54 percent found jobs in entirely different fields than where they previously worked.

Among the workers who are still searching for new opportunities, 56 percent said they are nervous about returning to work after an extended period of unemployment, citing the following reasons:

• Pressure to prove themselves (50 percent)
• Fear of the unknown (40 percent)
• Anxiety around new, unfamiliar technologies (21 percent)

The survey – which was conducted by Harris Interactive© from May 19 to June 8, 2011 and included more than 800 workers who were laid off from full-time jobs in the last year – also revealed the following workforce trends:

• Relocation: Of workers who were laid off and found new jobs, 36 percent reported they relocated to a new city or state. Of those who haven’t found new jobs yet, 38 percent said they would consider relocating for a position.
• Pay Increases: The majority of laid off workers who found new jobs reported their pay is similar to or higher than their previous position, with 45 percent taking a pay cut, (down from 47 percent last year), and 27 percent finding jobs with higher pay (up from 22 percent last year).
• Starting Small Businesses: Some workers may replace their job search efforts with entrepreneurship. More than one-in-four (27 percent) who have not yet found work said they are considering starting their own business.

But while it’s encouraging to see more companies hiring laid off workers (especially in light of recent reports that some employers refuse to consider unemployed job seekers for their open positions), it’s also crucial that they keep this momentum going.

It’s important to recognize that every segment of the workforce brings unique skills and value to the workplace, and that excluding any segment of the population from your applicant pool only cheats you out of talent that could benefit your organization.

In a statement for the survey’s press release, Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America, discussed the significance of these findings and the need to keep hiring in this economy:

“We need to do a better job as a nation to help workers identify jobs that are in-demand today and are projected to grow in the future. We have a growing skills gap and the need to get millions of Americans back to work. As the economy recovers, we need to focus on retraining and ‘re-skilling’ workers to help them move to new fields with a greater number of opportunities.”

Not to mention that companies that invest in hiring and retaining currently unemployed workers not only qualify for certain government tax breaks and benefits as part of the HIRE Act, but they’re also helping the nation overall in contributing to economic recovery.

Have you recently hired a laid off worker? Any advice for your peers?

As many of us keep a close watch on the latest stock market news, CareerBuilder’s just-released survey on worker finances (PDF) shows the financial situation for some workers is actually improving (albeit slowly). Forty-two percent of workers in the survey of more than 5,200 workers say they usually or always live paycheck to paycheck, an improvement from 43 percent in 2010 and in line with levels seen back in 2007, pre-recession.

Signs that workers’ finances are improving:

• The number of workers who have missed a bill payment has decreased since 2010: 20 percent say they have missed payments on bills in the last year, a slight improvement from 22 percent at this time last year.
• 14 percent of workers making six figures say they live paycheck to paycheck, down from 17 percent in 2010.
• 6 percent of these six-figure earners said they can’t make ends meet every month — but that’s an improvement from the 8 percent who said the same last year.

Gender wars

It appears that, though both genders have their share of financial issues, female workers continue to struggle more with their personal finances than their male counterparts:

• 46 percent of female workers say they live paycheck to paycheck, compared to 38 percent of male workers.
• 24 percent of female workers say they have missed a bill payment over the last 12 months, higher than male workers at 17 percent.

 They work hard for the money (so don’t mess with their cable TV)

“The majority of U.S. workers (72 percent) reported they are more fiscally responsible since the recession and have made a variety of changes to their living and spending habits,” said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.

And while being more fiscally responsible may mean giving up some material comforts, workers said they would absolutely not give up the following regardless of their financial concerns:

• Internet connection – 56 percent
• Driving – 46 percent
• Mobile phone – 42 percent
• Cable TV – 27 percent
• Going out to eat – 11 percent

The future is now later

Although as shown above, workers may be loath to give up a night out at the newest restaurant in town, giving up money that’s not in hand yet is sometimes a little easier — so it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that some workers are making ends meet by dipping into their long-term savings.

• 21 percent of workers say they have reduced their 401(k) contributions and/or personal savings in the last year to get by.
• Others aren’t contributing to long-term savings at all: One-third (34 percent) say they don’t participate in any 401(k), IRAs or retirement plan programs.
• Nearly two in ten workers who make six figures have reduced their contributions to savings and 401(k) programs each month (17%) — and 9 percent don’t participate in a 401(k) program or other personal savings plan at all.

Consider the following tips to pass on to your employees (or to use yourself) to ride out the economic downturn and prepare for the future:

• Channel your inner Sherlock Holmes – Look at your expenses under a microscope. Takeout coffee, restaurant lunches and other everyday expenses can make a dent in your checking account. Create a spreadsheet to analyze what you spend each month. Once you see where your money goes, you can more easily determine where to cut back.
• Be like the squirrel – Put an amount away, even if it is small. Regardless of the amount, set aside money each month for your short and long-term savings. If you have trouble fitting savings into your budget (or remembering to do it at all), set up an automatic deposit into a savings account.
• Show off your flair for the frugal – Savings may be right under your nose. Talk to your HR department about how you can make the most of your organization’s benefits. Find out if your company offers discounts for vendors like banks, gyms, or car rental services, and ask for additional resources to help you select the right benefits plans for your budget.

Need a recap? Get a snapshot of workers’ current financial situations.

If you were betting on job numbers, and you bet that 18,000 new jobs were created last month, thinking we’d have a repeat of June, you’d be wrong. But it’s probably a bet you’d be happy to lose, because in July, we added 117,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ “The Employment Situation” summary for July 2011. This jump followed two months of very little growth (in May and June).

Despite this growth and landing above Wall Street expectations, we’re still below the number needed to really make a dent in the unemployment rate — but it’s an improvement. So, the sky isn’t falling — and let’s just say we’re cautiously optimistic, yes?

Other details from this month’s “The Employment Situation” summary:

• Net growth explanation: 154,000 jobs were created in the private sector, but with a loss in government jobs of 37,000, we saw a net increase of 117,000.
• May and June’s low growth numbers have also had positive net revisions of  56,000.
• The labor force, at 152.3 million, did not change much in July.
• The unemployment rate was little changed but we did see improvement, from 9.2 to 9.1 percent. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that this lower rate was due to more individuals dropping out of the employment search (labor force participation fell from 64.1 percent to 63.9 percent).
• Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 10 cents to $23.13. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 2.3 percent.
• Neither average weekly hours or the number of temporary employees rose; as The Economist points out, both are indicators of future labor demand.

Hiring by industry

We saw job gains in health care, retail trade, manufacturing, and mining. Specifically:

• Health care employment grew by 31,000 in July. Ambulatory health care services and hospitals each added14,000 jobs over the month. Over the past 12 months, health care employment has grown by 299,000.
• Retail trade added 26,000 jobs in July. Employment in health and personal care stores rose by 9,000 over the month with small increases distributed among several other retail industries.
• Manufacturing employment increased by 24,000 in July; nearly all of the increase was in durable
  goods manufacturing. Within durable goods, the motor vehicles and parts industry had fewer seasonal
  layoffs than typical for July, contributing to a seasonally adjusted employment increase of 12,000 jobs.
• Mining employment rose by 9,000; virtually all of the gain (+8,000) occurred in support activities for mining.
• Professional and technical services continued to trend up in July, with a gain of 18,000 jobs.
• Employment in construction, transportation and warehousing, information, leisure and hospitality, and financial activities changed little in July.
• Government employment continued to trend down in July, with a loss of 37,000. Employment in state government decreased by 23,000, due almost entirely to a partial shutdown of the Minnesota state government.
• Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 10 cents in July to $23.13. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 2.3 percent. Average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by 8 cents to $19.52.

See what CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson had to say yesterday on CNBC’s Squawk Box program about job creation, the biggest skill shortage we’re facing right now, and more.

What do you think about July’s BLS job numbers?

On CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning, CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson discussed job expectations versus job creation; the disconnect caused by the structural mismatch between available jobs and available skills; the industry with the biggest skill shortage right now; and the area hottest in wage growth.

Check out what else Ferguson has to say about the state of jobs in America:

CareerBuilder’s Small Business Job Forecast points to improved, but cautious hiring in the second half of 2011

In a move that should make John Legend and high school gym teachers everywhere feel validated, small businesses plan to take it slow in the second half of 2011.

When it comes to hiring plans, that is.

According to CareerBuilder’s nationwide survey of more than 1,400 small businesses, while small business hiring in the coming months is expected to be better than 2010, caution continues to steer the pace of job creation post-recession.

In a statement for the press release, CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson discussed why small businesses remain hesitant in their hiring plans:

Right now there is a multi-speed labor market with smaller organizations slower to add new headcount. There was a chill effect on confidence levels coming out of the last recession and small businesses are still waiting to see how the market will unfold before committing to fully expanded staffs. Hiring in this segment will continue with modest gains in the second half of the year.

Following are the major findings from the Small Business 2011 Mid-Year Job Forecast: 

Full-time hiring up from last year: The number of small businesses planning to hire full-time, permanent employees from July through December rose six percentage points over last year, with larger companies hiring at a more accelerated pace.

• Companies with 50 or fewer employees – 20 percent hiring full-time, permanent employees (up from 14 percent last year).
• Companies with 500 or fewer employees – 27 percent hiring full-time, permanent employees (up from 21 percent last year).
• Companies with more than 500 employees – 46 percent hiring full-time, permanent employees (up from 38 percent last year).

Part-time hiring plans remain relatively unchanged: Small businesses expect part-time hiring to be on par with last year. Larger organizations are slightly less likely to hire part-time workers than last year, focusing more on adding full-time staff.

• 50 or fewer employees – 9 percent hiring part-time employees, same as 2010
• 500 or fewer employees – 11 percent hiring part-time employees, same as 2010
• More than 500 employees – 19 percent hiring part-time employees, down from 21 percent in 2010

Contract or temporary hiring up slightly: Companies of all sizes plan to increase their use of contract or temporary support to fill in employment gaps before turning up the dial on permanent placement.

• 50 or fewer employees – 6 percent hiring contract or temporary employees, up from 4 percent last year
• 500 or fewer employees – 8 percent hiring contract or temporary employees, up from 6 percent last year
• More than 500 employees – 16 percent hiring contract or temporary employees, up from 13 percent last year

Customer service is in-demand: Similar to last year’s study, the functional areas for which small businesses plan to hire first are those on the front lines with customers and those driving innovation.

• Customer Service, Information Technology and Sales remain in the top three spots for recruitment in the second half of 2011 with Administrative and Business Development rounding out the top five.

Burn-out, turnover and competition for talent among major areas of concern: Retaining and recruiting top talent has become a major challenge for small businesses as the economy improves and employers fight worker burnout.

• 36 percent of small businesses believe their workers are already burned out.
• 25 percent are worried that workers will leave their organizations as the economy improves
• 10 percent say that top workers left their organizations in the second quarter
• 18 percent currently have open positions for which they can’t find qualified candidates

For more information – and to see how your business compares – download the full report here.

It’s the question on everyone’s mind (no, not “What are William and Kate talking about this very instant? or “Why did Michelle Obama eat a burger?“), but — where are the jobs? CareerBuilder’s just-released list, pulled from CareerBuilder’s Supply and Demand Portal data from the past six months, gives us some insight into just that.

The latest Supply and Demand Portal data reveals industries and positions where, for a multitude of reasons, there is a growing gap in the number of workers needed to fill job openings. We’ve already seen evidence that  47 percent of employers plan to hire full-time workers in the last six months of this year — and some U.S. regions are more promising more than others. By understanding the labor demand in particular markets and the ways in which talent pools grow or shrink depending on that demand, you can more effectively guide your recruitment strategy in terms of employment brand, compensation and overall advertising strategy.

CareerBuilder’s Supply and Demand Portal helps you be smarter by giving you real-time access to 1) the availability of active talent for any position (supply), and 2) where you will find the most and least competition for that talent (demand).

As CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson says:

“The Supply & Demand portal enables employers to gain valuable market insights to develop more productive and cost-effective recruitment strategies. More than one-third of human resource managers we surveyed said they currently have positions for which they can’t find qualified candidates, a trend that continues to grow as the economy recovers and job prospects improve.  While the U.S. still has a very competitive job market, there are areas within technology, health care and other fields that have a growing deficit in talent.”

So, without further adieu, the hottest industries with growing demand for workers:

1. Cloud Developer
   
   • Supply v. Demand: 0.32 active job seekers for every job opening (in other words, there are three open positions for every one available job seeker).
     
   • Average Salary: $100,000
     
   • What Gives? Career opportunities in this space have multiplied with the exponential growth of data and the corresponding need to store and manage it.  Demand will continue to grow as companies look to increase capacity and function without having to build new infrastructure.
2. Business Intelligence Analyst
   
   • Supply v. Demand: 1.01 active job seekers for every job opening
   • Average Salary:  $98,000
   • What Gives? This hybrid position that combines technical know-how with business and market insights is becoming increasingly critical as companies place a greater emphasis on business analytics.  Companies are using the value they have in their existing data streams and warehouses to make smarter business decisions and create better tools for customers.
3. Registered Nurse
   
   • Supply v. Demand: 0.38 active job seekers for every job opening
     
   • Average Salary: $65,000 
   • What Gives? A staple on lists of worker shortages, nursing is one of the most challenging areas for recruitment. In addition to a growing demand for healthcare services, enrollment in nursing schools is trending down due to a lack of nursing faculty.
4. Quality Engineer
   
   • Supply v. Demand: 1.05 active job seekers for every job opening. 
   • Average Salary:  $68,000
   • What Gives? The manufacturing sector is making a comeback as the economy recovers and exports grow stronger to meet the needs of emerging markets.
5. Truck Driver
   • Supply v Demand: 1.37 active job seekers for every job opening 
   • Average Salary:  $41,000
     
   • What Gives? While life on the road has distinct advantages, extended time away from home, long hours on your own and dealing with traffic are among challenges that can make these positions hard to fill.
6. SEO Strategist
   
   • Supply v. Demand: 1.75 active job seekers for every job opening
     
   • Average Salary:  $70,000
     
   • What Gives? With high Internet penetration in markets across the globe, there is greater need for individuals who can bring more traffic to company websites by elevating their ranking in unpaid and paid search engine results pages.  Companies with a large Internet presence are bringing these skills in-house to build effective and relevant sites.
7. Health Care Administrator
   
   • Supply v. Demand: 2.25 active job seekers for every job opening
     
   • Average Salary:  $88,000
     
   • What Gives? An aging population and more than 30 million newly insured Americans post-health care reform are fueling the need for more medical services and professionals who can keep operations flowing smoothly.

More about the data:

• CareerBuilder’s Supply & Demand portal pulls data from national employment resources like CareerBuilder.com, Wanted Analytics and EMSI (Economic Modeling Specialists Inc.), accessing more than 45 million jobs, 40 million resumes and 140 million worker profiles.
• Based on the number of available jobs and available candidates, the portal identifies occupations and corresponding markets with the greatest supply and under-supply of candidates.

You can check out the full report here.

 Is your company looking for employees in any of these fields — or where are you having a challenging time finding workers?

Before I go into today’s jobs numbers, can I just offer a word of advice to the economists out there?

Don’t play the lottery. Just don’t. You’re just not good at picking numbers lately.

Case in point? June’s Employment Situation Report, released this morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which shows that the economy added only 18,000 jobs last month.

Now, it doesn’t take someone who tested out of college math (thankyouverymuch) to understand that 18,000 is quite a departure from the nearly 200,000 added jobs economists predicted would be added.

(I won’t even bring up how something very similar happened with last month’s projections.)

Here’s a summary of the June Employment Situation Report:

• The U.S. economy added just 18,000 jobs in June, the fewest in eight months and far fewer than the 200,000 analysts originally anticipated.
• Private employers added 57,000 jobs, while government agencies cut 39,000 jobs.
• The unemployment rate increased from 9.1 percent to 9.2 percent, the highest it’s been since December.
• The number of unemployed Americans in rose to 14.1 million in June from 13.9 million in May.

Also like last month, the government revised the previous month’s numbers to reflect that job growth was even slower than originally thought, with only 25,000 jobs added in May (down from the 54,000 jobs reported at the time).

And just to intensify that migraine point out exactly how bad these numbers actually are for hopes of ‘recovery’ (should we still be using that word?), remember that the economy needs to add 125,000 jobs a month just to keep up with the population growth.

So, yeah…Hard to believe it’s been two years since the recession ‘officially’ ended, huh? Doesn’t it seem like never ago?

In anticipation of tomorrow’s BLS unemployment report, CareerBuilder’s CEO Matt Ferguson appeared on CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning to discuss job market trends; causes of current economic uncertainty; in which job areas we’re seeing the most improvement — and much more:

According to CareerBuilder’s Mid-Year Job Forecast:

• Nearly half of U.S. employers (47 percent) plan to hire new employees in the second half of the year, up from 41% in 2010.  The number of companies hiring specifically for full-time, permanent staff rose to 35% from 28% last year.
• Customer Service, Information Technology and Sales remain the top three areas where companies say they will hire first in the back half of the year.
• More than one-third (35 percent) of employers are concerned that key talent will leave their organizations as the economy improves, a trend that has become increasingly evident over the last six months; 18% of employers reported top workers left their organizations in Q2 2011, up from 14 percent in Q1 2011.

What’s your take on the newest job forecast results and on what Matt had to say about the market?

Have you ever compared the experience job seekers go through when searching for a job to the experience you go through when, say, buying a car? Believe it or not, the two experiences are more closely linked than you may realize. We have specific reasons for deciding to go through with a car purchase — or walk away from it — and the same is true for job seekers considering your company as a future employer in their job search process.

The experience you provide job seekers through your recruitment process is something they will evaluate, engage with, and accept or reject, ultimately deciding whether or not to “make a purchase.” A new CareerBuilder and Inavero study of more than 4,500 workers demonstrates that that decision can happen at any point in the job search process, from the time they first start thinking about searching for a new job to the moment they have your offer letter in front of them — and everywhere in between.

The job seeker/employer relationship: It’s complicated

Today’s job search experience looks drastically different from several years or even several months ago, and it continues to evolve. Now, although job boards still have a prominent place in the job search, the job search experience has become much more complex. When job seekers embark on a job search, they are actively using five specific methods to find their next job: Search engines; vertical sites (job boards and aggregators); social media; corporate and career sites; and user-generated content sites. They are using these five platforms in different ways and with varied intensity as they move through four distinct phases of the job search — Orientation, Consideration, Action, and Engagement.

To effectively build and manage your company’s employment brand, reach a large segment of the many job seekers you’re missing out on, and continue to position yourself as a visible and desirable place to work in today’s rapidly changing world, you must have a diversified recruitment strategy that incorporates these five platforms — and you must understand the mindset and behavior of job seekers as they move through the four stages of the job search process.

Job seekers have changed — have you?

The CareerBuilder and Inavero study takes you through a job seeker’s typical job search experience as it happens in today’s recruitment environment, a time in which job seekers are hungry for information and have a wealth of online resources at their fingertips. Long gone are the days of faxing or mailing a resume and simply waiting passively to hear back from an employer — today’s job seeker is much more hands-on.

By learning what job seekers are thinking and doing as they move through four distinct job search phases (Orientation, Consideration, Action, and Engagement) and crafting your strategy to align with those thoughts and behaviors, you’ll be equipped to reach the best candidates for your open jobs, position yourself as a strong and desirable brand, and ensure your approach is consistent from phase to phase.

The Four Phases of the Job Search

Phase I: Orientation — This phase consists of a job seeker’s self-evaluation and evaluation of the market. Ninety-seven percent of job seekers reported self-evaluation as one of the first five things they did when starting a search.

Phase II: Consideration – During this phase, the job search moves from a solitary to an interactive, social experience. Job seekers are seeking to validate the brands in their consideration set by posting on social media platforms and user-generated content sites, and collecting opinions from members of their online social and professional networks in order to narrow their focus to a handful of jobs.

Phase III: In this phase, a job seeker is going through the action of applying to jobs.

Phase IV: In this last phase, job seekers are interacting with employers and actively interviewing. Although the majority of research on a company is completed pre-interview, job seekers are conducting social research in this last phase by having personal conversations with employees of your company or close family and friends.

(Learn about the job seekers’ mindset and behavior during each of the four job search phases here.)

The importance of a great recruitment experience

Job seekers today are largely dissatisfied with the current hiring process offered by companies. Only 10 percent of respondents said companies they have reached out to have been responsive. The impact of this is immense: Nearly half (40 percent) of job seekers strongly agree that a poor application experience impacts their job decision. In fact, it might surprise you to find out that more than one in 10 people turn down a job at least once a month.

Bad experiences during and after the application process can easily negate the work and strategic investment in media you’ve made to bring the best talent onto your team.

Begin to create a more candidate-centric recruitment process by adding a human touch:

• Communicate with candidates when at all possible, and let them know where they stand as the process moves from phase to phase.
• Unplug cumbersome technology and flawed screening filters, and provide feedback and coaching.
• View all candidates as a customer or potential future customer, client or employee.
• Get the most out of the resources you’re investing by being responsive — in the long run, you will get better quality talent, protect your employment brand, and maintain a better reputation with clients (who once may have been your candidates).

Getting them to say “yes”

Job seekers are using a wide range of methods to find the right jobs, and by gaining a large presence through these methods, you will deepen your talent pool, engage and create trust with candidates early on, find more diverse candidates for your open positions, and, ultimately, improve your bottom line. Start thinking of your recruitment experience as a consumer product — and start
getting more job seekers to consider your brand, like what they see, and say “Yes.”

For details on job seeker behavior and mindset within the four job search phases and our recommended strategies for best connecting with job seekers at each point in the process, download the full report or learn more about adding the right platforms to your recruitment mix.

Choosy moms choose — work? Or family? That’s the struggle many working moms are facing, as many working moms say they’re having trouble finding the time to both support their families financially and be home with their families.

Although the economy has made significant improvements since we talked with CareerBuilder’s Mary Delaney about working moms one year ago, many families are still surviving on just one working parent; more than one-third (35 percent) of working moms and 44 percent of working dads surveyed by CareerBuilder said they are the sole financial provider for their household.

In addition to the fact that one parent is often trying to be the sole provider financially while also being physically and emotionally there for their family, the burden may be even heavier for women, more of whom reported they earned a low salary than did male respondents.

Just how much lower of a salary?

Comparing these two groups, working moms who were the sole provider were three times as likely to earn less than $35,000 (45 percent of moms compared to 15 percent of dads), while working dads were more than twice as likely to earn $50,000 or more (63 percent of dads versus 28 percent of moms) and nearly three times as likely to earn six figures (18 percent of dads compared to 7 percent of moms), according to the 2011 CareerBuilder Mother’s Day survey. The survey was conducted among 484 working moms and 836 working dads, employed full-time, with children 18 and under living in the household.

Quality — but not quantity

Working moms are still facing less quality time at home due to financial challenges, heavier workloads and longer hours in the office — and despite an improving economy, this reality has actually worsened. One quarter of all working moms said they spend two hours or less with their children each work day, up from 18 percent in 2010.  Twenty-four percent take work home at least once a week.

Workers want employer support

Many workers are on the search to find that perfect work/life balance — and for working parents, it’s top priority. Despite any existing financial struggles, 31 percent of all working moms said they would take a job with less pay if it meant they could spend more time with their children.

For employers, that’s a statistic worth paying attention to. Working moms want flexible options to help them spend more time with their families — and in an environment when many of them are working with less pay, longer hours and extremely heavy workloads, consider the benefits to both them and your organization that more balance in their lives could bring. Happier employees who feel that their needs are valued in an organization are more likely to want to stay with your company and contribute in the long run.

“While all indications point to economic recovery, working moms are still waiting to feel the effects,” said Hope Gurion, Chief Development Officer at CareerBuilder and mother of two. “However, these moms possess a great deal of resourcefulness and resilience and continue to provide for their families.  While moms say they would give up things, including pay, to spend more time with their children, they are making the most of the time they do have and getting creative in work arrangements.”

Gurion recommends the following tips for working moms who are overworked:

1. Talk to other moms – Many families are in the same boat as you, and having a support network is essential to your personal and professional sanity. Get tips from other working moms on how they juggle personal and professional commitments, how they’ve managed through difficult financial situations and how they’ve moved ahead in their careers.
2. Keep an “I’m Fabulous” file – Keep track of all of your accomplishments within the organization, quantifying results whenever possible, and list out the additional responsibilities you have taken on in the last year.  It helps you to build your case when negotiating for a better salary or consideration for promotion with your employer.
3. Go in with a game plan – The vast majority of working moms who have taken advantage of flexible work arrangements said it hasn’t negatively impacted their careers, so talk to your supervisor or HR department and explore options. Make sure to come to that conversation with a game plan on how you can manage workload and cover responsibilities.
4. Get organized – Structure in your life will save you time, stress and mental energy. Keep one calendar for business and family commitments to avoid double-booking. Set up a schedule for chores, homework, family activities, playtime, and other family commitments.
5. Remember quality over quantity – Make the most of your personal time. When you’re home, it’s all about them. Wait until after the children go to bed before checking email or finishing up that presentation.
6. Schedule “me time” – Working moms need to take care of themselves too. Put actual time on the calendar for an hour or more of doing something you enjoy like going to the gym, taking a walk, or reading.

Don’t worry, working dads — though this survey focused on working moms, we’ve got you covered. Check out our five tips to help fathers better balance their work and family lives for some great ideas on de-stressing and re-focusing. And, really, many of the tips above apply to working parents in general, not just mothers — so they may also help you formulate the game plan you need moving forward.

Employers, have you been helping working parents achieve more of a work/life balance? If so, how?

As many of you are likely aware, today is the 41st anniversary of Earth Day (I know, doesn’t it feel like just yesterday that we were celebrating its 40th?).  Around the world, people are celebrating and raising awareness of Earth Day’s mission by taking part in everything from clean air and water projects, to bike rides as they ditch their cars, to sending text messages like “TREE” to donate to green causes. This year, 1 billion people are expected to participate in various activities toward making the planet a little bit greener. The goal of this year’s theme, “A Billion Acts of Green,” is to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy before the global Earth Summit 2012 in Rio.

What are business doing to take part?

It’s not only good for the Earth for businesses to take part in Earth Day 2011 — it’s smart for recruitment. Job seekers are increasingly seeking out employment with environmentally responsible companies, and many companies are paying attention. As we reported last year, many companies are continuing to add “green,” or environmentally-focused, positions, and the trend doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon. According to recent data pulled from CareerBuilder’s Supply and Demand Portal, jobs like “environmental engineer” are in high demand. In addition, green jobs are expected to grow at the rate of a whopping 1.3 million jobs per year through 2030, and federal, state and private funding is fueling openings for those able to develop solutions for pollution control, recycling, waste management and other public health initiatives.

Greenbiz.com’s Tilde Herrera talked with executives to find out what they’re doing today — or planning for this year — to take part in Earth Day. Answers included such diverse activities as nature walks, dumpster dives, plant-a-tree kit giveaways, and bike donations. Michael Kobori, VP of social and environmental sustainability at Levi Strauss & Co., says the company is piloting a sample fabrics recycling program, as well as partnering with Goodwill to donate wearable apparel during the design process. And Gerri Walsh, director of sustainability at Ball Corporation, says the company will hold a sustainability fair, complete with interactive booths and an electronic recycler for employees to donate old electronics.

The tech sector is also celebrating Earth Day. Facebook’s “Billion Acts of Green” app enables users to choose activities like sending a letter to Congress to support green legislation, getting a home energy audit, or planting a garden, and Sprint has just released its first Android phone, the Replenish (to add to its collection of three other eco-friendly phones), built with recycled materials and energy-efficient operation in mind. Earlier this week, Sprint also launched its Green ID set of applications for Android users, which bundles a green-themed news feeds, recycling tips, personal carbon footprint trackers and more.

Still other companies are celebrating Earth Day (or even Earth Month) with some initiatives that are a little bit different. Old Navy and TerraCycle, for example, are partnering for a “flip-flops replay” in which people are encouraged to turn in old flip-flops to be melted down and used in playgrounds across the country, and health care company Merck, in addition to other initiatives like recently installed solar panels, is offering financial incentives to employees who conduct an energy audit at home and set up a carpooling guide.

How are you celebrating Earth Day 2011?

What is your company doing to take part in Earth Day today — or what has your business done recently to become more environmentally friendly? What kind of an impact is it having on your business and on your employees?

If you are looking for ideas of service projects in your local area, check out the official Earth Day 2011 site. And if you’re looking for a fantastic light show, check out tonight’s Lyrid meteor shower.

It’s dangerous — and often inaccurate — to generalize generations’ workplace preferences and behaviors. Many hiring managers, however, are still clinging onto generational stereotypes, particularly of the oft much-hyped Millennial generation (those workers born between 1980 – 1995) — stereotypes that Millennials themselves have moved well beyond since first entering the workplace in the last several years.

In How the Recession Shaped Millenial and Hiring Manager Attitudes about Millenials’ Future Careers, Alexandra Levit and I examine various research initiatives to determine how the attitudes of Millennials toward their career paths have changed as a result of the economic downturn, how these attitudes compare to the way hiring managers view Millennials’ career paths, and what hiring managers can do to better understand this generation of workers. Many of our report conclusions have been drawn from The Future of Millennial Careers research study, which was commissioned by the Career Advisory Board, presented by DeVry University, and conducted by Harris Interactive among 500 Millennials age 21-31 either employed or planning to seek employment, and 523 hiring managers age 18+ who interact with Millennials at work.

While Millennials and hiring managers can generally both agree that Millennials tend to have certain commonalities, like digital comfort and impatience with certain established processes, there is also much disparity between how Millennials view themselves and how they are viewed by their bosses. This can result in a frustrating situation for both parties — but by learning to truly understand Millennials, hiring managers can create a smoother workplace environment for the multiple generations currently working within it, as well as improve one-on-one relationships with their valuable Millennial workers.

Pre-recession to the present

The oldest Millennials blazed into the workplace in the early 2000s, many of them unabashedly demanding flexibility, seamless communication and desirable assignments right away — and from this, many employers formed their opinions on Millennials right then and haven’t since wavered. However, the recession appears to have caused a shift in Millennials’ attitudes toward achieving immediate career success, as watching hiring freezes and mass layoffs occur, or being affected by them themselves, caused many Millennials to recognize that having a good job was not just a given, but instead something that must be earned. Now, as the economy is picking itself back up post-recession, Millennials have a much different idea of what they need to do to succeed, and more of them are taking the initiative to prove their worth to employers on a daily basis while honing their soft skills in the long term.

Millennials and hiring managers: Different worlds?

While the recession appears to have pushed many Millennials to form more realistic expectations about career advancement, many hiring managers don’t yet see a change in Millennials’ expectations and are still of the belief that Millennials are driven by unreasonably high pay in return for minimal effort. Many hiring managers remain very cynical of the efforts Millennials are making, and believe that this generation continues to have a sense of entitlement and unrealistic expectations of their own career growth and success.

Millennials also believe doing work that is personally meaningful to them and achieving a sense of accomplishment are just as important as earning a high salary for a successful career. In fact, 30 percent of Millennials identify meaningful work as the single most important measure of a successful career. Millennials are also feeling a need to pursue higher education, obtain transferable skills, and hold a variety of jobs in order to get ahead in their careers. Mistakenly, however, hiring managers commonly believe Millennials’ desire to earn a high salary primarily drives their job and career decisions. Forty-eight percent of hiring managers rank high pay as the number one way Millennials measure their career success. In contrast, only 11 percent of hiring managers say Millennials consider meaningful work as the number one measure of success.

Let’s take a closer look:

Disparity in Education

Millennials: Seventy-nine percent of Millennials responded that they had completed at least some college to date, and 65 percent ranked education among their top three preparation activities for getting ahead in the workplace (40 percent of all Millennial respondents ranked “getting the proper education” as the most important choice they could make to prepare for future careers).
Hiring Managers: Meanwhile, only 28 percent of hiring managers cited “getting the proper education” as the most important method for future success (though 55 percent did place it in the top three). Preferable to education was “learning transferable skills” — 62 percent of hiring managers listed this as one of the top three steps Millennials can take today to prepare for the next 15 years. Nearly two in five hiring managers (39 percent) said “setting goals with managers” should be in the top three.

Why? With the passing years, more and more young people are getting advanced degrees. Because managers used means other than getting higher degrees to get ahead in the workplace themselves, however, they may not view education as a key step for Millennials to advance their own careers. And, as managers have more work experience than Millennials, they are able to view the career path from a different perspective as far as ways to achieve workplace success.

Tips for managers: Investigate the learning opportunities available to your employees and make specific recommendations as part of each individual’s development plan. Help your employees set realistic and achievable goals for their future, and provide a path for building transferable skills in their daily roles that makes sense to both you and them.

Disparity in Millennials’ career motivations

Millennials: Millennials equate a successful career with doing meaningful work; in fact, 71 percent reported this as among the three most important factors defining career success. Nearly a third (30 percent) believed it was the most critical factor.

Hiring Managers: Only 11 percent of managers reported that meaningful work was the most important factor contributing to Millennial success, while almost one-half (48 percent) of managers said high pay was in fact the most critical factor in defining career success.

Why? Older generations grew up in a different time, when work rules were defined and enforced by the employer, and the primary purpose of work was to provide a paycheck, not to feed the well-rounded employee who increasingly struggles with work/life balance in a technology-driven world. Though pay is still important to many employees, work expectations have shifted over the years as our culture has evolved, and employees want different things from their “work life.”

Tips for managers: Match your Millennial employees with a mentor who is able to help guide their career path and offer advice along the way. In addition, be open to your workers’ proposals to create a work environment that is meaningful to them and enables them to do their best work, such as telecommuting or flexible scheduling, if they have presented clear advantages to the organization in saving time and money and effectively addressed any concerns you may have. In the long run, it may result in a situation beneficial to both your organization and your employee.

Key challenges for Millennials

Millennials are currently faced with two key challenges:

1. They must overcome the pervasive stereotypes managers have about their generation.
2. They must identify and address areas that impact their ability to work effectively in the professional world.

As older generations tend to hold opinions of Millennial employees that sharply diverge from the attitudes Millennials have about themselves, it’s important for managers to work with the various generations in their workplace to set a positive example and work to increase understanding of this generation. While research showed us that Millennials and their managers agreed that compared to older generations, Millennials are more likely to exhibit an inability to receive criticism as well as ineffective communication skills, these weaknesses must be viewed as a learning opportunity for both parties.

Moving forward, together

Millennials and their managers have come a long way in understanding one another – though there’s still a long road ahead. That road, however, is more quickly paved by each group doing their part to move forward and understand the other.

Millennials, for example, must be proactive in seeking mentorship from senior leaders, setting goals with their managers, and participating in company-sponsored training opportunities.

In addition to the tips mentioned above,  managers can also start taking steps to better understand and effectively work with Millennials:

• Give timely and constructive feedback.
  
• Keep an open mind and learn from young professionals.
  
• Teach by example to set expectations.
  
• Implement two types of training into your organization: The first, a session or course on inter-generational dynamics that provides Millennials and their managers with concrete strategies to build a better sense of community within their teams. The second, soft-skill training provided by the organization for Millennial hires that includes instruction on 1) assimilating into a new workplace culture; 2) working with team members assertively and diplomatically and how to receive and process feedback; and 3) approaching a supervisor to seek mentorship and set long-term career goals. This type of course would also help Millennials combat misperceptions about their generation and teach them strategies (like reverse mentoring) that use their digital comfort, ability to multi-task, and multiple other strengths in a positive way.

As managers become more open and tolerant, and Millennials continue to adjust their expectations and make visible and appreciated contributions to organizations, we will continue to see a wider understanding of the Millennials generation – as well as the great additions they can make to a rapidly changing work landscape.

Read the full report here for more statistics, thoughts from both Millennials and managers, and advice on managing the Millennial generation, or listen to my recent discussion with Lisa Johnson Mandell.

About The Career Advisory Board
Established in 2010 by DeVry University, the Career Advisory Board is a panel of leading career experts and authors from business and academia who provide actionable advice for job-seekers. The Career Advisory Board generates proprietary research and commentary, and creates tools, insight and resources to prepare job-seekers for success. Its members include executives from CareerBuilder, Cisco, DeVry University, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Microsoft Corporation as well as nationally recognized career experts.

If there’s anything more exciting than talking about tax refunds, it’s talking about data about tax refunds.

Exciting, of course, being a relative term here.

With Tax Day just a few days away, CareerBuilder released its annual survey on how workers plan to spend their tax refunds. But what’s cool(again, speaking relatively here…) about this year’s survey is that the results support growing evidence that the economy is on the upswing.

Compared to last year, fewer workers plan to use their tax refunds to pay off bills and more plan to put the money into savings, reflecting a more stable economy.

According to the survey over 3,900 workers nationwide, 46 percent plan to use their tax refunds to pay off bills, down from 56 percent last year. In addition, more than one-third (36 percent) of workers report they will use their tax refund to augment their savings accounts, up from 34 percent who said the same last year.

And while 61 percent of workers still report living paycheck to paycheck, the number is a significant improvement over the 77 percent who said the same last year.  In addition, 79 percent of workers said they haven’t reduced their 401 (k) accounts or personal savings in the last year.

While the majority of workers will use their tax refunds to put into savings or pay off bills, others plan to use their refunds toward things like making home improvements, going on vacation, buying a car, planning a wedding or donating to charity. To see the full press release, go here.

How do you plan to spend your tax refund?

Shane Creamer and Simon Parkin of Granite Consulting, a recruitment consulting firm based in Canada, spoke at February’s HRPA 2011 conference, Canada’s conference and trade show focusing on HR issues and trends, about 10 recruitment trends businesses can expect as 2011 progresses. So, what, according to Creamer and Parkin, will many businesses, particularly in the U.S. and Canada, see more of as this year continues?

Labor Market Trends

Creamer and Parkin started by sharing their observations on labor market trends in Canada. Canada currently has a 7.8 percent unemployment rate, and they discussed the effects of an aging population on a constantly changing workplace (something U.S. businesses can identify with as well); over 50 percent of the Canadian workforce is 40 years old.

We know companies are hiring again; as Creamer and Parkin put it, “the ice is coming off the market” and the economy has gained back jobs lost in the recession. As we’ve discussed here on The Hiring Site, employee morale should not be a trend, and the recession has made many candidates and workers less loyal and trusting of employers. Many employees, Creamer and Parkin said, are continuing to feel uncomfortable with their current employers, but aren’t willing to trust any new organizations recruiting them.

Among other things, companies will have to focus more on the retention of their own talent (as highlighted in the latest hiring forecast, many workers are already looking for greener pastures), and there will be a shift away from traditional career paths and work values as the generational differences in the workplace become more pronounced.

So, what else is ahead for 2011?

Top 10 Recruitment Trends of 2011

#10   Talent becomes more mobile in a stronger economy:
“More mobile” doesn’t equate to more workers using smartphones to look for jobs (though indeed more are) — no, it means more of your employees will be moving to other companies. As more new positions are created this year, companies will experience higher turnover (as mentioned above) and will have to recruit to backfill that lost talent. We will see more candidates countering or turning down offers as the competition for talent continues to heat up. It’s important for employers to remember that, in or out of a recession, top talent will always have job options.

Companies don’t necessarily have the luxury of time as they might think they do; candidates (or even their own employees) are out there talking to other companies all the time. Are you keeping the retaining and recruiting of your talent top of mind?

#9 Recruitment In-sourcing vs. RPO:
This trend is toward selective, not full, recruitment process outsourcing. We will see outsourcing occur more often in the recruitment of high-volume, repetitive roles, and for the function of candidate sourcing only. There will be more RPO growth in the U.S. than Canada; more Canadian markets are focused on building internally. More executive recruitment functions are moving in-house, which is reflective of a growing transparency in the market. Increasingly, candidates can go online and see for themselves who holds which recruiting or leadership positions at a company,for example, rather than being forced to stay in the dark or play the guessing game to get in contact with the correct person.

#8  Gen Y Recruitment:
Gen Y recruitment is nothing new — but it’s evolving. You’ve likely read at least a handful of blog posts or articles lamenting the impact of Gen Y on the workplace or pigeonholing members of Gen Y into a defined set of characteristics. And this knee-jerk reaction isn’t terribly surprising, as employers are simply struggling to figure out how to make so many contrasting generations work harmoniously together in the workplace. But as Creamer and Parkin point out, it’s not fair to restrict this generation of workers into the whole “this is what Gen Y’s about” bucket. Just like members of other generations generally have some commonalities based on the society and culture they’re grown up with, you can’t necessarily throw them all into a bucket with a clear label. It’s important that employers remember people in Gen Y are not all the same, either.

So what general observations can be made about Gen Y workers?

• Gen Y members were raised in a technologically sophisticated and stimulating environment and they’re generally accustomed to instant gratification.
• Gen Y workers likely bring distinct values and expectations of what relationships with employers, managers and the workplace should be like.
• These workers face rising tuition costs and escalating personal debt.
• Nearly a third of Gen Y members have a blog, and they share intimately with their online networks.

Speaking of blogging, the job search experience has become increasingly social, and it’s not uncommon for candidates to blog about their experiences with a company during the interview process. The thoughts on a company, positive or negative, once online, can be extremely powerful. Companies must be aware that individuals have the opportunity to broadcast their experiences to a very wide audience, and that that message has the ability to spread very quickly. Negative company sentiment can spread very rapidly, but the impact can be very long-term. Tread carefully and

Recruit Gen Y candidates by using the right key messages and proper mediums:

• A company can no longer tell candidates “work hard and the rewards will come” – Gen Y wants a more definitive timetable tied directly to specific rewards.
• The traditional corporate recruitment promise of a long-term career isn’t as much of a selling point to this age group, so focus on the growth opportunities you can offer them.
• This generation tends to be largely peer influenced. Have current Gen Y employees out there on the front lines of your recruitment efforts, leading the information and interview sessions with your candidates.

Employers are smart to learn more about Gen Y, but to keep an open mind about what they find. Gen Yers bring a lot to the table; learn how to view their differences as strengths for your business — and don’t assume that one experience with a candidate or employee is indicative of the behavior of an entire generation and let it dictate your recruitment process.

#7 Talent Management:
Twenty-five percent of new hires regret taking their new job within first year, according to a study by Deloitte. There is a larger focus on talent management as we move through 2011, as well as on internal talent movement. Many companies are focusing on building talent versus buying talent, and talent retention is also of course top of mind for many employers.

#6 – Growth of Contingent Labor in Canada:
In 2010, more than 1 million Canadians held contract roles for an organization. Now, one in every eight positions in Canada are contract or temporary. Canadian organizations are beginning to build an effective talent strategy around contract labor.

#5 – Talent Pipelining:
We’ve spoken at length about the importance of building a talent pipeline (and here and here), as it helps employers get more return out of their recruitment efforts using the fewest resources, build a stronger employment brand, and create better relationships with candidates. As Parkin and Creamer stressed during their presentation, talent pipelining needs to be built into the recruitment process for key roles, as the push of relevant content and information to “nurtured” candidates helps build a company’s employment brand and increase passive candidates’ engagement and trust. The emergence of candidate sourcing/research teams is also an increasing trend.

Creamer and Parkin add that many companies are also looking beyond the typical ATS to customer relationship management platforms (CRMs).

#4 – The Globalization of Recruitment:
I recently wrote about global HR trends for 2011, and as Creamer and Parkin discussed during their presentation, recruitment no longer has a solely local focus. Companies are looking internationally for new talent pools and hard-to-find skill sets. With this change comes adjustments to vastly different cultures and multiple languages — something that many companies are still sorting out. In a nutshell, recruitment is getting much more complicated and specialized.

#3 – Candidate-Centric Recruitment Process:
It’s no secret that many candidates are dissatisfied with the current hiring process offered by companies. As Creamer and Parkin joke, it’s as if employers are sending the message, Dear Mr./Mrs. Candidate. Thank you for taking two hours out of your busy life to apply to us online. Your resume has been sent to a virtual black hole, and no one from our company will ever verify that you actually exist. Expect never to hear from us.

As we’ve stressed in the past, treat candidates like you would a client or customer — in a very real sense, they are your customer (and down the line, they may in fact be in a position to do business with you). They also have a large network of friends and colleagues who will likely hear about their experience with your organization. And while you may have to let them down, letting them down is better than not responding to candidates at all.

A poor or lengthy recruiting process can really hurt your organization’s chances of bringing the best talent onto your team. Just as candidates must sell themselves to you, you must sell your company to candidates. What’s your employment value proposition; how are you attracting, engaging, and retaining quality talent?

Begin to create a more candidate-centric recruitment process by adding more of a “human touch” to your process. Communicate with candidates when at all possible, and let them know where they stand as the process moves from phase to phase. Unplug cumbersome technology and flawed screening filters, and provide feedback and coaching. View all candidates as a customer or potential future customer, client or employee.

#2: Social Media for Recruitment:
Social media: It can be really overwhelming. Most of us are familiar with the major social media platforms — and they are playing an increasing role in recruitment as companies realize they must diversify their recruitment efforts to stay on top. Mobile technology is emerging as a recruitment channel, as companies are also realizing the power of texting and mobile apps for recruitment. Even location-based social networking sites like Foursquare have growing possibilities for businesses and recruitment. Tablets like the iPad are also becoming more popular for work use as these devices increase the business applications offered, and companies are beginning to examine the power of tablet applications to help strengthen their employment brand and company profile.

Video interviewing is a trend that more and more businesses (and candidates) are starting to pick up on, and platforms like Skype, the largest network on the Internet, are also becoming more popular for use in interviews or for virtual meetings.

As Creamer and Parkin remind us, social media is just another factor in your recruitment success — it’s not the be-all, end-all answer. Using these mediums can be powerful — but the content you put out and the messages you are sending to candidates and employees must be relevant.

#1 — The Demand for Experienced Recruiters:
Recruiters today are being asked to do more with less, making it increasingly difficult for them to be successful. The demand for experienced recruiters is high — and the recruiter of yesterday has changed to reflect a demand for those who have an in-depth knowledge of the company for which they’re recruiting. “Generalist” has morphed into “Specialist,” “Administrator/Processor” into “Trusted Advisor/Consultant,” and “Gut Feeling” decisions to “Results/Metrics-Driven” ones. Successful recruiters are getting closer to the business and doing a lot of leg work to get results.

Let us know — What recruitment trends listed here are you seeing in your own business?

Are you keeping up with talent supply and demand in your market? As the most recent BLS Employment Situation Report revealed, 192,000 jobs were added in February 2011 — but how many candidates are applying to those 192,000 jobs? By understanding the labor demand in particular markets and the ways in which talent pools grow or shrink depending on that demand, you can more effectively guide your recruitment strategy in terms of employment brand, compensation and overall advertising strategy.

CareerBuilder’s Supply and Demand Portal helps you be smarter by giving you real-time access to 1) the availability of active talent for any position (supply), and 2) where you will find the most and least competition for that talent (demand).

The following information from Supply and Demand Portal shows examples of hot industries where there is a growing demand in the number of workers needed to fill job openings, based on data from the last six months.

1)      Nurse Practitioner: .23 active job seekers for every position
This year, the first wave of more than 70 million baby boomers will turn 65 and join Medicare – equating to approximately one every eight seconds. At the same time, there are more than 30 million newly insured Americans as a result of health care reform, driving the need for more medical services. Couple this with an increase in retail health clinics and a deficit in primary-care physicians, and you’ve got a huge need for nurse practitioners to help fill the gap.

2)      Database Administrator:  .26 active job seekers for every position
From the explosion of sites like Twitter and Facebook, to the evolution of the smartphone’s presence in both our home and work lives, the world’s dependence on sophisticated technology is getting more prevalent every day.  Companies, in turn, are using technology to make better business decisions and create new solutions for clients that live up to their ever-changing needs — and they need people who can effectively manage data to help create those solutions.

3)     IT Security:  .59 active job seekers for every position
Although it’s a concern when individuals like you, me or Ashton Kutcher get hacked, IT security is especially sensitive for companies, as they have to not only protect their own sensitive information, but that of their clients. It’s not surprising, then, that IT security jobs are often hard to fill, requiring candidates who need to be experts in various aspects of IT such as programming, hardware, network and database expertise.

4)      E-mail Marketer:  .69 active job seekers for every position
The way people consume information is becoming more and more selective — as are their e-mail spam filters and propensity to hit that worn-down “Delete” button on the keyboard. With all the noise coming at people from every direction, it’s now harder for companies to grab consumer attention — and e-mail marketers who know how to cut through the clutter and help them get in front of their target audiences are in high demand.

5)      Financial Adviser:  1.2 active job seekers for every position
With the after-effects of the recent recession still being felt, people are looking for guidance on how to build financial security after depleting their short-term savings, tapping into retirement funds and losing home equity. And with millions of baby boomers on the verge of retirement age, the demand for financial advisers to help build retirement plans is about to become even bigger.

6)      Environmental Engineer – 1.25 active job seekers for every position
“Green jobs” or “green-collar jobs,” otherwise known as jobs focused on environmental preservation, are all the rage. Green jobs are expected to grow at the rate of a whopping 1.3 million jobs per year through 2030, and, fortunately for green employers, more and more job seekers are seeking out employment with environmentally conscious companies. In addition, federal, state and private funding is fueling openings for those able to develop solutions for pollution control, recycling, waste management and other public health initiatives.

7)      Sales Engineer:  1.72 active job seekers for every position
As the economy begins to bounce back, companies are once again expanding their sales forces to increase revenue — and are relying on sales engineers to help close and manage deals around more sophisticated products. These experts are a key part of the sales process, as they compare solutions to competitor offerings, and troubleshoot any issues along the way.

8)     Social Media Manager:  1.78 active job seekers for every position
Social media (rapidly becoming known as simply “media”) moves quickly — and so does the need for those able to manage it. Sites like Facebook and Twitter have seeped into just about every aspect of both our personal and professional lives — and more and more companies are “getting it” and jumping on board to engage people in their brands, build relationships, market products and reach more individuals in new ways. To do this successfully, companies need people with social media savvy and strategic delivery — and fast.

9)      Compliance Analyst:  2.52 active job seekers for every position
These days, companies are being held under greater scrutiny and must meet with more stringent local, federal and state regulations. Health care and financial firms in particular need people who can understand relevant laws and help to establish policies and training programs.

10)  Writer (technical and other):  3.31 active job seekers for every position
From chip manufacturers to software companies, technical writers are needed to clearly explain new products, upgrades and features that are often very specialized. The race to stay on the cutting edge matched with increased investment in new technologies drives continued demand for this technical skill set.

More about the Supply and Demand Portal

How does it work?

The portal pulls data from national employment resources like CareerBuilder.com, Wanted Analytics, and EMSI, in turn getting access to more than 45 million jobs, 40 million resumes and 140 million worker profiles — meaning a ton of rich, relevant data turned into meaningful intelligence. Based on the number of available jobs and available candidates, the portal identifies occupations and corresponding markets with the greatest supply and under-supply of candidates.

The portal can also help your business understand:

• Where to open a new business or school
• Top markets with greatest supply of candidates for a particular position
• Top markets where demand for talent exceeds supply for a particular position
• Top employers hiring for the talent you need for a particular position
• Location intelligence through heat maps
• Common job titles for a given skill
• How to better hire for emerging or hard-to-fill positions
• How market saturation may be impacting compensation trends

By using talent intelligence to stay on top of trends in the current labor market, you’ll have a more clear sense of where to find your talent (and your competitors) — and stay one hire ahead.

SALT LAKE CITY – Under the leadership of Governor Gary R. Herbert, first as Lt. Governor and now as Governor, the State of Utah has climbed to the top spot in Forbes Magazine’s annual ranking of “The Best States for Business and Careers.”

Utah ranks No. 1 in the report, released Wednesday, bumping Virginia from its four-year reign in the top spot. Among the factors that placed the Beehive State at the top are:

• Annual economic expansion of 3.5% over the past five years
• Annual total employment increase of 1.5%
• Annual increase in household income of 5%
• Decrease of corporate tax rate from 7% to 5%
• Energy costs that are 35% below the national average

“While magazine rankings do not tell the whole story, they certainly create a narrative that shows Utah has all the elements that make us a successful place to start or expand a business and a desirable location to live and raise a family,” Governor Herbert said. “Several years ago, we made a conscious decision to make economic development a priority. We have since consistently climbed in the rankings and, in the past year, our leadership pushed Utah to the top of the list.”

Forbes’ “Best States” ranking measures six categories for business: costs, labor supply, regulatory environment, current economic climate, growth prospects and quality of life.

Utah’s rankings in those categories are:

• Business Costs: 8
• Labor Supply: 5
• Regulatory Environment: 6
• Economic Climate: 1
• Growth Prospects: 20
• Quality of Life: 18

In announcing this year’s results, Forbes noted that while states across the nation have suffered as a result of the national economic downturn, some states, like Utah, have weathered the downturn better than others. The magazine notes: “But some areas are doing better than others, and for many of them, it isn’t an accident. Who’s doing the best job when it comes to fostering growth? Utah.”

“This recognition shows that not only is the State of Utah open for business, it shows that our businesses can compete anywhere in the nation and the world,” said Jason Perry, Governor Herbert’s chief of staff and former executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

After selecting Perry to serve as his chief of staff, the Governor appointed Spencer Eccles in September 2009 to serve as GOED’s new executive director. Both appointments served as proof of the Governor’s commitment to economic development in the State.

“The Governor’s directive to me was to continue to make Utah a state where businesses not only wanted to be, but a state where they needed to be,” Eccles said. “We have succeeded in ensuring that Utah has a pro-business environment and an unparalleled quality of life. We will continue to support our existing Utah companies while attracting others to the State.”

Under Governor Herbert’s leadership, the State has announced major expansions of Utah businesses and the relocation of other notable companies to the Beehive State. Forbes notes the many businesses, such as Goldman Sachs, Oracle, eBay and Adobe, which recently acquired Utah’s own Omniture, have recognized the benefits of operating in Utah. Other homegrown companies like Merit Medical, Nelson Laboratories and Sun Products (formerly Huish) have expanded with the assistance of the State and local
communities.

Along with Eccles, GOED operates under the leadership of Derek Miller and Josh Romney, also appointed by Governor Herbert in September 2009 to serve as an economic ambassador to Utah. Together, the Governor’s Office and GOED have forged partnerships between the Utah Legislature, local governments, education and the private sector through initiatives such as the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, USTAR and the Utah Cluster Acceleration Partnership.

“This is a great day for the State of Utah, but I also understand there are still businesses and families in the State that continue to struggle as we emerge from the national recession,” Governor Herbert said. “As Governor, my promise to all Utahns is that I will continue to foster economic growth throughout the State. Expanding our tax base is the single best way to fully fund public education and to pay for other critical state services such as public safety and human services.”

Over the past year, the State has seen the addition of 19,000 new jobs and, as noted by Forbes, now showing positive job growth. Also, preliminary data indicate that statewide sales tax collections are significantly up over this time last year and the State is expected to see revenue growth for the first time in several years – all encouraging factors that point to economic growth in Utah.

The full Forbes article in available online at www.forbes.com/2010/10/13/best-states-forbusiness-business-beltway-best-states.html.

If you’re like many companies, you, in the spirit of budget-cutting, slowed down employee travel in 2010 — or even halted it altogether. According to a new CareerBuilder survey among more than 2,400 U.S. employers and more than 3,900 U.S. workers, 30 percent of companies say they cut back on business travel last year — and it wasn’t such a good move for many of them. Of the companies who cut back on travel, more than one-third (37 percent) said it negatively affected their business. Have you had a similar experience?

Lack of business trips and the bottom line

Budget cuts can often have ripple effects in other areas of the business. Many businesses who cut back on travel in 2010 had fewer opportunities for  face-to-face meetings, leading to communication issues, hurdles in fostering client relationships, and, ultimately, fewer sales. When asked how fewer business trips affected their bottom lines, companies reported the following results:

• Less effective internal communication: 12 percent
• Fewer sales: 11 percent
• Less effective execution on internal business initiatives: 10 percent
• Less customer loyalty: 8 percent

How will this year be different?

Based on 2010′s results, will companies alter business travel frequency in 2011? For the most part, it appears they won’t. The majority of companies (77 percent) report business travel levels will stay the same as last year. Eleven percent said their companies will take more business trips this year (perhaps to counter the negative effects of cutting back in 2010), while 13 percent said business travel will decrease.

Although frequency of travel may be “business as usual” in 2011, many companies have started taking a different direction to help cut unnecessary expense: Altering the way that employees travel.

“Business travel is an important part of many companies’ operations as it lets them stay connected with clients and employees across the globe,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder. “Some companies are revisiting their policies, though, to ensure they’re maximizing the effectiveness of their business travel initiatives.”

How are companies keeping a closer eye on travel expenses?

• Taking out the extravagance: Nearly one-third (32 percent) of companies are placing specific restrictions on business travel for employees since the recession, asking them to fly coach, lowering entertainment budgets, and having them only travel domestically.
• Virtual meetings: Forty-two percent of companies said they rely more on phone/Web conferencing now to conduct business with clients, with 31 percent saying they get just as much out of virtual meetings as face-to-face meetings.

Tell me — has your business cut down on employee travel, or otherwise changed policies around travel to cut costs? What has worked well — and what wouldn’t you do again?

Much like the comically large scale on the Biggest Loser that refuses to budge, no matter how much those hopeful contestants – and the American viewing audience – want it to, this month’s unemployment report offered nothing but disappointment and confusion for the millions of hopeful Americans looking to it for significant signs of progresss.

Disappointment because the economy generated only 36,000 net new jobs – the smallest gain in over four months – according to the BLS. At the same time, however, the unemployment rate dropped remarkably to 9 percent. That’s where the confusion comes in.

And that’s why I say we might want to take today’s jobs numbers with a grain of salt. Hear me out…

You know how when people are trying to lose weight, they’re told to pay less attention to the numbers on the scale and instead focus on how well their clothes are starting to fit? That’s the same attitude we should take with today’s unemployment report.  

Why? Because, in the words of Mark Zandi, Chief Economist at Moody’s Analytics:

“I think these numbers are meaningless,” Zandi told CNBC this morning, pointing out both the weather’s role in the modest job creation, as well as the obvious discrepancy between the household survey numbers (which include self-employed and agricultural workers) and the unemployment survey numbers (which don’t).

Zandi also noted that “January has historically been the month the BLS has had the most difficulty getting right. I would not read anything into any of these numbers.”

I agree. (Because it’s also worth mentioning that Gallup’s numbers also conflict with those released by the BLS today. Confusing!)  So I propose that rather than trying to make sense of how good or bad these numbers really are, we should focus instead on what is in plain sight…

…which is that CareerBuilder continues to see a steady growth in employers posting jobs on our site: proof that employers are hiring and jobs are increasing – and they’re doing so at a steady rate. Take a look at the facts:  

• Overall job postings on CareerBuilder are up 6 percent year over year.
• Business development job postings are up 18 percent
• Customer service job postings are up 28 percent
• IT job postings are up 45 percent
• Sales job postings are up 23 percent

For further insight into the jobs numbers, check out the following video of the CNBC interview mentioned above:

When it comes to recruiting, limited resources can mean that small businesses are often up against a separate set of challenges than large corporations. Luckily, creativity and innovation can go a long way when solving many of these problems. On Tuesday, for example, we told you about one of the common recruiting difficulties that small businesses face — attracting and retaining employees — and how developing and implementing a strong employment brand can be a creative way to resolve it.

Unfortunately, though, some of the more pervasive recruiting roadblocks that small businesses face can be a little tougher to bypass. According to a new CareerBuilder survey on small business hiring trends for 2011, respondents said that they expect their biggest recruiting challenges this year will be related to accessing credit, government regulations and health insurance costs — all problems which can be both difficult and frustrating to overcome.

The survey, which polled more than 1,350 small businesses, found the greatest hiring challenges to be:

• Cost of health insurance — 50 percent
• Access to credit — 33 percent
• Government regulations — 27 percent
• Marketing expenses and building awareness — 26 percent
• Attracting and hiring top talent — 19 percent

Yet small businesses are nothing if not resilient, and despite these hiring issues, more small businesses still plan to increase headcount this year than in recent years past. Though it’s just a slight increase, 21 percent of responding employers plan to add full-time staff this year, up from 20 percent in 2010 and 15 percent in 2009.

For those who can’t afford to add more full-time staff, but still have personnel needs, contract workers are the next-best thing. To prevent employee burnout and maintain productivity levels, 26 percent of small business owners plan to hire contract or temporary workers in the coming year, with 31 percent reporting that they may transition these workers into full-time positions.

Slightly fewer respondents said they’d meet staffing needs with part-time help. According to the survey, 11 percent of small businesses plan to hire part-time employees this year, up from 9 percent last year and 8 percent in 2009.

Despite a general increase in hiring expected this year, with so many business owners still worried about issues like credit and government regulations, it’s clear that 2011 will be another year of rebuilding.

“Small businesses are a major driving force behind job creation in the U.S. and play a vital role in economic growth,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder.  “Small businesses had been in a holding pattern where they were less likely to decrease headcount compared to larger organizations, but also less likely to add new staff. Over the last year, we saw modest, but continued gains in jobs that are carrying over into 2011. Before we see people back to work in greater numbers, we need to find ways to get this segment of the economy hiring again.”

Do you work for a small company? Do you plan to increase your staff this year? What are your biggest hiring challenges?

Last week I got the chance to speak with John Wells, writer and director of “The Company Men” for our sister site, TheWorkBuzz.com. The film, which dissects the effects of layoffs on those who experience them, stars Academy Award winners Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner and Tommy Lee Jones, and hits theaters today.

Though “The Company Men” takes the most in-depth look at the psychological and existential effects that job loss has on workers, it also touches on the legal, ethical and emotional struggles experienced by the executives and human resources staff who make the decisions on “who stays and who goes.” An aspect of the film Wells decided to include after speaking with human resources executives (and one that can be seen in the below clip).

“I sort of feel like my first version of [the script was] more like a creed against corporate America and that that wasn’t very fair and probably not balanced, so I went back and interviewed a lot of CEOs and human resources executives, and people were very willing to talk to me,” Wells told TheWorkBuzz. “What I did discover when I talked to companies was that while the individual market realities [of each] company would be different, the structures were very similar and the things they were going through were very similar; how they were having to address [downsizing] no matter why they were having to do it. There were tremendous similarities between corporations and the way they dealt with this stuff.”

To read the full interview on TheWorkBuzz, click here.

Just a couple of years ago, the world watched as Wall Street began to rapidly unravel, and we continued to watch as the weeks and months to follow showed further signs of trouble and revealed cracks in our economy that many of us hadn’t the slightest idea existed. When what we were going through was finally officially labeled as a recession, many employers had already thinned out staff levels, cut back budgets, and slashed benefits. Consequently, businesses were forced to “do more with less” (you know, that phrase you’ve heard 1,000,001 times by now.)

No money, no problems?

Faced with fewer resources, many companies decided to roll up their sleeves, get creative, and find new and inexpensive ways to communicate with their clients and job candidates. Some of those inexpensive ways of communicating included Web-based tools like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, and they were really starting to take off. Not surprisingly, many human resources professionals were suddenly tasked with taking them on, in addition to all their other responsibilities.

Without proper methods of tracking candidates found through sites like Facebook and Twitter, however, HR managers and recruiters were spinning their wheels and wasting a lot of valuable time. In fact, according to a recent CareerBuilder study, 60 percent of recruiter time was being wasted on non-value-added activities, the majority of recruiters weren’t measuring ROI, and candidate tracking was often only 25 percent accurate due to ATS limitations. Executives were expecting HR to perform miracles through social media — and it wasn’t happening.

While HR was focused on time and cost to hire candidates, business executives were stressing the need to convert HR data to business intelligence.

Now what?

CareerBuilder realized companies needed a solution that accomplished both parties’ objectives — and soon after, Talent Network was born.

Okay, but what is it, exactly?

Talent Network, a custom career site that helps employers build their own pipeline of talent,  enables employers to connect the dots of all the things they are doing to attract job seekers, engage interested candidates, and measure the success of their efforts. Let’s break it down:

Awareness

Talent Network builds awareness for your jobs through five key areas:

1. Social — Add a link to your Talent Network on social sites all over the Web, including Facebook (via CareerBuilder’s Work@ employee referral system) and Twitter.
2. SEO — Turn your internal job terms that may be abbreviated, vague or full of company lingo into title descriptions that job seekers instantly understand, and in turn, show up in more search engine results for job seekers looking for your open position.
3. Mobile — Your Talent Network site is mobile-enabled, giving you instant reach to people searching for jobs on their mobile devices. Tap into a market with explosive growth.
4. Career Site – Get a designed, hosted and supported career site, drive your target candidates there, and track your progress.
5. Job Distribution —CareerBuilder’s partnerships with sites like Indeed.com help you gain strong referral links to your jobs.

Engagement

Interact with candidates who have expressed interest in your business or open positions and give them a more satisfying experience.

• With the click of a button that exists on sites all over the Web, potential employees can arrive at and join your talent network, stay keyed into your available job opportunities, and get personalized alerts with jobs at your company that most match their interests and experience.
• Capture job seekers’ information before they leave your site, welcome them to your community, and start connecting with them on a deeper level.
• Send members of your network tailored job recommendations and customized messages. You can even send automated communications when you need to get a broad message out to many people at once.

Measurement
Quality measurement matters. Drive informed business decisions with accurate and in-depth information about your Talent Network’s search traffic, job interactions, and candidate conversions; in other words, gain the most insight available about members of your network.

A Better Way

How does Talent Network solve some of the biggest recruitment and business challenges companies are facing? Let’s take a look:

Old way: Potential candidates are gone before you can get them to take any action on your website.
Talent Network: Encourage visitors to leave a footprint before leaving your website.

Old way: You’re missing out on job search traffic because your jobs are hidden behind your ATS.
Talent Network: Expose and search engine-optimize your jobs, driving relevant candidates to your job openings.

Old way: Your recruiters keep contacts in their own databases, which creates a lot of one-off lists.
Talent Network: Keep all recruiters’ candidate contacts in one location.

Old way: You know who your target candidates are, but you’re struggling to reach them.
Talent Network: Take advantage of the custom SEO landing pages developed exclusively for your organization, and get in front of those elusive candidates.

Old way: You’re not really sure where your website traffic is coming from.
Talent Network: Get detailed, helpful insight into where your visitors are coming from, as well as what they’re doing once they get there.

Still have questions? Learn more about Talent Network:

Watch a short video or view product demos

Visit the Talent Network page

Read the press release

Feel free to post comments and questions here as well, and we will do our best to answer them.

Dropping to 9.4 percent in December, the nation’s unemployment rate is now at its lowest level since April 2009, according to the Labor Department’s employment situation report for December. Good news, yes? Well…

While much of that .4 percent decrease represents those people who are no longer unemployed (yay!), it also represents those people who gave up their job search last month (boo!).

Also according to the report, employers added 103,000 jobs last month. Good news, yes? Well…

While this was more than double the number of jobs added in November (yay!), it fell far below economists’ expectations (boo!).  Here are some highlights from the report:

• Private employers added 113,000 jobs, while the Government shed 10,000 jobs.
• The number of unemployed persons dropped by 556,000 to 14.5 million.
• Looking at specific industries, employment rose in leisure and hospitality, which added 36,000 jobs, and in health care, which added 29,000 jobs.
• Despite losses in November, in December, retailers added 12,000 jobs and manufacturers added 10,000 jobs. Job losses continued in contruction, which cut 16,000 jobs.

A year in progress: 2010 vs. 2009
A still-over-9-percent unemployment rate is certainly nothing to brag about (not that anyone is trying); however, compared to where we were a year ago, the difference between the economy of 2009 and the economy of today is like the difference between Jersey Shore’s Jwoww of season one and the Jwoww of today – not a total train wreck, but a vast improvement. Take a look at the progress from the past 12 months…

• The economy added 1.1 million jobs in 2010.
• The unemployment rate decreased from 10 percent in December 2009 to 9.4 percent in December 2010.
• The number of unemployed persons went down from 15.3 million in December 2009 to 14.5 million in December 2010.
• Average hourly earnings have increased by 1.8 percent in 2010.

Good news, yes? Well…
While the economy is showing much needed signs of improvement (yay!) there’s still a lot that needs to change – specifically, the economy needs to add about 250,000 jobs per month before the unemployment rate goes down significantly. (Over the past three months, we’ve averaged 128,000 jobs added, which is only just enough to keep the rate from going up again.) Boo!

Getting to where we want to be will be a daunting effort for sure, but  – let’s end this post on a high note, shall we? - both economists and employers anticipate that 2011 will be an even better year than 2010 in terms of economic growth and employment (yay!).

Thoughts?

What do drive-in movie theater dates, Hypercolor t-shirts, and Justin Bieber-inspired haircuts have in common? They’re all trends that have passed through our lives over the years (or, in some cases, are still in our lives). New trends seep into our everyday existence all the time, and the world of hiring and the workplace is no exception. A new CareerBuilder and Harris Interactive survey of more than 2,400 hiring managers and 3,910 workers nationwide identified 10 key trends in business, hiring, work culture and job search to watch out for as we kick off a new year.

Let’s get right to it – here are the 10 top hiring and workplace trends to keep an eye on in 2011, according to survey results:

1) Shifting Business Directions: A whopping 42 percent of employers said their company has changed business directions as a result of the recession. The majority of these employers kept their core business, but added new revenue streams – although 27 percent of those who shifted direction said they changed their core business altogether or expanded into areas that will eventually become their core business.

2) Working Leaner: Thirty-five percent of employers said their current staffs are smaller than pre-recession levels. Of those employers, most don’t foresee adjustments to headcount in 2011, with 57 percent reporting that they have become used to handling the workload with less people.

3) Changing Jobs: Workers are becoming more optimistic about their job prospects in 2011. Fifteen percent of full-time, employed workers are actively seeking a new job, and 76 percent said that although they are not actively looking, they would change jobs in 2011 if the right opportunity came along.

The majority of workers aren’t necessarily focused on a bigger paycheck, either. Sixty-eight percent said affordable benefits are more important to them than salary.

4) Creating New Functions: Along with more traditional job opportunities, employers are adding new functions within their organizations in response to popular movements. Jobs centered around social media, green energy and health care reform are just a few of these “emerging” roles being added in 2011, and hiring managers reported that “cyber warriors,” whose roles are to protect Internet sites from security breaches or fraudulent activity, are in high demand as well.

5) Video Interviewing: With smaller recruiting staffs facing larger numbers of job applications, employers are turning to technology to help find the right candidates. Six percent reported they have conducted video interviews with potential job candidates, while 11 percent plan to do so this year.

6) Less Moonlighting: While making ends meet is still a challenge for many U.S. households, fewer workers are reporting the need to work more than one job. In addition, only 12 percent plan to take on second jobs in 2011, compared to 19 percent in 2010.

7) Taking a Global Perspective: Nearly one in five U.S. employers (18 percent) reported they will be hiring for their operations in other countries in 2011, while 5 percent stated they will likely recruit workers from other countries to work in U.S. locations.

8 ) Relocating Talent: Of workers who were laid off in the last 12 months and found new jobs, 23 percent relocated to a new city or state. For those workers looking to relocate this year, good news: 33 percent of employers said they would be willing to pick up the moving tab for select candidates this year.

9) Promoting Without Pay: Forty-one percent of employers are concerned about losing their top talent as the economy improves. While the majority of employers plan to increase salaries for existing staff in 2011, 39 percent will not be providing raises. As a gesture of recognition to employees without pay increases, however, 13 percent are offering higher titles.

10) Going Casual: Employers are becoming more relaxed about set schedules and dress codes as they work to enhance the typical work experience. Fifteen percent reported they will allow for a more casual dress code, and 33 percent expect to offer more flexible work arrangements like telecommuting and alternate schedules in 2011.

Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America, offers his take on the trends:

“The recession produced fundamental shifts in how companies and workers view the market. “Businesses are becoming more agile and changing direction. They’re operating leaner and recruiting for opportunities in emerging areas. Workers are transitioning to new fields, are more open to relocation and are more apt to consider opportunities outside of their current employers.”

Which trends do you foresee most aligning with your business direction in 2011?

Anyone else feel like they were just handed a Jelly of the Month membership – a la Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation – right about now?

I suppose we expected too much, what with last month’s BLS Employment Situation Report revealing better-than-anticipated job growth in October and setting our hopes high for a similar outcome in November. But apparently, triple-digit job growth two months in a row is too much to ask.

I’ll just say it: the findings from November’s employment situation report suck. Maybe not November 2008 suck (remember those numbers? Those numbers sucked…), but the economy definitely lost momentum in the past month. By a lot.

After adding a whopping 172,000 jobs in October, the economy only added a fraction of that number in November: 39,000 new jobs, to be exact.  Not only did this figure fall short of the 150,000 added jobs economists predicted, but it also fell short of the 120,000 jobs needed to keep the unemployment rate steady, which explains why it rose to 9.8 percent (up from 9.6 percent in October). 

Some more findings from the report: 

• Private employers added 50,000 jobs, the smallest gain since January.
• 15.1 million people were out of work in November.
• The number of underemployed (people working part-time who would prefer full-time jobs and those who have given up looking for work) was 17 percent.
• Job losses included retailers with 28,100 job cuts; factories with 13,000; financial firms with 9,000; and construction companies with 5,000. The public sector eliminated 11,000 positions, mostly reflecting cuts from local governments.

A Few Bright Spots
While this month’s report likely necessitates a new word for “disappointing,” there were some bright spots: health care industry added 19,000 jobs last month, and the mining sector added 6,000 jobs. Temporary jobs continue to show strong growth, with 40,000 added jobs in November and an overall increase since September of last year.

It’s also worth noting that the unemployment rate is a lagging indicator, and that job growth typically slows in November anyway. What’s more, consider the remarks from financial research firm Baird, in a statement released today: “The weight of evidence from the ADP report, initial jobless claims, both ISM reports, and the Beige Book (not to mention multiple contacts with recruiters) continues to point to an improvement in the macro economy and in employment,” and, “We think this report will be revised.” 

So that’s something…right? *Sigh* Oh, Cousin Eddie, if only your heart “that’s bigger than its brain” could help us through this one.

Till next month, readers…

Today’s the last day of the American Staffing Association’s Staffing World 2010 conference in Las Vegas, and although what happens in Vegas normally does stay in Vegas, we’ve managed to  snag some PG-style videos and commentary about recruiting and staffing firm leaders’ views on social media trends.

1) Hear how some staffing firms are using social media right now, even during the conference, to promote their firms and engage with candidates:

2) Here are panelists from yesterday’s social media panel at Staffing World, talking about adopting and managing social media, and addressing the question so many are asking: Where’s the return on investment in social media?

3) Lastly, here’s Richard Wahlquist, President and the CEO of ASA, discussing the state of the staffing and recruiting industry today, which issues are top of mind right now for firms, and where the industry is headed as we work toward economic recovery:

Remember, you can check out all of CareerBuilder’s videos from Staffing World here, or follow along with the tweets.

The American Staffing Association’s Staffing World 2010 conference, taking place at the Venetian Casino Hotel Resort in Las Vegas, NV, is well underway. Throngs of recruiting and staffing professionals have been mingling and networking, attending professional development sessions like keynotes and workshops, browsing exhibitor booths (like CareerBuilder’s — yes, that’s a shameless plug), and generally having a great time while learning more about how to not only adapt but thrive in our rapidly changing workplace. And we want to share some of those learnings with all of you.

New Economy, New Attitudes

We all know businesses are rethinking their strategies, doing more with less, and thinking creatively to get ahead in today’s  economy. What’s worked in the past won’t necessarily work now, and everything from the role of contingent workers to the attitudes of Gen Y in the workplace are shifting. As ASA says on their site, “The “Great Recession’ reset the global economy to a ‘new normal.’” We’re all figuring out how to adjust as the dust settles, and conferences like this are an opportunity to share ideas and push the conversation forward.

Although I’m going to post more videos in a subsequent post, you can find all of CareerBuilder’s videos from Staffing World here and peruse them at your leisure — and be sure to follow along with the conference tweets with hashtag #sw10.

Here’s the first video I wanted to share — it features Bruce Tulgan, keynote speaker at Staffing World 2010 and founder of Rainmaker Thinking Inc. In the video, he talks to CareerBuilder about what we’re dealing with right now: a highly uncertain business environment,  a high-pressure workplace and a high maintenance work force. Although he focuses on what this combination means for staffing firms and talent, much of his advice can really be applied to any business:

What’s your take on what Bruce has to say?

Get your favorite seasonally appropriate pumpkin-flavored coffee beverage in hand: The latest Unemployment Situation Report is here. Just make sure that drink is caffeinated, because today’s BLS report is pretty – as Credit Suisse economists called it – “blasé.”

For the most part, figures were relatively unchanged from August to September, which certainly bodes well in the “no news is good news” sense that we’re still on the road to recovery…at the same time, however, we’re still on the road to recovery.

Even as top economists speculate that a double-dip recession is unlikely (silver lining!), it is painfully evident that recovery is going to take a long time… An AP story today cited Deutsche Bank economists pointing out that since the recession ended in June 2009, the economy has only grown 3 percent – far less than the average 6.5 percent pace in postwar recoveries. Here’s a recap of the report:

What stayed (nearly) the same:

•  Unemployment was essentially unchanged, with the number of unemployed persons at 14.8 million and a steady unemployment rate of 9.6 percent.
• The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over), at 6.1 million, was little changed over the month but was down by 640,000 since a series high of 6.8 million in May.
• The average workweek for all employees was unchanged at 34.2 hours.
• Average hourly earnings for both employees on private nonfarm payrolls and private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees increased by a whopping 1 cent (to $22.67 and $19.10, respectively).
• Employment in manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information, and financial activities showed little change in September.

What changed for the better…

• Private-sector payroll employment continued to trend up over the month, adding 64,000 jobs.
• Health care employment rose by 24,000; professional and business services added 28,000 jobs; and leisure and hospitality jobs increased by 34,000.
• Mining employment added 6,000 over the month.

… and for the worse:

• The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (those working part time because their hours were cut back or they were unable to find full-time work) rose by 612,000 over the month to 9.5 million.
• Total nonfarm payroll employment edged down by 95,000, government employment fell by 159,000, and employment in construction fell by 21,000.

For more highlights from the forecast, watch this clip of CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson on Squawk Box , as he discusses the hiring outlook for the next half of the year:

Twenty-one percent of employers expect to add full-time, permanent employees in the fourth quarter, according to the latest survey from CareerBuilder and USA TODAY (download the full report here) of more than 2,400 hiring managers and human resource professionals and more than 3,100 workers.

While we’re not necessarily “in the clear,” “over the hump,” “on the comeback trail,”breathing a sigh of relief,” or (enter overused phrase here), some aspects of Q3 were positive in terms of hiring, and Q4′s projections put us on track to continue the past several quarters’ positive trends.

The state of 2010: Projections versus reality

• Looking at the state of hiring in 2010 thus far, 24 percent of employers reported adding full-time, permanent headcount in each quarter from January through September — better than original projections for that period, which averaged 21 percent.
• In addition, actual hiring has consistently beat projected hiring for the last six quarters of the survey. If trends persist, we could be looking at the actual number of hires for the fourth quarter exceeding projections as well.

Where were we a year ago?

In terms of actual hiring back in Q4 2009, 20 percent of employers reported they had hired full-time, permanent staff, while 13 percent decreased headcount — so, if actual hiring meets this quarter’s projections (which, as stated above, is likely to happen, as actual hiring numbers have trended to not only meet but exceed projections for the last year and a half), we’re looking a bit better in terms of hiring (and downsizing) than we were a year ago.

CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson on this year’s trends and where we’re headed:

“We have seen positive job creation trends throughout the year, where positions are opening across industries each month,” said Ferguson.

“The return to pre-recession employment levels will take some time.  Although the recession officially ended a year ago, we still have an economy burdened by debt.  Employers are watchful and gradually augmenting their staffs with permanent and temporary hiring.”

What happened this past quarter?

Q3 2010 also showed signs of improvement over Q3 2009:

• More hiring: For one, 25 percent of employers reported they added full-time, permanent employees, up from 18 percent in the same period last year.  This signifies three consecutive quarters of both sequential and year over year improvements in 2010.
• Not as much downsizing: In addition, 12 percent of employers decreased headcount, down from 15 percent last year.  Sixty-two percent reported no change in their number of full-time, permanent employees while one percent were undecided.

What’s ahead for Q4?

Well, things are looking consistent as far as projected hiring, as this is the fourth consecutive quarter where at least one in five employers planned to increase headcount. Specifically:

• Twenty-one percent of employers plan to increase their full-time, permanent headcount in the fourth quarter, while 10 percent expect to downsize staffs.
• Sixty-five percent anticipate no change, while 4 percent are undecided.

Other Forecast Highlights

Temporary Hiring

• Many employers are hesitant about ramping back up to full capacity. As a result, 30 percent hired contract and temporary workers in Q3, and 27 percent plan to do so in Q4. And some employees will be looking at full-time gigs: 24 percent of employers said they’re planning to turn some of these positions into permanent jobs.
• At 27 percent, IT leads the pack as far as most likely to hire temporary or contract workers in Q4, followed by engineering and finance/accounting.

Hiring By Company Size

Although small businesses continue to struggle with accessing credit needed to operate and expand their businesses, some of them plan to add staff by the end of the year (as do some larger companies), while other companies plan to reduce work force in Q4:

• Thirteen percent of employers with 50 or less employees, 24 percent of employers with 51 to 250 employees, and 26 percent of employers with more than 250 employees plan to increase headcount in the fourth quarter.
• Seven percent of employers with 1 to 50 employees plan to reduce their work force in the fourth quarter, compared to 8 percent of businesses with 51 to 250 employees and 12 percent with more than 250 employees.

Compensation in Q4 2010

Many employers aren’t looking to increase salary — but the good news is that only 5 percent anticipate a decrease in salaries, and many employers are looking to give at least small salary increases.

• Forty-one percent of employers anticipate no change in salary levels in the fourth quarter compared to the same period last year.
• Thirty-five percent expect there will be an increase of 3 percent or less.
• Fourteen percent expect their average changes will be between 4 and 10 percent and 1 percent predict an increase of 11 percent or more.

The Worker’s Perspective

As we’ve mentioned before in our mid-year job forecast, only half of full-time, employed workers said they are happier with their employment situation today than they were one year ago.  The other half, predictably, are not.

Why the lack of job satisfaction? Well, workers report several contributing factors; one of the biggest is that they say they’re not able to contribute to their roles at the levels they would like to be.

• Nearly three in ten workers (29 percent) reported feeling underemployed.
• Of these workers, 71 percent stated their skills and experience aren’t being utilized to their full potential, 45 percent don’t feel challenged and 30 percent stated they don’t feel a sense of autonomy in their positions.
• Nineteen percent said they feel underemployed because they took a job during the recession that was lower than their previous position.
• Twenty-seven percent of all workers reported they don’t feel loyal to their current employer.

You can read the full report here.

What do you think about Q4′s job forecast and the outlook for hiring?

“Employers are at an advantage in our current economy.”
“Candidates will take any offer you make because they need a job.”
“It’s an employer’s market — candidates can’t expect to make what they used to.”

Heard any of these statements lately? Think they’re true yourself and are abiding by this philosophy — or know a company that is? Well, companies with this mentality may be in for a rude awakening, as the idea that all unemployed workers in our current market will “take anything” just to get a paycheck is a misconception. Evidence of this is shown in the survey just released by Personified, CareerBuilder’s talent consulting arm, among 925 unemployed U.S. workers. The overwhelming majority of unemployed workers surveyed who have received a job offer since unemployment have rejected the offer because the offer was too low. In fact, 17 percent of unemployed workers surveyed have received at least one job offer since they’ve become unemployed, and of those people, a whopping 92 percent rejected the offer. More than half (54 percent) reported that they did so because the offer was more than 25 percent lower than the salary they had earned in their most recent position.

Many unemployed workers are looking for the right job

Although many unemployed workers are eager to start earning a paycheck, not all of them are willing to jump at the first thing they can get. And really, as an employer, would you want them to? I mean, sure, you may need to hire people quickly, but you still need to find quality employees who  truly want to work for your company and are going to stick around. Otherwise, you’re just getting warm bodies who are going to walk right back out that door once they find something better (or with better pay, or prestige, or opportunities, or — well, see below).

Job offers not paying off for other reasons, too

While insufficient pay was the number one reason unemployed workers turned down a job opportunity, workers had other things to say about the jobs they were being offered — and the companies offering them.

Other factors cited include:

• A long commute
• A lower title
• The position was outside of their field
• Little room for career advancement
• A poor hiring process.

“Rather than jumping on the first job offer that comes their way, workers are assessing which opportunities really make the most sense for them in terms of compensation and long-term potential,” said Mary Delaney, President of Personified.

While the above factors are not always in a company’s hands, there are certainly things employers can do to improve the hiring experience for candidates and enrich the opportunities of the job position in question. And while it may be true that a job is better than no job, and desperate times call for desperate measures, and (insert cliché phrase here), many unemployed workers are looking for not just a job, but a job that suits their lifestyle and long-term goals — and they’re willing to wait a bit to find it. And didn’t our parents always tell us, the best things come to those who wait?

How often are the hunters hunting?

Speaking of waiting, some unemployed workers aren’t spending much time looking for jobs; 18 percent reported they spend five hours or less per week searching for a job. While it’s true that some of those workers may also have inflated expectations of what’s out there in terms of jobs, thinking they can get the job of their dreams without much or any effort, this appears to be the exception rather than the rule.

Many are treating job searching like the full-time job it often is: Thirty percent of those surveyed allocate more than 20 hours a week, and 62 percent apply to an average of more than ten jobs per week. The amount of time unemployed workers are spending searching for jobs also trended by education and pay levels; see full details in the press release here.

If you mean it, they will come

Candidates and employees, whether in an up or a down economy, deserve to be treated with respect — and even in a down economy, they still need to know you fit into their goals and have their future in mind. If you’ve tried working the numbers every which way, made sure your compensation strategy is solid, and just can’t pay more than you’re offering, you’ve at least made the effort — and that’s when you can focus on making your company offerings shine in other ways. Start with your employees — the things they love about their job are likely the same things a potential employee will love about it, too. It’s not always about the money — and a candidate may really want to work for you because of the great career advancement you offer or your awesome company culture or your stellar reputation. Everyone is different, and that translates to different motivations. Our own readers on The Hiring Site shared the factors — both abstract and tangible — that make their company special and sell their ideal candidates on the job.

It’s the companies with the “candidates will take whatever they can get” mentality, the ones who take advantage of the situation unemployed workers are in by grossly undercutting what workers are worth, who need to adjust their way of thinking.  Otherwise, they’re going to be left with a lot of empty seats where employees briefly sat before moving on to that job they really wanted.

Thoughts? Completely disagree or see it from another angle?

Another monthly jobs report from the Labor Department, another mix of decent and not-overly-fantastic news.  Take a look at some of the more positive findings from the report:

• Private companies added 67,000 jobs in August, more than the 41,000 economists had forecast, bringing the total number of jobs added in private sector employment since December 2009 to 763,000.
• The numbers for previous months were revised to show an overall loss of 175,000 jobs in June rather than 221,000; and a loss of 54,000 in July, instead of 131,000.
• Average hourly earnings rose 0.3 percent in August, and the number of temporary jobs rose by 16,800.

…and some of the not-so-positive findings:

• Overall, the government lost 121,000 jobs in August, bring the total number of unemployed people to 14.86 million in August, up from 14.59 million in July.
• The unemployment rate rose slightly to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent (however, the increase is due mainly to the surge of people rejoining the labor force rather than job loss). 

While  today’s numbers didn’t reveal anything that hasn’t already been made very clear over the past several months (yes, we get that the economy is recovering, and yes, we also understand that it’s taking its sweet time to do so, and yes, we’re more than aware that we shouldn’t get too excited just yet, okay?)…

…there is one little nugget of information we can take home: August’s better-than-predicted job growth seems to disprove recent speculation from economists that we might be headed toward a double-dip recession. Scott Brown, an economist at Raymond James, told NPR that he sees no sign of the country slipping back into recession. “You’re still seeing broad-based job gains. It’s not strong, but it’s positive,” he said.

Over at The New York Times, however, Credit Union National Association economist Bill Hampel indicated that he’d like to see the job growth numbers surpass 100,000 before we can be sure we won’t slip back into a recession. “We need it over 150,000 to feel confident we have a nice, sustainable recovery,” he was quoted as saying.

More Reactions to Today’s Numbers…
Overall, economists’ speculation on the future of the recovery is cautious but optimistic. Here’s what others are saying in response to today’s numbers:

 “While the economy is still soft, at least it is expanding. Unless the Fed sees a double-dip recession or deflation as a risk, it will be in wait-and-see mode and we do not expect Fed hikes until 2012.” – Michell Meyer, senior US economist, Bank of America Merrill Lynch

“If you look at it in absolute terms, it’s not very good. But relative to expectations, it’s clearly better than expected and it suggests we’re still growing. We’re not growing very fast, but it doesn’t suggest the situation is continuing to deteriorate.” – Nigel Gault, chief US economist, IHS Global Insight

“You have to take these earnings reports relative to expectations, so all in all this will be reviewed as a favorable report showing that the private sector is stabilizing and once we get past the drag from the census – and I think we are close to being past the drag from the census – that we will start to see some positive numbers for the totals in the months ahead.” - Robert Dye, senior economist, PNC Financial Services Group

“Obviously one month doesn’t make a trend, but hopefully this means the next couple of months will show continued growth.” - Cort Gwon, director of trading strategies and research, FBN Securities

“This will offer short-term relief to currency and equity markets by reducing stress on the Federal Reserve to add more stimulus.” – Kathy Lien, director of currency research, GFT

Employers may want to pay attention to a new CareerBuilder survey that reveals that one in five workers are having trouble making ends meet. After all, financial worries don’t just take a toll on workers’ stress levels: Studies have shown that money-related distress can negatively affect employees’ quality of work - and, ultimately, the company’s bottom line. 

According to the survey of more than 4,400 workers nationwide, 77 percent of workers live paycheck to paycheck to make ends meet, up from 61 percent who said the same last year.  And as many as 22 percent said they’ve missed bill payment in the last year.

You might not be able to manually solve your employees’ financial problems, but you can help them better manage – and feel more in control of –  their finances. As a result, they will be less distracted on the job and more focused on their work:

Ask for feedback.  Instead of guessing what your employees want, go straight to the source to find out how you can be of assistance to your employees. From there, you can negotiate which cost-effective benefits you can provide – such as flexible schedules (to cut down on child-care costs or gas) – to best address their needs.

Focus on what you can offer them.  Maybe providing a bigger paycheck isn’t an option, but again, you’d be surprised by what you can offer your employees that doesn’t scream “cha-ching!” – such as setting up an employee assistance program, where they can go to for financial (or general) advice; inviting financial planning professionals to come speak and answer questions; or providing free educational resources such as classes and webinars or newsletters that contain information and advice on financial planning and fiscal responsibility.

Help them maximize their benefits. Many employees don’t take advantage of their employers’ benefits simply because they are unaware of them or aren’t sure how to make use of them. Step up your communication efforts to make sure your employees know of all the benefits available to them. Set up meetings with various teams or departments and HR to discuss these benefits and answer any questions they may have. 

Finally, check out what other companies are doing: When we released this survey last year, we asked readers to weigh in and tell us how their company was helping employees weather the rough spots of the uncertain economy, and here were some of their answers:

• Offer flexible/alternative work schedules and telecommuting
• Encourage employees to sign up for 401(k) accounts  
• Offer educational literature or presentations specific to specific to investing/retirement planning
• Catered breakfast or lunch (like free pizza on Fridays)
• Provide advances on wages or 401(k) savings  
• Offer flexible spending accounts for commuters

And should all else fail…two words: Power naps.

July’s job numbers were just released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and they may give you flashes of Bill Murray a la Groundhog Day, as the unemployment rate remained at 9.5 percent in July and another month went by without significant improvement in our employment situation.  But as Bill Murray’s character, Phil Connors,  reminded us in the film, we can see see the groundhog signifying six more weeks of winter as  bleak and dark and bereft of hope,  or look at the positives of the situation and acknowledge where we’re improving. After all, we’ve gained 630,000 private sector jobs this year — and there’s still five months of 2010 that remains to be seen.

Additionally, we’re seeing moderate, sequential improvements across almost every job category on CareerBuilder itself. Entry-level jobs are up 100 percent year over year,  and in the skilled areas for both construction and manufacturing, we’re seeing jobs up 50 percent year over year, as CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson pointed out on CNBC’s Squawk Box this morning. Ferguson explained July’s job numbers from his point of view, how things have changed since 2008, and the good and the bad of what’s going on now.

Watch the VIDEO:

Let’s take a closer look at BLS’s Employment Situation report for July:

• Both the number of unemployed persons, at 14.6 million, and the unemployment rate, at 9.5 percent, were unchanged in July.
• Total nonfarm payroll employment declined by 131,000 in July, but those losses were due to to 143,000 temporary workers hired for the decennial census completing their work.
• So far this year, private sector employment has increased by 630,000, with about two-thirds of the gain occurring in March and April.
• The average hourly wage rose slightly in July, from $22.55, to $22.59. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 1.8 percent.
• Private employers added 71,000 jobs in July, up from a downwardly revised 31,000 in June but below the consensus forecast of 90,000.
• The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (because either their hours had been cut back or they were unable to find a full-time job) was essentially unchanged over the month at 8.5 million but has declined by 623,000 since April.
• The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased from 34.1 hours to 34.2 hours — signaling employers are looking for more productivity from the same number of workers.

NOTE: June’s number was revised dramatically downward to a total loss of 221,000 jobs. The agency originally reported that the nation lost 125,000 jobs in June.

Industry-Specific Changes for July:

• Manufacturing employment increased by 36,000 over the month. Manufacturing employment has expanded by 183,000 since December 2009.
• Health care added 27,000 jobs in July. Over the past 12 months, health care employment has risen by 231,000.
• Employment in professional and business services was little changed (13,000) in July.
• The number of jobs in temporary help services showed little movement (-6,000) over the month.
• Employment in financial activities continued to trend down in July, with a decline of 17,000. So far this year, monthly job losses in the industry have averaged 12,000, compared with an average monthly job loss of 29,000 for all of 2009.
• Construction employment changed little (-11,000) in July; 10,000 construction workers were off payrolls due to strike activity.
• Employment in other private-sector industries, including wholesale trade, retail trade, information, and leisure and hospitality showed little change in July.

What happens next?

Although we’ve pointed out positives when looking at 2010 as a whole, expectations are high, and many say job market improvements are not keeping up with the number of entrants to the job market. An article in The New York Times stresses that today’s unemployment report renewed pressure on lawmakers to consider the next steps they might take to bolster the economy. After more of the same with job numbers, employers are hoping to break the Phil Connors cycle and wake up next to Rita with “I’ve Got You Babe” playing on the radio — er, wake up with more jobs to be had and more people getting work. Time will tell as to what combination of factors will get us there — and stop us from stepping in that same puddle every morning.

Last week, I talked about the pros and cons of rehiring former employees, and mentioned that the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act is one of the major reasons employers should be looking at hiring unemployed workers (which could include former employees). But let’s explore further why the bill is so important — both for unemployed workers and the employers hiring them. After all, as a CFO, controller, business owner, vice president of human resources, hiring manager, accountant, or anyone else with a stake in your business’s bottom line, the HIRE Act could have a significant impact on your business.

What is the HIRE Act?

The $17.5 billion legislation, signed into law by President Obama on March 18, 2010, gives a potential tax exemption and credit to businesses that hire unemployed workers. Specifically, the HIRE Act grants businesses that hire workers unemployed 60 days or longer an exemption from the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll taxes for each worker for the remainder of 2010. Additionally, if workers are retained for one year, participating businesses  get a tax credit of $1,000.

The maximum value of this incentive is $6,621 per qualified employee, which equals 6.2 percent of the Social Security FICA maximum wage cap of $106,800.

The goal:

The HIRE Act aims to provide hiring incentives to stimulate the economy, restore some of the jobs lost in the latest economic recession, and put Americans back to work. The average unemployed worker has been unemployed for ten months, so the Act is in effect targeting those job seekers who have been having difficulty finding work for quite some time.  The HIRE Act calls on employers like you to hire unemployed workers and work to retain them.

Keep in mind, recent graduates who are unemployed or working part-time can qualify — so if you’re seeking out new grads or are a start-up looking for fresh talent, you should also be looking into the HIRE Act.

The two major tax incentives of the HIRE Act

No. 1:

Employers who hire unemployed workers this year (after Feb. 3, 2010 and before Jan. 1, 2011) may qualify for a 6.2-percent payroll tax exemption, in effect exempting them from their share of Social Security taxes on wages paid to these workers between Mar. 19, 2010 and Dec. 31, 2010.

• This reduced tax withholding will have no effect on the employee’s future Social Security benefits, and as an employer, you will still need to withhold the employee’s 6.2-percent share of Social Security taxes, as well as income taxes.
• The employer and employee’s shares of Medicare taxes would also still apply to these wages.

No. 2:

For each worker retained for at least a year, businesses may claim an additional retention credit, up to $1,000 per worker, when they file their 2011 income tax returns.

Significant savings

Let’s say you hire an employee and pay them a $60,000 salary. Normally, you would have to pay 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax, or $3,720. With the HIRE Act, your business wouldn’t have to pay that $3,720, plus you have the potential of an additional $1,000 tax credit if that employee stays with your company for one year.

Finding the right employees with the HIRE Act

Not only are you helping stimulate the economy and employ people who need work, but you are also potentially saving a significant amount of money that will impact your bottom line. Instead of looking at hiring as an expense, the HIRE Act encourages employers to think of  hiring as an investment.

While the HIRE Act helps making hiring “cheaper,” the quality of your new hires is still paramount; you and I both know that cost savings plus a bad hire is actually more expensive in the long run. This is why CareerBuilder is focused on targeting the right people within that group who would be a good fit for your organization.

CareerBuilder currently attracts more than 9 million unique visitors each month who meet the qualifications as set by the HIRE Act. We go even further by helping you find the qualified workers who are the right fit for your particular culture and business needs. After all, you might need one employee or 100 — but it’s important that you find the right employees to stick around and grow with your business.

The Fine Print: Criteria needed for a business to receive benefits of the HIRE Act

• New employee/s must be hired between Feb. 4, 2010 and December 31, 2010.
• The payroll tax exemptions are effective for wages paid between Mar. 19, 2010 and Dec. 31, 2010.
• The newly hired employees must have been unemployed during the 60 days prior to starting work, or worked fewer than 40 hours for someone else during that 60-day period (and the employer must get a statement from each eligible new hire certifying this fact).
• New hires filling positions qualify, but only if the workers they are replacing left voluntarily or for cause.
• Family members or relatives do not qualify.
• Businesses, agricultural employers, tax-exempt organizations and public colleges and universities DO qualify to claim the payroll tax — although household businesses and federal, state and local governments l do not.

HIRE Act — How are businesses reacting?

It’s a bit of a chicken versus egg argument; it’s hard to say at this point whether the HIRE Act is causing employers to hire more, or businesses are catching on to it after they have already hired. Regardless, any businesses are taking advantage of the new legislation. And although the HIRE Act expires Jan. 1, 2011, President Obama is working to extend it. According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of the Treasury:

• From Feb. to May 2010, an estimated 4.5 million workers who had been unemployed for eight weeks or longer were hired — meaning all of the employers who hired these workers are eligible for the HIRE Act payroll tax exemption.
• Newly hired workers whose employers are eligible for the exemption constitute 12.2 percent of all workers who were unemployed for eight weeks or longer since the law took effect.
• If the 4.5 million newly hired employees who are eligible for the exemption are employed for the rest of the year, their employers would be (collectively) eligible for an estimated $5.1 billion in payroll tax savings.

Find out more about the HIRE Act

While we’ve covered a lot of the basics here, you’ll still want to investigate further to find out how your business can qualify. Here are some additional resources:

• Find out more about the HIRE act and what it may mean for your business on the IRS’s website (VIDEO).
  
• Read up on the IRS’s questions and answers page for employers.
• Read the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s recent report on the HIRE Act’s progress thus far.
• Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Affidavit (PDF; to be signed by new employees who qualify)

Rejecting a candidate because they have too many credentials? On the surface, it seems absurd: Here, it seems you’ve been handed the opportunity to snag executive-level talent at an entry level price…and yet you know that doing so means you could soon be dealing with a very bitter employee who resents taking a job that is below them, or perhaps you fear they’ll leave the minute a better opportunity comes along…

That’s the dilemma employers face when it comes to hiring overqualified workers – and why so many just say no; however, while you certainly want to be wary of someone who “will just take anything” to make ends meet (not that you don’t sympathize), you could also be doing yourself a disservice by dismissing an overqualified worker outright – and miss the opportunity to score major talent for your organization.

So before you immediately dismiss an overqualified worker, just consider the following questions to help you assess why you’re really discounting them – and if you should reconsider…

How do I define “overqualified”?
Dismissing someone based only on a resume that is more extensive than what the hiring manager expected might be jumping the gun.  For one thing, having “too much” experience is relative.  Check with the hiring manager to see how much additional qualification is acceptable before ruling someone out entirely.  Not to mention that more experience and qualifications means less time spent training and developing the individual. And finally, just because the person may have more experience doesn’t mean he or she isn’t the best person for the job – it might be worth your time to let the candidate prove it to you. 

Are my biases getting in the way?
“Every organization has its own internal biases…Hiring managers and recruiters need to acknowledge these biases and realize that great candidates may not fit the typical mold,” one commenter reasoned in response to an earlier post I’d written about not writing off candidates too soon.

Echoing this sentiment, management expert F. John Reh writes that the biggest obstacle to hiring overqualified workers is dealing with underqualified managers who feel threatened by the idea of having someone on their team who is competing for their position or will do anything that might highlight their own shortcomings. What these managers fail to realize, however, is that something done well by their team will actually reflect well on them.

Also, judging from the comments generated by a recent TheWorkBuzz post asking workers to discuss how they felt about being overqualified for their jobs, it’s apparent that many job seekers are frustrated by the “overqualified” label – and many suspect that employers just use this term as an excuse for not hiring older workers. (If that’s true, it’s important to realize that mature workers “offer a wealth of knowledge and experience that has translated into a significant competitive advantage for employers,” according to Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.)

Am I assuming too much?
It’s understandable that you might suspect that a worker with more experience than the minimum qualifications will ask for too much pay; however, posting the salary or salary range for the position in the job ad will help to screen out these applicants.  While there’s still the risk that a more experienced worker may still push for a higher salary, that doesn’t mean they won’t ultimately – and happily – accept the salary you offer.

Perhaps you’re worried that a more experienced individual will be more difficult to manage than someone “greener,” but you shouldn’t screen based on this assumption: wait until the interview process, where you can find out about the person’s personality, work ethic and cultural fit within the organization.

It’s also common to assume that an overqualified worker will be bored in his or her “lesser” role, and is simply waiting for the job market to open up to pursue better opportunities, which is, of course, a valid concern – but it’s a concern that should apply to all of your employees.  A recent New York Times article addressed this topic, saying that while studies indicate that workers who perceive themselves as overqualified do tend to report lower job satisfaction and higher rates of turnover, various research shows that these workers tend to perform better – and that managers can mitigate many of the negatives that come with overqualified hires by giving their worker autonomy, treating them with respect, and making them feel valued.

Thoughts? Have you had experience hiring or managing what you’d consider overqualified workers?

Congratulations to all employees at Parallel HR for receiving the award as a “Top 25 Under 5″ Company at UVEF’s 2010 event! We are so proud and thankful for all the hard work and effort that has been put forth by our TEAM! We look forward to continuing to grow and provide the best Client Services in the Staffing Industry.

Check out the links below:
UVEF Top 25 Under 5
Utah’s Fastest-Growing Startups Recognized

Could this be a good sign? CareerBuilder’s latest nationwide survey, released today, shows that small businesses will be hiring in the second half of 2010. Considering small business is one of the major drivers for economic recovery and job growth, I think the answer’s a definite …hopefully? 

Findings from the survey of more than 1,300 employers in businesses with 500 or fewer employees indicate that in the second half of the year, 32 percent of companies with 500 or fewer employees plan to add new employees.  Twenty-four percent of companies with 50 or fewer employees said the same.

Seeing these plans for growth mean not only good things for small businesses, but should come as good news about the state of the economy overall. In a statement for the press release, Brent Rasmussen, President of CareerBuilder North America, said, “Historically, it has been the small business sector that has created the most jobs at the end of an economic downturn, allowing the overall job market to bounce back faster.”

And according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses employ just over half of all private sector employees, account for more than half of nonfarm private gross domestic product, and have generated 64 percent of net new jobs over the past 15 years.

For more on these findings, see the full press release.

This year, 54 percent of large U.S. businesses that laid off employees in the past year want to rebuild their work forces, but some will have trouble finding the skilled workers they are looking for, according to a recent study by Accenture. Because of this gap, many employers will likely consider an alternate option to gain skilled workers: rehiring former employees.

Employees may be rehired for very different reasons. Maybe they were laid off due to a company’s financial situation, but not because they weren’t a valued employee. Or perhaps they were let go unfairly and a company realized its mistake. Maybe, just maybe, they were fired but fixed whatever caused them to be fired in the first place. Regardless of the reason, the question remains: Is this a positive trend or a recipe for disaster? Let’s examine.

Firing — and rehiring

Firings and rehirings can have a major effect on the employees in question. Since George Steinbrenner’s passing last week, many have commented about his tendency as a coach to treat employees rudely and fire them, then reconsider and hire them back soon after. Most wouldn’t argue that  many of his firings were impulsive. Steinbrenner, who reportedly made 20 managerial hirings and firings in 23 seasons, even admitted he was often unreasonable in his employee dealings.

Other organizations, like the Red Cross,  recently rehired two fired employees who complained about the heat during a blood drive, amid union talks. And an ex-employee who worked for the City of Fort Worth for years alleges she was wrongly fired after whistleblowing — what would happen if she was hired back?

What about rehiring laid off employees?

While it’s true that the decision to lay off employees is generally not a hot-headed game time decision a la Steinbrenner, layoffs still create unrest with laid off employees as well as remaining staff — and can leave a lingering bitterness in both camps toward company leadership. So what happens when you rehire employees post-layoffs?

Pros of rehiring former employees

Aside from the obvious — that rehiring employees is giving someone a job who needs to support themselves or a family, rehiring employees can have many other benefits.

Employee morale – If employees see that their employer is actively working to bring back employees, it can have a positive effect on morale — and it can bring people back together who formerly worked well as a team.

Training – Rehired employees understand the company culture, and employers don’t have to retrain them. Even if company structure has changed somewhat since they left, you’re likely looking at a quick brush-up versus a training overhaul.

New perspective — Time may actually have not just healed all wounds — but may have enabled both the person or people who let an employee go, and that employee, get away from a negative situation, gain some perspective, and learn from mistakes made. Even if the situation ended on a neutral or positive note, time away in which a former employee has had a chance to pursue other interests, hobbies, and skills may benefit not only them and their place in the organization, but also their employer, once he or she is brought back into the fold.

The HIRE Act — What it Means to You

If you’re an employer rehiring currently unemployed former employees — or an employer hiring any unemployed worker in general — you could benefit from a new tax incentive. One of the major benefits to employers who hire unemployed workers comes in the form of two new tax benefits that are part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act. The two major parts of the act state:

1. Employers who hire unemployed workers this year (after Feb. 3, 2010 and before Jan. 1, 2011) may qualify for a 6.2-percent payroll tax incentive, in effect exempting them from their share of Social Security taxes on wages paid to these workers after March 18, 2010.
2. For each worker retained for at least a year, businesses may claim an additional general business tax credit, up to $1,000 per worker, when they file their 2011 income tax returns.

Find out more about the HIRE act and what it may mean for your business (video).

Cons of rehiring former employees

As much as rehiring a former employee can have positive effects, things can just as easily swing the other way — making a situation less than happy for rehired employees, employees who haven’t been let go, and company leadership.

Resentment – If things ended on a sour note, rehiring former employees can be complicated — and may not work out well in the long run. Even if an employer did everything they could to ease the stress of the situation, an employee may harbor resentment and bitter feelings, and those feelings may have grown stronger since they left the organization.

Current employee backlash — Employees who watched someone else leave and then come back may become jealous because a rehired employee is now getting work they were handling and returning “without paying their dues” as a new employee would. After all, remaining employees are often the ones left picking up the extra work when a company downsizes.

Short-term success – It’s important to keep in mind that even if an employee is willing to come back, they may only be accepting the job because they really need one (and are still looking for something better). This is where “onboarding” a rehired employee may help (see below).

If you’re going to rehire

If you do choose to rehire laid off employees, there are some things you can do to avoid the potential pitfalls listed above and ensure it’s as smooth a transition as possible.

Claudio Fernández-Aráoz, senior adviser at global executive search firm Egon Zehnder International, offers employers a few tips; namely, to clearly communicate to the rest of the company the reasons for hiring back a former employee; sufficiently brief a former employee about the company’s current situation and present very clear expectations; and to follow up, at least quarterly, with the returning employee to make sure he or she is adjusting well.

Would you rehire a former employee? What pros or cons would you add?

In Q2 2010, we saw improvements in the nation’s hiring outlook, and we cautiously cheered a little. But this time around, we may want to grab the nearest vuvuzela and blow it in excitement. (Or, uh, not.) Because while hiring in the second half of 2010 is likely to mirror the first half of the year in many ways, CareerBuilder and USA Today’s mid-year nationwide survey of more than 2,500 hiring and HR managers and more than 4,400 workers also shows that  the economy is projected to trend upward in comparison to last year at this time — and is on par with last quarter’s positive changes.

How have things changed from one year ago?

All things considered, employer behaviors and mindsets have shifted considerably from last year at this time. Forty-one percent of employers say they plan to hire between the months of July – December 2010, and employers project that in Q3 2010 specifically, they:

• Will add full-time, permanent headcount (21 percent)
• Will not make changes in staff size (65 percent)
• Will downsize staff (8 percent)
• Are undecided on staff size changes (6 percent)

One year ago, we saw that most employers expected their staff levels to remain the same as recruiting patterns held steady and job losses trended downward. Similar to this year’s numbers, 68 percent of employers didn’t anticipate any change in their full-time, permanent headcount, but in contrast, only 15 percent expected to increase staff levels (18 percent actually did). Fifteen percent decreased headcount, which is almost twice the percentage of hiring and HR managers who project a decrease in headcount in Q3 2010.

In Q3 2009, many employers were also reporting plans to postpone start dates for job offers, put mandatory furloughs into place, and institute pay cuts and hiring freezes. Today, although we’re still not completely out of the woods, we’re beginning to see a bit of daylight.

How have things changed from last quarter?

The number of employers who added full-time, permanent headcount in Q2 2010 was slightly ahead of what was originally forecasted in the survey, continuing a trend of actual hiring beating projected hiring.

In Q2 2010:

• 24 percent of employers reported they increased their full-time, permanent staff in the second quarter (up from 18 percent year over year and up 1 percent from Q1 2010).
• 11 percent decreased headcount (an improvement from 17 percent last year and 12 percent in Q1 2010).
• 64 percent reported no change in their number of full-time, permanent employees.
• 1 percent were undecided.

“The survey indicates that we’ll see sustainable new job growth through the remainder of the year, but it will be absent of any dramatic shifts,” said Matt Ferguson, CareerBuilder CEO.

Compensation Outlook

Fifteen percent of employers reported they instituted pay cuts at their organizations in the last 12 months.  Of these employers, 28 percent were restoring pay levels in the first half of the year, 18 percent in the latter half and 25 percent in 2011 and 2012.  Twenty-nine percent were unsure if and when pay would be restored to previous levels.

For Q3 2010 specifically:

• 42 percent of employers anticipate no change
• 37 percent expect there will be an increase of 1 to 3 percent
• 12 percent expect to see an increase of 4 to 10 percent
• 3 percent expect a decrease
• 1 percent anticipate an increase of 11 percent or more

Three trends to watch for in the second half of 2010

1. Emerging Jobs – Employers are looking to fill positions relatively new to the work force. Twenty-four percent of employers said they are recruiting for positions in social media, green energy, cyber security, global relations and health care reform.

2. Changing Jobs – Employers are implementing measures to retain top performers. This is good, because according to the forecast, 25 percent of all workers plan to leave their organizations in the next 12 months.

3. Shortage of Skilled Labor — One-in-five employers reported that, despite an abundant labor pool, they still have positions for which they can’t find qualified candidates.

Unhappy Employees

Many workers are re-evaluating their employment situations — and realizing they’re not too happy with their current employer.

• Twenty-five percent of workers reported they have a worse opinion of their employer in the wake of the recession. Fourteen percent have a better opinion and 61 percent stayed the same.
• Twenty-nine percent of workers plan to pursue new job opportunities when the economy shows more improvement.  As mentioned earlier, a quarter of all workers plan to leave their jobs over the next 12 months.

Why the dissatisfaction?

Several factors influenced these decisions, but many appear related to the recession.

• 30 percent of workers reported feeling over-worked, feeling the climate changed in their work environment and harboring resentment over other workers being laid off.
• One-third of workers (33 percent) reported they feel overqualified for their current jobs
• 23 percent stated that a lack of interesting work was one of the main motivators for changing employers.

What can you do as an employer to retain employees?

When asked what their employers could do to retain them as employees, workers cited the following:

1. Increased compensation is the No. 1 thing workers want.
2. If salary increases aren’t possible, workers point to employee recognition as the next best thing.
3. Third in line, workers want the company to set realistic performance expectations and manageable workloads, and to take the time to evaluate their potential and discuss career paths.
4. Investments in training and the company showing an ability to adapt were also mentioned.

To get in-depth survey results broken down by industry, region, and company size, as well as further predictions for Q3 2010, you can download the complete Q3 Forecast here.

Note: Totals may not equal 100 percent due to rounding.

This Sunday is Father’s Day, and while it’s a great excuse to spoil dads everywhere with the latest gadgets, grill supplies, or bacon of the month club memberships, a little extra quality time with Dad might be in order this year, in light of results from CareerBuilder’s annual Father’s Day survey.

Survey results among 800 working fathers who are employed full-time showed that a still-struggling economy is causing many working dads to experience more stress, more work — and, not surprisingly, less time spent with their families.

Why the stress?

• One in ten working dads said their spouse or significant other has become unemployed in the last 12 months, with 50 percent of those dads indicating it’s causing stress at home.
• Forty-two percent of working dads said they are the sole providers in their household
• Nine percent of working fathers say they have taken on a second job in the last 12 months to provide for their family.

Office overtime on overdrive

As many of you know firsthand, leaner staffs have led to fewer people handling a higher volume of work. This has made it more difficult for working fathers to achieve a healthy work/life balance, as many are stuck at the office working longer hours — and less time with their kids.

But just how many hours?

• Sixty-three percent of working dads said they work more than 40 hours per week.
• Three in ten (31 percent) working dads who take work home reported they typically bring work home five days a week or more.
• Thirty percent bring work home on the weekends.

And how much less time with their kids?

• Close to four in ten (37 percent) of working dads said they spend two hours or less with their children each work day.
• More than three in ten (35 percent) reported they missed two or more significant events in their child’s life due to work in the last year.

How to be a better juggler

These are bleak statistics, but as Mary Delaney, one of CareerBuilder’s own busy working mothers, has said, there are things you can do to better balance work and family. and now, Jason Ferrara, VP Corporate Marketing at CareerBuilder and a father of two, shares his tips for working dads everywhere to better manage the delicate balancing act of providing for one’s family — and being there as a partner and a father.

“Especially in tough times, working dads have to be more creative and strategic to successfully juggle both work and family commitments,” said Jason Ferrara, VP Corporate Marketing at CareerBuilder and father of two.  “Employers understand the importance of working dads’ time away from the office and continue to place an emphasis on work/life balance through benefits that encourage employees to better manage their schedules. However, year over year, we find that nearly half of working dads do not take advantage of the flexible work arrangements offered to them.”

I’m not suggesting getting Dad a juggling set for Father’s Day (though I’m not not suggesting it, either), but the following tips are designed to help working Dads more effectively juggle their professional and personal lives. After all, although our multitudes of work and life commitments won’t necessarily go away, learning to prioritize them is a strong start.

Ferrara recommends the following tips for working dads navigating through difficult economic times:

1. Keep everyone in the mix. Remember that communication is a two-way street.  Besides just listening to what is going on in your family’s lives, talk about what is going on in your office, so everyone understands why you are away or have to do some work when you are home.
2. Learn to say no. In addition to actual work, sometimes activities associated with your job can take a toll on your free time. Determine what additional activities you can turn down and which are necessary so that you can free up more of your time outside of the office.
3. Develop a master family calendar. Add every family member’s schedule to one master calendar so there are no surprises.  Also, save vacation days for important events and talk to your supervisor about flexible work arrangements.
4. Play now, work later. Put down your Blackberry and avoid checking e-mails until after your children have gone to sleep.
5. Plan a family event in your office. Take advantage of the summer months when school is out and the office may be less hectic by scheduling a kid-friendly potluck or other event with co-workers and their families.

What’s worked for you?

Do you have a solution that’s helped you better manage your work and family lives to add? Let us know in comments — We’d love to hear about it!

And why wouldn’t there be?

Well, it’s the first Friday of June, and while it may just be a coincidence that there are free donuts available on the very same day the latest Employment Situation report is released, it is awfully convenient: After seeing these numbers, you might be in need of some comfort food.  

Because while jobs did grow this month, they fell far short of analysts’ predictions. And while the unemployment rate did go down, it’s largely because many unemployed workers gave up their job searches. Here are the highlights: 

• Total nonfarm payroll employment grew by 431,000 in May (driven by the hiring of 411,000 temporary Census workers)
• Private employers added just 41,000 jobs in May – down sharply from 218,000 in April and the fewest since January.
• The unemployment rate decreased from 9.9 percent to 9.7 percent (which seems like good news until you realize that it reflects that people gave up searching for work.)
• The underemployment rate (those who’ve given up looking for work and part-timers who would rather be working full time) fell from 17.1 percent in April to 16.6 percent in May.
• All told, 15 million people were unemployed in May.

Understandably, this month’s report is being called “disappointing,” and, indeed, it is; however, I’m kind of trying to view this report like I did the ending of “Lost” (no spoilers here, I promise).  While both fell short of my expectations and left a lot of unanswered questions, I also kind of saw this coming all along…That is to say, there’s nothing to me all that shocking in the report.

After all, the overall takeaways from the report remain are the same as they’ve been in previous months:  Private employers are still hesitant to bring on full-time workers, jobs are still being added – but still at a frustratingly slow pace – and it still looks like it’s going to be a while before there is significant relief for the roughly 15 million unemployed Americans.

Leading up to tomorrow’s unemployment report, CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson appeared on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this morning to discuss regional job market trends based on CareerBuilder.com listings. 

Regional Job Market Trends
Among the highlights of Ferguson’s interview:

• In terms of jobs opening up, there has been a continual, but moderate increase of job postings on CareerBuilder.com, indicating that employers are starting to hire again
• Big cities, like New York and San Francisco, are seeing the most improvement in terms of the number of jobs available
• General positions, such as those in the sales, marketing, healthcare and hospitality, are making the biggest comebacks right now
• The Silicon Valley job market is also tightening up, with IT execs claiming they are having a hard time filling open positions

New Tool to Help Employers
Ferguson also discussed the official launch of hireINSIDER, a new tool from CareerBuilder with benefits for both job seekers and employers. According to the press release:

hireINSIDER also benefits employers who may not have the time or resources to respond to an increasing amount of applications in a tough economy.  By providing the feedback that job seekers need, it helps to alleviate the negative impact that a lack of response can have on a company’s employment brand.  Employers can also utilize hireINSIDER’s technology to gain a better understanding of the demographics of their applicant pool.   

Tomorrow, the BLS releases it’s monthly employment report. Check back here for highlights from the report.

True story.  According to a new CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,700 employers and 4,800 workers nationwide, 33 percent of workers said they are likely to start looking for a new job when the economy picks up. 

(Could you imagine losing an entire third of your employee base? That would be like, say your staff was the Jonas Brothers, okay? And Joe Jonas suddenly up and leaves to join another band.  Consider the toll that would take on the quality of…Okay, maybe that’s not the world’s greatest analogy, but the point is, it would be bad.)

Anyway, in the same survey, nearly the same amount of employers (32 percent) say they are concerned about losing their high performing workers in the second quarter of this year (as, apparently, they should be). 

What Makes Good Employees Stray?
Dissatisfaction with pay (32 percent), career advancement opportunities (27 percent) and work/life balance (22 percent) were the top reasons employees gave for wanting to leave their current jobs, an increase from the 29 percent, 24 percent and 20 percent, respectively, who said the same in 2009.  

The increased levels of dissatisfaction could be attributed that increased workloads, longer hours and fewer resources related to the recession may be contributing to higher job dissatisfaction.

What Makes Good Employees Stay?
Understanding what you’re employees want is the first step to keeping them motivated and happy and retaining them.  After competitive pay and benefits, the following incentives topped hospitality workers’ “most wanted” list of employer offerings:

1. Good career advancement opportunities (60 percent)
2. A good work culture (57 percent)
3. Company’s financial stability and growth potential (52 percent)
4. Training and learning opportunities (47 percent)
5. Less stressful work environment (45 percent)
6. Flexible work arrangements (43 percent)
7. Sense of ownership in their position, that they can make a difference (42 percent)
8. Camaraderie, more family-like work environment (34 percent)

Asked what they were doing to hold on to top talent and reduce turnover, employers listed the following:

• Offering more flexible work arrangements
• Investing more in employee training
• Promising future raises or promotions
• Offering more performance-based incentives, such as trips and bonuses
• Providing a higher title without a higher salary

 What is your company doing to keep Joe Jonas in the band retain workers?

In case you missed the BLS’ employment report released Friday, check out a quick recap in the First Business video below, where Brent Rasmussen, President of North America at CareerBuilder, talks about the highlights of the report and what it means for the current and future state of the job market:

Among the highlights of the report:

• Employment rose by 290,000 in April, surpassing the 185,000 predicted by economists
• The unemployment rate, which hit 9.9 percent, increased due to the number of people who, previously discouraged from looking for jobs, have resumed their job searches (the unemployment rate only captures those who are actively looking for jobs)
• Hourly wages increased slightly last month, to $22.47 from $22.46
• The average work week increased to 34.1 hours from 34 hours in March
• The manufacturing industry sector experienced the biggest boost in growth, adding 44,000 jobs; followed by temporary help services (26,000); health care (20,100); construction (14,000); retail (12,400); mining (7,000); computer systems design (7,000) and federal government (66,000 – due largely to temporary workers hired for the census) 
• The transportation and warehousing and information companies industry sectors all cut jobs last month

While recovery is well underway, its status as a slow one has yet to change. With the economy growing at just a 3.2 percent pace in the first quarter of this year, it has a long way to go to catch up for the 6 percent to 8 percent per quarter gains it needs in order for employers to start hiring significantly.

You may have a dozen reasons to celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday, but here’s one you may not have thought of — a tough economy. A recent CareerBuilder survey of 604 women, employed full-time with children 18 and under living in the household, shows that working moms may be feeling more stressed — and less appreciated — in our current economic climate.

Working moms, many of them recently tasked with the responsibility of keeping their families afloat due to unemployed spouses or other financial issues, have had to become more resourceful than ever.

According to survey results:

• Twelve percent of working moms said their spouse or significant other has become unemployed in the last 12 months, with two-thirds (67 percent) indicating that it is causing stress at home.
• Thirty-six percent of working moms said they are the sole provider for their household.
• Nearly one-in-ten (9 percent) have taken on a second job in the last 12 months to provide for their family.

Work/life balance — what’s that again?

As a result, achieving a work/life balance can be a lot of work in itself, as moms are working more hours — which often translates to less time at home with the family:

• Forty-three percent of working moms work more than 40 hours per week.
• More than one-third (34 percent) who take work home reported they typically bring work home three days a week or more.
• Twenty-three percent bring work home on the weekends.
• Nearly one-in-five (18 percent) of working moms said they spend two hours or less with their children each work day.
• Nearly three-in-ten (29 percent) reported they missed two or more significant events in their child’s life due to work in the last year.

So what can working moms do to achieve more balance?

CareerBuilder’s Mary Delaney, a working mother herself, offers other working moms her thoughts and tips:

“The tough economy has taken its toll on family units and working moms are challenged with doing more with less time,” said Mary Delaney, President of Personified, CareerBuilder’s talent consulting division, and mother of three.

“What we’re seeing from these moms is a great deal of resourcefulness and resilience as they provide for their families.  While they may not be able to spend as much time with their children as they would like, working moms are making the most of the time they do have and getting creative in work arrangements.”

Delaney recommends the following tips to help working moms navigate through difficult economic times:

1. Talk to other working moms. Many families are in the same boat as you and having a support network is essential to your personal and professional sanity.  Getting tips from other working moms on how they juggle personal and professional commitments can be a big help.
2. Seek out flexible work arrangements. The vast majority of working moms who have taken advantage of flexible work arrangements said it hasn’t negatively impacted their careers.  In fact, one-in-five (21 percent) said it has actually helped their careers.
3. Have a plan. Structure in your life will save you time, stress and mental energy.  Keep one calendar for business and family commitments to avoid double-booking. Set up a schedule for chores, homework, family activities, playtime, etc.
4. Take advantage of work perks. Companies offer a variety of perks such as wellness benefits, company discounts on entertainment venues, etc.  Talk to your HR department and see what is available to help save money on monthly expenses and fun family outings.
5. Make the most of your family time. When you’re home, it’s all about them.  Wait until after the children go to bed before checking email or finishing up that presentation.
6. Schedule some “me time.” Working moms need to take care of themselves too.  Put actual time on the calendar for an hour or more of doing something you enjoy such as going to the gym, taking a walk, reading, etc.

Working moms (or dads) — any tips to add that have helped your family get things back in order?

As many of you are likely aware, the 40th anniversary of Earth Day is tomorrow, April 22. Around the world, people are taking part in everything from planting gardens, to clean water projects, to climate rallies, to people-powered smoothie making to celebrate and raise awareness. The White House is making a splash by dedicating five days of events to celebrate Earth Day.

In addition, Vice President Joe Biden announced earlier today that $452 million in Recovery Act funding will go toward energy-efficient building retrofits in 25 communities. These 25 projects will leverage an estimated $2.8 billion from other sources, which will go toward retrofitting hundreds of thousands of U.S. homes and businesses in the next three years.

Are businesses ready?

So, with all this retrofitting to come — and with many job seekers seeking out socially responsible companies — it’s exciting to hear that many companies are paying attention and have taken steps — or plan to take steps — to become more environmentally friendly, as indicated by a new CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,700 hiring managers. As Kimberly, a recent commenter on The Hiring Site, wrote:

“Our job descriptions have been revamped to instill a “day-in-the-life” of… to example our culture. We also include our organization’s work/life balance, community involvement and our “green” initiatives.”

According to survey results, one in ten employers say they have added “green jobs,” otherwise known as environmentally-focused positions, in the last 12 months, despite the tough economy, and nearly 10 percent plan to add more in 2010.

Which region’s leading the pack?

Employers in the Northeast (14 percent) added the most “green,” or environmentally friendly, jobs over the last year, followed by 11 percent in the South, 10 percent in the West and 9 percent in the Midwest.

Of those surveyed, which industry’s most green?

Retail led the industries surveyed, with 24 percent indicating they have added green jobs over the last 12 months. What percentage of other industries indicated they’ve done the same?

• Eighteen percent of transportation and utilities
• Fifteen percent of sales
• Fourteen percent of IT and manufacturing
• Ten percent of financial services

Companies are not only adding environmentally friendly positions within their organizations, but they are also strengthening their current in-house green programs. Nearly 70 percent of companies say they have added programs to be more environmentally conscious in the last year. The most popular green programs include:

• Recycling (47 percent)
• Using less paper (43 percent)
• Controlling lighting (40 percent)
• Powering down computers at the end of the day (29 percent)
• Purchasing office supplies made from recycled materials (25 percent)

“Green opportunities continue to grow as companies take advantage of increased government programs designed to spur job growth and reduce the country’s carbon footprint,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder. “The green category has expanded over the past few years and job seekers are finding environmentally friendly positions in virtually every industry and at every job level.”

What’s going on in the marketplace?

The following are some examples of green job opportunities that can be found at Going Green Jobs, CareerBuilder’s site designed to connect green employers and job seekers:

1. Hydrologist — The median annual income is $78,458.*
2. Solar energy system designer –The median annual income is $65,160.
3.Wildlife biologist – The median annual income is $38,301.
4. Science teacher – The median annual income of kindergarten, elementary, middle and secondary school teachers ranges from $51,373 to 57,537.
5. Waste management engineer — The median annual income is $89,067.
6. Environmental attorney — The median annual income for attorneys specializing in construction, real estate and land use is $99,579.
7. Urban planner — The media annual income is $65,768.

* Salary information from CBsalary.com.

What are you doing for Earth Day 2010?

What is your company doing to take part in Earth Day — or what has your business done recently to become more environmentally friendly? What kind of an impact is it having on your business and on your employees?

If you are looking for ideas of service projects in your local area, check out the Earth Day 2010 list.

Many workers have likely been saving their pennies for Apple’s iPad, lamenting steep carry-on luggage fees they may now be incurring en route to this summer’s family reunion, or figuring out how they will fit higher gas prices into that “big coffee pots” road tour. But wait! Tax refunds are coming! Problem solved… right? Not so fast.

The reality is much less fun than giant coffee pot pours tours. As it turns out, more than half (56 percent) of workers report they will use the money they get from their tax refunds to pay off the bills that have been stacking up, according to a new CareerBuilder survey of more than 5,200 workers. This seems to be in line with what a recent CNNMoney.com article suggests workers use tax refund money for.

Although the majority are planning to use tax refunds to tackle bills, some are planning to use their refunds (or at least that which remains after paying off said bills) in other ways.

What do they plan to do with the money?

• Put it into savings – 34 percent
• Make home improvements – 12 percent
• Go on vacation – 11 percent
• Pay back money I owe to people – 8 percent
• Invest it – 7 percent
• Buy a car – 2 percent

How We’re Living

In the past, many workers have likely been able to spend tax refund money on indulgences or “fun” things. In light of a struggling economy, however, tax refunds have become a needed income boost for cash-strapped workers. Nearly eight in ten workers (78 percent) said they currently live paycheck to paycheck, up from 61 percent who said the same in May 2009.

In addition, economic pressures have resulted in some workers downsizing their investments to help make ends meet. Nearly one in five (17 percent) reported they reduced their 401(k) contributions in the last year.

“Workers’ wallets are still feeling the ripple effects of the past year,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder. “In addition to scaling back their investments and cutting back on expenses, workers are using their tax refunds to help supplement their incomes. Our survey indicates that more workers plan to spend their refunds on everyday expenses than on savings or other items.”

But, if you’re one of the lucky workers who is scraping enough money together to buy an iPad, at least you can take comfort in some free apps to go along with it.

With 162,000 jobs added in March, the nation’s economy saw its largest job gain in three years, according to the latest Employment Situation report, released by the BLS today.

While the unemployment rate remained at 9.7 percent (and will likely stay that way for a while), the increase is a sign that economic recovery is sustainable, and healing in the job market has definitely, finally, offically BEGUN! begun to turn a corner. 

Not exactly the kind of good news that warrants a ticker-tape parade, but hey, I’ll take it.

Highlights from the report include the following:

• Employers added 162,000 jobs in March, the most since the recession began but below analysts’ expectations of 190,000. The total includes 48,000 temporary workers hired for the U.S. Census.
• Private employers added 123,000 jobs, the most since May 2007.
• Among industries: Manufacturers added 17,000 jobs, for a third straight month of gains. Meanwhile, temporary help services added 40,000 jobs; health care added 37,000; leisure and hospitality added 22,000; and the construction industry added 15,000.
• The average work week increased to 34 hours from 33.9 (a positive sign as most employers are likely to work current employees longer before they hire new workers).
• Average hourly earnings fell by two cents to $22.47, but average weekly earnings rose by about $3 to $629.37, partly reflecting the longer work week.
• The “underemployment” rate – made up of Americans who are working part-time but prefer full-time work and discouraged workers who have given up searching for jobs – ticked up to 16.9 percent from 16.8 percent.

Latest Job Forecast Supports BLS Findings
Further evidence of the recovering jobs market can be found in CareerBuilder and USA Today’s latest quarterly job forecast, which showed that for the third consecutive quarter, more employers plan to increase their headcount in the next three months, while fewer will cut staffs.

This morning, CareerBuilder CEO Matt Ferguson appeared on CNBC’s SquawkBox to discuss the results of the forecast and what they mean for the current state of the job market and the economy:

BLS Experts Answer Consumer Questions in Live Chat
Finally, the BLS conducted its first live web chat this morning devoted to the employment report.  You can see of  full transcript of the chat here, or continue reading for chat highlights:

This morning, the BLS held a live web chat with a panel of experts from both the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the Current Employment Statistics (CES) programs on hand to answer users’ questions.  Below are some of the highlights of that chat, with user questions in bold:

 Is there an estimate for how many census workers will be hired for the current census and when those hires will occur? Are these employees full, or part-time? How does the BLS treat these employees? Are they counted as “regular” employees? Current information on the census intermittent worker impact on CES estimates can be found on www.bls.gov/ces/cescensusworkers.pdf. To be considered employed in the CES survey, workers need to receive pay for any time during their pay period including the 12th of the month. Workers getting paid for just one hour would be considered employed. The CES survey cannot distinguish between full- and part-time workers. For future hiring expectations for census intermittent workers, you should consult the Bureau of the Census or visit http://www.census.gov/

Why have people on extended unemployment benefits dropped by over 50% since the beginning of the year while those on EUC are up? BLS does not produce the data on unemployment benefits. The Employment and Training Administration is the source of that data. Information is available on the Department of Labor website at http://ows.doleta.gov/unemploy/claims_arch.asp.

Why was the weather effect in February not larger given the severity of the snow storms and past similar storms, i.e. Jan. 1996? It is not possible to determine specifically how weather impacted employment estimates from data reported through the CES survey. The dynamics of the economy, as well as differences in weather systems, vary.

What states are enjoying a growth in employment? Details on statewide job growth can be found in the Regional and State Employment and Unemployment news release issued most recently on March 26, 2010. In February, nonfarm payroll employment decreased in 27 states and the District of Columbia and increased in 23 states. The largest over-the-month increases in employment occurred in Florida (+26,300), followed by New York (+5,800), Alabama (+5,600), Wisconsin (+5,200), Nevada (+5,100), and South Carolina (+5,000). Nevada experienced the largest over-the-month percentage increase in employment (+0.5 percent), followed by Florida and New Hampshire (+0.4 percent each) and Alabama, South Carolina, and Vermont (+0.3 percent each). Over the year, nonfarm employment decreased in 49 states and increased in 1 state and the District of Columbia.

Unemployment rates for Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and cities are issued in a separate release, several weeks after the Regional and State news release, cited above. Currently, data is available for January 2010

Why is this report released on Good Friday? The BLS news release schedule for major economic indicators, including the Employment Situation, is announced prior to the beginning of the calendar year, allowing advance notice to all users, and is rarely subject to change. BLS schedules news releases any day the Federal government is scheduled to be open, based on when data will become final.

Why is the civilian non institutional population listed as 237,159? The civilian non institutional population is 237,159,000. The figure excludes persons under the age of 16, members of the Armed Forces, and those in institutions such as prisons.

Does the payroll data differentiate between part time and full time? The payroll data does not differentiate between part- and full-time workers.  The CPS survey does have employment by full- and part-time workers.   

How are the adjustments to prior months reports determined? The CES survey is a voluntary survey, and respondents report employment for their pay period that includes the 12th of the month. BLS first produces estimates with less than full response. We collect data on a continuous basis and update our estimates during the 2 months following initial release. In addition to additional sample, BLS also recalculates seasonal factors using the latest estimates.  Once a year, BLS resets its employment level (for March) to an actual count and revises seasonally adjusted estimates back 5 years. The latest of these benchmark update was for March 2009, released on February 5, 2010.

Does the BLS make available the raw data results of the surveys? The mission of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is to collect, process, analyze, and disseminate essential statistical data to the American public, the U.S. Congress, other Federal agencies, State and local governments, business, and labor. In order to maintain credibility and trust with our survey respondents, confidentiality protections for our data are essential. Protecting the confidentiality of data is central to accomplishing the BLS mission. More information can be found on this subject at http://www.bls.gov/bls/confidentiality.htm.

What are the standard errors on the employment number and unemployment rate? At the 90 percent level of confidence, the standard error on the change in CPS employment is about +/- 400,000, and the standard error on the change in the unemployment rate is about +/- 0.2 percentage point. For the payroll survey, at the 90 percent level of confidence, the standard error on the monthly change in nonfarm employment is about +/- 100,000.

Who do you survey to get the temp employment number? The CES survey samples Temporary Help companies to estimate employment in Temp Help.  Our sample includes firms of all sizes.

When will the data from the 2010 Displaced Worker Survey supplement be available for download? Those data should be available in the fall of this year.

Does the BLS break out employment by size of firm? The BLS does break out employment by size of firm from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program.  For more details see:  www.bls.gov/cew

How are independent contractors and the self-employed counted? In the household survey, independent contractors and the self employed are counted as employed if they are operating their business. If their businesses are closed and they are actively seeking other employment, they would be considered unemployed.

Why is March selected as the bench mark month as opposed to other months? March is selected for the annual benchmark, because it has less seasonal variation than most months and no holidays.

Where can I find more specific information about the BLS’ unemployment calculation methodologies? You can find a number of documents describing the concepts and methods used in the unemployment calculations at: http://stats.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#ces_cps

What are some of the common reasons why the numbers in a prior months’ report could be revised? CES estimates may revise from additional sample received, corrections to previously reported data, and recalculation of seasonal adjustment factors using the most current data.

Do you have data regarding individuals working beyond the age of retirement? You might be interested to see a recent piece that Emy Sok published on older workers http://www.bls.gov/opub/ils/summary_10_04/older_workers.htm

Well, kind of. If you’re imagining a bunch of ladies sitting around spilling their deepest, darkest employee secrets a la “The View,” replace that image with an independent report obtained with survey results from 41 companies and representing a total of 176,000 positions and 1.8 million U.S.-based employees in CareerXroads’ 9th Annual Source of Hire Study.

Still, the study’s findings are pretty interesting — and include survey results about how many companies plan to fill job openings this year,best sources of hire, and information on how companies can use and leverage this sources-of-hire data.

A couple of highlights from the study:

Best sources of hire

• According to survey results, U.S. employers said referrals, career sites and job boards accounted for the majority of their new external hires in 2009 (62.2 percent).
• Career sites and job boards accounted for 35.5 percent of new external hires in the U.S. in 2009.
• CareerBuilder was ranked as the No. 1 source of hire within the job board category at 41.6 percent compared to 11.6 percent for its largest competitor.

Majority report more job openings this year

• As far as job openings, almost half (48 percent) of company respondents say they plan to grow this year, while 37.9 percent of respondents say they will hold steady this year.
• Only 10.8 percent say they will fill fewer openings in 2010.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Although we strive not to self-promote on The Hiring Site, this survey reminded us that some of you who are not customers may not be aware of our T-E-A-M philosophy and the new solutions we’ve recently launched as a response to the changing job market. As we have evolved beyond just a job board, we’ve started offering a suite of human capital solutions like talent consulting, in-depth data analysis and talent flow tracking, niche industry job sites, social media brand management, outplacement services and more. If you want to learn more or get a brush-up on the solutions we’re working on with other customers, you can check them out here.

With the recent passing of two major bills, the jobs bill (signed by President Obama on March 18) and the healthcare bill (signed by the House of Representatives on Sunday),  The Hiring Site thought it important to educate our readers on the specifics of these bills and the implications they will have on you as an employer.  Below is a summary of each bill, what the passing of the bill means for you, and where to go for further information: 

The Jobs Bill – HIRE (Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment) Act

HIRE was signed by the president March 18^th. This bill is written to positively affect investment both in equipment and hiring. Business investment in equipment ripples through the economy, affecting suppliers’ inventories and their ability to produce and fulfill orders. Waiving taxes and giving credits to business is intended to loosen some of the hiring barriers, especially in a tight economy where a hire is seen as an expense rather than an investment in future growth. The main areas of focus include:

1. Waiving the 6.2 percent social security tax for each new worker until December 31, 2010
2. Getting up to $1,000 in tax credit for each new worker on payroll
3. Company can write off up to $250k of new equipment in 2010 rather than depreciate over several years

Based on CareerBuilder research, employers report two of their top initiatives for 2010 are replacing lower-performing employees and rehiring laid-off workers. Employers are focusing their hiring efforts on filling jobs that drive revenue, evidenced by the year-over-year increase in job postings in the following areas:

• Business development posting are up 4 percent
• Sales postings are up 11 percent
• Marketing postings are up 40 percent
• Government postings are up 16 percent
• Education postings are up 18 percent
• Entry level postings are up 47 percent

For further information and analysis…

• Watch a video of President Obama explaining the jobs bill  here
• Or get answers to a few other questions you may have here.   

The Healthcare Bill – The Health Care &  Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010*

The healthcare legislation, as it is currently written, has elements taking effect both immediately through 2014 and beyond. Regardless, this bill will touch every business at some point and could have impact on hiring. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates 95 percent of legal residents will have insurance by 2019 under the current bill. The total cost of the bill is $940 billion over 10 years ,with $143 billion in deficit savings over the same time frame. The main points of the legislation include:

• Immediate impact:  Health insurance companies barred from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions; children permitted to stay on parents’ insurance until their 26^th birthday; indoor tanning tax of 10 percent
• Effective in 2013:  New Medicare taxes go into effect for families with income over $250k and individuals over $200k; Medicare tax on “unearned” income such as dividends and interest; medical device excise tax imposed
• Effective in 2014:  Insurance exchanges where individuals and companies can purchase health insurance will be created; subsidies begin for low- to middle-income people to purchase health insurance; employers with 50 or more employees must provide affordable health coverage or pay a fine up to $3k per employee; employers with fewer than 50 employees would be exempt from health care fines

The aging population continues to drive strong health care hiring numbers:

• The health care industry has added over 631,000 jobs since the start of the recession.
• Health care added 32,000 jobs in February 2010 alone
• CareerBuilder experienced a 4 percent increase in health care postings in Q4 2009 focused on physician office jobs and home health care jobs.
• More insured Americans will mean larger patient load driving the need for many different new health care roles.

For more information and resources, you can check out the following: 

• Just the facts on what the bill contains.
• What the bill means for your business.
• The Congressional Budget Office blog and a link to estimates.
• Kaiser Family Foundation

*Based on the version of the bill passed by the House of Representatives Sunday, March 21^st.

There are six words that, when used together, can cause a bit of anxiety (no, I’m not talking about So You Think You Can Dance?).

Consider this scenario: Your employee is rushing to get to work. He or she is driving a car, one hand on the wheel — and one hand on the smart phone. Every once in a while your employee anxiously glances down at the phone, anticipating the inevitable work correspondence. Your employee doesn’t have to wait long, because five minutes into the drive, you, the frazzled boss who’s up early and thinking about a project, decides to e-mail said employee, knowing full well your employee will check the message right away – and feel compelled to respond. You type those six very important words: What is the status on this?

You hit send.

This type of situation may be more of a problem than you realize. Whether you’re a boss who’s always connected and expects the same of your employees, or you’re an employee who feels pressured to be “on” at all times, even while driving – you may need to slow down a bit. According to the results of a new CareerBuilder survey of more than 5,200 workers, more than half (54 percent) of workers who have a smart phone or similar device said they check it when driving a vehicle — and many are risking safety on the road because they feel pressured to respond.

Which Industries are Most Connected On the Commute?

In comparing industries:

• Sixty-six percent of sales workers used their smart phones while driving, more than any other group surveyed.
• They were followed by  professional and business services workers (59 percent).
• Health care workers were third in terms of industry use (50 percent).

How Bad Is It?

It’s bad enough that almost of quarter (21 percent) of workers say they check their mobile device every time it vibrates or beeps — but worse that 18 percent report they are required by their company to be accessible beyond office hours via mobile device. In addition, 14 percent of workers said they feel obligated to constantly stay in touch with work because of the current tough economy.

It’s true that the lines between work and home lives are often blurry at best due to our ability to be connected in so many ways and at all hours of the day. It’s important for bosses to keep in mind, however, that if employees are not at work and you require them to correspond or make work decisions, there’s a possibility you could be putting them in danger.

And while it’s also true that employees are not always in the precarious position of driving while texting or e-mailing, consider that your employees have personal lives just like you. By corresponding during off-hours, you may be forcing them to respond while they’re mid-first-date (and nervous to begin with), enjoying a Broadway show, praying, or even attending to other “personal business” — in the bathroom. Workers with smart phones said they are checking in with the office on their smart phones from virtually anywhere and everywhere, including:

• During a meal:  62 percent
• On vacation:  60 percent
• While in the bathroom:  57 percent
• Lying in bed at night:  50 percent
• At a movie, play, or musical:  25 percent
• On a date:  18 percent
• Working out at the gym:  17 percent
• At a child’s event of function:  17 percent
• At church:  11 percent

Think Before You Hit “Send”

While sometimes communication outside of the office may be necessary, consider your options before contacting — and decide whether the message you’re communicating is important enough to hit “send” regardless of where your employee may be at that moment. And think of your frequency — are you abusing your power as an employer, as well as your employee’s time? Or are you acting in good faith?

“It is challenging for workers to maintain a good work/life balance when they are constantly connected to the office, so turning their devices off is important for their health and safety,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources for CareerBuilder. “The lines between work and life can be very blurry these days – 17 percent of workers said they feel like their work day never ends because of technology connecting them to the office. To reduce burnout and avoid potentially risky behavior, workers should allot technology-free time when away from work.”

Consider the three tips below to help you and your employee to work together on a work/life balance:

• Encourage employees to turn off the smart phone while driving. Not only is it illegal in many states, but using a mobile device while driving is dangerous to both your employee and others on the road. Let your employees know that if it’s necessary to leave his or her smart phone on and a conference call or other urgent matter comes up, you want them to pull over to safely handle the situation.
• Help your employee create a backup plan: Help your employee plan to have an out-of-office message or voicemail at the ready, and arrange for them to leave contact information for others on your team familiar with your employee’s area of the business who are able to step in if needed. Alternately, arrange to handle business yourself if you’re able to in a sticky situation. That way, any emergency can be handled appropriately if your employee can’t get to it — and you’ll still be aware of what’s going on.
• Have a personal policy in mind. What are your parameters for getting in touch with your employees on off-hours or while out of the office? Where do you draw the line — and if you don’t, consider whether there are ways you can modify your plan and communicate that out to your employees.

What’s your take on the issue — is it a problem or a necessary evil in our current work environment?

Anyone else looking forward to the day we can say that we’re actually out of the woods with the current financial crisis (if only so we can put a moratorium on the phrase “out of the woods”)?  

Well, we might have to hold out a little while longer, because as the latest employment report indicates, we’re, um…well, you know. Today, the Labor Department released its Employment Situation report for the month of February, and, as is often the case lately, there’s both good news and bad news.

The good news is that the number of jobs in February fell far below analysts’ expectations and that the unemployment rate did not go up. Despite this fact, the bad news, of course, is that unemployment is still at a remarkably high 9.7 percent and that employers cut 36,000 jobs.

Among the highlights of the report:

•  Employers cut 36,000 jobs in February (below analysts’ expectation of 50,000), compared with 26,000 jobs shed in January.
• Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed Americans has nearly doubled to 14.9 million and the economy has shed 8.4 million jobs.
• The U.S. unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent in February, and nonfarm payroll employment dipped slightly (-36,000).
• Severe winter weather in parts of the country may have affected payroll employment and hours; however, it is not possible to quantify precisely the net impact of the winter storms on these measures.
• Looking at various industries: Temporary help services added 48,000 jobs, while Health Care also continued to trend upward in February. Construction and Information both fell, at 64,000 and 18,000 jobs lost, respectively, while both Manufacturing and Retail were essentially unchanged.

Despite the up-and-down numbers over the last few months (36,000 jobs shed in February…26,000 shed in January…109,000 shed in December… 64,000 added in November, etc.), conditions are stabilizing overall.

“The large declines are behind us,” said Joel Naroff of Joel Naroff Economic Advisors in a podcast interview with MarketWatch today, in reference to the job loss numbers.  Naroff added that the latest report gives a strong indication that, while we may not see strong job growth anytime soon, we will see positive growth.

In fact, employers are expected to add as many as 100,000 jobs a month later this year (and if President Obama okays the House’s new $15 billion plan to offer tax breaks to employers, it could further impact job growth in the coming months). 

Thoughts?

Millenials. Comprised of those born after 1980, or those 18-29 years old, they’re America’s newest generation.  (And it’d be more fun if they were called this, no?) But what else are we learning about them, particularly when it comes to the workplace? A new report aimed at Millenials attempts to answer some of our unanswered questions.

Who are Millenials?

Fifty million people currently fall into the “Millenials” category. Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan fact tank that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world, has just released a report called “Millenials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change.”

The report, conducted by Pew Research Center’s “Social & Demographic Trends Project,” compares the values, attitudes and behaviors of Millenials with those of older adults, and seeks to shed some light on which formative experiences Millenials will carry throughout their life cycle. Among other findings, the report found that personality-wise, Millenials are confident, self-expressive, liberal, and upbeat, and are open to change.

Dissatisfied With Work Now — But Optimistic for the Future

Interestingly, although Millenials’ careers have been derailed — or at least detoured — with a recession, they are more upbeat than their elders about both their own economic futures and the state of the nation.

Having a high-paying career is cited by only 15 percent of 18- to 29-year-old respondents as one of the most important things in their lives, while things like a successful marriage and being a good parent rank much higher — even though unemployment for this age group is higher now than it has been in more than three decades.

Unemployed Millenials

• Only 19 percent of unemployed Millenials say they have enough money to live the kind of live they want

• 89 percent, however, believe they will have enough income in the future

Employed Millenials

• Just 31 percent of employed Millenials reported making enough money to lead the kind of life they want — leaving 69 percent who are not satisfied.
• They are less satisfied than previous generations; 46 percent of Gen Xers, for example, cite satisfaction with their income.
• Among those employed Millenials dissatisfied with their income, 88 percent are confident that they will be able to earn enough in the future.

How They View Their Elders

They respect their elders. Surprised? According to the report:

“A majority say that the older generation is superior to the younger generation when it comes to moral values and work ethic.”

New Einsteins

This generation is also poised to become the most educated generation in American history — a trend which, according to the report, is driven largely by the demands of a modern knowledge-based economy, but also by the millions of 20-somethings enrolling in educational institutions like graduate school or community college due to lack of a job. A record share of 18- to 24-year-olds (39.6 percent) were enrolled in college in 2008, according to census data.

BlackBerrys in the Bed

As we’ve discussed on the blog before, the lines between work and personal lives are getting blurrier by the minute. And now, Millenials are being called the first “always-connected” generation in history. According to the report:

“Steeped in digital technology and social media, they treat their multi-tasking hand-held gadgets almost like a body part — for better and worse. More than eight-in-ten say they sleep with a cell phone glowing by the bed, poised to disgorge texts, phone calls, e-mails, songs, news, videos, games and wake-up jingles,” the report says.

Social Media? Yes Please!

A whopping 75 percent of 18- to 29-year-old respondents said they have a social networking profile. And although this generation is characterized as wary of human nature and many have their profile on lockdown, there are still great ways to c0nnect on public pages and forums.

If you’re an employer and you’re not involved in social networks, you’re missing an opportunity to get in front of a huge group of potential candidates.

Education

When ranked with older generations at comparable ages, Millenials are shown to be more highly educated (in the formal sense).

• More than half of Millenials (54 percent) have at least some college education, compared with 49 percent of Gen X, 36 percent of baby boomers, and 24 percent of the Silent Generation
• Millenials, when compared with previous generations at the same age, are also more likely to have finished high school
• Conversely,  Millenials are less likely to be employed than their elder generations; 63 percent of Millenials are likely to be employed, compared to 70 percent of Gen Xers or 66 of baby boomers had been at the same age
• Compared with the Silent Generation at the same age, Millenials are overall are more likely to be in the labor force

We’re Different

Like many of us (see what I did there?), sixty-seven percent of Millenials also see their age group as unique, according to the report. When asked why, the most popular response at 24 percent was “technology use.” Other responses included music, pop culture, and tolerance. And 6 percent say it’s because they’re smarter.

There’s much more to the report — you can read it in its entirety here.

Employers, what do you think, based on what you’ve experienced with Millenials in the workplace? And Millenials, do you agree with the report’s findings?

Resilience is not only found among the Oceanic 815 survivors of “LOST” — who returned to TV last night after five seasons of battling hostile island dwellers, a mysterious smoke monster, and the bounds of space and time  — but in taking a look at CareerBuilder’s updated survey among more than U.S. workers, it’s also evident among many workers who have been laid off in the last 12 months.

Although Bureau of Labor Statistics job loss numbers could be in the negative range for January, unemployed Americans continue to be steadfast in their job searches, and, according to CareerBuilder survey results, many workers laid off in the last 12 months have found new employment.

The Results

1. New Employment
Your company may even be among those who have brought on laid off workers this past year, as over half (58 percent) of those laid off in the last twelve months have found new jobs. Fifty-one percent have found full-time positions (up from 48 percent in June 2009) and 7 percent have found part-time positions (up from 3 percent in June 2009).

“Despite one of the most competitive job markets in decades, nine-in-ten workers say they have not given up on their job searches, and the amount of workers who have found work is evidence that their drive and determination are paying off,” said Brent Rasmussen, President of CareerBuilder North America.  “The number of laid-off workers who have found new full-time and part-time jobs rose in the last six months.  Although this good news reflects a healing economy, it also shows that job seekers are exploring career options in new industries and locations.”

2. Higher Salaries
Of those workers who were laid off in the last 12 months and found new jobs, 61 percent reported they were able to negotiate comparable or higher pay for their new positions. Thirty-nine percent of workers took a pay cut.

3. Greener Grass
More than half (51 percent) of laid off workers who landed new jobs said they found work in a different field than where they were previously employed. One-third of workers said they really enjoy their new positions.

4. Movin’ Out
It appears from survey results that fewer unemployed workers would consider relocating for a job opportunity; on the other hand, the number of workers who actually took an out-of-area opportunity when it arose increased in comparison to June 2009 results.

• Twenty-six percent of workers who were laid off in the last twelve months and found jobs relocated to a new city or state, up from 20 percent in June 2009.
• Of those who are still looking for employment, 37 percent reported they would consider relocating for a job opportunity, down from 44 percent in June.

5. Entrepreneurship
Consistent with June 2009 survey results, many job seekers, unable to find jobs,  are considering creating their own job.  Twenty-nine percent of workers who have not found jobs are considering starting their own business.

6. Expanding the Search
How did workers who were laid off in the last 12 months have since gained employment find their jobs?

• Personal referrals (22%)
• Online job boards (21%)
• Newspapers and other print classifieds (11%)
• Recruiting/staffing firms (8%)
• Career fairs (5%)
• Social media sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn (4%)

You can read the full press release here.

Amid news of strides toward economic recovery and growth in 2010, organizations are still facing a myriad of staffing challenges this year, according to a new CareerBuilder survey conducted in November 2009 among more than 2,700 employers. Employers listed a number of factors with which they are struggling — covering everything from handling worker burnout to strengthening their employment brand. In looking at employers’ responses, it’s also evident that many of these challenges are interconnected.

What are survey respondents’ top five staffing concerns?

1. Providing competitive compensation (34 percent)
2. Maintaining productivity levels (33 percent)
3. Retaining top talent (31 percent)
4. Worker burnout (30 percent)
5. Providing employees opportunities for upward mobility (25 percent)

Ten percent of employers also expressed concern about the difficulty of strengthening their company’s employment brand after layoffs or cutbacks.

Despite these challenges, it appears that many employers are determined to find ways to keep talented employees on their payroll. Among them:

• Offering more flexible work arrangements (28 percent)
• Investing more into training (21 percent)
• Promising future benefits like raises or promotions when the economy picks up (18 percent)
• Offering more performance-based incentives like trips and bonuses (16 percent)
• Providing higher salary without the title (11 percent)
• Providing both higher title and salary (10 percent)
• Providing higher title without the salary (7 percent)

Only 6 percent of employers responded by saying they haven’t been able to hold on to top talent.

“Retention is just one area that companies will need to address to maintain and grow their businesses this year,” said Jason Ferrara, vice president of corporate marketing for CareerBuilder. “Having the right people on board is a top concern. Our survey found that forty percent of companies are concerned about top workers leaving their organization in 2010 and that nearly one in five think morale at their company is poor. At the same time, companies have their eyes on future hiring challenges, especially as the economy moves into recovery.”

What do you anticipate as your biggest recruitment challenge this year?

Although the recession has been hard on many industries, the health care industry is one that has managed to thrive. Since the recession’s start, the health care industry has added 631,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and has consistently added headcount each month. CareerBuilder’s annual health care hiring forecast indicates that this hiring momentum will likely continue into 2010. The survey was conducted between November 5 and November 23, 2009, among more than 240 health care employers.

Hiring in 2010

• More than one in five (22 percent) health employers said they plan to increase the number of full-time, permanent employees this year, up from 17 percent last year.

• Ten percent of employers said they had plans to increase the number of part-time employees at their organizations in 2010, in order to help meet demand.

“While most industries struggled with headcount since the start of the recession, health care was and continues to be one of the strongest industries for hiring,” said Jason Ferrara, vice president of corporate marketing for CareerBuilder.

“Forty percent of health care employers, by far the highest among industries we surveyed, have open positions for which they can’t find qualified candidates. This shows that there is high demand for qualified health care workers across a variety of areas; everything from medical assistants to records specialists to nurses.”

Five Health Care Recruitment Trends for 2010

1. Replacing Low-Performing Employees

Health care employers are taking advantage of the current labor pool’s large number of highly qualified candidates to strengthen their work force. Forty-three percent of health care employers say they plan to replace low-performing employees with higher performers in 2010.

What do health care employers really think of their employees’ performance? When asked to grade their current work force, 18 percent rated their employees an “A”, 68 percent a “B”, 13 percent a “C”, and less than one percent a “D” or “F. Whew.

2. More Flexibility

Flexible work options continue to be important to health care employers. Over a third (37 percent) of health care employers said they will provide more flexible work arrangements for employees in 2010, including:

• Alternative schedules (74%) — Employees can come into work early and leave early, or come in later and leave later
• Compressed work weeks (53%) Employees work the same hours, but consolidate work into fewer days
• Telecommuting (40%) — Employees work from home or from another remote location
• Job sharing (12%) — Employees share the same position in a company, each working part of the week
• Summer hours (12%) — Workers enjoy condensed hours during the summer; typically 1/2 days on Fridays

3. Recruitment Tools

As the demand for quality health care employees continues this year, health care employers will leverage a variety of recruitment tools to fill their open positions. But on what are they planning to spend more money, exactly?

• Online recruitment sites — (25%)

• Newspaper classifieds — (20%)

• Career fairs — (18%)

• Social and professional networking sites — (13%)

• Staffing firms and recruiters — (7%)

4. Freelance Workers

Because of the great demand for qualified workers, many health care employers are seeking out freelance or contract health care workers to supplement their needs.  In fact, 34 percent of health care employers are hiring contract or freelance workers in 2010.

5. Green Jobs

“Green jobs” are defined as jobs that contribute significantly to preserving or restoring environmental quality. Being “green” is a rapidly growing movement within the health care industry as companies seek ways to run more efficiently; 10 percent of health care employers plan to add “green” jobs in 2010.
If you missed it, read the full press release here.

Although there are signs that the economy is beginning to heal, small businesses are still feeling aches and pains caused by the recession. About a third (34 percent) of small businesses — organizations with 500 employees or fewer — are unsure if they will have access to necessary credit in 2010, according to a new CareerBuilder survey conducted between Nov. 5 and Nov. 23, 2009, among more than 1,450 small businesses. In addition, 15 percent of small businesses said that an inability to access credit this year will prevent them from adding headcount.

A Look Back at 2009

Credit was more difficult to obtain in 2009, and small businesses tried, yet were at times unable, to meet the challenge. Seventeen percent of small businesses reported they were unable to access the credit needed to support their businesses in 2009, and of those companies, 26 percent were unable to add employees. On a positive note, however, of those companies who were able to access credit last year, 73 percent were able to hire new employees.

“While small businesses were hit hard during this recession, they will play a vital role as the economy bounces back,” said Brent Rasmussen, President of CareerBuilder North America. “After past recessions, small businesses re-energized the economy by driving innovation and putting people back to work. The majority of small businesses we talked to say they are confident they will not lose their businesses in 2010, and many are hopeful that they will be able to add staff to support their bottom lines and remain competitive.”

Looking Ahead -- Cautiously

While small businesses are cautiously optimistic as they begin this new year, they are still preparing to face some hurdles. When asked what their organization’s top challenges would be for 2010, small businesses reported the following:

• Cost of health insurance — 42 percent
• Marketing expenses and costs to build awareness — 26 percent
• Attracting and hiring top talent — 22 percent
• Government regulations — 21 percent

What do you predict your business’s biggest challenges will be for 2010, and what is your strategy for attack?

The year is almost over, which of course means it’s time for a completely unprecedented, unexpected-in-every-way “top 10 of 2009” list…

Here, I give you my list of the 10 biggest trends we saw this year in the world of workforce management.  (Notice anything I missed? Let me know in the comments section below!)

1. Social Media Specialists made their way to corporate America. Recognizing the value in using social media as both a branding and recruiting tool, companies like Comcast, General Motors and JetBlue Airways,  began hiring professionals specifically for the sake of managing and monitoring their social media sites.  (Even Britney Spears got in on the action.) 
2. Internships made a comeback…in various forms. In the tightened economy, internship positions became more competitive among job seekers– as well as an attractive alternative for employers looking for cheap labor and a way to “test” new employees before hiring them full-time. One position that stood out was Pizza Hut’s “Twintern,” an intern responsible for posting updates on – and monitoring – the company’s Twitter account. The experiment turned out to be a success on both ends – come fall, Pizza Hut offered the twintern a full-time position. Similarly, 2009 also saw the rise of virtual internships made possible through improving technology and the growth of social media, and enabling employers to expand their pool of candidates while saving money on office overhead. 
3. Older workers were forced to rethink retirement. Nearly 60 percent of workers aged 65 and older reported that they were postponing retirement due to financial strains, according to a March 2009 CareerBuilder survey. While employers may be worried over how they will manage this aging workforce, multigenerational workforces are actually an asset to employers; they simply need to be “proactive in devising new strategies to harness and harmonize the multigenerational workforce,” advises BusinessWeek’s Roselyn Feinsod.
4.  “Qwittered” entered the American lexicon…joining the prestigious ranks “Facebook fired.” Stories abounded this year of employees getting reprimanded for posting inappropriate comments or – as we saw in this year’s most infamous case - videos on online social media sites. Even celebrities were not immune to this trend, as ESPN’s Sports Guy recently found out.  What can we learn from these stories? For one thing, having a well-thought out and clearly stated social media policy in place can eliminate these sorts of incidents. Make sure employees are aware of the policy and that what they say can be grounds for punishment. (For tips on creating a social media policy, check out Sharlyn Lauby’s excellent post on 10 Must-Haves for Your Social Media Policy)
5. Medical cost-cutting efforts got more creative. As health care costs soared, businesses began looking for ways to reduce medical coverage expenses with a new sense of urgency. Whole Foods, for instance, began offering workers incentives for losing weight and improving their overall health to ultimately reduce medical coverage costs; while other employers started expanding their employee assistance program offerings to include counseling – a less expensive alternative to therapy obtained through company medical coverage… Then of course there were those companies making the case for legalizing medical marijuana, saying the move could save them money on drug costs.
6. Thursday became the new Friday. Taking a cue from Utah’s institution of a four-day workweek for state workers, employers nationwide began to follow suit – hoping to generate the same benefits Utah saw as a result of its experiment.  Not only did the state successfully reduce energy and help workers save money on commuting costs, as it had hoped, but workers took fewer sick days and state services improved, as well. 
7. Women made workplace history. As layoffs hit men at a disproportionate rate, the ratio of women to men in the workforce evened out. As of September, women held half of the nation’s jobs – for the first time in our nation’s history.
8. Sex at the office became a hot(ter?) topic: While sex in the workplace is nothing new, the debate – both in the media and at the water cooler – over if and when it’s ever okay reignited after David Letterman admitted to having an affair with a “Late Night” staffer – and gained even more steam when two other, high profile sex-in-the-workplace stories surfaced soon after. (Regardless of where you stand on the issue, it’s always good to have a refresher on the rules regarding sex in the workplace.) 
9. Year-end bonuses, gifts and holiday parties disappeared. No surprises here: Fewer businesses planned office parties this year – whether due to budget concerns, or out of mindfulness of the hardships clients and employees’ families are experiencing. In the spirit of the season, however, some employers are organizing company-wide charitable events as an alternative. As is the case with holiday parties, the economy is also preventing many businesses from offering the typical year-end gifts or grant bonuses…but that doesn’t mean they’re not trying to appease their employees and clients with alternative gifts, such as car washes, choice parking spots and complimentary breakfasts.  
10. Office personal space became scarcer. In efforts to trim costs and boost productivity, many employers nationwide began reducing per-employee office space – from removing cubicle walls to create open floor plans, to eliminating assigned workspaces for employees who spend a lot of time away from their desks. Despite employers’ good intentions, however, some employees are finding that the closer quarters disrupt their work flow and increase tensions, according to the Wall Street Journal. (The lesson? Know your audience: While some people may thrive in tighter quarters, it can be distracting to others. Help your employees by giving them the option to work remotely or make sure you arrange the office in a way that maximizes the available space.)

What trends did you notice popping up this year? (And what do you anticipate we’ll see more or less of in 2010?)

While it’s true that many companies have been forced to make difficult business decisions this year, many employers still plan to reward their employees for hard work with holiday perks like bonuses, gifts and parties — even if these perks are scaled back a bit. These results are from CareerBuilder’s recent survey about workplace holiday giving among more than 3,000 hiring managers and HR professionals. We’ve got the lowdown on what businesses are doing about bonuses, gifts, and the oft-infamous work holiday party.

Bonuses:

• Nearly three in ten (29 percent) employers plan to give their employees holiday bonuses this year.  Among that group, 16 percent are planning to give the same amount as in previous years, while 11 percent plan to give less.
• Twelve percent of employers say they will not be issuing holiday bonuses even though they have in previous years.

Gifts:

• More than a quarter (26 percent) of employers plan to give holiday gifts, with 15 percent planning to spend the same amount for workers as in previous years.  Eight percent plan to spend less.
• Another eight percent say they are not planning to give holidays gifts in 2009, even though they have in years past.

Parties:

• Almost half (49 percent) of employers are planning a holiday party for their employees this year.  Of that group, 30 percent plan to throw the same party as in previous years, while 18 percent are planning something on a smaller scale.
• Eleven percent of employers don’t plan to have a holiday party in 2009 even though they have in previous years.

“After a challenging year, some organizations are cutting back on the holiday perks that they may have offered in previous years,” said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources for CareerBuilder. “Even though holiday bonuses, gifts and parties may be trimmed back this season, employers are doing what they can to reward their workers and get their staffs in the holiday spirit.”

So with cutbacks more prevalent in the workplace,  how can you make your employees happy this holiday season? What do they really want?

Here are some alternative workplace gift-giving ideas:

• The gift of financial preparedness. Help employees be realistic in their holiday budgeting this holiday season. Workers often need to budget more carefully around the holidays, so let your employees know upfront and early whether or not they can expect a bonus this season. This way, they will be able to gauge whether they’ll have that extra money for a plane ticket — or whether they’ll have to stock up on canned soups for dinner this season. Give your employees the gift of preparedness; their pocketbooks will thank you.

• The gift of giving. Volunteering is a great workplace activity all year ’round, but if you’re looking for an alternative to the typical (and pricey) holiday bash, I can’t think of a better way than helping others in need by donating time to local charities.  Volunteering with your team or company still allows you to be out of the office in a social setting while fostering your holiday spirit, giving back to your local community, and making the holiday a bit nicer for someone else. Sites like VolunteerMatch let you search for volunteer opportunities in your local area. Read more tips about finding a charity here and here, find an extensive list of charities here, and check out the Better Business Bureau’s “Charities and Donors” section for more resources.

• The gift of fun. Even if your company holiday party is canceled, you can still  celebrate the season with your employees with some warm drinks and hot food. Office potlucks are a great and budget-friendly way to have a low-key celebration in the office with your employees. Even better, as commuting after work hours can sometimes present obstacles for employees, you can host a potluck breakfast or lunch during the work day. As an alternative, screen a movie of your employees’ choosing, pop some popcorn and provide sodas, and have a low-key but entertaining in-office party.
• The gift of appreciation. While material gifts are nice, sometimes nothing is better than getting a bit of recognition for work well done, whether it’s for a single project or an entire financial quarter’s worth of blood, sweat and tears. As we have learned, 79 of employees who quit their jobs cite a lack of appreciation as a key reason for leaving. Remember to say “thank you” to your employees this holiday season! Even small gestures, like a  card or letter with your sincere words of thanks can mean a lot to your employees. Spontaneity of gestures can also be a nice change in the work routine; grab your employees coffee and bagels unexpectedly one morning — or dream up your own creative way to say “thanks.”
  
  
• The gift of friends and family. While employees may enjoy coming to work, they may in fact be longing to spend more time with loved ones outside the office, especially around the holidays. Yes, businesses are busier than ever, often juggling fewer people and more work — but your employees will enjoy and appreciate even a small break from the grind. Consider letting them leave a bit early one afternoon, or offer a flexible work option for a week or two, like coming in early/leaving early, or working four 10-hour days so they can take a long weekend. Different options will work for different types of businesses — but employees will savor the gift of more time with loved ones — and they’ll likely come back more refreshed, relaxed, and focused post-holiday.
• The gift of choice. One final idea: Ask your employees what they want this holiday season! Let them know that budgets are tight, but that you want to celebrate with them and show them your gratitude for their work and dedication. Let them brainstorm ideas, and pick one or implement them all.

What are you giving your employees this holiday season?