Global Recruiting

I had a wonderful opportunity to visit the UK last week for the Recruitment Agency Expo in London. I am going to generalize and we know generalization is dangerous, but what I found is that recruiting and the challenges seem to be similar in the UK to those that I see in the US. Here are some of the similarities I recognized during my brief introduction: Read the rest of this entry »

Thank you to everyone who participated in NPA’s 2012 business prediction poll on LinkedIn. As a global recruiters network, we are always interested in what recruiting businesses experience around the world.

67% of the 45 respondents were male and 33% were female. Positions held by the majority of respondents included owner, manager, CXO, and VP. The poll did not include in which areas the recruiting business growth would occur. However, several comments point towards the areas of engineering and information technology. Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s guest blogger is Meri Laird Jones of Davidson, Laird & Associates, located in the metro Detroit area of Michigan. Meri is a current member of NPA’s board of directors. Davidson, Laird & Associates places technical, operations, sales and manufacturing professionals, primarily in the renewable energy, automotive, paint, plastics, chemical and processing industries.

We see a major trend in executive search assignments that are becoming increasingly specialized and specific in the skill sets required. For example, our clients are asking us to find them executives/senior managers not only with very specific technical experience and educational requirements, but who also have bilingual skills to address their global markets in Asia especially. (It’s not enough to find a Ph.D. in chemical engineering with years of research in specific energy markets who is willing and able to relocate, but this person must also be fluent in both English and Mandarin!) Read the rest of this entry »

The US unemployment figures hover around 9%, yet employers cannot find the talent they require. And this talent shortage is not limited to the US. Reports are that we are in the midst of a global talent shortage. The global recruiters I talk with never fail to mention how selective employers are about the hires they are making. Employers seem willing to have jobs sit open for months as they seek the “perfect fit candidate” rather than a close fit option…and never hire the unemployed. Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s guest blogger is Anne Downing with Demetrio & Associates, LLC located in greater Phoenix, Arizona. Demetrio & Associates is a boutique recruitment firm that has clients across the US as well as in international locations. The firm places candidates in sales & marketing, advertising, wireless and software positions.

Job seekers and companies with hiring needs are always looking for the perfect recruiter. There are a lot of independent recruiters in the world, but it’s important to both job seekers and clients to work with someone who will meet their specific needs. The search for a great recruiter can be tricky, but using social media to identify independent recruiters can make the process easier. Hiring managers, HR directors, and job seekers frequently seek out recruiters on LinkedIn, or do a Google search to find recruiters who specialize in the areas they are recruiting for. Read the rest of this entry »

So maybe I’ve been reading the newspapers too much and watching those depressing business news programs too often. I was surprised to learn that recruitment growth in Europe is happening. Europe is growing at a year-over-year growth rate of 14% for November, a growth rate that mirrors October’s result. I thought that Europe was in a bad spot and getting worse. I was under the impression that all of Europe was in a recession and that recruitment growth was on the same trend line. Monster indicates that is not so. In fact, consider the following from the December 2 Monster Index:

• Germany is up annually 30% year-over-year
• Engineering is the star performer of the industries tracked
• Engineering, transport, telecommunications, and production are all up over 25% this year
• UK is up 8% year-over-year

It is true that some markets are negative and trending more negative. For example Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands are all negative year-over-year. France and Sweden are relatively flat.

There is opportunity for those who are connected to make placements with employers and perhaps do international splits with recruiters working in Europe. If you are not asking your clients about what they do internationally, this may be the year to start paying attention to the opportunities for cross-border placements. If you are recruiting in a flat or down market in Europe, ask your clients what they are doing in Asia, North America, or South America. The more you grow your market coverage area, the more you can make your business immune to the constant gyrations of a local market.

Yesterday, one of our members called me looking for some information on candidate salaries. His question turned into an interesting research project for me, so I’m sharing what I have learned.

For years, our independent recruiter network earned the majority of its income from placements in the $60K – $80K range. These were skilled, middle-management positions, and they were the staple of NPA’s split placement activity. Salaries have been shifting, and we’ve noticed a gradual uptick in placements above $100K. Read the rest of this entry »

Independent recruiting firms, like so many other small businesses, often struggle to increase their business in scope, size, or revenue. For professional recruiters, knowledge is often limited to a specific industry or occupation. It’s difficult to find the time or resources required to learning a new market, and it’s expensive to hire more staff. So what can independent recruiters do to grow their business?

Go global. Read the rest of this entry »

Vacancy Clearing, a UK-based recruiter networking organization, reported that as many as 1/3 of all Fortune 500 and Fortune 10,000 companies are signed up with Bounty Jobs. That is a big number. If this is a trend that continues, the world will look very different for international recruiters in the years ahead. Read the rest of this entry »