Monday, July 27, 2009

Eoconomy to Bounce Back Stronger

My name is Dan Regovich and I am a recruiter that specializes in the Plastics Industry.


Bernanke: Economy to bounce back stronger

At a town hall meeting in Kansas City, Mo., the Fed chairman said the recovery will take some time, but that lessons learned will benefit the nation.
By David Goldman, CNNMoney.com staff writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Sunday that lessons learned from the recession and the financial crisis will help make the economy stronger than it was before the crisis

The Fed chairman answered questions from members of the public as well as moderator Jim Lehrer of PBS at a town hall event sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Mo.

"The silver lining in this whole thing is that people are starting to save more, since they saw what happened with 401(k) investments," Bernanke said. "People are adopting good habits, so not only will we will be back on track, but the economy will be stronger than it had been before this started."

The Fed chairman also noted that government regulators are working to ensure that such a crisis can never happen again by addressing the issue of too big to fail and lobbying Congress to pass a regulatory reform bill.

don't think we'll ever completely eliminate financial crises, but there are ways to make sure one this severe never happens again," Bernanke said. "We need to have a council or group of regulators that look at the financial system as a whole and look for gaps. And 'too big to fail' has to go."

Bernanke suggested instituting a new kind of bankruptcy process for big non-bank financial institutions similar to what the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. uses for banks.

"Sell [a large corporation] off, let it fail, but ensure that the whole financial system is not brought down with it," he said.

Slow recovery: Facing questions from many concerned consumers, Bernanke sought to assure the audience by noting that "recessions happen." Though he said this is the worst recession since the Great Depression, he also said that, like all prior economic downturns, this one will end too.

Bernanke said the economy is beginning to show signs of improvement, but recovery will be gradual. He said gross domestic product will likely rise by the end of the year into 2010, but job growth will lag. He conceded, "economic forecasts make weather forecasts look like physics," but said unemployment will top out above 10% before falling back in the second half of next year.

Taking heat: In addition to questions about timing of the recovery, Bernanke also took heat from some small business owners and people who had lost their jobs about how the Fed handled the crisis.

Many questioned whether it was problematic for the Fed to reward banks' irresponsible behavior by bailing out financial institutions. But Bernanke said he was left with no choice.

"Nothing made me more frustrated than having to intervene in a couple cases where wild bets threatened to bring down the financial system," he said. "But I was not going to be the Federal Reserve chairman who presided over the second Great Depression."

Though the Fed chairman mostly stood by the Fed's decisions, on the subject of subprime lending regulation, he said the Fed deserved some criticism.

"We were late in addressing the subprime lending problem," Bernanke admitted. "We put together a set of rules that apply to all lenders, and I hope that solves the problem, but those weren't in place early enough. We have to take some heat for that, I think that's appropriate."

He declined to say outright that he opposes efforts by Congress and the Obama administration to create a separate consumer financial protection agency. But he said there were drawbacks to it, including possible "duplicative efforts" in monitoring. And he defended the Fed as being "very active" in the last three years on the consumer protection issue.

Bernanke was even more defiant about a congressional proposal to audit Fed monetary policy and actions. He said politics need to remain separate from the Fed to ensure that inflation and financial stability remain in balance.

It is incredibly important that the Fed maintain its independence -- it is so critical to the stability of economy," Bernanke said. "I don't think people realize that Congress' bill would allow the Government Accountability Office to be able to audit Fed decisions. That's not congruent with independence."

There were lighter moments at the town hall, though.

When one particularly well-prepared questioner asked Bernanke a question about the Great Depression, Bernanke said, "I see you've read my book. I'm happy to autograph it for you after we're done."

And when one audience member asked if he had any investing tips, Bernanke warned that he wasn't licensed to do so. But he said to diversify investments between stocks and other instruments, and he added: "Don't try to time the market. There might be a couple of people in the world who can time the market, but if there are, they're not telling you."


Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group, LLC
440-357-7600
www.ajaugur.com
dregovich@ajaugur.com

Formerly with RSI Recruiter Solutions International
Within the plastics industry, we service comanies with the following technologies: injection molding, blow molding, extrusion blow molding, injection blow molding, multilayer blow molding, thermoforming, cast extrusion, profile extrusion, extruded film, blown film, plastic film, rotational molding/rotomolding, plastic sheet, calendaring, casting, compression/transfer molding, foam molding, pultrusion, resin, color and compounding,

The primary end markets that these products go into: aerospace, agriculture, apparel/garment bagsappliances, automotive/transportation, beverage, building/construction, computers, consumer products, containers/closures, fencing, fiber optics, flooring, food service, grocery bags, electical/electronics, food pacakaging, household chemicals, household-care packaging, industrial, irrigation, labels, laminations, lawn & garden, marine, medical/pharmaceutical, municipal water & sewer, office products, personal-care packaging, plastic cups/lids, recreational, signage & displays, shrink film, stretch film, swimming pools/spas, tanks agricultural/industrial, telecommunications, toys, trash bags, vinyl siding, windows & doors, wire & cable

Tyeps of Materials: ABS, Acetal, Acrylic, Fluoropolymers, HDPE, HMWHDPE, LDPE, LLDPE, Nylon, PC, PET, PETG, PEX, PLA, Post-Consumer Resin, PP, PPO/PPE, PS/EPS, PVC, PVDC, SAN/SMA, Thermosets, TPE

Economy Dan Regovich formerly of RSI Recruiter Solutuions International

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Stock Market

My name is Dan Regovich and I am a recruiter that specializes in the Plastics Industry.

Per CNN.COM:
By Catherine Clifford, CNNMoney.com staff writer
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Wall Street gave up earlier gains Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned that the economic recovery would be slow and gradual.

Midway through the session, the Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) was nearly unchanged, flipping on either side of the breakeven mark. Meanwhile, the broader S&P 500 (SPX) index fell 4 points, or 0.4% and the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite (COMP) gave up 10 points, or 0.5%.

Earlier in the session, the Dow led a charge on the back of a strong report from component Caterpillar and optimism about better-than-expected second-quarter earnings.

Wall Street rallied Monday, lifted by optimism about corporate profits for the second quarter.

Monday's rally pushed the blue-chip index into positive territory for 2009, the first time in more than 5 weeks that it has shown a gain. The S&P 500 ended at its highest level in more than 8 months and the Nasdaq stretched to its highest level since early October.

Bernanke: Fed chairman Bernanke, in prepared testimony before a House committee, said the pace of economic decline has "slowed significantly" but the labor market has gotten worse. He cautioned that improvement is uncertain and likely to be gradual going forward.

Prior to his testimony, Bernanke outlined his "exit strategy" from the current low interest rate policy in a Wall Street Journal guest column. Bernanke defended the aggressive roles of the Fed and its ballooning balance sheet in the current crisis, saying "These actions have softened the economic impact of the financial crisis."




Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group, LLC
440-357-7600
www.ajaugur.com
dregovich@ajaugur
Formerly with RSI Recruiter Solutions International

Dan Regovich Plastics Recruiter AJ Augur RSI

Friday, July 17, 2009

Unemployment

My name is Dan Regovich and I am a recruiter that specializes in the Plastics Industry.

Per bls.gov: " The number of unemployed persons (14.7 million) and the unemployment
rate (9.5 percent) were little changed in June. Since the start of the
recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has increas-
ed by 7.2 million, and the unemployment rate has risen by 4.6 percentage
points."

Unemployment didn't change much but it didn't get much higher. That could indicate a turning point in the economy. Many companies I deal with are doing well, but are holding off on hiring for now. Those who do need to hire for niche positions, are always shocked by the fact that they can't find someone easily.


Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group, LLC
440-357-7600
www.ajaugur.com
dregovich@ajaugur
Formerly with RSI Recruiter Solutions International


Dan Regovich Plastics Recruiter

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Why Recruiters Are Worth What They Charge

My name is Dan Regovich and I am a Recruiter/Headhunter that specializes in the Plastics Industry.

WHY RECRUITERS ARE WORTH WHAT THEY CHARGE

"When I need a heart by-pass, rest assured that I won't select my surgeon on the basis of what they charge." That's what an ailing executive recently opined when he was informed by his doctor about his arterial blockage problems.

Why then can corporate executives be so tightfisted when dealing with what is so commonly thought of as the "heartbeat" of their companies . . . top talent?

Companies think very little about paying the often exorbitant fees charged by their outside accounting and legal firms . . . or even to the gaggle of consultants who promise cost-cutting and streamlining miracles in other areas of operations.

Yet, when faced with brain drains, talent deficiencies or the need to replace an employee with a better one, their thoughts too often turn to parsimony. This Wal-mart mentality belies and contradicts their stated objectives to "hire the best," especially at pecking order levels below the "big picture" executive suite inhabitants.

Of course recruiting fees can vary from firm to firm but, when they do, you will almost always find that those on the low side are sure to exclude some very key portions of the process, all of which are vital to providing the indispensable services necessary to satisfy the needs of the employer.

So why are recruiters worth what they charge? Just a few of the often unspoken reasons are:

Expertise - Nobody knows the employment marketplace better than a professional recruiter . . . nobody! In-house human resources, no matter how effective, view the marketplace through an imperfect or misrepresentative prism and tunnel vision is their occupational hazard.

Just as physicians are cautioned against treating members of their own families, so too is it folly for an in-house H/R professional to believe that they have an undistorted and unbiased picture of the employment landscape. They are vulnerable to the pressures of internal politics and cultural dimensions which do not hinder the outsider.

Street-smart recruiters already know the neighbor-hood, including the unlisted addresses so often overlooked by the HR insiders.

Cast a wider net - A professional fisherman will always have more to show than a weekend angler. Recruiters are in the marketplace day in and day out. They know the un-fished coves, reefs and inlets that are unknown to others. The job-hunter bookshelves are filled with lore about the "hidden job market." The same holds true for professional recruiters who have a detailed roadmap to the hidden talent sources which will never be accessed by newspaper ads, alumni associations, applicant databases, the Internet or any of the other more familiar sources of people.

There are occasional pearls through these sources (and someone inevitably wins the Publisher's Clearinghouse Sweepstakes too) but you have to shuck an awful lot of smelly oysters to find them. Recruiters only give you oysters proven to contain pearls. Your only job is to determine which pearl is the best.

Want to catch what you're fishing for? Hire a guide!

Cost - There is a misconception among employers that the cost of a hire equals the cost of the ads run to attract the person hired. Nothing could be further from reality.

Try adding these to the true costs and you'll see just how cost effective an outside recruiter can be:
Salaries and benefits of the employment/recruiting staffs plus those of the line managers involved in the hiring activity (who are not productive in their normal job pursuits when they're out recruiting); travel, lodging and entertainment expenses of in-house recruiters; source development costs; overhead expenses including (but not limited to) telephone, office space, postage, PR literature, applicant database maintenance, Internet access, reference checking, clerical costs to correspond with the hundreds of unqualified respondents, etc.

Unbiased third party input - Contrary to what some believe, recruiters don't try to put square employees into round jobs. A recruiter's stock-in-trade is their integrity and their reputation for finding someone better than a company could have found for themselves.

For a mid-level to senior executive, the average recruiter may develop a "long list" of a hundred or more possibilities. Each must be called and evaluated against the position specifications as well as the personality "fit" with the company and the people with whom they will ultimately work. Once this is winnowed down to the "short list," an even more intensive interviewing process begins to narrow the search to a panel of finalists for review by the client.

This process is not, as some believe, simply romping through the file cabinets, job boards or putting the job opening out to others on the recruiter's network with crossed fingers that someone good will show up.

It is highly unlikely that a professional recruiter will be plowing brand new ground with your opening. They deal within spheres of influence far more familiar with your needs than any internal recruiter and, more often than not, view the finalists as people who are competent to solve client problems rather than just fill an open slot in the organizational chart.

Because they want to do business with you again and again, they are looking for (and challenging you to excellence by hiring) the "truly exceptional" rather than the "just satisfactory" so often settled for by in-house hirers.

Confidentiality - Advertising or otherwise publicly pro-claiming an opening, aside from its cost and demonstrated ineffectiveness for sensitive senior level openings, often creates anxiety and apprehension among the advertiser's current employees who wonder why they aren't being considered or worry about newcomer transition problems. Just as often it alerts competitors to a current weakness or void within the company.

Speed - The recruiting process is always faster through a search professional who is continually tapped into the talent marketplace than one having to start the process from scratch. For every day that a key opening remains unfilled, a company's other employees must grudgingly do double duty. And this doesn't factor in the profit opportunities or competitive advantages lost to a company because a position remains unfilled or done on a part-time basis by others less qualified.

Post-Hire Downtime - Not only is speed an essential part of the professional recruiter's process, the ability to locate a person who can immediately "hit the ground running" with a minimum of "ramp-up time" saves time after the hire. All too often, a hire selected through less effective sources, offering a smaller talent pool, requires several months of expensive training and orientation.

Reality - Professional recruiters often recognize and have a duty to inform clients that they may be mistaken as to the type of person sought, the salary required to attract them or the possibilities that the solution might just lie in areas outside the traditional target industries . . . something an internal recruiter is politically disinclined to do. Too many hirers fail to understand that a professional recruiter's pr i-mary function is not necessarily to fill a slot but to provide the right candidate to solve a problem.

Negotiation - Master negotiator Herb Cohen says that "negotiation is the analysis of information, time and power to affect behavior . . . the meeting of needs (yours and others) to make things happen the way you want them to." As a buffer and informed intermediary, the professional recruiter is better able to blend the needs and wants of both parties to arrive at a mutually beneficial arrangement with-out the polarizing roadblocks which too frequently materialize in face-to-face dealings.

Prioritizing company resources - It is often amazing to see how much of a company's revenues are squandered on non-productive perks for existing high-level employees while they penny-pinch on what is every company's life-blood . . . talent acquisition.

Club memberships and the like may be fine, but no one with an IQ higher than Forrest Gump's believes that these expenditures contribute to a company's profit margin. But one well-placed employee can be the cause of a company's profits skyrocketing. And the fee for having hired these people pales in insignificance when compared to the contributions they make to the bottom line.

The next time you think a recruiter's fees are too high, put them in the proper perspective before asking for that bargain Blue Light special or spinning your wheels thrash-in about trying to fill vital openings with less effective (but not necessarily less expensive) do-it-yourself methods. Savvy executives learned long ago that the fee paid to a recruiter is a shrewd strategic investment, not an extraneous expense.

Written by Paul Hawkinson, Publisher of The Fordyce Letter (www.fordyceletter.com)

Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group, LLC
440-357-7600
www.ajaugur.com
dregovich@ajaugur
Formerly with RSI Recruiter Solutions International


Why Recruiters Are Worth What They Charge