November was a very busy month here at Berman Larson Kane (https://www.jobsbl.com).  We started a new training class for recruiters, attended several HR/Staffing conventions, several staff sat for certification credentials and we launched a new employee retention practice.  November has been a whirlwind month for the betterment of our job-seekers and hiring authorities alike.

 

The temperature of national staffing industry was very optimistic at the NAPS (http://www.recruitinglife.com) annual convention held in San Antonio, Texas.  Attendance was high, education classes were full, social events were upbeat and the mood of the recruiters was off the charts with optimism.  So if this was the sole barometer 2008 looks like hiring will continue across many industries.  However, my person skepticisms do not accept this body as a good prediction of the future but is a great predictor of the immediate pass.  So my take from 5 days in Texas?  2007 was a good year for many staffing firms and the group is optimistic for 2008, believe me this is no guarantee, this more of a reactive group than a proactive hiring authority.

 

As for the HR conventions attended.  This group of professionals appears to be moving towards a level hiring pace for 2008.  With the primary concern of attracting and retaining the best talent.  Also the HR side of the bench is optimistic that they are increasing their corporations’ awareness of their value and in HR wording…”HR is getting invited to the Strategic Dinner Table with a higher Frequency”.  Again if convention attendance is an indicator the job creation numbers should continue to grow through 2008.

 

One of my observations from both the HR & Staffing conventions is that a higher percentage of participants are completing certification programs. Demonstrating a higher level of professionalism and the importance of performance within these industries.  On the Staffing side NAPS (http://www.recruitinglife.com) introduced a Firm Certification credential that will assure hiring companies of a quality service.  I believe this is a trend that will be the future of the staffing industry.

 

So my bottom line prediction is that December will see surprisingly good job creation numbers.  Which makes no sense considering the concern of retailers predicting a weak holiday season, layoffs in the financial sectors continuing to increase as a result of the sub-prime crisis and of course the price of gas in the $100/barrel range.  Go Figure?  Then again I could be wrong!

Right Again? Without Confidence!

Well we at Berman Larson Kane www.jobsbl.com correctly (or luckily) predicted back in August that job creation numbers would return to a normal range in September. And as we look forward to the month of October, based on the number of new orders we are seeing are predicting even a bigger increase this month. Only time will tell luck or skill or neither. I hope we are right again! Jobs are always a good thing for everyone.

“As for my prediction of what is really going on? For some unexplained instinct I believe that we will see an increase over the dismal August number with September returning at least for a brief period to an increase job creation cycle” BLK blog 09/07/07.

“Payroll growth came in ahead of estimates, rising by 110,000 in September, The consensus was for a gain of 98,000 jobs in September, following a weak August report that was revised, well, to a strong report — the previous figure, a 4,000-job loss, turned into an 89,000 gain. However, much of the upward revisions for the July-August months were due to a big increase in government jobs, which added 113,000 to the rolls for those two months.” Wall Street Journal 10/05/07

Consensus of many financial institutions that the sub-prime crisis is already behind us appears to myself a little presumptuous. Maybe the holders of these mortgage back securities have cleverly re-structured to avoid their financial catastrophe, (that is why investment bankers make the big bucks) but the impact has still not fully trickled down to “Main Street”. And the impact on consumer goods, retail, real estate, construction jobs and future development has a ways to go probably years.

So for the moment we at Berman Larson Kane www.jobsbl.com hold our breath. Appreciate the hiring business that our clients continue to bring to our firm. And look forward to continuing to bring value to the hiring process. So as usual we have very little idea of what is really going on?

Stock Market Gyrations/Sub-Prime & Job Creation

Well it’s been a rocky 10 days for investors. Real estate, banks, hedge funds, mortgage companies & world wide stock markets have been experiencing wide range flux. So as the fed worries and holds emergency meetings, homeowners worry about raising mortgage payments and investors watch their retirement portfolios decrease. What should the job seeker be concerned about? www.jobsbl.com

Having been in the staffing business for over 25 years and being a veteran of several severe market adjustments; I can’t remember a market incident that did not have some effect on the job market. The formula is relatively simple. If consumers have fewer funds to spend, companies have fewer products being bought and hiring needs decrease proportionally.

lower stock prices = less net worth = less spending = lower sales = less staffing.

As you can see I am no economist or macro mathematician but the simple correlations don’t require you be a rocket scientist to get the point.

So what should a job seeker do? Well for one make sure that your skill set adds value to your current employer. If at all possible build you own correlation of how your job assists or increase your employers sales. If you are in a cost center job keep a watchful eye on your employers quarterly sales totals and forecasts. And if negativity continues consider changing jobs to a more stable employer.

If you are currently unemployed consider all job offers. This might be the time to lock in a job even if it’s not the ideal situation or dream job. If history plays out, we might be experience a tightening of job creation in some skill sets and a steady rise in unemployment.

Then again as always I could and hopefully am wrong again?

I recently read this email blast below and it is my opinion from here at Berman Larson Kane www.jobsbl.com that this analysis by Ilyse Shapiro is really on the money.

Recent Bureau of Labor Statistics Report Paints Rosy Picture; Deeper Analysis Proves Otherwise
The June, 2007 Employment Situation Summary reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics paints a positive picture. Non-farm payroll employment increased by 132,000 in June and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.5%. However, a closer look at the results proves that we are in worse shape today than we were at the same time in 2006.“As the results were distributed nationwide, a collective sigh of relief could be heard among many Americans. Unfortunately, deeper analysis shows that we don’t have all that much to cheer about,” says Ilyse Shapiro, founder of the job search Web site, MyPartTimePRO.com.Shapiro found the following discrepancies between the June, 2006 and June, 2007 data:
More than 131,000 women and 32,000 men are not currently in the labor force yet looking for employment, as compared to June, 2006.
An additional 232,000 Black/African Americans and 596,000 Latinos/Hispanics are unemployed (seasonally adjusted).
32,000 more Americans with some college or an associate’s degree are not employed, as compared to last year.
More people are working multiple jobs in June, 2007 vs. June, 2006, 7.707 million vs. 7.378 million (seasonally adjusted).
More people are unemployed in management/business/financial services, sales/related positions, and farming/fishing/forestry, construction/extraction, and production occupations in June, 2007 as opposed to June, 2006.
During the first six months of 2007, job growth among professional and business services sectors averaged 13,000 per month compared with an average of 42,000 per month in the last half of 2006.

These bullets really make us question what is going on in the employment market place. As the stock market gyrates in wild swings & the corporate credit crunch begins to take hold I am concerned for the future job creation numbers.

As for us here at Berman Larson Kane www.jobsbl.com we continue to experience a pocket slow down in some sectors while skill shortages in other continue to heat up. So as usual I have no idea what is really going on……Bob Larson

Well the mystery continues. We at Berman Larson Kane (www.jobsbl.com) continue to be confused by this week’s employment numbers. The good news is that unemployment rate continues to remain in reasonable range. However, the positive upgrade of job creation numbers needs some additional interpretations and is not as rosy as projected by the government.

In looking at these numbers more closely many categories have experience a decrease in jobs. For example, private industry jobs including retail, construction and professional services all reported decreases in employment. The only areas to experience steady job growth were education, government and health care. So the bottom line is that the government or heavily subsides government industries, like healthcare, were responsible for the positive job growth.

Although, we are glad to put as many Americans to work as possible and for each government created job additional private sector jobs are hopefully synergized. My feeling is that these government jobs are at the best detraction from what is really going on in the economy. Our best projection is that hopefully government jobs will be the catalyst to jump-start the economy into creating addition good U.S. based employment.
As for now we at Berman Larson Kane continue to experience a steady flow of new orders from our private sector clients with a continuing battle or war for good and top talent. I guess we must be doing something right? Thanks to all our clients and job seekers for your continuing support

Well as summer begins is this job market hot or not? Mixed signals are appearing everywhere. The department of labor is showing steady job growth for May, with a recent revision up from the sluggish April job creation report….

A Wall Street Journel article suggests that the DOL possibly over counted by as much as 500,000 jobs since January 2007. If correct that would bring the job creation numbers to the equivalent of zero. A recent Manpower survey reported companies are planning to hire at a slower rate in 2007 then the previous year.

The unemployment rate continues to hover in the same vicinity with a slight fluctuation downward suggesting all is well.

And our Berman Larson Kane (www.jobsbl.com) experience shows a downward number of job orders from our clients starting in December of 2006, with a recent upward surge beginning June 2007.

So up or down hot or cold good times challenging times is this the best time to seek new employment or hire additional staff? Guess its your guess!

As the president of Berman Larson Kane I would report that we are seeing an increase competition for good talent. The top tier job-candidates are receiving multiply offers, with substantial salary increases and quality of life work flexibility schedules. So our recruiters report a war for top talent and are advising our client companies to accelerate the interview cycle to stay competitive.

Our recent surge in new job orders is across several disciplines with legal, information technology and human resources leading the pack. So going forward into the summer if I was to flip a coin I would predict it has slightly better chance of landing on the increase job creation side….to be continued….

Last evening was the awards banquet “Best Places to Work” sponsored by New Jersey Biz. It was a perfectly run event moving at a quick pace through the 50 NJ companies to be recognized as outstanding employers.

We at Berman Larson Kane (https://www.jobsbl.com) were honored with the lucky number “7” ranking and were proud to be in the company of such wonderful organizations.

The room was filled with over 600 attendee’s each awaiting the ranking announcements; it was American Idol “ist” without the singing. The energy in the ballroom along with the caliber of employees was amazing. This room represented many of things that are right about U.S. business, service, community service, loyalty, appreciation, volunteerism, family, fun and rewards. What a refreshing evening…..

My observation of the room……the foundation of a “Best Place to Work” is not benefits, compensation, perks and flexibility (although these are all part of the formula). The real measure of success is hiring the right people who have a passion for what they do and being in the company of passionate people makes for a “Great Working Environment”

Right People in Right Jobs =’s a “Great Place to Work” A simple formula that is extremely challenging to execute.

As for now the employer that offered “dog walking service” to its staff is my favorite extreme perk since I neither have or want a dog…..but the company that figures out how to exercise for you so I can continue to watch television will be the first employer of choice for New Jersey and the nation (just joking) Stay well and congratulations to all….

Berman Larson Kane (https://www.jobsbl.com) was recently selected as one of the 50 Best Places to Work in New Jersey. This award, created in 2005, is sponsored by NJBIZ. I would like to thank you for your support and business. Without your faith in our firm none of our achievements would be possible; I can’t thank you enough.

This award program was designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in New Jersey, benefiting the state’s economy, its workforce and businesses. The Best Places to Work in New Jersey program is made up of 50 companies split into two groups: 25 medium-sized companies (25-249 employees) and 25 large-sized companies (more than 250 employees). Berman Larson Kane has been named one of the 25 Best Places to Work in New Jersey in the medium-sized category.

To be considered for participation, companies had to fulfill the following eligibility requirements:
– Have at least 25 employees in New Jersey;
– Be a for-profit or not-for-profit business;
– Be a publicly or privately held business;
– Have a facility in New Jersey;

Companies from across the state entered the two-part process to determine the 50 Best Places to Work in New Jersey. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. This part of the process was worth approximately 25% of the total evaluation. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. This part of the process was worth approximately 75% of the total evaluation. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration and survey process in New Jersey with assistance from ModernThink LLC, who analyzed the data and used their expertise to determine the final rankings.

Berman Larson Kane will be recognized and honored at the Best Places to Work in New Jersey evening awards ceremony on Monday, April 16, 2007, at the Hilton East Brunswick. The final rankings will be revealed at the ceremony. As president of Berman Larson Kane I thank you again for your business.

Reprinted by request from Feb 04 posting….

Effortless, seamless, natural, instinctive, in the flow, is the heart-warming expression for those with the right partners and/or the right careers. We at Berman Larson Kane (https://www.jobsbl.com) are always in awe.“Valentines Day” the hallmark/retailers holiday of love. A day to formalize our expressions of love for romantic partners with gifts of flowers, jewelry, cards and foods. For those lucky enough to be in a solid loving relationship all days of the year or at least most of those days are caring expressions of love. (No daily gifts needed) But occasional flowers and jewelry don’t hurt.

Well although it is different type of love. Think of those whom you know who are in the right career and jobs. They are usually successful, but would do their jobs with the same energy and passion no matter what the pay or hours. We all know this person; it might be a maintenance worker, sales professional or the CEO. It might be your accountant (probably not your lawyer just joking) or another service worker who is in a zone that allows them to perform their job perfectly, joyfully and gracefully everyday on every project. These lucky people are the cupids of the work world. These true work-a-world valentines are the ones that carry a company to greatness. Are the ones that all your customer’s love. Are the ones that you always want to embrace on your project team. And are the staffing professionals that you want filling your positions or assisting your careers.

On this day as you buy your gifts, write cards and make those expressions of love to your partners and/or those whom you are wooing. Take a brief moment to feel if this is a natural or forced activity. If it is natural you are in the flow. If it is forced I hope that it is a temporary situation. Because if it is not? Difficult choices could be on the horizon.

One final valentine career thought. Think of your job, as you’re other lover, friend and guardian. Read each hallmark sayings applying it to your job and career. Are you in that love zone? If you are, you are a very fortunate person. You are the ones that our clients love to hire and the ones lucky enough to be guarantee effortless career success. If it is forced? Career challenges are probably in your future.Our Berman Larson Kane valentine wish to all is may the love of cupid strike your heart in all areas of your life. Enjoy the holiday and if you aren’t in the flow, at least you can drown your sorrows with chocolate.