My name is Dan Regovich and as a Plastics Recruiter, we do come across this:
One of the latest news stories now is about a Spokane, Washington couple who have been indicted by a federal grand jury for creating fake diplomas. Their little twist on this saga is that they are creating fake degrees for accredited universities. It is unfortunate, but the investigation is showing that the University of Tennessee is not the only college that has been affected. Counterfeit diplomas have also been found for the University of Maryland, Texas A&M and George Washington University. All of these colleges are accredited colleges.
There are hundreds of fake universities on the internet, and counterfeit degrees being produced from accredited universities. Diploma mills and counterfeit degrees can be very sophisticated operations that undermine the credibility of legitimate institutions of higher education and graduates from those colleges and universities.
There is current legislation within the House and Senate addressing Diploma and Degree Mills. The Bill is attached to the College Opportunity and Affodability Act (HR 4137) and is expected to be presented to the full house hopefully in January, 2008. For now, experts agree that the best line of defense against these diploma mills and counterfeit diplomas is a responsible employer.
plastics recruiter fake degrees
Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group LLC
Mentor, OH 44060
danregovich@gmail.com
(440) 357-7600
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Plastics Recruiter - Exit Interviews
As a plastics recruiter, I see these types of situations often:
Exit interviews can be a valuable tool for a company to use. Generally exit interviews are conducted with an employee who is leaving the company on a voluntary basis, rather than being laid off or fired. Exit interviews can be as extensive as the employer wants, keeping in mind that the employee may not desire to answer all the questions if there are a lot of them.
Exit interviews are generally conducted and the information is used to assist the Human Resources department in improving existing working conditions for current employees, and for retaining those employees. Your company can learn from the past experiences of the department employees and gain an opportunity to improve management/employment practices accordingly. Effective Employee Exit Interviews are an opportunity to diagnose and improve performance within the company. A “backdoor” reason to do an exit interview may be to find out if there is any costly litigation down the road caused by a disgruntled employee.
Employee turnover is costly and is widely recognized as a key organizational concern. Doing an exit interview will allow you to analyze the data to determine if employee satisfaction is an impact to your turnover. It will also allow you to track trends in satisfaction to measure the improvements that were made. Exit interviews can be a valuable tool that is often overlooked in employment screening, but should be considered by an employer.
Plastics Recruiter Exit Interviews
Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group LLC
Mentor, OH 44060
danregovich@gmail.com
(440) 357-7600
Exit interviews can be a valuable tool for a company to use. Generally exit interviews are conducted with an employee who is leaving the company on a voluntary basis, rather than being laid off or fired. Exit interviews can be as extensive as the employer wants, keeping in mind that the employee may not desire to answer all the questions if there are a lot of them.
Exit interviews are generally conducted and the information is used to assist the Human Resources department in improving existing working conditions for current employees, and for retaining those employees. Your company can learn from the past experiences of the department employees and gain an opportunity to improve management/employment practices accordingly. Effective Employee Exit Interviews are an opportunity to diagnose and improve performance within the company. A “backdoor” reason to do an exit interview may be to find out if there is any costly litigation down the road caused by a disgruntled employee.
Employee turnover is costly and is widely recognized as a key organizational concern. Doing an exit interview will allow you to analyze the data to determine if employee satisfaction is an impact to your turnover. It will also allow you to track trends in satisfaction to measure the improvements that were made. Exit interviews can be a valuable tool that is often overlooked in employment screening, but should be considered by an employer.
Plastics Recruiter Exit Interviews
Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group LLC
Mentor, OH 44060
danregovich@gmail.com
(440) 357-7600
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Plastics Recruiter - Assessment Testing For Employees
My name is Dan Regovich and I am a Plastics Recruiter.
Recruiting, hiring and training of new employees is expensive. You have to recruite or advertise a position, then you start the interview process. During the interview you are trying to determine if this is a candidate that would be a good fit for your company and if the candidate seems to have the skill set that the position requires. Then, when you do bring a new hire in to fill the position you also have to train that person for your company specific standards to the position. All of this is costly in terms of time and money. If you have made a good hire, it is well worth the investment. However, if you hire that person and find out within the few months that the position just isnt a good fit, you are out that money. Worse yet, you need to start all over to fill the position.
While interviews and background checks are a great tool, another tool that may be useful to your organization is assessment testing. There are hundreds of different types of tests out there – skills testing, personality testing, behavior testing, even IQ testing if you are interested. Generally, a company will have agreed to start using these “forecasters” for new employees. Before you start to test potential new hires, you may want to have your top performers that are already working with your company take the tests. This will provide you with a set of “benchmarks” that you can use to gauge new hire testing on. There are traits and characteristics that your top performers have that you may like to see in your new hire candidates as well. Once benchmarks are set, use these to determine if your new hire will be a fit with your organization.
There are some studies out there that indicate as many as 25% of new hires don’t make it the first 3 months within an organization. That is an expensive number. Assessment testing can be a very low cost alternative to be utilitized as another tool to “be sure before you hire”.
Plastics Recruiter Assessment Testing
Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group LLC
Mentor, OH 44060
danregovich@gmail.com
(440) 357-7600
Recruiting, hiring and training of new employees is expensive. You have to recruite or advertise a position, then you start the interview process. During the interview you are trying to determine if this is a candidate that would be a good fit for your company and if the candidate seems to have the skill set that the position requires. Then, when you do bring a new hire in to fill the position you also have to train that person for your company specific standards to the position. All of this is costly in terms of time and money. If you have made a good hire, it is well worth the investment. However, if you hire that person and find out within the few months that the position just isnt a good fit, you are out that money. Worse yet, you need to start all over to fill the position.
While interviews and background checks are a great tool, another tool that may be useful to your organization is assessment testing. There are hundreds of different types of tests out there – skills testing, personality testing, behavior testing, even IQ testing if you are interested. Generally, a company will have agreed to start using these “forecasters” for new employees. Before you start to test potential new hires, you may want to have your top performers that are already working with your company take the tests. This will provide you with a set of “benchmarks” that you can use to gauge new hire testing on. There are traits and characteristics that your top performers have that you may like to see in your new hire candidates as well. Once benchmarks are set, use these to determine if your new hire will be a fit with your organization.
There are some studies out there that indicate as many as 25% of new hires don’t make it the first 3 months within an organization. That is an expensive number. Assessment testing can be a very low cost alternative to be utilitized as another tool to “be sure before you hire”.
Plastics Recruiter Assessment Testing
Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group LLC
Mentor, OH 44060
danregovich@gmail.com
(440) 357-7600
Monday, January 28, 2008
Plastics Recruiter - Do You Google Your Applicants?
My name is Dan Regovich and I am a Plastics Recruiter. The internet has become a wonderful tool in many different ways. We can find out pretty much anything we want to know from anywhere around the world. Want to know what the weather is currently like where you are going on vacation? Internet it. Want to know what type of vehicle has the best safety features? Internet the question. Want to know if your job applicant has a MySpace page? How easy can it be to check. While the checking may be very easy, what are you going to do with it once you have the information? Can it be used in a hiring decision? Can I Google someone and find out information and use that for a hiring decision?
If you ask a reputable screening agency, the first thing they should tell you is to consult your legal department. This is a decision that your company has to decide for themselves. However, there are some things that an employer needs to be aware of when doing these searches. If you Google someone and find out that they were arrested half way across the United States and you found the arrest records or even a newspaper article about it – that is not a conviction. Records are unsubstantiated. You don’t know if there was a conviction or if the case even went to court. If you find out that your candidate prefers an alternative life style, of what use is that information to you and would it affect the job that they would be doing for the company?
Recent surveys show that approximately 25% of hiring managers use internet search engines to research potential employees, according to an online survey released by CareerBuilder and 12% do searches on social networking sites such as MySpace or Face Book. Of those hiring managers, 63% have indicated they did not hire a person based on what they found. A question that should come up is – on MySpace or Face Book, who put in the information? Was it our candidate or was it someone who is considered a peer? Is it fact or fiction?
Do You Google Your Applicants
Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group LLC
Mentor, OH 44060
danregovich@gmail.com
(440) 357-7600
If you ask a reputable screening agency, the first thing they should tell you is to consult your legal department. This is a decision that your company has to decide for themselves. However, there are some things that an employer needs to be aware of when doing these searches. If you Google someone and find out that they were arrested half way across the United States and you found the arrest records or even a newspaper article about it – that is not a conviction. Records are unsubstantiated. You don’t know if there was a conviction or if the case even went to court. If you find out that your candidate prefers an alternative life style, of what use is that information to you and would it affect the job that they would be doing for the company?
Recent surveys show that approximately 25% of hiring managers use internet search engines to research potential employees, according to an online survey released by CareerBuilder and 12% do searches on social networking sites such as MySpace or Face Book. Of those hiring managers, 63% have indicated they did not hire a person based on what they found. A question that should come up is – on MySpace or Face Book, who put in the information? Was it our candidate or was it someone who is considered a peer? Is it fact or fiction?
Do You Google Your Applicants
Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group LLC
Mentor, OH 44060
danregovich@gmail.com
(440) 357-7600
Friday, January 25, 2008
Plastics Recruiter - Employee Theft
Small business fraud is on the rise. Depending on which survey you look at, small businesses are classified as a business with 100-1,000 employees or even 1,000 to 5,000 employees. So if you own or operate a small business that falls in one of those two categories, what can you do to help prevent your profit margin from going out the back door in an employee pocket?
Business consultants provide some very sound advice. Their step 1 starts off with “one of the most basic steps in preventing employee fraud is not to hire employees who have stolen previously”. They continue on in their article about other steps that a company can take, but step 1 seems almost to be an obvious answer.
Check past employment history. If an employer will provide dates and title only, see if an employee is eligible for rehire. That may or may not provide some insight in to that employee. Do criminal background checks and drug screening. If an employee is a frequent drug user, they may be more prone to theft or fraud. Also call on references. Many employers don’t contact references because they feel that an employee isn’t going to provide someone who gives a bad reference. However, the employee may be giving you a list of names that sound important assuming that you won’t call.
Other things an organization can do are to host audits, both surprise audits and external audits. Also consider job rotation if that is applicable within your organization. Set up an internal anonymous reporting policy where employees can contact a tip line to report information.
Business fraud costs organizations billions of dollars a year. A study in 2006 by the Association of Certified Fraud Examines (ACFE) reported the median loss of $159,000 with organizations of fewer than 100 employees suffering disproportionate losses in occupational fraud.
Start with the basics. Do background checking on employees to start. Get programs going in the organization that will help detect fraud after the employee is hired. The steps can help a company stay healthy and profitable.
Plastics recruiter employee theft
Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group LLC
Mentor, OH 44060
danregovich@gmail.com
(440) 357-7600
Business consultants provide some very sound advice. Their step 1 starts off with “one of the most basic steps in preventing employee fraud is not to hire employees who have stolen previously”. They continue on in their article about other steps that a company can take, but step 1 seems almost to be an obvious answer.
Check past employment history. If an employer will provide dates and title only, see if an employee is eligible for rehire. That may or may not provide some insight in to that employee. Do criminal background checks and drug screening. If an employee is a frequent drug user, they may be more prone to theft or fraud. Also call on references. Many employers don’t contact references because they feel that an employee isn’t going to provide someone who gives a bad reference. However, the employee may be giving you a list of names that sound important assuming that you won’t call.
Other things an organization can do are to host audits, both surprise audits and external audits. Also consider job rotation if that is applicable within your organization. Set up an internal anonymous reporting policy where employees can contact a tip line to report information.
Business fraud costs organizations billions of dollars a year. A study in 2006 by the Association of Certified Fraud Examines (ACFE) reported the median loss of $159,000 with organizations of fewer than 100 employees suffering disproportionate losses in occupational fraud.
Start with the basics. Do background checking on employees to start. Get programs going in the organization that will help detect fraud after the employee is hired. The steps can help a company stay healthy and profitable.
Plastics recruiter employee theft
Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group LLC
Mentor, OH 44060
danregovich@gmail.com
(440) 357-7600
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Plastics Recruiter - Why Do You Need My Date Of Birth
As a Plastics Recruiter, I come across this many times. Here's how BackTrack, Inc. addresses it.
Many employers feel that requesting a date of birth from an applicant or candidate can be a particularly touchy situation. If you get it and don’t hire someone, are you in violation of any EEOC laws? Can you be charged with age discrimination by this candidate? Why do you even need the date of birth?
There are several reasons that a date of birth is required for background screening. Criminal courts do not file records by social security number. The identifiers on a court index are the full name and the date of birth. If you are trying to verify a high school diploma, the high school will have records by full name attended under and date of birth. Many colleges are now redacting social security numbers on records and going back to name and date of birth for identifiers.
Even with this information, some employers are still uncomfortable with the idea of requesting a date of birth from their candidates. If you are in this situation, talk with your background screening company. Many have hotlines set up that an applicant can call in on an 800 number and leave the information with the background screener. The employer need never has access to the date of birth until a job offer has been made.
Why do you need my date of birth?
Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group LLC
Mentor, OH 44060
danregovich@gmail.com
(440) 357-7600
Many employers feel that requesting a date of birth from an applicant or candidate can be a particularly touchy situation. If you get it and don’t hire someone, are you in violation of any EEOC laws? Can you be charged with age discrimination by this candidate? Why do you even need the date of birth?
There are several reasons that a date of birth is required for background screening. Criminal courts do not file records by social security number. The identifiers on a court index are the full name and the date of birth. If you are trying to verify a high school diploma, the high school will have records by full name attended under and date of birth. Many colleges are now redacting social security numbers on records and going back to name and date of birth for identifiers.
Even with this information, some employers are still uncomfortable with the idea of requesting a date of birth from their candidates. If you are in this situation, talk with your background screening company. Many have hotlines set up that an applicant can call in on an 800 number and leave the information with the background screener. The employer need never has access to the date of birth until a job offer has been made.
Why do you need my date of birth?
Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group LLC
Mentor, OH 44060
danregovich@gmail.com
(440) 357-7600
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Plastics Recruiter - Resume Tips
My name is Dan Regovich and I am a Plastics Recruiter. I work on many sales/ engineering/executive/ and management level positions serving the search and recruitment needs of both large and small manufacturers and distributors in the Plastics, Flexible and rigid packaging industries.
With each and every finalist candidate that we present to our clients, we also provide a complete background check. Our background checks are provided by our parent company, BackTrack Inc., www.backtracker.com. All reports provided include employment verification, education verification, social security trace report, motor vehicle report, reference checking and criminal records searches.
Today, more than any other time in our industry, more and more employers are requesting completed background checks prior to extending an offer to a potential candidate. With this in mind, it is very important that you, the candidate, provide a very clear and honest picture of your background to a potential new employer.
As with many situations, preparation is the key to success. The job market is very competitive and you probably will not be the only qualified candidate for a position. The deciding factor may simply be your background check. One minor exaggeration are dates of employment or degree, may remove you from the running. As a Filtration Recruiter, I have seen candidates not be considered for positions by what has been verified or not verified on their background check.
Tips & Techniques #2In my previous post, I commented on the importance of education verification. Now let’s turn our attention to employment.
Most verification companies will stay away from contacting your current employer as not to jeopardize your employment. They will however contact past employers provided on your resume. It is important to note that with the advent of the internet along with verification services data housed through the Work Number or any other verification line will be returned and entered into the report, providing even more data to the prospective employer. Keeping this in mind, it is important that you provide all of the places where you have been employed, even for just a short time.
You may also choose to provide employment dates on your resume that have been exaggerated so as to not show a gap in employment. This will also come to light during the employment verification process. It is important not to have gaps in employment, but employers understand that from time to time this may occur. If it does, it is up to you to be honest and upfront about the reasons why, not to try and hide it. People leave employers for a number of reasons: layoffs occur, company closures, as do family/personal reasons. People also get terminated, though most hope this never happens to them. Again, when writing your resume, it is important to be upfront and honest. Employers want to know the circumstances surrounding your reasons for leaving. If it is due to termination, let them know; if it is to better yourself, let them know. For most employers they like to see a steady trend of improvement in your career. If you are no longer employed because the company closed, it’s always a good idea to supply the employer with a reference that could verify your position.
It is important not to have too many employers showing that you have jumped from job to job. This puts up a red flag to an employer who may think you are not the type of person to stay in one place for too long. Also, concerns potentially arise if you have been at your same employer in the same position for 15+ years. Employers are looking for people that are motivated to better themselves and being stuck in one place for a long time does not portray that type of person. When providing information regarding your current or past compensation is important to provide the correct amount. More and more, employers are requesting a copy of your W-2 to verify that the compensation you have reported is correct. Now I realize that there are many times that you have sent your resume in for a specific position, knowing full well you are capable of doing the job but never getting an interview. I understand how frustrating it is, but this should not cause you to lie on your resume or exaggerate the truth. It is better to be upfront and honest, then to get hired under false pretenses only to get terminated a short time later because you have misrepresented yourself.Employment is the most important part of any person. Unless you are a self-made millionaire and do not need to work like the rest of us, we need a job. Your employment career is just as important as your credit report. In order to secure a better position with better income, your past employment needs to show that you are worth the risk. Even if you have had issues in the past, it’s never too late to correct them for the future. Just know that with more and more companies conducting background screens, it’s important to provide this potential new employer with an honest look of your background. If anything comes back, that you have omitted or stretched the truth, it may be a red flag to the employer as to your integrity.Come back often to view more interview tips and techniques that will assist you in your interviewing process. To learn more about our organization or what positions we may have that you may have an interest in, please contact me at 800-992-3875 ext. 318
resume tips
Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group LLC
Mentor, OH 44060
danregovich@gmail.com
(440) 357-7600
With each and every finalist candidate that we present to our clients, we also provide a complete background check. Our background checks are provided by our parent company, BackTrack Inc., www.backtracker.com. All reports provided include employment verification, education verification, social security trace report, motor vehicle report, reference checking and criminal records searches.
Today, more than any other time in our industry, more and more employers are requesting completed background checks prior to extending an offer to a potential candidate. With this in mind, it is very important that you, the candidate, provide a very clear and honest picture of your background to a potential new employer.
As with many situations, preparation is the key to success. The job market is very competitive and you probably will not be the only qualified candidate for a position. The deciding factor may simply be your background check. One minor exaggeration are dates of employment or degree, may remove you from the running. As a Filtration Recruiter, I have seen candidates not be considered for positions by what has been verified or not verified on their background check.
Tips & Techniques #2In my previous post, I commented on the importance of education verification. Now let’s turn our attention to employment.
Most verification companies will stay away from contacting your current employer as not to jeopardize your employment. They will however contact past employers provided on your resume. It is important to note that with the advent of the internet along with verification services data housed through the Work Number or any other verification line will be returned and entered into the report, providing even more data to the prospective employer. Keeping this in mind, it is important that you provide all of the places where you have been employed, even for just a short time.
You may also choose to provide employment dates on your resume that have been exaggerated so as to not show a gap in employment. This will also come to light during the employment verification process. It is important not to have gaps in employment, but employers understand that from time to time this may occur. If it does, it is up to you to be honest and upfront about the reasons why, not to try and hide it. People leave employers for a number of reasons: layoffs occur, company closures, as do family/personal reasons. People also get terminated, though most hope this never happens to them. Again, when writing your resume, it is important to be upfront and honest. Employers want to know the circumstances surrounding your reasons for leaving. If it is due to termination, let them know; if it is to better yourself, let them know. For most employers they like to see a steady trend of improvement in your career. If you are no longer employed because the company closed, it’s always a good idea to supply the employer with a reference that could verify your position.
It is important not to have too many employers showing that you have jumped from job to job. This puts up a red flag to an employer who may think you are not the type of person to stay in one place for too long. Also, concerns potentially arise if you have been at your same employer in the same position for 15+ years. Employers are looking for people that are motivated to better themselves and being stuck in one place for a long time does not portray that type of person. When providing information regarding your current or past compensation is important to provide the correct amount. More and more, employers are requesting a copy of your W-2 to verify that the compensation you have reported is correct. Now I realize that there are many times that you have sent your resume in for a specific position, knowing full well you are capable of doing the job but never getting an interview. I understand how frustrating it is, but this should not cause you to lie on your resume or exaggerate the truth. It is better to be upfront and honest, then to get hired under false pretenses only to get terminated a short time later because you have misrepresented yourself.Employment is the most important part of any person. Unless you are a self-made millionaire and do not need to work like the rest of us, we need a job. Your employment career is just as important as your credit report. In order to secure a better position with better income, your past employment needs to show that you are worth the risk. Even if you have had issues in the past, it’s never too late to correct them for the future. Just know that with more and more companies conducting background screens, it’s important to provide this potential new employer with an honest look of your background. If anything comes back, that you have omitted or stretched the truth, it may be a red flag to the employer as to your integrity.Come back often to view more interview tips and techniques that will assist you in your interviewing process. To learn more about our organization or what positions we may have that you may have an interest in, please contact me at 800-992-3875 ext. 318
resume tips
Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group LLC
Mentor, OH 44060
danregovich@gmail.com
(440) 357-7600
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