Trend Watch, Office Edition

5 Office Trends to Watch in 2012.

1. Mobile Devices. Is this news? Probably not, however the restrictions on how and when you use them in the work place are decreasing by the day.  Some companies have even gone as far as making workplaces BYOD, or “bring your own device.” My biggest concern with this trend is confidentiality. 
2. Telecommuting. Otherwise known as working from your mobile device off site. According to AARP research the baby boomers are the biggest advocates for this movement.  In many cases its win-win. Telecommuting offers employees more flexible schedules and it offers employers a way to curb office expenses.
3. Open Office Space. Let the creative juices flow! More and more companies are deconstructing the cubicle and creating communal spaces and shared workspaces.  The hope is this will increase the exchange of ideas and lead to improved productivity.
4. Instant Communication. We have already bid adieu to the fax machine, however will we parting ways with email soon as well?  I tend to say no, however more and more people feel that email is a bit slow for communication and find text, social media, and other alternatives faster and more economical.
5. Reverse Mentoring. Now this one is new…and probably is freaking some people out.  Not only are companies having new employees be mentored by longer standing employees, but they are also having younger employees mentor older employees in software and other techy areas.

Need A Laugh?

Say Yes to Temp!

“I’ve always been hired directly by the company”, “I will only consider permanent work”, “A temporary job isn’t a real job.” Recruiters everywhere, including us, hear phrases like these almost every day.  Getting candidates to consider temporary work is tough.  A lot of the time candidates just simply don’t understand or have not been educated as to how the market has changed and how temporary work can benefit them. 

According to a survey done by CareerBuilder and the American Staffing Association, less than a quarter of employers intend to hire full time, permanent employees in 2012.  However, the same survey revealed that 36% of employers intend to hire contract and temporary workers.  Of the employers who plan to hire temporary or contract workers, 35% of them say they plan to make the temporary role permanent if everything works out.

To translate that into City Personnel terms, 35% of the employers surveyed intent to hire for temp-perm positions in 2012.  A temp-perm situation makes a lot of candidates nervous, however there is less reason to be nervous than they think.  A temp period really isn’t so different from a probationary period and as we tell all our candidates, if you do a great job you’ll have a job.  The huge upside of this arrangement is that both candidate and employer get a change to evaluate one another before making any long term costly decisions.  A good job, as everyone knows, is important in one’s overall happiness.   For an employer the benefit is clear, no great financial risk until you know the candidate is exactly what you want.

Out of Date Resume Practices

Job searching is an area that the tried and true tactics do not always ring to be the best.  In fact, there are quite a few of these practices that are actually hurting your chances of getting a new position.

Dear Sir or Madam: Dear applicant, please, please do not address your cover letter in this fashion. When was the last time you used these titles in real life? Probably not recently and there is good reason for that.  It’s a dated way to start your letter.  Also not a terrific opening is, “To Whom this May Concern.” Today information is at our finger tips.  Odds are you can find the hiring managers name or at least the department and address your letter that way.  As an added bonus the employer already knows you have some initiative.    

Paper Resumes:  I absolutely beg of you to PLEASE put away the beige, pink, blue, and grey resume paper that is left over from the late 1980’s, early 1990’s.  Fancy resume paper is no longer worth your while, especially because you should be submitting your resume electronically.  As a recruiter when we receive mailed or faxed resumes a red flag goes off in our head.  These practices don’t denote that you’re old, however they do send the message you are out of touch with the current practices.

Pages and Pages of Bullets: Now don’t get me wrong on this, bullet points of your job responsibilities in past positions makes things easier to read and saves recruiters time, however you should limit each position to 2-3 bullet points.  Once you’ve gotten past that number you’ve lost your audience and seem to be just listing for the sake of listing.  Use your own voice in the bullets, make it natural, and only the highlight the big stuff that really defines your time in the position.  “Customer Service” is simply not worth a bullet point.

Elaine's Success

Today is a good day because as I write this one of our new and terrific candidates is starting at the office of a new, terrific client.  Elaine moved to RI this past weekend and one of her first stops on Monday was our office.  As luck would have it the previous Friday afternoon we received a temp-perm position in Elaine's field.  After speaking with her and her references we felt she would be a terrific fit in this particular position. With that in mind we set up an interview with the client on Tuesday.

Yesterday afternoon I was thrilled to receive a call offering Elaine, not the temp-perm position, but a permanent one starting this morning.  Way to go Elaine, we couldn’t be happier for you!