Magic Pot of Jobs

With the economy struggling, trying to conduct an executive level job search can be difficult. Knowing exactly what employers want can make a big difference. According to a recent press release from $100K+ career search website TheLadders.com, a cover letter is a must.

The senior-level job search site recently conducted a survey and found that 88 percent of recruiters believe that every applicant should include a cover letter when applying for a job. Despite this, only 53 percent of executive-level candidates include a cover letter when they submit their resumes. The discrepancy shows that it is likely that employers look favorably upon those applicants that do include this document.

And if impressing a potential boss wasn’t enough, the survey found that 39 percent of recruiters have eliminated a job candidate solely based on the fact that they did not include a cover letter with their resume.

According to the Ladders, there are several steps an executive-level job applicant can take to make sure that their cover letter is created properly. For starters, job seekers should keep the document simple. The career search website suggests following a “who”, “what”, “when”, “where” and “why” outline.

“If you’re using bulleted statements in your cover letter to highlight specific achievements, qualifications or experiences, be certain to only use 4-6 and then leave a bit of white space in between each to enhance the readability of the document.” Said Wendy Enelow, resume writer and training consultant to TheLadders.com, in the recent press release.

Enelow went on to say that it is important that, while remaining simple, the cover letter grabs the recruiter or employer’s attention.

“Start your cover letter with your one WOW achievement or qualification or career success to immediately capture your reader’s interest and attention,” said Enelow.

Job seekers should make sure that their cover letter illustrates how their past experience in relevant to the positions they are applying for. Look over the listing and find key words that can be included in the document.

Nowadays, many people apply for jobs online. This often calls for choosing a resume format that translates well when e-mailed. In these situations the cover letter should both be included as the e-mail message itself and included in the attachment.

“Just as your resume is a career marketing tool, so is your cover letter. Take the time that is necessary to craft a letter that is powerful and persuasive with an immediate call to action — to invite you for an interview,” concluded Enelow.

According to a recent report from The Conference Board, jobs online fell during the month of June. Despite this, jobs in Florida continued to show some improvement.

The report shows that nationally online advertised job vacancies declined by 66,700 listings. This brought the number of positions posted online to 3,294,800. During the last five months the jobs announced on the Internet have declined by 71,000 positions. Although this is still high, it is low in comparison to the 1,200,000 job ads lost between August of 2008 and January of 2009.

“We are not out of the woods yet, but job demand has definitely stabilized since January,” said The Conference Board’s Senior Economist Gad Levanon in a recent press release. “Although there is some bounce in the monthly numbers, the number of online advertised vacancies has held steady in the last three months (up a modest 35,000). Across the U.S., it is an increasingly mixed picture with some states, like Florida and Georgia, showing some modest gains, others such as New York, North Carolina holding steady, and some, like California and Pennsylvania, yet to show real improvement.”

Jobs announced online fell in all four regions, according to The Conference Board. The South saw the smallest loss, with employers only advertising 3,400 fewer positions. The loss experienced in Northeast was the worst. Employers in this region cut Internet ads by 18,100.

“The June data shows an almost even split between the number of states with increases (24) and the number with declines (26),” said Levanon in the release. “But there are clear signs that the employers are advertising again for workers and in some states the trend over the last few months has improved.”

Despite losing as a region, several states in the South reported gains. Florida had the highest increase, with employers adding 9,200 Internet jobs ads. Georgia followed with a gain of 2,900 new listings.

The largest losses in the Northeast occurred in New York, where employers dropped the number of jobs announced online by 5,300 positions. Pennsylvania came in second, losing 2,700 listings. Both New Jersey and Maine reported some growth. The first added 1,700 new job ads and the latter saw an increase of 100 new positions announced online.

According to The Conference Board, June saw an increase in advertisements for the Arts, design, entertainment and sports. Although the construction industry continues to be well below what it was a year ago, this industry was flat in June. During the same time period computer and mathematical positions experienced a drop.

Even before the official start of the national recession, finding jobs in Detroit was more difficult than in other areas of the country. Since then, the suffering automobile industry has caused a sever decline in employment in the metro area. With fewer people able to afford new vehicles, manufactures simply haven’t been able to provide as many jobs. Because of this, any new Detroit jobs are big news to the city’s residents.

General Electric (GE) recently announced that it will be creating over 1,100 jobs in the metro area over the course of the next few years. The company will be building a new 100,000-square-foot Research and Development center where scientists and engineers will explore information technology, clean energy and aviation. By the time it is fully staffed, GE believes it will employee more than 1,100 new workers.

The new positions with GE are expected to pay somewhere around $100,000 a year. Those who hope to apply for these positions will be happy to know that the company is in the process of creating a website for applying. GE expects that the application portal will be up and running sometime during the first week of July.

Considering the city’s unemployment rate, these new jobs and the indirection positions created as a result stand to make at least a small difference in the metro area’s economy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 14.6 percent of Detroit residents were without work in April. This figure does not even include those who have exhausted their benefits or have become discouraged and stop looking for work altogether.

Over the course of the last 12 months, BLS data shows that Detroit has seen a 6.2 percent decline in total non-farm employment. The metro area’s manufacturing industry has experienced the largest loss, with employers in this sector cutting 17 percent of jobs in the last year. Other industries that have lost over 10 percent of their workforce in this time period included mining, logging and construction, which lost 13.9 percent of its jobs and information, where there was a 14.4 percent decline.

Currently Michigan is the state with the highest unemployment rate in the country. BLS data shows that the jobless rate climbed 1.2 percent from April’s 12.9 percent to 14.1 percent in May. This means that approximately 681,700 people in the state are receiving unemployment benefits. The state has seen a 7.2 percent decline in total non-farm employment over the course of the last year.

Despite the face that hiring is down in many industries, some recruiting software providers are still experiencing better than average growth. According to a recent press release from Arbita, the company grew by 600 percent during the first half of this year.

In the first six months of 2009 the company added 652 new customers, which is an average rate of 3 new Arbita users a day. The majority of these individuals signed up to use the company’s job posting software, OnePost, but many have begun to utilize other services provided by Arbita.

“Over the last six months, we have onboarded more new customers than during any other period in Arbita’s history,” said the company’s General Manager Jennifer Marcy in the recent press release. “To have achieved this milestone against strong economic headwinds is humbling and serves as a testament to the dedication of our amazing customers.”

Aside from so many new customers, officials from the company say new acquisitions and partnerships, the addition of new products and services and the hiring important personnel helped to bring about the increased growth.

“There is no question that our strategic partnerships have greatly increased the value we’re able to deliver to customers,” said Arbita’s Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing George LaRocque. “And our relationships with top brands like MrTed, SmartRecruiters, Broadlook and The Future of Talent Institute have expanded our reach in the recruitment community and cemented our position as the most cooperative and connected company in the community.”

In addition to this, several thousand individuals from the recruitment profession paid to attend seminars, webinars, workshops or purchased learning materials from Arbita Consulting and Educations Services (ACES).

“Arbita ACES was made possible in large part by our acquisition of JobMachine through the merger in 2008,” explained Don Ramer, Arbita’s Founder and CEO. “The JobMachine acquisition connected us with tens of thousands of recruiting professionals who have purchased workshops, consulting, professional development or other products developed by Shally Steckerl and Glenn Gutmacher. We have formed and cemented enduring customer relationships with a significant number of these recruiting professionals and we expect this community to remain a fertile source of new customer relationships for years to come.”

According to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, finding jobs in Washington, D.C. became more difficult in May. During the month unemployment jumped 0.8 percent from April’s 9.9 percent to 10.7 percent, which is the highest its been since September of 1983.

In May the national jobless average was 9.4 percent. This means that locating employment in the country’s capital was more difficult than in many other areas across the nation.

During last month there were approximately 35,200 residents in the area without work. The problem with these statistics is that they do not include the number of people who have become discouraged and stopped looking for employment altogether.

Despite the rising unemployment rate in the metro, D.C. continues to be one of the few areas in the country where new jobs are being created, according to The Washington Post. Labor Statistics data shows that several industries in the area have seen in an increase in jobs.

The largest job gains over the course of the 12 months came in the education and health services. During the last year there has been a 5.2 percent increase in the number positions in the metro. Because this industry offers many services that are necessary no matter what the state of the economy is, it is no surprise that sector continues to provide employment opportunities.

The government sector also continued to create new D.C. jobs. Over the course of the last year there has been a 1.1 percent increase in these positions.

The only other industry to post new jobs during the last year was the leisure and hospitality sector. Positions in this area of employment increased by 0.9 percent during the last 12 months, which is surprising considering that the tourism industry is suffering in many areas across the nation.

During the last 12 months Washington, D.C.’s largest employment decline occurred in the manufacturing sector. Over the course of the last year these positions have fallen by 23.5 percent.

Certain industries across the nation have been hit harder by the economic recession. Both the housing market crisis and the credit crunch have caused there to be a significant decline in the number of construction jobs online. This means that competition for available positions is extremely high, which cause employers to have to wade through more resumes than before so that they can find the best talent. Now one industry staffing company is offering these contractors the ability to post job listings for free.

According to a recent press release, Clearwater, Florida-based Grus Construction Personnel will now allow employers looking for laborers the ability to list jobs online for free. The company believes that this will help those who utilize this service the ability to find the experienced workers more easily.

Grus Construction Personnel has been meeting the staffing needs of construction companies for more than 20 years. Because of this, skilled laborers are more likely to user their site to search for work, which will be a benefit for the companies posting their jobs on Grus’ website.

Grus’ Account Manager Amy Clavier feels that they way time and effort the company puts into helping employers find the best talent makes a difference.

“Not only do we understand exactly what the client needs, but we also work hard to meet their requirements. We provide skilled tradesmen with quality training and expertise in the required field. Our aim is to simply find the right man for the right job at the right price,” said Clavier in the recent press release.

According to Clavier, allowing employers to post their jobs for free will benefit their clients, job seekers and Grus.



“The new free construction job postings service allows Contractors to reduce some of their operating expenses by enabling them to be more successful at recruiting on their own. Grus knows that growing Contractors will see the value in utilizing Grus Recruiters from time to time to help with their recruiting needs. By Grus generously giving ‘free job postings’ to Contractors, the firm is demonstrating that having a relationship with them has real value. By working with Grus, Contractors can be confident they will receive quality workers for their projects,” said Clavier.

Those interested in applying for one of these jobs in the construction industry should check out Grus’ webpage for more information.

The amount of money a worker receives for a certain job often depends on where they live. Because of this the Bureau of Labor Statistics keeps track of weekly wages in a variety of different metro areas. According to the most recent report, based on pay, the best jobs in Nevada are located in Clark County. Individuals in this area make an average of $812 a week in September of 2008, which is when the most recent data is from.

According to the report, Clark County’s weekly salary rose 2 percent between September of 2007 and 2008. Washoe County, which came in second, saw an increase of 2.3 percent during this period of time. The average weekly pay in this area was $796. The national average for a weekly wage increased 2.8 percent during the same period of time. This means that the countrywide average salary for a week’s worth of work is not $841.

One reason that workers in Nevada made less a week might be that the area has a higher unemployment rate than the national average. With more job seekers on the market for employment, competition for available positions is higher. Since so many individuals are looking for work, employers don’t have to offer as much money for a position to attract the areas top talent.

Currently Nevada’s unemployment rate is 10.6 percent. During the month of April the figure rose 0.2 percent from March’s 10.4 percent. Over the course of the last 12 months the state has seen its total number of non-farm jobs shrink by 6.1 percent. At this time there are 1,200,900 Nevada jobs. The state’s civilian workforce is made up of around 1,252,400 people.

During the month of April the national unemployment rate was 8.9 percent, which goes to show that Nevada has been hit harder by the economic recession than many other areas throughout the country.

Many companies today, whether small or large, are taking advantage of the availability of pre employment tests.

Not only do pre employment tests provide the employer with a bit of comfort that they’re getting a top-notch employee, but they also provide candidates with a platform to show off their skills and prove that they will be a good addition to the company.

Criteria Corporation recently announced that it has integrated Skillsarena’s computer skills tests into its HireSelect software. HireSelect subscribers will now be able to administer Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word tests through HireSelect at no additional cost.

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With unemployment on the rising, the job market is becoming more competitive. This means that for each job listing posted online employers are receiving an increasing number of resumes, which can take some time to sort through. Since employers are taking longer to sift through applications, job seekers are becoming more interested in other ways to find work.

Emerging at the top in many surveys is social networking among professional acquaintances. Now, according to a recent press release OfficeMax, is hoping to help job seekers make employers aware of their qualifications through “mini” resumes.

OfficeMax’s ImPress, which is the company’s print and document service, has started to print these “mini” resumes on business cards. This way, if an individual meets an important employer that they would usually give their card to, they can also hand over a summary of their qualifications on the same piece of paper. Employers who are hiring will then be able to keep that person in mind.

“In today’s job market, everyone is looking for ways to break through the clutter and get noticed by hiring companies,” said OfficeMax’s EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer Ryan Vero in the recent press release. “Having your credentials listed on your personal business card is a great way to introduce your skills while networking or to a potential employer because it’s subtle and unexpected, and the compact design is easy to pass along to decision makers. And now, our competitive price point makes it an extremely affordable solution.”

For a limited time OfficeMax will be offering these documents at a promotional rate exclusively through the company’s website. Until June 13th of this year job seekers will be able to get 250 of these “mini” resumes/ business cards for only $5. After this period ends, the company will charge $29.99 for 250.

Through the company’s website job seekers will be able to customize their “mini” resume by utilizing OfficeMax’s Advanced Editing feature. This will enable them to add text, change both the font and colors on the cards and personalize the image. For an additional fee, the company gives job seekers the ability to customize the backside of the card.

Recently there has been a large number of recruiting software providers announcing partnerships in order to offer their clients better services. One of the things that many have hoped to offer is seamless integration of a variety of different features. Now, according to a recent press release, TalentDrive and Visibility Software will be entering into such partnership.

TalentDrive, which created the SaaS recruitment technology TalentFilter, and Visibility Software, creators of Cyber Recruiter, hope that this will give their clients several different additional benefits that their individual products could not provide alone. According the press release, this will give users of both company’s HR software options “seamlessly integrated, comprehensive recruitment process solution.” This will also add the ability for advanced resume sourcing and matching.

This partnership will give those who use Talent Drive’s software solution to ability to line up this product with Cyber Recruiter, which is a web-based recruitment tool. Now the clients of these company’s will have the ability to enter the job descriptions for positions they are trying to fill in a single location. After the information has been entered into the data field the program will then automatically search through more than 11,000 job boards, social media sites, and niche career search engines where resumes are posted.

By integrating the two different products users will now be able to go through the entire hiring process without having to use more than one piece of technology. According to the press release, both software providers feel this will help recruiters to hire new workers more quickly and efficiently, which will help to reduce the amount of time they spend going through and looking for resumes.

Those who have been using only Cyber Recruiter will also benefit. These users will find that the process will now be more efficiently, due to having a full service recruitment solution.

“TalentDrive is excited about Visibility Software’s experience and proven track record in selling and supporting a multi-vendor environment. Visibility has a strong lineage of working in concert with partners and allows for a seamless integration with our product TalentFilter℠, a compelling value proposition for us. We are aligned with Visibility Software, both offering cost-effective, high-quality recruitment technologies and are excited by the opportunity this combined product offering presents,” said TalentDrive’s CEO Sean Bisceglia in the release.

Visibility Software’s CIO Michael Warden also seems enthusiastic about the partnership

“The opportunity to add the advanced searching capabilities of TalentFilter to our recruitment technology allows Visibility Software to continue offering our users the most innovative, all inclusive technology on the market. Cyber Recruiter seeks to provide a product that streamlines the recruitment process for our clients so the addition of a strong sourcing tool is a logical move for us to make, and one we are excited to be a part of,” said Warden.