Apply Today

Recruiters Stay Positive: Job Numbers Examined

by Dave Nerz

Recruiters are all waiting for something bad to happen in the employment market. The reality is that while things are slowing down, we are not in desperate times as evidenced by the recent job numbers report.

Job openings are inherently difficult to predict. I watch the reports on a weekly and monthly basis, and I am continually surprised by how often the actual job numbers are different than what was predicted. It does seem like we are leveling off more than plunging into recession, at least in North America. Read the rest of this entry »

Employers, Don’t Let a Slowing Economy Change Your Strategy

by Veronica Blatt

Our guest blogger is Pam Robison of J. Gifford Inc. in Tulsa, Oklahoma. J. Gifford Inc. is a small, quality conscious firm providing highly individualized recruiting services to clients on a local, regional, national and international basis. The firm’s recruiting activities are focused on professional, technical and managerial placement, as well as contractor and international staffing for clients. Pam is Secretary/Treasurer of the NPAworldwide Board of Directors.

In a slowing economy, businesses often decide to freeze or delay hiring. Sometimes this is to reduce costs; after all, new employees have a real budget impact. Consider the possibility that this could be a costly mistake with long-term implications. While it is tempting to put off hiring until business returns to full strength, delays or freezes can do more harm than good. Read the rest of this entry »

Hot Jobs of 2022

by Veronica Blatt

I know, I know. Virtually every job is hot these days and I don’t know too many recruiters who aren’t scrambling to find talent. That said, some niches and roles are more in demand than others. Here is a list of hot jobs for 2022 compiled by LinkedIn. Not surprisingly, a good number of these jobs have been elevated due to the global health pandemic. Read the rest of this entry »

Will the Antiwork Movement Impact Recruiting?

by Liz Carey

The Great Resignation shows no sign of slowing down. In December, 4.3 million workers quit their jobs, according to the Labor Department’s latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover report, bringing the total to a record 47.4 million people who voluntarily left their jobs last year. And many aren’t going back to work.

The “antiwork” movement, fueled by Gen Z and Millennial workers, is growing. The viral Reddit thread — r/antiwork — has 1.7 million members. There are similar movements across the globe, like the Tang ping movement in China, a social protest movement that rejects the pressure to constantly be more productive and competitive at work. Many are opting out of work because they don’t feel there’s a point to it — wages not keeping pace with inflation, coupled with rising student debt keeps workers on an endless “rat race” treadmill with diminishing returns.  Read the rest of this entry »

Hiring Tips for the Great Reshuffle

by Veronica Blatt

Today’s guest blogger is Bill Benson with WilliamCharles Search Group located in Grand Rapids, MI. WilliamCharles is an executive search and professional recruiting firm specialized in finding managerial and executive talent in finance, HR, operations, sales/marketing as well as president/CEO roles. They have a concentration of clients in Michigan but they also work across the US. Bill is a past chairman of the NPAworldwide Board of Directors. Bill shares hiring tips below to help employers adjust to current labor market conditions.
 Read the rest of this entry »

Look Beyond Keyword-Stuffed Resumes

by Liz Carey

In the labor market currently there is a talent shortage. There are lots of open jobs, but they aren’t being filled. According to Bloomberg.com, on April 1, “the National Federation of Independent Business reported that in March a record-high percentage of small businesses surveyed said they had jobs they couldn’t fill: 42%, vs. an average since 1974 of 22%. Also 91% of respondents said they had few or no qualified applicants for job openings in the past three months.” But unemployment still stands at 6%… so it’s not due to there not being enough candidates out there. Read the rest of this entry »

9 Talent Shortage Resources Independent Recruiters Can Share

by Veronica Blatt

wooden blocksEarlier this week I talked with one of the independent recruiters in NPA. He was lamenting yet *another* placement deal that fell apart because the client took too long to make an offer. It seems that many clients still don’t understand the reality of the talent short market that we are in. For several years, government and media sources in the USA have been hammering home the high unemployment rate, leading many employers to believe there is a glut of available job candidates. While it’s true that the rate is still high, the rate on its own doesn’t tell the whole story. For people with a bachelor’s degree or higher – the kind of people your clients want to hire – the unemployment rate is below 4%. This is generally considered “full employment.”

Here are 9 resources independent recruiters can share with their clients about the realities of today’s labor market, and how they are losing candidates due to slow hiring processes: Read the rest of this entry »

Plenty of U.S. job openings for independent recruiters

by Veronica Blatt

Today’s guest blogger is Anne Downing with Demetrio & Associates, LLC located in greater Phoenix, Arizona. Demetrio & Associates is a boutique recruitment firm that has clients across the US as well as in international locations. The firm places candidates in sales & marketing, advertising, wireless and software positions.

It seems independent recruiters hear about unemployment, job openings, layoffs etc. each and every day. One day there is news of low unemployment rates, and then the next thing you know it we hear something negative and we are left thinking that there are few job openings in the US and it may stay this way for a long time.

As of the end of June, there were 3.8 million job openings in the US., the most since July 2008. Even the lukewarm jobs report for July was the best in five months. Where are all of these jobs you might ask… according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics from the US Department of Labor, the industries with the greatest amount of job openings as of June 2012 are the following:

  • Professional and Business Services (718,000 openings)
  • Healthcare Services (700,000 openings)
  • Healthcare Assistance (644,000 openings), and
  • Transportation and Utilities (601,000 openings).

Other sources, including Monster.com, indicate that highly skilled workers and entry-level workers have the biggest pool of jobs to choose from. Industries including finance, engineering and technology have numerous job openings across the US for the highly skilled workers. Entry-level candidates have the greatest opportunity to find positions in the healthcare and hospitality industries.

We have a long way to go to get back to our pre-recession employment market because the US lost 9 million positions during the recession. It has been predicted by Moody’s that if things stay on course the US will create 2.7 million jobs in 2012 and 4.5 million jobs in 2014. If this turns out to be the case, we will be back to our prerecession number by the end of 2014.

There are a lot of great job opportunities out there and a lot of qualified job seekers. It’s a great time to be an independent recruiter!

  • Press Releases

  • Blog Topics

    • Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility