Hello to all of our Wonderful Friends and Clients!

I have never used this newsletter to send out personal information. But, today, I will make an exception. You see, I HAVE BECOME THE FATHER OF A DOCTOR! Lori Ann Schluth is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. From Penn no less. Now you may not know that there are only 28 Vet Schools in the entire country. And, Penn is at the very top. I am so very proud!

Below is the short story: (And, if you are someone that knows me personally, you would likely say that you do not want to hear the long version!)

Lori, 33, is my eldest child. It was 26 years ago when she first started to ride horses. English saddle riding I believe they called it. Lori ultimately worked part time at the barn and cleaned up and shoveled all sorts of stuff. Needless to say, Lori was well grounded in her youth.

When Lori was about 16, I said something like, “Honeybunch, you should think about being a Vet one day.” “No way Dad,” Lori said, “I love animals too much and I could never work with any that are hurt badly or really sick. They might die and I would be so upset.”

So Lori finished up at Abington High School and decided on Arcadia University (then Beaver College). And, at my urging, she enrolled in their Physical Therapy program.

“Dad, I can’t do this science stuff,” Lori said at the conclusion of her first year, “so I’m changing my major to Sociology.” Lori graduated from Beaver in 1996. And, guess where she went to work? As a Technician at a 24/7 Veterinary Hospital of course.

Fast forward five years from then.

“Dad, guess what? I made an inquiry at the University of Pennsylvania about their School of Veterinary Medicine. They told me that I could be a good candidate. But I will need to take some science courses at Arcadia and Gwynedd Mercy.” Well, Lori worked full time and completed her required courses in about a year and a half.

“Sorry, Lori,” was Penn’s reply. “We are forced to reject you at this time even though we consider you to be an excellent and mature candidate. Notwithstanding that you received a wonderful recommendation from your employer - a Penn grad himself - you got a ‘B’ in Chemistry when you were a freshman at Beaver College. Now you will need to retake that course and bring your grade up to at least an ‘A’. Plus there is one other certification that you will need to supply.”

So Lori did those things and was then accepted as a candidate for the distinction to receive her Veterinariae Medicinae Doctoris within Penn’s Class of 2008. You can bet that my heart was thumping and pumping wildly last Monday, May 19, when I first heard “Doctor Lori Ann Schluth, please step forward to accept your hood and your degree.”

Fourteen hundred plus paid applications and only 104 veterinary-doctors-to-be were accepted by Penn. And, my Lori was one of them.

Thump-Pump - Thump-Thump-Thump!!!

LEADING EDGE HUMAN RESOURCES ISSUES

Workers' Age, Race Suits Win Court OK

The Supreme Court recently said that workers who claim they faced retaliation for complaining of racial or age discrimination may sue in federal court, and it made clear that federal employees enjoy the same protection as their counterparts in the private sector.

In a pair of decisions that drew support from both liberal and conservative justices, the court said its past decisions compelled the view that federal laws that protect workers from discrimination also protect them from retaliation for filing complaints, even if the words of the statute do not specifically say so.

"It's a huge victory for federal workers, who will enjoy the same protection from retaliation that private-sector employees receive," said Joseph Guerra, who argued the age case for postal worker Myrna Gomez-Perez. He said more than one million federal workers were covered by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

More broadly, the court's decisions brought grudging praise from civil-rights groups that had complained about the court's overwhelmingly pro-business rulings last term, and brought concern from industry groups.

The liberal People for the American Way said the rulings were "welcome exceptions" to what it called a trend of the court's conservative justices to "undercut the rights of everyday Americans and protect powerful business and government interests." (Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/28/08),

Telecommuting: The Good, the Bad and the Unknown

No one said designing a telecommuting policy was easy. Flexible workplace arrangements win favor with employees who tend to like the flexibility and autonomy. Corporate budget crunchers often credit flexible schedules with real estate savings.

Meanwhile, many managers say the notion of employees working at home can undermine collaboration and, ultimately, the bottom line. So who’s right? The debate intensifies as the economy slows down. Now, every bit of productivity counts.

An examination of 20 years of research by Pennsylvania State University investigators suggests that the evidence is tilted, albeit slightly, in favor of telecommuting.

An analysis of 46 studies of telecommuting involving 12,833 employees, conducted by Ravi S. Gajendran and David A. Harrison, professors in Penn State’s Department of Management and Organization, shows that flexible schedules offer managers more positives than negatives. Their study was published in the Journal of Applied Psychology in November 2007.

“Contrary to popular belief that face time at the office remains essential for good work relations,” said Gajendran, “the evidence shows telecommuters’ relations with their managers and co-workers did not suffer.” (HR Magazine May 2008)

Employers Almost Universally Hate Universal Health Care

When it comes to the government getting involved in managing health care, most large companies are making it pretty clear where they stand: Thanks, but no thanks.

An overwhelming number of large corporations polled recently by Watson Wyatt and the National Business Group on Health said they have a strong preference for managing their own health care issues, as opposed to moving toward a “single-payer” solution, such as universal health care. Specifically, respondents at 380 of the 453 large employers—or 84 percent—said they don’t support universal health care coverage.

Instead, they want to provide workers with their own health care programs.

“Most large companies believe they have a fairly good understanding of how they should manage their health care, and how it impacts their workforces,” said Ted Nussbaum, director of group and health care consulting at Watson Wyatt. “And they don’t have a lot of faith that the federal government will be able to manage health care more effectively.”

Nussbaum said companies have voiced their displeasure with federally run programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, arguing that these two programs too frequently shift costs to the private sector. Their concern, Nussbaum said, is that such cost-shifting would increase if the federal government provided medical care for an even larger portion of the population through universal coverage.

“The health of your employees is critical to their productivity and your ability to run your business effectively,” Nussbaum added. “Most employers want to manage this directly and are unwilling to hand this off.” (Workforce Week, 4/23/08)

‘Mental Health’ Days Taken for Family

Family and relationship issues top the reasons to take a so-called mental health day,
according to an online poll of 1,036 U.S. workers.

People take a mental health day when “you have no physical ailment but you know you can’t focus on the job” and need an unplanned absence to re-energize, says David Campbell, senior vice president of quality and customers at Chicago-based ComPsych Corp., a provider of employee assistance programs that conducted the survey.

In the past, work stress has dealt with such concerns as who one is working with, the likelihood of the company being sold, and if they have a job tomorrow, according to Campbell.

Thirty percent of those surveyed cited family or relationship issues as the reason they would take a mental health day, followed by work stress or workload, at 20 percent.

A national Stress in America survey in September 2007 of 1,848 people for the American Psychological Association (APA) found that nearly one-third of employed U.S. adults have difficulty managing work and family responsibilities. (HR Magazine, 5/2008)

Domestic Partner Benefits: Risks vs. Rewards

Does your company offer domestic partner benefits? For some firms, the decision (pro or con) is a matter of principle. For others, it’s strictly a risk-versus-reward business decision.

Currently, 269 of the Fortune 500 companies provide domestic partner benefits. The rate is lower for smaller companies, higher for public employers in states that permit such benefits.

The firms that offer such coverage typically report a strong ROI in terms of recruiting and retention. It’s one part of a benefits package that weighs just as heavily as salary in why interested employees or job seekers choose to work for a specific employer.

Keep in mind that domestic partner benefits policies come in different varieties: coverage for opposite sex partners only, same sex partners only or coverage for both. A study shows 58% of private companies offering domestic partner benefits extend them both to same- and opposite-sex unmarried couples.

As long as your company enforces the policy consistently, you can give benefits to whomever you want, right? Not necessarily. Therein lies the legal risk of domestic partner benefits. (HR Benefits Alerts, 5/20/08)

Smoke Gets in Your Lies, Whirlpool Suspends Workers for Smoking Fibs

Thirty-nine employees of Whirlpool Corp.’s Evansville, Indiana, manufacturing plant have been suspended for lying about their smoking habits.

The employees had claimed to be nonsmokers to avoid paying a $500 annual surcharge Whirlpool has assessed on smokers who are enrolled in the company’s health benefits plan, a company spokesman confirmed.

However, other employees reported seeing the alleged nonsmokers lighting up in designated smoking areas outside the plant, the Benton Harbor, Michigan-based manufacturer reported. (Workforce Week, 4/29/08)

The Latest Office Perk: Getting Paid to Volunteer

Last fall, Jenny Balaze left her post in Ernst & Young LLC's Washington office to spend 12 weeks in Buenos Aires as a volunteer, providing free accounting services to a small publishing firm. It was among "the best three months of my life," says the 27-year-old business advisory services manager.

The Big Four accounting firm covered her transportation, food and hotel expenses. Even better, she remained on the company payroll the entire time she was gone, and her job was waiting for her when she got back.

Corporate volunteerism often used to mean cleaning up public parks or building homes for the needy. Today, a growing number of companies are lending out skilled employees to nonprofits and struggling small businesses around the world to provide accounting, marketing and other professional services. Under these programs, assignments tend to tap into participants' skills and career goals.

To be sure, law firms of all sizes have a long tradition of providing pro bono work to nonprofits and individuals. But in recent years, more employers have begun offering similar arrangements for employees to do volunteer work on company time — and the company dime — even if it means employees miss weeks or months of work.

Why go to all the trouble? For one, employees often gain a broader perspective on business when they do their jobs in different settings — knowledge they can bring back to the organization. And, say employers, first-rate corporate volunteer programs help attract and retain so-called millennials — workers born after 1980 — who are needed to help fill vacancies expected to be created by the impending retirement wave of the baby-boomer generation.

For many young job hunters, a prominent employee-volunteerism program is a strong selling point. A 2006 survey of 1,800 13-to-25-year-olds found that 79% want to work for a company that cares about how it affects or contributes to society.

Sixty-four percent said their employer's social and environmental activities inspire loyalty, according to Cone Inc., a Boston-based brand strategy and communications agency, which conducted the survey.

Millennials are saying, “I don't want to park my values at the door," explains Carol Cone, chairman and founder of the firm. They're asking companies: “What's your purpose? What do you stand for? How are you giving back?"

Companies are increasingly answering by creating volunteer programs and then touting them on their corporate Web sites and Facebook pages, as well as in meetings with job candidates.

Sarah Antonette, 28, says she opted to join PNC Financial Services Group Inc. last year instead of two other companies that offered her jobs partly because of its volunteerism initiative. "Some of the other companies I interviewed with do a one-off event or write a check, but PNC had an entire program," says the 2006 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh's Katz School of Business. She learned about it during her job interview.

PNC's volunteerism program includes partnerships with roughly 200 nonprofits nationwide. Employees can choose between skills-based assignments and projects unrelated to their jobs, says Kathy D'Appolonia, senior vice president for recruiting and employee inclusion at PNC.

Corporate recruiters say company philanthropy -- and building a reputation for direct involvement -- is a hot topic at campus job fairs. Laysha Ward, vice president of community relations at retailer Target Corp., says recruiters from all regions are hearing younger job candidates bring up the company's "commitment to the community as one of the No. 1 reasons they want to come work for us."

Ernst & Young's overseas volunteer initiative, which the firm launched in 2006, is "a big attractor on campus," says Deborah Holmes, a director of corporate responsibility. The fact that Ernst & Young limits participation to top performers or employees who have been with the company more than two years doesn't seem to be a deterrent, Ms. Holmes says. "It's something many new hires look forward to," she says. Other corporate volunteer programs have similar requirements.

For millennials and experienced workers, skills-based volunteerism is also a way to enhance their careers, says Greg Hills, director at FSG Social Impact Advisors, a nonprofit consulting and research firm in Boston. "Employees in general feel that they're delivering more value per hour volunteered when they're able to bring to bear their own workplace skills in addressing a social problem," he explains.

Ernst & Young's Ms. Balaze says her overseas assignment demanded more autonomy than any she had previously handled back in her office. "Being the only person working with that client, I was able to do a whole project from start to finish," she says. "Now the partners in my group are willing to let me work more independently because they know I've taken a project all the way through." Ernst & Young worked with Endeavor, a New York-based nonprofit group, in identifying small businesses in need of professional support in developing countries. (Sarah Needleman, 4/29/08)

Weight Discrimination Could be as Common as Racial Bias

Weight discrimination, especially against women, is increasing in U.S. society and is almost as common as racial discrimination, two studies suggest.

Reported discrimination based on weight has increased 66% in the past decade, up from about 7% to 12% of U.S. adults, says one study, in the journal Obesity. The other study, in the International Journal of Obesity, says such discrimination is common in both institutional and interpersonal situations — and in some cases is even more prevalent than rates of discrimination based on gender and race. (About 17% of men and 9% of women reported race discrimination.)

Among severely obese people, about 28% of men and 45% of women said they have experienced discrimination because of their weight.

"Weight discrimination is a very serious social problem that we need to pay attention to," says Rebecca Puhl of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University, a co-author of both studies.

The research, based on surveys of more than 2,000 U.S. adults in 1995-96 and 2004-06, is the first to compare rates of weight discrimination with other forms of discrimination, Puhl says.

Institutional discrimination involved health care, education or workplace situations, such as cases in which people said they were fired, denied a job or a promotion because of their weight. Interpersonal discrimination focused on insults, abuse and harassment from others.

Lynn McAfee, director of medical advocacy at the non-profit Council on Size and Weight Discrimination in Mt. Marion, N.Y., is not surprised by the findings.

"Until we clean up language like 'war on obesity' and have authorities speak out about it, discrimination will continue to increase," she says.

Puhl agrees weight discrimination will not decrease until attitudes change and laws begin addressing it.

No federal laws against weight discrimination exist, although some cities, including Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, have banned discrimination locally. The Massachusetts Legislature had hearings last month on a proposed law.

Peggy Howell says she will never forget the day her boss told her she either had to lose weight or lose her job. She weighed 280 pounds at the time and was working as a librarian. Feeling as if she had no choice but to comply, Howell joined Weight Watchers.

Howell volunteers for the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, a non-profit organization in Oakland.

After shedding 120 pounds in a year and a half, she quit her library job and started an online business selling items that portray people of size in a positive light.

She says she now knows she has the right to challenge stereotypes, and she wants to "help people to see the beauty in themselves, no matter what their size." (USA Today, 5/21/08)

States Pass Laws for “Domestic Violence Leave”

Washington has just joined a growing list of states that require employers to give time off to victims of domestic violence.
The law went into effect in Washington State on April 1. It allows victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking to take “reasonable leave,” in order to deal with legal issues, medical care and counseling. The leave can be paid or unpaid, and employers can run paid time off concurrently with the leave.

Also, employees must offer leave to family members of victims to help them deal with those issues.

This is a growing trend in employment law, so if you aren’t covered in your state, you might be soon. A growing number of states have similar laws on the books, including Florida, Kansas and Oregon, which passed legislation last year.

On the federal side, a bill to give domestic abuse victims 30 days of leave has been introduced in the Senate, and is in the early stages of the legislative process. We’ll keep you posted. (HR Legal News, 5/21/08)

Fighting Absenteeism with Lie Detectors?

Think an employee’s faking an illness to get a day off? Try strapping him to a polygraph machine.

The British Department for Work and Pensions has starting using a similar approach to weed out applicants who lie to claim benefits.

Granted, it’s not quite the big machine they use on murder suspects in the movies. What they’re using is technology known as Voice Risk Analysis (VRA), which plugs into a telephone to examine a caller’s voice for signs of deceit.

The DWP says it’s working just fine, and some HR consultants across the pond think the technology could be used by bosses to keep workers from “pulling sickies.”

Are they on to something? Anyone in HR knows people fake being sick all the time. They might be more reluctant to if they knew they were being judged by a machine.

But there’s also an issue of trust to consider, as well as the reluctance of HR folks to act as the employee’s babysitter, which is why a lot of companies are offering simple PTO banks these days. And, of course, lie detectors are known for their fallibility.

Who knows? But it may be easier just to train managers on how to identify phony coughs. (HR Tech News, 5/21/08)

Top of page

Alstin Communications is a proud member of EMPACTworld — the largest worldwide alliance of independent advertising agencies specializing in Employer Marketing. There are more than 350 advertising/employer marketing professionals in seventeen firms with 22 offices in seven countries on three continents. Each agency location shown below is staffed with people who are passionate about what they do. Our office locations include: Atlanta - Baltimore - Boston - Brisbane - Brussels - Chicago Dallas - London - Los Angeles - Manchester - Melbourne Miami - Montreal - New York - Omaha - Paris - Philadelphia San Jose - Sydney - Toronto - Winnipeg - Vancouver So whether you'e looking for a local contact in a distant market or a branding initiative with international appeal, you need to look to one place — Alstin Communications. Our EMPACTworld mission is simple: Help our clients find, motivate, and retain the employees they need to accomplish bottom-line business objectives.

H.R. CONFERENCES & MEETINGS

SHRM National Conferences:
60th Annual SHRM Conference & Exposition: June 22-25, 2008, McCormick Place, Chicago, IL

NAACP 99th Annual Convention and Job Fair will take place July 12-17 in Cincinnati, OH.

The Human Resource Planning Society (HRPS) will host a teleconference on “Talent Turnover Trends 2008: New Data, New Insights” with speaker Craig Taylor on 6/17. For more information and to register, please visit www.hrps.org.

Philadelphia Area Association of Healthcare Recruiters (PAAHCR) will host the PAAHCR Election Lunch on 6/13. Location: Park Hyatt, Philadelphia. For more information, please visit: www.paahcr.com.

Philadelphia Human Resources Planning Society (PHRPS) will host a program on 6/17 from 7:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. at The HUB Cira Centre, Philadelphia, PA. The topic of this event will be Globalization. For more information, please visit www.phrpg.org.

Tri-State HRMA will host a Volunteer Recognition and 25th Anniversary Celebration dinner meeting on 6/5 starting at 5:15 p.m. at the Mount Laurel Marriott. This event is sponsored by Amenity Rentals. On 7/9 there will be a dinner meeting beginning at 5:00 p.m. The topic will be “HR 101 for Non-Profits.” The location of this event is TBA. Please visit www.tristatehr.org for more information.

PhillySHRM will host a networking event on 6/11, starting at 5:30 p.m. The topic will be “Expanding Your Sphere: Connect. Identify. Learn.” Location: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Visit www.phillyshrm.org for more details.

Chester County Human Resources Association (CCHRA) is currently planning for September. For more information, please visit www.cchrassn.org

The Greater Valley Forge Human Resource Association (GVFHRA) will host The Diversity Forum on 6/17 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. This event will be sponsored by HR Backbone. It will take place at Penn State Great Valley. To register for this event, please visit www.gvfhra.com.

HRA of Southern NJ will host a dinner meeting, “Cumberland Country College School Counts & BA/MBA Review” on 6/19 at 5:30 p.m. The speaker will be Dr. Ken Ender. The meeting will take place at Cumberland County College Resource Center. Cost for non-members is $40 and $30 for members. For additional meeting info, contact Phyllis East at 856.459.3146 or email eastp@seabrookfarms.com.

The Human Resource Professionals of Central Pennsylvania (HRP of Central PA) Monthly meetings are usually held the fourth Tuesday of each month. The next chapter meeting will be on June 24th, 2008. Visit online at www.hrpcpa.org for more information.

HRMA of Princeton will host a monthly dinner meeting on 6/9, from 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the Princeton Hyatt. Topic, “Surviving the Workplace Jungle: Know How to Leverage Your Team’s Talents” will be presented by Susan Cullen, President of Quantum Learning Solutions. Visit www.hrma-nj.org to register for this event.

Southern Shore HR Management Association of New Jersey usually hosts monthly meetings the third Wednesday of the month. On 6/18, they will host a breakfast meeting at The Flanders in Ocean City. Please visit online at www.sshrmanj.org for more information.

SHRM DE (Delaware Chapter) will be hosting a breakfast meeting on 6/10 starting at 7:30 a.m. Julie Kampf, President JBK Associates will be presenting the topics: Hiring and Keeping the WOW and Women opting out and back into the Workplace. The meeting will take place at the Cavalier Country Club. For more information, please visit www.deshrm.org

Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SEPA SHRM) will host the Annual Professional Development Program and Networking Event on 6/3 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. This event will take place at the new Lenfest Pavilion at Abington Hospital. For more information, visit: www.sepashrm.org.

Times and locations are subject to change without notice.

If you would like to be included in our H.R. Conferences & Meetings listing, please contact
Heather Gwin at: 215.568.3200 or email: hgwin@alstin.com. THANKS!

Top of page

Print Media Update

The Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily News (PA) will host a South Jersey Career Fair on 6/4. A banner for Automotive will appear on 6/8, and for Protective Services on 6/22.

Buffalo News (NY) will highlight Manufacturing Employment Opportunities, 6/1, Jobs On A Roll, 6/2 and Commitment to Diversity on 6/15. A Virtual Job Connection will take place on 7/6.

New York Times (NY) will publish Nursing Diaries on 6/8. The Careers in Defense & Security will appear on 6/15. A Diversity Online Career Fair will begin 7/1.

The Philadelphia/Tri-State Nursing Spectrum will have an Med-Surg editorial focus, 6/2 and Critical Care focus, 6/30.

The Allentown Morning Call (PA) will have a Warehouse/Distribution banner 6/1.

SOUTHEAST

Fayetteville Observer (NC) will begin including all Sunday ads in the new expanded version of the “Weekender Street Edition” tabloid that runs each Friday. The Street Edition will be placed in racks throughout Fayetteville and surrounding counties.

Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA) will publish Home Health & Assisted Living banner page on 6/22. A special section for Nursing in Virginia will appear on 6/23.

WEST

Arizona Republic (AZ) will have a Transportation/Driver theme page, 6/1.

Top of page

Clients in the News, Clients on the Move & Client Events

Barbara A. Plotts, an attorney in the Philadelphia offices of Blank Rome LLP, has been appointed by the Philadelphia Bar Association to co-chair its public school education committee.

The Advertising Specialty Institute, a Trevose media and marketing organization, promoted Susanne Curry to senior vice president of marketing. Curry has been vice president of marketing. ASI also named Carol Albright senior vice president of human resources. (Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/10/08)

Ellen Mallin has joined career management and executive coaching firm Kelleher Associates, Inc., of Wayne, as senior vice president and principal. She had been vice president at Kaplan & Associates, a Wynnewood executive search firm. (Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/3/08)

Fox Chase Cancer Center recently received final approval from the Philadelphia City Council for a $1 billion expansion plan. Fox Chase wants to grow its campus by leasing 19 acres adjacent to its Northeast Philadelphia campus in Burholme Park on land now occupied primarily by a driving range. The plan still requires approval of the Philadelphia Orphans Court. (Philadelphia Business Journal, 3/14/08)

SEPTA will launch a advertising campaign that it hopes will position the transit system as a green alternative. The campaign, ìGo Green, Go SEPTA,î will advertise on transit posters, token packs, window displays and, this may be a first, seed packets. (Philadelphia Business Journal, 2/29/08)

Luanne Ramsey, formerly the HR Manager/Employee Relations Manager at RWJ Hamilton has recently been appointed the Development Manger at The Rosen Group in Voorhees, NJ.

Temple University Health System will invest about $12 million into renovating the nine-floor building that housed its pediatric hospital until it got out of the business at the end of last year. The building at 3509 N. Broad St.ówhich had 68 beds and will continue to house some outpatient pediatric services - has been renamed the Esther Boyer Pavilion for a Temple University benefactor. (Philadelphia Business Journal, 2/29/08)

Liver cancer specialists at Thomas Jefferson Universityís Kimmel Cancer Center are testing a new liver cancer treatment that involves injecting millions of tiny beads into the main artery of a patientís liver. The beads, also known as microspheres, are designed to emit small amounts of radiation directly to the cancer - sparing healthy tissue - while also blocking the blood supply feeding the cancerís growth. (Philadelphia Business Journal, 2/22/08)

Top of page

Web Advances Change the Landscape

This isn't your father's recruiting market, or even your older sister's.

Advances in technology make the way jobs are found and filled online distinctly different from just a few years ago. Employers are now experimenting with innovative strategies for spreading their recruitment messages and screening candidates online. And Web-savvy job hunters are taking advantage of new Internet resources aimed at helping them make better career decisions.

Video, Podcasts and Interactive Media

Until recently, few employers produced Web videos describing what it's like to work for them. "Video is finally catching on with employers in a fairly big way," says Joel Cheesman, author ofCheezhead.com, a blog on Web recruiting.

Today's videos are a step above early examples. They're higher quality and tailored to address a variety of job hunter interests, he says. And, they're more ubiquitous, finding homes on job boards, company career sites and video-sharing sites like.com.

Digital Dirt, Digital Attraction

Scanning the Web for information that might derail a job hunter's candidacy is now routine procedure for recruiters at many firms, says Cynthia Shapiro, author of the forthcoming book, "What Does Somebody Have to Do to Get a Job Around Here" (Griffin Publishing LLC, 2008). Many recruiters now even engage in the practice before extending interview invites, she adds.

"If what pops up is a ranting blog about the evils of corporate America or a picture of you topless ina beer in your hand, you're in trouble," she warns. "Your resume will land in the trash and you won't even know what happened."

Companies are using social-networking sites to vet potential hires.

Job Boards

While employers are doing more to reach out, there are also more online destinations than ever for job hunters to find employment ads.

About 2,000 new job boards have launched annually since 2000, and there are currently about 50,000, says Peter Weddle, chief executive officer of Weddle's, a publisher of guides to job boards. Of these, about 30% are general job sites while 70% specialize in a particular niche, he adds.

One reason for the explosion: "very inexpensive entry costs," says Mark Mehler, co-founder of CareerXroads, a staffing consulting firm.

Ensuring a Good Fit

Once you get from the job ad into the application process, more employers are adding assessments — a form of candidate screening previously reserved for the interview stage, says John Hancock, managing director of recruiting services at Capital H Group, a human-resources consulting firm. The idea is to learn about candidates' intangible qualities, like leadership skills, work ethic and business acumen, he explains.

Video Interviews

More employers are conducting first interviews with candidates over the Internet now that many popular personal-computer brands have built-in video capabilities, says Ms. Shapiro. Some employers are using the technique to have candidates meet hiring managers in faraway locations. (Recruiting 3.0, 2008)

Careerbuilder Partners with Facebook

CareerBuilder.com signed an annual deal with Facebook, the second largest social network on the Web.

With more than 66 million registered users, Facebook is the sixth-most trafficked website in the U.S. and is one of the fastest-growing and best-known sites on the Internet today.

Please note: Jobs posted on Careerbuilder are NOT also posted on Facebook. This is just an announcement about a major advertising push Careerbuilder is launching on Facebook to drive traffic to Careerbuilder and gain exposure. (Careerbuilder, 3/2008)

Monster.com goes to bat for multiple sclerosis victims

On behalf of the more than 400,000 Americans living with multiple sclerosis, Monster.com, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Biogen Idec and Elan, are joining together to launch MS Workplace, a first-of-its-kind online initiative that will provide MS-specific career advice, workplace tips, and job postings targeted toward the MS community. (The Bugler, 3/2008)

Interested in…

• Learning how your career site stacks up against your competition?
• Strategically planning your online exposure and packages? “Niche” Sites?
• Creating or expanding your online ERP?
• Developing custom e-cards?

Contact Jen Greenfield at jgreenfield@alstinart.com

Top of page

Use much less energy by maintaining, not regaining!