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« Back to the May/June 2006 Explorer newsletter
What’s Hot & What’s Not
HOT
As it turns out, the US job market is red hot for all manner of motivated job seekers as we head into the summer of 2006. Anne Fisher reveals the competitive hiring market for high tech professionals in her latest Fortune column. She also details the most sought-after skills for IT types. Recent college graduates are also looking at another strong year for growth in available job opportunities. In fact, a study performed by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) confirmed suspicions that we may be in the midst of the best job market for college graduates in four years. This positive trend reflects many other current survey and economic data that indicate a consistent rise in hiring activity by organizations of all sizes. Most recently, May 2006 was another strong month for job growth, according to the Leading Indicator of National Employment (LINE) survey, an ongoing joint effort of SHRM and Rutgers University.
For more insightful data on expanded job opportunities for recent college graduates, check out this link.
HOT or NOT? You decide.
A recent press release caught the attention of the Rocket-Hire editorial staff. Management Research Associates (MRA) offers a personality profile for job seekers that provides “a scientific measurement of four key traits and two judgmental abilities that represent your natural strengths.” They also recommend using your personality profile (which reports a fairly esoteric set of traits and “natural strengths”) as a tool to sell yourself to your potential employer.
Obviously, there will always be a great deal of advice available to anyone looking for a job. The best bits encourage people to identify their strengths, interests and needs and find a career that takes advantage of them. And resume creation and job search staples such as What Color is Your Parachute? have sold millions of copies. But if you’re a motivated job seeker looking for an interesting, well-paying job, should you offer a copy of your personality profile (priced at $29.95) to a recruiter or manager? As a hiring practitioner, what would you think of a candidate who sent you their personality profile along with their resume?
HOT
Reflecting a practical trend toward specialized recruiting, a Charlotte, NC service agency hosted an event exclusively designed to match older workers and companies looking for help. Attended by companies like Bank of America and H&R Block, the Job Fair for the Mature Worker is only one example of the trend of companies staffing offices with an increasingly “experienced” workforce. Instead of casting a wide and non-specific net for hard-to-fill roles in sales, customer service, engineering, and accounting, smart hirers are more proactive seeking out untapped sources of employees who can work flexible schedules and fill critical needs, especially in high-volume positions.
NOT HOT
There is definitely no shortage of hiring scandals to welcome the hot weather. As mentioned in this space last year, the City of Chicago continues to disclose its decades-old culture of favoritism and patronage in hiring at city agencies…McDonald’s has decided that it will make greater efforts to prevent the hiring of convicted sex offenders to manage their front-line employees or sell Happy Meals to their most loyal customers...A recent GAO study reviewed hiring practices in 41 Federal agencies and found overt cronyism and the fast-tracking of political favorites in over half of them. This effort was originally requested by two Congressmen, Henry Waxman and Danny K. Davis…L’Oreal and co-defendant Adecco are being sued for allegedly recommending that their recruiters specifically screen out non-White applicants for Europe-based positions in its Garnier beauty products division.
Compiled by Mark C. Healy