As the world becomes crazier, industry is, in general, focusing more attention on the quality of people it hires, particularly in jobs of great responsibility. It's about time. Because I've been in the employment field since 1948, I'm naturally interested in how businesses approach the hiring process. It has always been a source of constant amazement to me how many companies, who scrutinize every budget and product design with infinite care, approach the hiring of people-their greatest asset-like a young husband grocery shopping for the first time and grabbing any attractive box off the shelf, instead of reading the ingredients and checking the price.
As I say, it's getting better. It had to get better. This intensely competitive world has forced many businesses to cut back on staff, which means, of course, that those who remain must do more and better work. In order to find these top individuals, companies more than ever are turning to personnel recruiters, who, by nature of what they do, have access to the best available talent.
Enter the age of the specialized personnel recruiter. One hallmark of this crazy world is the intense specialization that has developed in virtually every field. At count, there were at least three separate types of surgeries who operate on three different areas of the human eye. While many attorneys still function as generalists, most and more of them have moved into specialized areas of the law. I don't point to this as a negative; obviously, skilled surgeon or attorney who spends his or her ever day working on a specific part of the body, or in one segment of our complex legal system, is probably better equipped to handle that specialty. We benefit from it.
In the personnel recruiting field, the same stress of specialization has become increasingly important, ant for the same reasons. There will always be the need for a general employment agency that handles a variety of jobs, usually lower-level ones, but today the needs of business for highly specialized and trained individual have prompted more of them to deal with personnel specialists when trying to fill jobs. This is not to say that generalists in the personnel recruiting field do not fill many jobs calling for specialized skills. It stands to reason, however, that a personnel recruiting specialist, who focuses on only a few specialties, will have access to a larger pool of highly qualified men and women.
In the case of the company I founded, Robert Hal International-which pioneered specialization in the personnel recruiting field-I chose to fill jobs for only financial and data processing positions. Being a CPA influenced me, of course, and because we have established reputation in this area, those qualified individuals seeking better jobs in the financial and data processing fields naturally come to us. This means we have a large selection of skilled professionals to offer clients. The same holds true for all specialties, and a number of fine specialized personnel recruiters exist to fill these needs.
The point is that you, seeking a better job in this ever-changing world, are better served by taking your serial talents and experience to a recruiter who is able to match you, and your package of attributes, with a company looking for exactly what it is you have to offer.
Like everything else, all personnel recruiters are not the same. I began this book talking about ethics. One of the reasons was that when I started my company, the employment services industry was full of unethical operators. Fortunately, that has changed, although some still exist, just as there exist unethical companies and individuals in all endeavors. If you decide to use the services of a recruiter in search of a better job for yourself, be just as conscientious about choosing one as I preach every employer should be when hiring a new employee. Beware he high-pressure sales approach. That's not the job of a good, skilled, and ethical recruiter. If the personnel recruiter you choose is well known and respected, companies will turn to it when they need a good person with specific skills, which may mean more job possibilities available to you. Another reason companies turn to a respected and prominent personnel services organization is that they know the best candidates will be available to them. That's what it's all about.
Make sure any recruiter you choose has been around for a while and enjoys a good reputation. Fancy offices and a prestigious address mean little. I presume you will check any company you may be interested in working for with great care, and urge you to do so. The same philosophy should hold true when choosing recruiters. After all, your career is at stake.
Temporary Work for Job-hunting
It has been my experience that many temporary positions turn into permanent ones. Over the years, our Accountemps division-which specializes in providing temporary financial, data processing, and bookkeeping help-has had thousands of its temporary employees hired permanently by companies at which they h worked as temps.
If you are between jobs, taking on temp assignment brings you into contact with a wide array of employees. What better way for an employer to judge someone to watch that person at work every day for a week or month or even longer? Hiring someone represents a great u known to employers, no matter how diligent they've be in evaluating a resume, asking probing questions during an interview, and checking references. A temporary worker who has been on the job quickly becomes a known entity. If that person gets along well with others, exhibits spark and willingness to work hard, and demonstrates a hands-on way that he or she really knows the job, makes great sense for an employer to tap that person fill a permanent job opening, rather than going through the process of finding someone from outside. In a sense this situation equates with my suggestion earlier that those looking for a better job should look first at the place at which they're currently employed. Most employees would rather promote from within than have to take chance with a new person.
We even went one step further with our Execute Corner, the part of Accountemps that provides executive caliber temporary personnel for such jobs as controller, chief financial officer, credit and tax manager, and data processing manager. Many of these professionals also find excellent permanent job opportunity by taking the temporary-service route. When a company sees a good professional working effectively on a temporary assignment, this individual will often get an offer to join the firm on a permanent basis.
An increasing number of highly skilled and experienced professionals choose temporary work not because they are between jobs, but because they prefer the freedom it gives them. This is a growing trend in our society. According to a survey by the National Association of Temporary Services, technical, industrial, and medical temporaries represented 37 percent of the 5 million workers 10 filled temp jobs. And the numbers are growing every year.
High-tech temps are increasing at a rate of between 0 and 500 percent a year. We now see temporary services with names like Rent-a-Chemist. Companies increasingly go outside for services and products. Seventy percent of the value of one of the major automobile manufacturer’s vehicles is subcontracted.
In a study by The Conference Board, 25 percent of the American workforce are "contingent workers." Thirty-three percent of all retail employees are part-timers.
The age of the specialized temporary worker is with ". Take advantage of it.
As I said before, employers often hire temporary workers for good permanent positions after the workers have demonstrated the ability to do the job. Employers el it's safer taking this approach than hiring an unknown quantity.
Using the same reasoning, keep in touch with your former employers (provided, of course, that you left them on good terms). Here again, that employer knows you. If the company was sorry to see you go, and currently has an opening, you'll be seriously considered for
Reminders on Ways to Go After a Better Job
- Maintain and upgrade your network.
- Learn how to read the ads.
- Go after jobs even if your background and experience don't match up exactly to what's specified,
- Don't answer blind ads.
- Use the services of specialized recruiters, but choose carefully.
- Do temporary work when you are between full time jobs.
- Be active in trade and civic associations, and write articles for your industry's trade publications.
