According to Forrest Gump, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." The same could be said of hiring.  Despite companies best hiring efforts, they are often unpleasantly surprised by what they get.

Citing Careerbuider stats, a recent article from the Staffing Stream titled …

If you have been in the recruiting industry for any length of time, you are probably familiar with what is known as the "unemployed mindset" - the tendency of employers to prefer currently employed candidates over those who are unemployed. This mindset has prevailed despite mass layoffs during the recession that put many on the unemployment lines through no fault of their own.

As the economy continues its sluggish recovery, some are still struggling to find work. Here…

Everyone who is anyone is offering their predictions for what the biggest trends in recruiting and hiring will be in 2013, so we figured we might as well throw our hat in the ring.  Based on what we have read and discussions we have had with recruiters over the past year, here are our predictions for 2013:

1. Employers will remain cautious about hiring. Although the fiscal cliff has been resolved, there is still a lot of economic uncertainty out there that is…

Everyone makes mistakes, but when it comes to hiring, those mistakes can be quite expensive.

Citing a CareerBuilder survey, J.J. Keller reported that 69% of businesses experienced a bad hire in 2012. Forty-one percent estimated the cost of that bad hire to be at least $25,000…

You think you've found the perfect candidate for your client's tough job order.  He passed the phone interview and the following three in-person interviews with flying colors.  He aced all of the skills and assessment tests. He has all of the qualifications and seems to be a perfect cultural fit. But while your client deliberates over whether this is really the BEST they can do, your candidate takes another job.

A slow hiring process wears candidates down and…

There has been a lot of talk about skills shortages in certain industries. This is especially true in the engineering consulting specialties, and it's causing many companies to take a more serious look at utilizing contractors, according to Bulldog Recrutiers Vice-President Chuck Szajkovics, who places candidates in those positions.

“The niches we work are key industries for the…

Demand for temporary/contract workers in the professional sector is expected to exceed previous records in 2012 and 2013, according to Staffing Industry Analysts' U.S. Staffing Industry Forecast.

Specifically, the IT Staffing and Engineering/Design industry…

The increased use of contractors over the past few years is more than just a knee-jerk reaction to the recession, according to a recent survey by Randstad.

The Randstad Workforce360 Study found that companies are beginning to view blended workforces - those…

As the number of mobile devices and users increases rapidly, contractors are helping the wireless telecommunications industry keep up with the demand.

More than 3.8 million Americans are employed in this sector, which accounts for 2.6% of all U.S. employment, according to CTIA, the International Association for the…

Do your clients know how to hire for attitude?

According to Mark Murphy, author of Hiring for Attitude, employers' inability to successfully assess candidates' attitudes during the hiring process is the reason why so many fail so quickly.  In a recent Forbes interview, he said that of the 200,000…

Any time is a good time to offer contract staffing services to your clients. But the recruiters we work say there are certain times when you should take extra care to mention that you are able to handle contract job orders:

1. When you get a new client  - It's a good idea to let new clients know about ALL the services you provide, including contract staffing.

2. When a client has a position that is difficult to…

With unemployment remaining steady around nine percent, the perception is that companies simply aren't hiring. But there are in fact many companies that say they are interested in hiring, but can't find workers with the right skills.

How can that be when, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 4.7 unemployed people for every vacant job? In a previous blog post, we talked about how employers are asking recruiters for more candidates…

Like they often do with unemployed candidates, employers tend to automatically eliminate any candidates deemed to be overqualified. Employers assume that overqualified candidates will not be satisfied and, as a result, will not stick around long.  

But according to a recent Business News…

Hiring is one of the hardest things companies have to do.  If they have a recruiter like you, they can skip some of the hassles, such as shifting through hundreds of resumes.  But in the end, the hiring decision is still theirs. How can they tell from an interview or two (or more) if someone is going to perform, has the skills they claim to have, and will be a cultural fit for the organization?

The truth is, many times they can't and they end up regretting their hiring…

Over the past year or so, many people have gotten up in arms over job ads that specifically state that unemployed candidates will not be considered for open positions. Now the practice has caught President Obama's attention.

Included in the jobs bill that Obama has been pushing over the past couple of weeks is the Fair Employment Opportunity Act of 2011.  This act would effectively make "unemployed discrimination" illegal, according to the Society for…

In our last blog post, we discussed why you should get job descriptions for all your job orders, especially your contracting job orders. But how do you get job descriptions and what should be in them?

Well, typically, the how is easy. Simply ask your client for a job description when…

When a recruiter comes to us for a quote, one of the first things we ask them for is a job description for the position they are trying to fill.  But even if you don't have a back-office asking you for one, you should get a job description for all of your job orders, especially for contract placements.  

Job descriptions allow you…

With unemployment still around 9 percent and all of the uncertainty that has stirred up in Washington over the debt ceiling debacle, talk about a potential double-dip recession is resurfacing. But a sequel to the Great Depression is unlikely based on the demand for temporary/contract workers,…

We reported a few months ago how it is taking longer and longer for hiring managers to fill direct-hire positions in their quest for the "perfect candidate." The negative impact of this is obvious to recruiters who have to get a candidate placed before they can get paid. But according to a recent post in  Top…

An interesting article on ERE.net discusses the qualities that help workers successfully work from home on "virtual teams." While the article is addressed mainly to employers, recruiters placing candidates who will be allowed or required to work on projects from home, possibly on a contract basis, can gain some helpful…