My name is Dan Regovich and I am a recruiter that specializes in the Plastics Industry.
From CNNMoney.com by Emily Maltby:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The days of cataclysmic layoffs may be waning, but companies are still cutting every position they can spare. Employment at America's small businesses, those with less than 50 employees, dropped by another 138,000 workers in July, according to estimates released Wednesday by payroll processor ADP (ADP, Fortune 500).
July's report marks the 18th straight month of declining small business employment. The rate of decline has slowed, and economists see an end ahead, but workers are in for a few more months of turmoil before hiring picks up.
"The labor market, like the overall economy, shows signs of beginning to stabilize," said Chris Varvares, president of Macroeconomic Advisers, ADP's partner research firm. "Our expectation is that job losses will dwindle toward zero by year end."
Small business employment is a closely watched indicator because small companies tend to be more responsive than larger ones to economic changes. They're typically the first to hire again when spending picks back up.
Dorothy Gonzalez, owner of A-Plus Counters in Clearwater, Fla., has seen that dynamic play out in her own business. By April of this year, she had already made massive cuts to her payroll, scaling her staff of 60 down to 12. Though the worst of her layoffs are past, she's still cutting. In the past few months, Gonzalez has had to let three more employees go.
"More retail people are coming in, but in the new construction market, we haven't seen any response yet," said Gonzalez, whose company manufactures countertops. "Our major plan is to adjust to what the economy is, through competitive pricing. But everyone's bidding, trying to get the job, and even if consumers are spending, they're not overspending."
Looking for a reprieve, Gonzalez applied last month at her bank for an America's Recovery Capital (ARC) loan. Backed by the Small Business Administration, ARC loans are a stimulus measure that lets business owners take out small, interest-free loans to temporarily make payments on other debt. Gonzalez says the ARC loan would help stabilize her business by covering payments on commercial vehicle loans, freeing up that cash for other purposes.
Small companies -- and their workers -- have been hit by an economic double whammy. As the recession cut into their sales, the bank loans and credit lines that some companies relied on to weather slow periods have been disappearing. As a result, many small firms are falling behind on debts or going under.
In a recent study of businesses with annual revenue below $10 million, credit-rating agency Experian found that 24% have suffered a negative financial event within the past two years, such as a collection notice, tax lien or significantly overdue (more than three months late) debt payment. The situation creates a chicken-and-egg problem: As default rates climb, banks pull back on their small business lending, but without those credit lines, more companies teetering on the brink are pushed over.
Breaking that cycle could help speed up the recession's end.
"One of the things we know is that access to credit has been difficult to small businesses," said Varvares of Macroeconomic Advisers. "As credit becomes available, we may see a more rapid rate of recovery."
An ARC loan would certainly help A-Plus Counters recover faster, but even without it, Gonzalez is cautiously optimistic that her company -- and its workers -- have been through the worst.
"If business keeps going the way it has recently, I don't anticipate having to scale back more," she said. "But what we always have to do is look at the overall business and [pick out] the employees that have the skills and abilities that we simply can't lose."
Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group, LLC
440-357-7600
www.ajaugur.com
dregovich@ajaugur.com
Formerly with RSI Recruiter Solutions International, VP Plastics & Filtration
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
Plastics Recruiter / Headhunter
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
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
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
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
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
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
Monday, June 1, 2009
Plastics Recruiter / Headhunter
My name is Dan Regovich from AJ Augur Group and I am a recruiter/headhunter in the Plastics Industry. Here's a good article by Don Loepp from Plastics News.
Where can you turn for accurate info on chemicals?
By Don Loepp on May 27, 2009 3:02 PM ET | No Comments | No TrackBacks
There's plenty of information available on the Web about chemicals, but many of the sites are loaded with misinformation or bias. So which sites can you trust?
STATS, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization affiliated with the George Mason University, recently polled toxicologists, and the results are pretty sobering. WebMD was the only source rated as accurate by the majority (56 percent) of toxicologists for covering the risks of chemicals. Second place went to Wikipedia (45 percent).
Only 15 percent described similar coverage in the national print media as accurate.
The survey isn't scientific, so take the results with a grain of salt, but it's interesting that toxicologists don't seem to be enamoured with the information available on the Web.
I decided to check out what WebMD has to say about bisphenol A, since that chemical has been in the news headlines. The site had a few relevant links, including one list of FAQ on BPA.
Here are a couple of the key questions and answers:
Is bisphenol A safe?
That's a controversial question.
An FDA draft report issued in August 2008 says bisphenol A is safe at typical exposure levels from food and drink. But another government report, from the National Toxicology Program, doesn't rule out safety risks and notes "some concern" about effects on the brain, prostate gland, and behavior in fetuses, infants, and children.
The NTP's report, issued in September 2008, also notes "minimal concern" about effects on the mammary gland, early female puberty, and reproductive effects in adults who work with bisphenol A, and "negligible concern" about fetal or neonatal death, birth defects, reduced birth weight or grown in babies born to women exposed to bisphenol A during pregnancy, and reproductive effects in adults who don't work with bisphenol A.
The American Chemistry Council, a trade group for the plastics industry, says bisphenol A is safe for typical consumer uses.
What does the research say about bisphenol A?
A study published in the Sept. 17, 2008 edition of The Journal of the American Medical Association shows that adults with high levels of bisphenol A in their urine samples are more than twice as likely to report a history of heart disease or diabetes, compared to adults with low urinary levels of bisphenol A.
That study was the first to show an association between higher urinary levels of BPA and health problems in human adults. But it doesn't prove that bisphenol A causes heart disease or diabetes, and the researchers caution that their findings need to be confirmed.
Much of the other bisphenol A safety research has been done on rodents, which handle bisphenol A differently from humans. In those rodent studies, the greatest risk has been seen in developing fetuses and infants.
How about environmental groups, and industry groups like the American Chemistry Council? Interestly, industry groups polled higher on the accuracy scale. Only 3 percent of the toxicologists polled consider Greenpeace to be an accurate source of information, for example, compared to 41 percent for ACC.
plasics recruiter headhunter chemicals
Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group, LLC
440-357-7600
www.ajaugur.com
dregovich@ajaugur
Formerly with RSI Recruiter Solutions International
.com
Where can you turn for accurate info on chemicals?
By Don Loepp on May 27, 2009 3:02 PM ET | No Comments | No TrackBacks
There's plenty of information available on the Web about chemicals, but many of the sites are loaded with misinformation or bias. So which sites can you trust?
STATS, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization affiliated with the George Mason University, recently polled toxicologists, and the results are pretty sobering. WebMD was the only source rated as accurate by the majority (56 percent) of toxicologists for covering the risks of chemicals. Second place went to Wikipedia (45 percent).
Only 15 percent described similar coverage in the national print media as accurate.
The survey isn't scientific, so take the results with a grain of salt, but it's interesting that toxicologists don't seem to be enamoured with the information available on the Web.
I decided to check out what WebMD has to say about bisphenol A, since that chemical has been in the news headlines. The site had a few relevant links, including one list of FAQ on BPA.
Here are a couple of the key questions and answers:
Is bisphenol A safe?
That's a controversial question.
An FDA draft report issued in August 2008 says bisphenol A is safe at typical exposure levels from food and drink. But another government report, from the National Toxicology Program, doesn't rule out safety risks and notes "some concern" about effects on the brain, prostate gland, and behavior in fetuses, infants, and children.
The NTP's report, issued in September 2008, also notes "minimal concern" about effects on the mammary gland, early female puberty, and reproductive effects in adults who work with bisphenol A, and "negligible concern" about fetal or neonatal death, birth defects, reduced birth weight or grown in babies born to women exposed to bisphenol A during pregnancy, and reproductive effects in adults who don't work with bisphenol A.
The American Chemistry Council, a trade group for the plastics industry, says bisphenol A is safe for typical consumer uses.
What does the research say about bisphenol A?
A study published in the Sept. 17, 2008 edition of The Journal of the American Medical Association shows that adults with high levels of bisphenol A in their urine samples are more than twice as likely to report a history of heart disease or diabetes, compared to adults with low urinary levels of bisphenol A.
That study was the first to show an association between higher urinary levels of BPA and health problems in human adults. But it doesn't prove that bisphenol A causes heart disease or diabetes, and the researchers caution that their findings need to be confirmed.
Much of the other bisphenol A safety research has been done on rodents, which handle bisphenol A differently from humans. In those rodent studies, the greatest risk has been seen in developing fetuses and infants.
How about environmental groups, and industry groups like the American Chemistry Council? Interestly, industry groups polled higher on the accuracy scale. Only 3 percent of the toxicologists polled consider Greenpeace to be an accurate source of information, for example, compared to 41 percent for ACC.
plasics recruiter headhunter chemicals
Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter
AJ Augur Group, LLC
440-357-7600
www.ajaugur.com
dregovich@ajaugur
Formerly with RSI Recruiter Solutions International
.com
Friday, May 15, 2009
Job Hunting
My name is Dan Regovich from AJ Augur Group and I am a recruiter in the Plastics Industry. Here's a very good article I found on job hunting.
Avoid A Bout With Long Unemployment
My job search has been thoroughly frustrating. I have sent out dozens and dozens of resumes, applied to a ton of jobs, prospected employers, kept up on the job boards, and everything else that I'm supposed to do. And I've only had three interviews. That is the bad news. The good news is that I now know what I did wrong, and what I will do different next time.
NEXT TIME???
I know there will be a next time. Statistically, people change jobs or careers every 2.8 years, or something like that. Each career professional subscribes to some statistic on job changes, but for some reason this one kind of rings true with me. I know a lot of people that don't make changes that often, but I know others that change with more frequency. The fact is that people change jobs, a lot. Part of your career management has included developing the skills, knowledge and abilities, amassing education, degrees and certifications and other things to beef up your resume. What I've learned the hard way is that no matter how cool my resume is, and how good I am, there is an important aspect to career management that I had been neglecting - preparing for that 2.8 year job transition.
If I got paid to do a job search I would certainly do it differently. I would have a reminder of what my end goal is (define what you are looking for so you can stay focused) and a strategy. One thing that I've come to realize is that this strategy is for every day of my career, not just when I'm unemployed. Here are six parts of my job search strategy for when I already have a job (whether I'm happy there or not):
1. Have a current master resume - this is a resume that has everything on it, and will be used to pull information to create a more targeted resume applicable to a certain company or job posting.
2. Make a conscience effort to maintain relationships - I will continue to strengthen relationships with people that I've met. It doesn't matter if this is someone that I haven't talked with for over 10 years! That guy or gal in the cubicle next to you 10 years ago may be in the corner office today!
3. Consistently expand my personal contacts - I will add new people I meet at conventions and other meetings to my personal network, and foster the relationship with each of these people so that they know who I am and what my skills are. I will also ask people I know for contacts in areas that interest me - for example, "who do you know that works in the banking industry?"
4. Perform company informational interviews - I will contact one company that is outside of the industry that I'm working each month and find a senior manager to do an informational interview. This has many advantages: you will learn more about another industry, you may learn how to solve a problem in a way that you haven't thought about before, you expand your personal network, and that manager learns about you and can judge you as a possible valuable asset to his team. Note this is not an opportunity to ask for a job - it is a no-pressure "tell me about your company, what you do, what your challenges are." Your strengths will come out in the quality of your questions and dialogue - leave it at that for this first meeting.
5. Pursue service opportunities - while time is a valuable commodity, you should pursue opportunities to serve at least once a month. There are some very meaningful programs that require very little time yet have a big impact. My personal favorite was spending time one-on-one with a disadvantaged child at an elementary school, where I was able to show him, through example, how a child/adult relationship could be. There are many other opportunities, and the other volunteers that you meet will be great contacts to add to your network.
6. Develop my personal brand - In your company or industry there are ways to create and strengthen your personal brand. Have you ever authored an article for the trade magazine? Have you ever been asked to speak at a conference? There are ways to get your foot in the door, and it makes sense for you to create yourself as a Guru. I met one guy that started a blog on new technologies that has made money off of his brand that he created for himself. He said that he is the same guy as he was before the blog, but now he is regarded as a guru - and is cashing in on it.
I know that you are busy in your professional life. You have deadlines, priorities, responsibilities and distractions. But I learned the hard way, it is much better to prepare for a job search before you need to, than to find yourself at home on a Monday morning with an outdated resume in hand saying "now what do I do?" Consider each of the 6 points above to be preventative measures. Do any or all of them now and you will be much more prepared for when you really need it.
Copyright: Copyright © 2006-2008 Jason Alba
About the Author:
Jason Alba, professional job seeker, is the creator of JibberJobber.com which is a website that allows professionals and job seekers to organize and manage every aspect of a job search. You can get a free account at http://www.JibberJobber.com/?referredBy=2 and keep track of prospective employers, network contacts, jobs you apply to, job boards you post on, job-related expenses, and many other aspects of a job search. Other features include importing/exporting of your data, e-mailed action items and more. Jason can be reached at jason@JibberJobber.com.
job hunting, plastics recruiter, plastics headhunter
Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter - Formerly with RSI Recruiter Solutions International
AJ Augur Group, LLC
440-357-7600
www.ajaugur.com
dregovich@ajaugur.com
Avoid A Bout With Long Unemployment
My job search has been thoroughly frustrating. I have sent out dozens and dozens of resumes, applied to a ton of jobs, prospected employers, kept up on the job boards, and everything else that I'm supposed to do. And I've only had three interviews. That is the bad news. The good news is that I now know what I did wrong, and what I will do different next time.
NEXT TIME???
I know there will be a next time. Statistically, people change jobs or careers every 2.8 years, or something like that. Each career professional subscribes to some statistic on job changes, but for some reason this one kind of rings true with me. I know a lot of people that don't make changes that often, but I know others that change with more frequency. The fact is that people change jobs, a lot. Part of your career management has included developing the skills, knowledge and abilities, amassing education, degrees and certifications and other things to beef up your resume. What I've learned the hard way is that no matter how cool my resume is, and how good I am, there is an important aspect to career management that I had been neglecting - preparing for that 2.8 year job transition.
If I got paid to do a job search I would certainly do it differently. I would have a reminder of what my end goal is (define what you are looking for so you can stay focused) and a strategy. One thing that I've come to realize is that this strategy is for every day of my career, not just when I'm unemployed. Here are six parts of my job search strategy for when I already have a job (whether I'm happy there or not):
1. Have a current master resume - this is a resume that has everything on it, and will be used to pull information to create a more targeted resume applicable to a certain company or job posting.
2. Make a conscience effort to maintain relationships - I will continue to strengthen relationships with people that I've met. It doesn't matter if this is someone that I haven't talked with for over 10 years! That guy or gal in the cubicle next to you 10 years ago may be in the corner office today!
3. Consistently expand my personal contacts - I will add new people I meet at conventions and other meetings to my personal network, and foster the relationship with each of these people so that they know who I am and what my skills are. I will also ask people I know for contacts in areas that interest me - for example, "who do you know that works in the banking industry?"
4. Perform company informational interviews - I will contact one company that is outside of the industry that I'm working each month and find a senior manager to do an informational interview. This has many advantages: you will learn more about another industry, you may learn how to solve a problem in a way that you haven't thought about before, you expand your personal network, and that manager learns about you and can judge you as a possible valuable asset to his team. Note this is not an opportunity to ask for a job - it is a no-pressure "tell me about your company, what you do, what your challenges are." Your strengths will come out in the quality of your questions and dialogue - leave it at that for this first meeting.
5. Pursue service opportunities - while time is a valuable commodity, you should pursue opportunities to serve at least once a month. There are some very meaningful programs that require very little time yet have a big impact. My personal favorite was spending time one-on-one with a disadvantaged child at an elementary school, where I was able to show him, through example, how a child/adult relationship could be. There are many other opportunities, and the other volunteers that you meet will be great contacts to add to your network.
6. Develop my personal brand - In your company or industry there are ways to create and strengthen your personal brand. Have you ever authored an article for the trade magazine? Have you ever been asked to speak at a conference? There are ways to get your foot in the door, and it makes sense for you to create yourself as a Guru. I met one guy that started a blog on new technologies that has made money off of his brand that he created for himself. He said that he is the same guy as he was before the blog, but now he is regarded as a guru - and is cashing in on it.
I know that you are busy in your professional life. You have deadlines, priorities, responsibilities and distractions. But I learned the hard way, it is much better to prepare for a job search before you need to, than to find yourself at home on a Monday morning with an outdated resume in hand saying "now what do I do?" Consider each of the 6 points above to be preventative measures. Do any or all of them now and you will be much more prepared for when you really need it.
Copyright: Copyright © 2006-2008 Jason Alba
About the Author:
Jason Alba, professional job seeker, is the creator of JibberJobber.com which is a website that allows professionals and job seekers to organize and manage every aspect of a job search. You can get a free account at http://www.JibberJobber.com/?referredBy=2 and keep track of prospective employers, network contacts, jobs you apply to, job boards you post on, job-related expenses, and many other aspects of a job search. Other features include importing/exporting of your data, e-mailed action items and more. Jason can be reached at jason@JibberJobber.com.
job hunting, plastics recruiter, plastics headhunter
Dan Regovich - Plastics Recruiter - Formerly with RSI Recruiter Solutions International
AJ Augur Group, LLC
440-357-7600
www.ajaugur.com
dregovich@ajaugur.com
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