Professional Outlook, Inc. Recruiting Specialists

As business around the world is increasing, global employee engagement is waning significantly. In fact, in the most recent study of employee engagement levels by Hewitt Associates, the report found that engagement levels at the end of the June 2010 quarter represented the largest decline Hewitt has seen in 15 years.

Not surprisingly, this dramatic drop is due to the growing strain between employers and their employees. Employers are attempting to stabilize their financial situations and their employees are exhausted after 18 months of stress, insecurity, and bewilderment thanks to the effects of the recession and their employers’ actions. Read the rest of this entry »

With signs of economic recovery, U.S. employers plan to adjust their compensation practices for 2011 in response to losing top talent after a year of pay freezes. According to Mercer’s 2010/2011 U.S. Compensation Planning Survey, more than 98% of U.S. companies plan to award base salary pay increases in 2011. Moreover, just 2% of companies are planning across-the-board salary freezes in 2011, compared with 13% in 2010 and 31% in 2009. Of the employers projecting to grant base salary pay increases, the average increase is expected to be 2.9% in 2011, up from an actual 2.7% in 2010. Unlike past years, expected salary increase levels for 2011 are even across most employee groups. However, more employers are taking a segmented approach to salary increase allocations and continuing to focus on high-performing talent.

Society for Human Resource Management – August, 2010

Human resource professionals are showing confidence in the U.S. job market, according to the Labor Market Outlook Report by the Society of Human Resource Management. The report indicates 56% of respondents expect job growth for the third quarter of 2010; 49% are somewhat optimistic about job growth in the United States, and another 7% are very optimistic and anticipate job growth during the quarter. That represents a sharp increase from the third quarter of 2009, when a combined 37% of respondents expressed some level of optimism about job growth in the labor market. In the third quarter of 2010, 31% of companies plan to conduct hiring, up from 21% in the third quarter of 2009. Among employer categories, small companies (those with 1 to 99 employees) are likely to add jobs (36%) in the third quarter.

Society for Human Resource Management – August, 2010

Once the preparation is done, the interviewing process is complete and your follow-up is finished, what comes next?  Hopefully a job offer!  You have put a lot of hard work into your job search.  You now are receiving job offers.  It seems like this would be the easy part of the process.  However, if you are making a career move, you know how much is at stake.  Your decision will literally change your life.  Often, your job change will also effect spouse, children and friends.You cannot take the offer stage lightly.  Many areas need to be evaluated. Read on to see criteria design to help your decision process: Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most common mistakes job seekers make when initially going into their job search is underestimating the true importance of their resume as well as the role of it in the job search process.
Let it be known in no uncertain terms: Your resume is by far the most important piece of the puzzle to landing your next job. Why? Because without a resume that gets you recognized and shows your prospective employer why they need to consider you immediately, you won’t even end up being contacted and interviewed. Instead, your resume will join the countless resumes that are filtered into the trash.

So, with that said… read on to see the seven deadly mistakes that job seekers commit when writing their resume: Read the rest of this entry »

How do you explain being unemployed for an extended period of time? The way you address this issue during an interview can make the difference of you receiving a job offer or being screened out. On your resume show “what” you have been accomplishing since your last job. Have you worked part-time, in a temporary assignment or on a contract? Have you volunteered your time while searching for a job? Did you enroll in courses to enhance your skills? Have you done some consulting? Read the rest of this entry »

Numerous studies have shown that job-related stress is associated with reduced productivity, impaired mental well-being, and physical problems, including increased illness and obesity. Needless to say, The Great Recession has only made the problem worse.

Many people are working harder for less money and with less job security than they had before. Add the fact that new communications technologies allow us to be connected 24-7 and you have the recipe for the highest levels of stress in history. Read the rest of this entry »

Over the years, we have covered numerous high-tech medical advances in that allow us to better understand brain function, treat disease, and capitalize on human ability. For years now, we have known about a low-tech method of increasing human ability called Brain Gym®, but only recently has one of its most effective spokespersons, Jerry Teplitz, JD, PhD, released a book detailing business applications that increase sales and generate happier and more productive employees. Read the rest of this entry »

In Part 1 we discussed new jobs in Health Information Technology, Geriatric Healthcare, Health Law, and Data Mining and Occupational Health and Safety. In this article, we explore other fast-growing industries and occupations.

Embedded engineers will bridge the gap between software and hardware design and work specifically on microchip processors. Most companies will hire candidates with a bachelor’s degree and experience with computer systems and train them. Common majors preparing students for these jobs are computer science, software engineering, control systems, and other technical disciplines.

As the worldwide Web expands, people will be needed to write the features providing the content. To write for the Web and stay relevant and employable, candidates should also have a general understanding of HTML, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and social media. The mobile Web is also growing rapidly. To meet its huge demand for content design and development for mobile platforms, Web providers are hiring graphic designers, videographers, casual game/application developers, and software engineers. Read the rest of this entry »

A couple of weeks ago, we examined the “Mixed Outlook for College Grads” and saw that the STEM*-degreed graduates were more likely to find employment and be paid more than other grads. (http://www.hermangroup.com/alert/archive_6-16-2010.html) In a related exploration, we offer you insights on the expected growth of occupations and industries, based on data from the United States, Bureau of Labor Statistics and other reliable sources. Not surprisingly, the job growth in technical fields will exceed the increases in the non-technical.

The combination of aging Baby Boomers, the shift to digital medical records, and the sequencing of the human genome will result in the strongest growth being in the field of Health Information Technology. By the year 2018, jobs in this field will grow by 20 percent, or 35,100 new positions. Read the rest of this entry »