JCSI is excited to be a part of the Social Media Plus conference in Philadelphia on May 25. I’ll be presenting “The Future of Recruiting is Social – Leveraging Social Media to Attract High Quality Candidates Faster and at a Lower Cost”. The presentation will review how digital media is changing recruitment best practices. I’ll discuss the ways social media tools are being applied to build a pipeline and move candidates through the interview process.

This is a unique event that is going to appeal to a lot of people. While most social media conferences target a specific audience segment, the 28 sessions in this show are aligned along four functional tracks – HR, IT, Sales & Marketing and Executives.  This gives attendees an opportunity to dive deep in their area of expertise or they can see how the principles of social media are being applied across an organization.  Since the best social media strategies are based on a “hub and spoke” model, executives can get what they need to develop the core principles of the company’s approach to social media.  Each department (or business unit) can then apply the principles to communicate effectively with their audience segment – while being tightly aligned with each other.

I’m the first session at 9am right after the keynote. I hope you can make it. Registration information is available on their site at: www.socialmediaplus.com. Let me know if you are planning to attend bcavoli@jcsi.net.

We are excited to announce a new service here at JCSI. Called JCSI OnSite, this provides experienced recruiters to work as needed at a client’s location on a contract basis. The great advantage of this service over a traditional contract recruiter is that the OnSite recruiter is supported by a team of back-office research specialists who provide a constant flow qualified candidates for the position. This frees up more of the recruiter’s time to spend with qualified candidates so they can manage the process and give more attention to your hiring managers.

Read More

Have you heard enough about churn yet? If not, I’ve been collecting some stats you might find interesting.

The economy is improving and many people have been sitting on their hands waiting until they feel it is safe to make a job change. Almost everyone you ask expects that voluntary employee turnover will jump in the second half of this year. Here are a few of the loudest voices:

Read More

You know that recruiting practices are changing but you may be asking about how to integrate these practices in your strategy. To help you make the case, JCSI is hosting a series of webinars to discuss the expertise recruiting departments need in 2010 and how they can help you recruit better candidates faster.

These will be brief sessions where we’ll review today’s recruitment landscape and the services JCSI can provide to help you grow your organization. Come with your questions because we’ll discuss the unique challenges you are facing within your staffing department. We hope you can join us.

Sessions are available twice a month, so select the time that is best for you.

Upcoming times are:

Wed, Feb 24, 2010 4:00 PM EST
Register at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/951846778

Wed, Mar 10, 2010 1:00 PM EST
Register at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/678524827

Wed, Mar 24, 2010 4:00 PM EDT
Register at: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/959411706

By the way, if you are not convinced that things are changing, take a moment and look at our 8 Practices for 2010 eBook and the results from our recent survey of HR executives.

The results from JCSI’s 2010 Recruitment Survey reveal some interesting insights into how recruitment best practices are changing now that the economy is on the rise again.  Hiring demands are increasing for most companies, but recruitment budgets are not increasing at the same rate. Traditional methods of posting jobs and contacting candidates are losing effectiveness, so recruiters are taking innovative approaches to finding talent. They are cutting back on ineffective advertising and agency practices and they are reaching out to candidates directly in online networks and social media.

Read More

Now that 2009 is behind us, it is time to think about how we’ll succeed this year.   One we know is that the word of recruiting has changed. The economy is improving and hiring needs are increasing for many companies, but this is not a return to normal. The events in the past year have changed the way people make career decisions and the way companies reach the best candidates. Recruiting is no longer a passive profession. Relying on blasting ads doesn’t work for marketing departments, and “post and pray” practices certainly do not work for staffing departments.

Read More

By Pedro Silva

In my role at JCSI, I have the opportunity to engage with candidates in situations beyond the recruitment process.  Very frequently I speak with people after it has been determined that they are no longer being considered for a particular position.  At this point, with nothing else to lose and an urge to vent, some will take the opportunity to share their interview experiences with me.  I have also served on recruiter panels at a local outplacement firm and attended many job seeker networking groups where war stories of the job market are in no short supply. Some tell me how each interview leaves them successively scarred.  They know that they have to keep their spirits up, but eventually holding back at interviews is the only way they can protect themselves from the sting of rejection.
Read More

JCSI currently has an opening for an Executive Assistant in our Westborough, MA office.  Information on the position is below.  If you are interested in the opportunity, please send your updated, Word-formatted resume to Matt Griffin at mgriffin@jcsi.net.

As the Executive Assistant, you will be responsible for assisting the Vice President of Sales. Your duties will include clerical assistance with correspondence, maintaining the Vice President’s schedule, routine office functions, assistance with sales activities and events, and coordination with the Sales Team. The Executive Assistant will report directly to the Vice President of Sales.

Read More

At JCSI, we have a job opening as a Senior Sales Executive in our Westborough, MA office to join our current team of 6 Sales Representatives.  The Senior Sales Executive’s primary focus will be the development of new as well as previous business relationships.  Customer and client interaction will comprise the majority of the workday, with a heavy emphasis on face-to-face meetings with qualified prospects.  Additionally, the Senior Sales Executive will be responsible for outbound prospecting and various networking activities.

Read More

We are in the middle of collecting responses for our 20101 recruitment survey.  Looking at the responses that have come in so far, there are some interesting trends that are emerging.   Some I anticipated, but many others that will make for a great discussion when we review the results in a webinar next month.

Some of the enlightening and entertaining information has been coming from the responses to the only opened ended question we included.  We asked the simple question “What is the single most important thing you will do differently in 2010 than you did in 2009?”. Some answered with a word or two like  “make more money” but most provided some detailed insight.

Read More

For over a year, the recession wreaked havoc on the job market.   If you were of working age in America, you either couldn’t find a job, got laid off, or if you were lucky enough to have a job…you knew that luck could run out any day.  The fear of unemployment caused countless employees to cling to their jobs and hang on for dear life, whether they liked their position or not. 

Fast forward to present day.  The economy has finally begun to pick up and Americans can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  For the chosen ones who have withstood layoffs, tight budgets, cut bonuses and dissolving pension plans – is the economic turnaround a green light to cut your losses with your employer and say “I’m outta here”?   

Read More

Now that the economy is improving and hiring is picking up in many sectors, many recruiting leaders want to know how recruiting practices are changing in 2010.   With the rise in digital technology and social media, are the preferred recruiting practices changing?  How are HR leaders looking to rebuild their teams?  What are the most important metrics for measuring success? These are some of the questions we are addressing in our new Talent Recruiting Survey.

This brief survey addresses how companies are planning to grow their teams and what tools and practices they’ll be using in the next year.   Click here to take the survey – we kept it short so it won’t take more that 10 minutes of your time.

We’ll summarize the results in an ebook and discuss them in a webinar so you can see how your colleagues are approaching recruiting in the new year.  Just leave your email address and we’ll send you an invite as soon as it is ready.

And if that wasn’t enough reason to take this survey… all participants are eligible to win a new Amazon Kindle. Now wouldn’t that be a nice holiday present for yourself?

Take the 2010 Talent Survey Now

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MVTQ5ST

Are you looking for flexible part-time work to earn some extra spending money?  Do you like the idea of helping people find exciting new jobs?  Then JCSI has a unique opportunity for you.

The Candidate Development Specialist’s primary responsibility is to screen potential candidates for positions within the companies that JCSI represents.  You will work closely with internal JCSI team members to ensure a coordinated qualification process occurs.

The Candidate Development Specialist is required to keep current all candidate status information within their assigned companies.  You will manage client email accounts as specified by the Team Lead, schedule candidate interviews with clients, maintain daily consultant reporting/documentation tools from candidates to internal sources, maintain current knowledge of companies and positions, attend weekly meetings.  Part-time CDS team members work between 10 and 25 hours a week and you can work any time of the day between 7AM to 9PM Monday through Friday. 

We will be holding an informational webinar on the opportunity on Monday, November 23, 2009 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST.  Registration Web Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/423319010

Mandatory Skills and Experience:

• 2-4  years of successful of professional work experience
• Experience with MS office applications
• Strong multi-tasking ability
• Proven ability to work in a team environment
• A BS/BA degree or equivalent
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Ambition to meet a weekly goal of interviewed candidates
• Must be able to work out of our offices in Westborough, MA

Desirable Skills and Experience:

• Experience working with applicant tracking software such as (PC Recruiter, Recruit Max.)

If you are interested in this opportunity, send your updated resume to csullivan@jcsi.net

I came across a fascinating report on Twitter recently. A new research report from the Kauffman Foundation challenges some of the widely held assumptions about where job growth will come from in a cautiously growing economy.  Since small businesses account for about half of the labor force many believe that they will be the key drivers of job growth, but this report shows that the size of the business has little correlation to its ability to generate jobs… it is all about the age.

Read More

I hear you loud and clear

Our Director of Marketing, Brian Cavoli, often calls our CareerAssist program, “the voice of the candidates”.  I think that title is very appropriate and in these times it feels good to know that as a company we are doing our best to listen to what people on the job market have to say.  With the national unemployment rate extending beyond 10%, more and more people are feeling the pains that come with having to face uncertainty.  For most people, not having a job does more than simply decrease their monetary income, it also decreases their psychic income as well.  When we consider the value that we place on making a contribution to something larger than ourselves, it is not difficult to see how losing the ritual that comes with steady employment can tear into a person’s self esteem.

Read More

Have you ever seen the Fox hit television show, 24?  It is gripping, action-packed and beyond unrealistic, yet I am hooked every season.  24’s hero and main man, Jack Bauer, is infamous for his 9 lives and vicious interrogation tactics that pry anything he wants out of his unsuspecting victims.   Looking back on a few interviews I have been on…maybe Jack Bauer was the one who was sitting on the other side of the table, not the Hiring Manager.

There’s nothing worse than getting grilled by an interviewer, when your nerves take over any charisma or personality you had walking in the door.  I understand when interviewing a candidate, you want to see how they will react to pressure situations and a few curveball questions…but is that really the most effective way to judge a person’s character and true potential?  As a survivor of the hot seat, here are 5 innovative ways to interview college graduates that will spare them the anxiety and showcase their true talent.

Read More

I came across this amusing presentation on Slideshare on measuring the ROI of social media. It seems that everyone has something to say about this topic, including me here, here and here,  but this one is very unique… and fun to watch.

It’s point is that you cannot measure the ROI of social media by just looking at social media data. The impact social media can make on a business can be significant, but it is non-financial. One of the classic comebacks in the social media ROI debate several years ago was “how you measure the ROI of putting on your pants?”  (The funny thing is that this golden oldie surfaced again in an AdAge article just last week so I guess it’s getting a second wind.)  The idea is that interaction with prospects in social media… and putting on your pants… are all critically important to the outcomes you achieve in your day, but you cannot arrive at an ROI by analyzing that activity alone. They are important precursors to the business transaction where the financial impact of the transaction occurs.  This is the only point where ROI can be measured.

Read More

For a college student, entering a College Career Fair venue is like walking into a cafeteria.  Both facilities are crammed with decisions, persuasion and the uncertainty of what to choose or where to turn next.  Sure, students have to do some impressing, but at College Career Fairs, companies are the ones who possess the task of attracting top talent.  Students and representatives from companies both play eminent roles in the career fair game.  Students have to take off their sweats, conjure up a resume and bring their A-game to prove they are worth a closer look.  Companies on the other hand need to stand out amongst a crowd and portray themselves as the entrée students wait in line for.

Read More

I had an opportunity to film a segment on social media for the New England Job Show recently. If you’re not familiar with them, the New England Job Show is a TV show about helping job seekers succeed in their job search. Shows are streamed on their website at NEJS.org and they are available on TV on Comcast OnDemand in the Local Programs area.

Read More

JCSI is growing and we’ve added an experienced recruitment industry leader to our team. Kevin Jones has joined us at VP of Sales to expand our team and to help grow our client base.  Kevin joins us from JobFox where he directed their sales efforts and helped transform the company during the downturn and launched a variety of innovative new recruiting products.  Here is the release announcing his addition to our team.

Read More