Some companies choose to have their in house HR department in total control of recruiting. They are in charge of taking care of every task in the process and in addition the company is faced with a number of costs associated with recruitment. Some of the important factors to take into consideration when calculating cost per hire with this approach are:

• · Job fairs, college recruitment, advertising, and job board posting and access costs.
• · Hardware that needs to be added in for candidate screening, from computers, to resume
     search programs and phones
• · The costs associated with marketing open positions
• · All training, on boarding and turnover expenses
• · Travel costs
• · Recruiters and managers salaries

HR departments are often faced with a heavy work load and the recruitment process demands a lot of invested time in order to find the best candidates for each position. In order to allow them to focus on their core responsibilities that will continue to keep the business moving forward, a company often chooses to outsource their recruiting. They do so through either a contingency or recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) agency. With a contingency recruiter they charge nothing until the position is filled but many find that this approach can be expensive for their company, costing anywhere from 15-30 percent of those hired salaries.

The companies who chose to partner with an RPO agency have found that they are able to get ahead of the competition using the specialists with the experience and the tools to find the best candidates to fill their positions. A 2009 study conducted by the Aberdeen Group found that 62 percent of the organizations that they surveyed who had used this outsourcing approach were able to significantly reduce their cost per hire while hiring valuable candidates for their company. RPO providers, such as Hire Velocity, have the ability to drive down recruiting costs for companies by as much as 50 percent. As an RPO agency Hire Velocity offers to do as much or as little of the recruitment process companies they partner with need. The Aberdeen Group study of roughly 200 companies also revealed that 77 percent of those who were using RPO were happy with the results and would recommend it to others. Outsourcing with an RPO agency provides results of hiring quality candidates that will add value to your company as well as have results that will significantly reduce cost per hire.

Censky, Annalyn . (2011). June jobs report: hiring slows, unemployment rises. CNNMoney, Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/08/news/economy/june_jobs_report_unemployment/?cnn=yes

 New lines of work are being created to fit consumers’ lifestyles.  By the year 2018, economists anticipate that over 1 million jobs will be added into the workforce. We are already seeing changes in hiring as technology advances. The title of a social media specialist, something that was previously non-existent, now plays a major role in running a successful business. Massage therapist and other jobs in areas that help to fulfill a healthier lifestyle rank among the top job fields with a wide variety of job opportunities in the medical field.

This shows positive signs for the recent graduates who will have an advantage with the latest knowledge in these emerging areas as they start their career.  It’s also good news for  anyone else looking to make a career change. Most of these new jobs will require only unique training for the position, as opposed to having to go back to school to work towards a particular degree.

“Looking for a growing job sector?try social media, accounting, or massage”. Associated Pres (2011) Web. June 2011 <http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/articles/2011/06/08/looking_for_
a_growing_job_sector_try_social_media_accounting_or_massage/>

The Labor Department’s release of the US job report this morning shocked many with its final numbers for May’s unemployment rate. Over the past month employers were hiring but at a slow rate.  There were only 54,000 jobs this May in comparison to the 232,000 in April. Economists had predicted much higher numbers in jobs and were disappointed to see the unemployment rate rise from last month’s 9.0 percent to May’s 9.1 percent.

There has been much discussion as to why the report shows such low numbers. It’s believed that recent natural disasters have played a role, referencing the Japanese earthquake which effected jobs in the manufacturing industry as well as other major disasters here in the US. The numbers are also said to reflect a slowing economy and that budget cut backs as well as May’s high gas prices were a major cause of the decrease in jobs.

May’s report comes after three strong months of increasing employment and may possibly be something not to worry about. The economy and labor markets are still continuing to grow; they are just doing so at a much slower rate than had been predicted. Numbers in the report are also showing some positive signs as the numbers continue to show growth in payroll.

Isidore, C. (2011). May jobs report: hiring slows, unemployment rises. cnn money, Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/2011/06/03/news/economy/may_jobs_report_unemployment/index.htm?hpt=hp_c1

The results are from Chief Executive magazine’s annual survey and are based on a variety of factors from taxation and regulation, to work force quality and living environment.  Hundreds of CEOs have ranked the best and worst states for business in 2011. Since 2005 Texas continues to hold the top spot as the best state to do business while California and New York remain on the bottom, ranking as the worst.

CEOs look to do business in areas based on a state’s attitudes and policies towards businesses which are essential to successful growth. Factors from the work ethic of the people to the schools in the area play important roles in their decision to start a business as well. Texas continues to rank high based on these factors as well as its labor market flexibility and low taxes. Over the last decade Texas has attracted 4.3 million people to the state and in the last year alone created over 250,000 jobs, attracting the largest amount of job seekers to their state then any other in the country.

A major quality that CEOs look for when entering into a state to do business is its flexibility in employment laws. The top ranking states possess qualities in allowing for company freedom in deciding employee terms and benefits. CEOs want to be able to hire the appropriate employee for the position and have found that most of the lower ranking states have implemented regulations that make this hard for their business.

Donlon, J P. “Best/Worst States for Business.” Chief Executive 3 May 2011: n. pag. Web. 16 May 2011. <http://chiefexecutive.net/best-worst-states-for-business>.

Bartash, Jeffry. “Jobs report to shed light on U.S. economy .” MarketWatch 1 May 2011: n. pag. Web. 2 May 2011. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobs-report-to-shed-light-on-us-economy-2011-05-01?reflink=MW_news_stmp.
Crutsinger, Martin. “Hiring likely to boost spending despite gas prices.” Associated Press 29 April 2011: n. pag. Web. 2 May 2011. <http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9MTI2104.htm.

Last month we published a blog that emphasized the increase in advertised job openings. If you are looking on online job boards for open positions, you are doing it right. However, some of the job listings you see on these sites can be possible scams, looking to get your information or not pay you for your hard work.

One way to avoid these scams is by always doing research on the company before applying.  Do a simple Google search, look at the website, make sure it is a place you would like to work and that does not look sketchy.  Additionally, you are going to want to look for any negative comments about the company which will reveal if it is legitimate or not. This is important because you do not want to reveal your personal information to a company that is not legitimate. Job applications often ask for your social security number and other information that can be sold or used to target you for advertising.

Before applying to a position it is also important to check with the Better Business Bureau to see if the company has been reported as a scammer. Another great online resource is Glassdoor, which will allow you to look up salaries, reviews, ratings, and interview feedback for the company. This not only helps you get insight from past employees, but it will help you understand how the interview process works.

The Labor Department reported that there were more advertised job openings in February than any time in the past two years. This trend is expected to continue throughout April, signaling a positive change in the economy. There were 3.1 million job openings posted in February, an increase of more than 350,000 since January. The outlook is good with the unemployment rate falling to 8.8, the lowest in two years. While there is still fierce competition for open positions, the decrease in unemployment and increase in job openings is evidence that the climate is starting to improve.

What is causing this increase in open jobs? More people are quitting their jobs, presumably to take positions elsewhere. Additionally, layoffs are near the slowest in ten years. Another reason for the increase in open positions is that consumers are starting to gain more confidence in the economy. The increase in retail spending creates more open positions. The increase in confidence can be seen when looking at the 11% increase in sales at Saks Inc and 14% gain from Limited Brands.

Rugaber, Christopher. “Fast Rise in Job Openings Brightens Hiring Outlook.” ABC News (2011): n. pag. Web. 18 Apr 2011. <http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=13368462&page=2>.

The Conference Board released a survey last week showing a significant change from last year’s survey. According to this year’s survey, half of all CEOs expect to see increased hiring in their industries. This number is up from 30 percent just one year ago. Not only that, CEOs who expect a decrease in hiring fell to 16 percent in the first quarter, 6 percent lower than a year ago.

The CEOs surveyed by The Conference Board are optimistic about the future, with 85 percent saying conditions are better than six months ago. This number is up from 56 percent who said so in fourth quarter of 2010.

This optimism by the surveyed CEOs demonstrates how the industry leaders believe that current economic conditions seem to be improving. This is great news for the unemployed, as it seems more opportunities will be opening up this year.

“CEOs: Hiring to Pick Up.” Crain Communications Inc. (2011): n. pag. Web. 11 Apr
2011. <http://www.staffingindustry.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=MultiPublishing&mod=PublishingTitles&mid=6EECC0FE471F4CA995CE2A3E9A8E4207&tier=4&id=F2C348ED0A7B48ACA0ED4BEF2E44EDE2>.

The technology industry is the place to be in 2011. Companies in this industry are on a hiring frenzy, looking for the most talented candidates in engineering, social media, website and product design, data crunching and analysis, and management. Statistics show that 308,000 tech jobs were lost between second quarter of 2008 and first quarter of 2010, but that is changing in 2011. Sophia Koropeckyj, an economist at Moody’s Analytics, says that 148,000 tech jobs are expected to be added by year-end. This increase in hiring is already being felt with a 2.4% increase in tech jobs during February from a year ago.

Some of the top technology companies are ramping up for large hiring sprees this year. Google, without disclosing specific numbers, said that 2011 should be its biggest hiring year ever. Zynga, a social-gaming company, expects to double its staff of 1,500 in the next year. Twitter, a popular social networking site, expects to expand its workforce to 3,000 from 400 by July 2013.

Swartz, Jon. “Tech sector hiring is hot again as Google, Twitter, etc., grow.” USA Today (2011): n. pag. Web. 4 Apr 2011. <http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2011-03-29-technology-jobs_N.htm>.